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Thank you to the fella who pulled me out of the ditch on Colburn-Culver Rd. back in Winter 1988 despite my California plates! I did get nasty comments until I registered the car in ID. And how about those camo skinhead guys out at the Bonner Mall who tried to bully me about driving a foreign car - glad they are gone from the neighborhood.
Our funky house in Los Gatos CA next to a vineyard was being surrounded by 5000 sq. ft. monsters and the grapes were giving way to a highway. My kids wanted to know why we didn't drive a cool car, why didn't they have big boom boxes to carry around, why their clothes weren't the right brand. We moved to N.ID after visiting friends here. The boys loved playing in the woods out in Colburn on the Pack River and got along well at little Northside School - even the oldest boy with his Mohawk and pierced ear and skateboard which he gave up (not the board) to join Boy Scouts on 50 mile hikes. We had the only car in town with a "Skateboarding Is Not A Crime" bumpersticker. I have a shocking photo of an outdoor thermometer reading 20 degrees from our first winter here. But after awhile, on a windless day working outside, 20 degrees was sweater weather. We chopped wood and hauled water and logged with horses and kept chickens and a big garden and rased "T-Bones". I'm sad to have moved to town and wish heartily to get back to the land.
True confession - I'm afraid of Xmas tree fires, so every year I buy a fake from the thrift store. So not green!
Last edited by katygoldenakers; 12-07-2009 at 02:15 PM..
Reason: spelling
Yeah...but we have also found that if you buy have a car you like, and you're not otherwise living conspicuously, nobody is really going to judge you for having a nice car in Sandpoint/Sagle. My wife has a BMW sedan, but I drive a 10 year old Suburban 4x4. Nobody treats her/us any different because we don't otherwise live our lives any different. For winter we take the 17" rims off her car and put on 16's with 205/65 studded Nokian tires...it's the bomb (and raises her ride height). I keep our private road plowed (I've even plowed a few miles up/down Dufort on really bad days/nights) and her car does fine in everything but deep stuff. On ice, her car is better than my 4wd Suburban with siped tires.
When her car goes, we will probably replace it with another BMW sedan, since we've found that we love this one so much and it's so dang solid. But maybe Sandpoint/Sagle is demographically a bit different than Priest River in that regard. There are quite a few folks in our area with pretty nice cars...but everyone also has at least one 4wd pickup or SUV too...
I would say PR is definitely different than the Sandpoint area...many more new people in the SP area bringing in money. Same with CDA and Hayden. No one would bat an eye at a foreign luxury car in those places.
I didn't want to add my 2 cents' worth, because I'm not a local, but it seems to me that the Cedar St. Bridge would have
Yes, it is sad to hear the faith of the Cedar st. bridge.
I remember the first time I saw the bridge, it was about ten years ago.
I had just stepped off the train as it got into Sandpoint around 12.00 at night. Back in those days the street were rolled up for the night, not one soul was out and about. I remember crossing the bridge and taking it all in. Wow, a place like this really did exist.
I was visiting the town in my search for a little piece of Idaho.
I walked the lonely streets, looking at all the store fronts.
A few cars did drive by on their way somewhere.
I ended up walking all the way to the Super 8 hotel off 95 & 200
The funny thing is that it was a 3 or 4 mile walk, in the middle of the dark night in a strange town. However I never felt scared, actually I had a feeling of peace and wonderment. I knew right there that this was where I wanted to live.
What a beautiful summation of the urban/rural divide and the tension caused by urban/suburban types who seek to escape to rural areas.
My wife and I are thinking of adding ourselves to the reverse migration. We live in Portland and are seriously exploring moving to Sandpoint. We both own small businesses that we believe can be brought with us to Sandpoint.
My wife is a fine jewelry designer who specializes in beautiful custom pieces. She is also the President of a collective of over 100 women artists from Portland and the entire Northwest. We are thinking of opening a gallery featuring her jewelry and a broad selection of art from her women friends on consignment. It would be a eclectic collection ranging from quality craft stuff to fine art.
