Considering Relocation to Idaho - a few questions... (Coeur d'Alene, Sandpoint: house, buying)

[Jennerbear]

Originally Posted by pimit2

Sounds like you're doing it the right way, jennerbear! Spend some time in the Gem State, nosing around to find that perfect fit for you amd yours. You sound like "our kind of family", so you'll be cordially welcomed in every nook and cranny of Idaho. I look forward to calling you a neighbor - no matter what part of the state you decide on.

Have a fun inspection trip! And, don't forget to tell us how it turned out!


pimit2 (Bob)

Wonderful!

You know, it has been a "nail in the coffin" kind of year for us. We bought season passes to the ski resort and cannot go 5 minutes without hearing the "f" word. Go to Costco and the women are in designer clothes with botox filling their faces. We just don't fit it. We're not looking to come to Idaho to bring California with us... we're looking to go there to become part of Idaho.


Jennerbear

[Toyman at Jewel Lake]

Originally Posted by Jennerbear

Wonderful!

You know, it has been a "nail in the coffin" kind of year for us. We bought season passes to the ski resort and cannot go 5 minutes without hearing the "f" word. Go to Costco and the women are in designer clothes with botox filling their faces. We just don't fit it. We're not looking to come to Idaho to bring California with us... we're looking to go there to become part of Idaho.


Jennerbear

You sound a lot like I did before moving here from WNY. After making the move, I find that Idahoan's attitude towards limited government, firearms rights, hunting, outdoors activities, etc, are just what I was looking for. I call myself an Idaho native with a birth defect. Sounds like you're in the same boat in a number of areas. N Idaho has a lot to offer you...just as you said though, housing and property costs are somewhat high.

[Jennerbear]

Oh yeah, Toyman - right along those lines. N.E. would be a good fit... just need to take our time shopping, and pray we get what we need out of our house.

Jennerbear

[Sandpoint Lifestyle]

We live in Sandpoint in North Idaho, and we looked all over the west before deciding to move here. Ours is a real progressive town in my opinion, in the sense that most people here are very genuine and non-pretentious. There is definitely a Norman Rockwell feel to this area, where kids still run around on the streets without their parents worrying, where they have good manners and respect adults, and where people help each other out. Just the other day my wife got her tires stuck in a rut on the side of the road, then another car pulled over immediately to help, only to get stuck themselves. It wasn't 30 seconds later before someone else pulled over and got both of them out. This stuff happens every day.

And it sounds like the outdoor lifestyle would fit you guys very well. Schweitzer is probably the best mountain in the Northwest, Lake Pend Oreille just can't be beat, and the town always has stuff going on.

I would disagree that this area is expensive. There are tons of great deals, especially for more rural properties as you've described.

Good luck,
Rick Evans

[Sage of Sagle]

I was thinking about this yesterday. We had a late lunch at MickDuffs on First Avenue. As we exited, we were waiting for our daughter to come pick us up (she ran to the Co-Op in Ponderay for some stuff). We were at the corner by the Panida. We noted that even though we were NOT on the edge of the curb (as if appearing to want to cross) people coming down First would stop for us to let us cross anyhow since we were CLOSE to the corner. We actually had to wave on two different groups of cars who tried to stop for us, and step back near the wall of the Panida so that we were beyond the halfway point of the sidewalk so that people didn't keep try to stop to let us cross.

Look...I know we have our share of rude people in town, and some crime happens, but seriously, by and large, the residents of our town are some of the nicest people in the United States...

And to echo what Rick said...in this area there are houses and land for just about every budget. Yes, you can spend $750K easily with lake view or acreage. But you can also spend sub-$250K and still get a nice place. I did an MLS search through one of the local realtor's websites, with a cap of $250K for a residential place, and found several listings for very decent places in the Sandpoint/Sagle area. I would come to Sandpoint with a total budget in mind, but do the homework ahead of time to narrow it down to 10-20 listings you want to see over a 3-4 day period. Work with us who live here to give you blunt feedback about certain areas, which will save you wasted time during your visit. Most of us who live here are fairly opinionated about the good and the bad in residential opportunities. For example, I hate railroad noise, and we have a LOT of train tracks that run through this area. So train noise 24/7 should be a factor. Something you may not have thought about, but is a reality when living in some neighborhoods here...