Do you think the tourist business and the local population would support such a gallery? We are coming back up to Sandpoint to look at commercial property next week.
My business is as a residential renovator. I specialize in buying older, rundown properties and renovating them for resale or possibly as vacation rentals. There appears to be plenty of homes that fit the bill. My question is how much has the local market dropped in the recession, and do you think it will stabilize and recover in the next couple of years? The demography seems unstoppable. 40 million boomers retiring in the next 15 years. Sandpoint seems destined to grow. The question is will that growth be handled wisely so that what is special about Sandpoint is not lost.
We would like to see ourselves as folks who would fit easily into the intersection you described so artfully in your post. My wife's parents grew up in Bonners Ferry and own a summer retirement place on the river in Old Town. My wife was raised in Spokane. I spent much of my childhood in Eastern Washington in Colfax, Walla Walla, and Kennewick. We hunger for more natural beauty, but we also hunger for a sense of community and civic participation. I know that some will welcome us and some will see us as just another pair of interlopers.
I would appreciate any advice you may wish to share. Hope someday I get to meet the person associated with such a wise post.
Upper left, my mind went elsewhere the past few months. When relaxed I go to Idaho page!
How kind of you! Anything I write on Idaho is simply a fraction of what I feel about Sandpoint. Not that it is is perfect, but just that I can kind some peace in this crazy world. Something where the normal can resonate.
I personally love jewelry as I am sure others would.
As for the tourist biz, I am afraid I cannot comment. The season is pretty short. Some do quite well, esp those that can capture the spirit of the summer season. Beyond that it is tricky. You know the industry much better than me.
Growth--so darn tricky. I think that as long as we fully appreciate that it will be difficult, we will implement policymaking that is cautious and respectful, rather than policies that ram down one vision of SP. I am hopeful the benefits of growth can be more participatory..
I am not one to prejudge, as I believe everyone has their inner Sandpoint. But my guess is that it will feel as if you had always been here.
You know better than most about the housing industry. Such pain. The key will be babyboomers in CA and WA and what SP does. But with the bypass, new Dover bridge, new sidewalks and a growing Ponderay, I am optimistic we won;t be facing bad revenue issues.
I wish you all the best and hope your visit(s) went well.
wow. I was moving to Idaho so my daughter, with medical issues could breath. Its not her fault she was born in the worst air city in California. Sounds like I should keep looking, would hate to be hated on just because my car plate said California... Please fill me in if I am wrong... I need to jump states fast she is allleric to everything.
wow. I was moving to Idaho so my daughter, with medical issues could breath. Its not her fault she was born in the worst air city in California. Sounds like I should keep looking, would hate to be hated on just because my car plate said California... Please fill me in if I am wrong... I need to jump states fast she is allleric to everything.
Fontana?
Simple fix. Took me 40 minutes and less than a hundred bucks to get rid of the Cali Plate. For all the hate that gets thrown at Californians on this board, I've never experienced it in person in Idaho. In Montana, yes. Not in Idaho. Seriously, what's the worst thing that could happen? Somebody says something rude or cuts you off on the road? How many times a day does that happen where you are now?
I move to Athol next month. Going to spend a month inside the house to decompress and let my own seething anger subside before I fling myself at the locals. We really are A-holes. We drive like it's combat, we're suspicious of everyone and we want everything NOW. You got to shuck that junk to blend in I think.
Good old Fontana. Smog, heat, the beautiful I-10 freeway jammed with traffic. Not to mention the Santa Ana winds gently blowing away the neighborhood roofs and turning Palm Tree fronds into lethal weapons. The wonderful sound of gunshots in the night. Going to sleep to the tune of sirens.
Here we have to listen to horses, cattle, the occasional call of a wild goose or the sound of a chainsaw. The main worry is those wild turkey gangs always trying to take over everything.
with all these people moving i should be able to sell my house and shop in no time
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I didn't want to add my 2 cents' worth, because I'm not a local, but it seems to me that the Cedar St. Bridge would have
You think people in NID don't like the transplants from CA. Wait till the ones from Massachusetts start showing up. 
LOL