[twinprism]

Hey Jennerbear,

I know you said SE Idaho didn't look like it was from you and I respect that but you may want to give it another look. Economy isn't all that bad here and cost of living is still low. (no boom, no bust, just slow managable growth)

There is a nice Calvary Chapel here in Pocatello that two of my next-door neighbors attend.

Calvary Chapel - Calvary Chapel Pocatello (http://www.calvarychapel.com/church-details.cfm?ChurchID=100371 - broken link)

Main difference between N and SE idaho is climate. SE Idaho is drier with more sunshine, but we still have 4 seasons. Perhaps the threads about the LDS influence are putting you off about SE Idaho, but you are too polite to say so. If that is your concern in the larger cities, it is not really an issue. There are a few people that feel put out but most have no problems. If things are good, you don't have much motivation to complain. I guess what I'm saying is you don't get a represenative sample on this forum..

Best of luck on your visit and your decisions. It is hard to find the right place for you, some of us just luck into it.

[norcalmom101]

I'll echo twinprism about religion not being so much an issue in the IF area, although alot of folks do say otherwise about Ammon and Rexburg. I've met folks who live in Ammon, none were LDS nor did they complain about LDS, maybe it's because they don't have kids in the schools there?

[idajack]

As someone who grew up in the panhandle and relocated to the treasure valley for economic reasons I would offer the opinion that the two parts of the state are very different in many ways. I am most bothered by the climatic differences between the palouse and the treasure valley.
I simply loved the seasons up north with sustained snow and blue skies in the winter and a blooming spring leading to a summer where we never minded not having air conditioning in either our home or our cars, this would lead into a fall filled with beautiful colors and often an indian summer of renewed warmth before renewing the cycle.
The Boise area and for the most part the surrounding area simply becomes depressing during the winter IMHO the snow we get in town seems to never last more than a few days, while every thing I see outside my window is brown and dead, and muddy, spring can certainly be relieving but all to often is cut short by a long hot summer leading into a short chilly fall. yes there are more wintery places in the mountains and even eastern Id but not the winter wonderland N Id can provide(IMHO).
Redeeming the area is the fact that almost everyone who has been here for a couple years seems to have adjusted to the friendlier ways and more MYOB lifestyle and on the whole are great people to share space with.
My advice to you would be to check out the whole state and make your decision based more on the climate and environment, to me this is the biggest difference between north and south.
That said, I would never want to live elswhere and certainly will retire to North Idaho, most likely not the area around C'DA but rather somewhere near the palouse.

[Jennerbear]

WOW! Thanks SO much for all the responses. I went to find your spot dot com and guess what came up?? SANDPOINT! And Coeur D Alene. We will definitely be making stops there when we do our road trip. Sandpoint seems to offer a LOT of what we're looking for... watersports, horses, snow skiing.

Northern Idaho sounds like a fit. I just can't explain it other than to say that I am feeling "called" to Idaho - like it's where I'm supposed to be coming home to. The folks sound extremely like minded and the landscape is breathtaking. We were looking at barren Nevada and I was just filled with dread.

I still want to check out some of SE Idaho when we come, too. Thanks again for all the wonderful insight. I was reading the Sandpoint website where it talked about the kids in town sledding down their staked out hillsides. Let me just tell you - down the road from me there is the PERFECT sled spot. People were pulling over to enjoy this big dirt hillside that was placed there after floods. It serves NO purpose. Families were out there laughing and having a blast. Of course - this is California so it wasn't allowed. They ticketed people, put up cones, gave tickets, etc. It is disheartening. You have to have a permit to breathe here.

[Jennerbear]

Okay - in another thread someone called Coeur D Alene liberal (by liberal I mean tree hugging + law making + gun taking). Is this true? Not for us if so. I recycle, don't litter, and am responsible about the land. But I want my right to cut down a tree on my property or shoot a gun in my back yard if I want to... I will hug no tree and hope to inherit my mom in laws fur coat.

I am "liberal" in the sense that I leave people alone and let them live theirs. But ONLY that sense.