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My boyfriend and I are trying to decide on the best place to settle down and start a family and I'm attracted to the idea of Northern Idaho, Western Montana or Northwest Wyoming. I am currently living in Maine and have never been to any of these states, but have been in pretty much every other western state at least once.
We would be looking for a large plot of land (Ideally 10 acres or more) to build a house and preferably many smaller outbuildings or tiny houses or yurts we could use for relatives/friends/airbnb, raise grazing animals, and generally be our own undisturbed off grid bubble.
The reason we are attracted to these 3 regions is
-Red states, most people will be generally more politically aligned with us (we consider ourselves dissident right, new right, alternative, independent, etc.)
-Lots of nature and open spaces and mountains (we love hiking, hunting, camping, general solitude and hate cities)
-Horse culture (I am an avid trail rider)
-Less monoculture agriculture than the midwest (and therefore less environmental toxins and exposure to pesticides)
-Less people and less ticks and less mold than the East
-Generally cheaper than coastal states (we are comfortable and don't mind paying for quality, but no one likes to spend needlessly)
All these states seem to fit the bill, but I have a few very specific preferences that I'm not sure which will best meet:
-We plan to homeschool, and want a good homeschool community that is not exclusively christian (our beliefs are.. very nuanced)
-We prioritize organic produce and grass-fed meats in our diet, so we would prefer an area with a farmers market, CSA, health food store, and general organic farming community near by that we can be a part of. The less barriers to getting local food/products from producer to consumer, the better.
-A very SAFE town that we can go to for some shopping or special treats (a yoga class, a good lunch, music in the park, etc)
-Somewhere not being taken over by the woke crowd (The idea of lots of cali transplants doesn't bother me as long as they are also escaping blue state madness, they may actually be my crowd. Do the cali people like organic food and also small government? Yoga and also gun rights? Those are my peeps. Though I suspect the new people are probably dyed in the wool liberals moving somewhere cheaper and who can't figure out why blue states suck..)
-Somewhere with a lot of small, locally owned businesses (I hate big box stores) Maybe some history (I hate modern architecture/newly built cheap houses which the west seems to have a lot of compared to the east coast's historical buildings and housing)
-Good homesteading/survivalist/primitive skills community
I do like green and trees a lot, which is a bit of a luxury out west I know, and I'm not fond of wind. Longer growing season is nice. Being near water is very nice, it is pretty essential for the off grid stuff we want to do. We enjoy consuming raw milk and occasionally cannabis, and will probably do so whether or not it's legal, but it would be nice if it was.
Kinda of a niche culture I want to tap into, which do you think is my best bet?
-We prioritize organic produce and grass-fed meats in our diet, so we would prefer an area with a farmers market, CSA, health food store, and general organic farming community near by that we can be a part of. The less barriers to getting local food/products from producer to consumer, the better.
-A very SAFE town that we can go to for some shopping or special treats (a yoga class, a good lunch, music in the park, etc)
-Somewhere with a lot of small, locally owned businesses (I hate big box stores) Maybe some history (I hate modern architecture/newly built cheap houses which the west seems to have a lot of compared to the east coast's historical buildings and housing)
Most of the items you list are only going to be found in bigger cities in Montana, Wyoming or Idaho. How close to a big city do you wan to live? 10 acres close to a small town with the basics, but 30 - 60 minutes outside of Helena or Butte might work well. The greater Dillon, MT area would be very nice. Dillon has a small state university in town to add a few extra entertainment, dining and shopping options. It is a very safe town. There are several smaller towns (Twin Bridges or Sheridan) around Dillon that are simple farm and ranch support towns. Idaho Falls would likely be your airport town, or maybe Belgrade, MT. Both are about 2 hours from Dillon, but Butte is about an hour north for a true healthy foods grocery store, and more shopping and entertainment. This property near Dillon kind of hits all your wants, except the lot doesn't have a lot of trees on it.
Another area to look would be the Bitterroot Valley, say around Hamilton, MT. You can get most of your listed wants right there in the valley. Then when you need an airport, or 'gasp' need to go to Costco, you can head up the highway to super liberal Missoula (by Montana standards) for your big city needs.
Here are some properties near Hamilton. More trees in the Bitterroot valley than around Dillon.
My wife practices here in the Flathead, and practiced in Maine (Camden) for a few years before we were married. One of her sisters was down in Portland for a few years as well. Anyway, her entire practice started in Maine and is built around treating Lyme and mold exposure - which we have in spades here. Ticks are everywhere.
Close to water and cheaper than the East? I have no idea, but I know that any chance we had for a small lot on any lake or the river/stream is gone. Wasn't like that a few short years ago ... now just about everything has been snapped up or is for sale to the highest bidder. Still lots of people with lots of money paying these stupid prices around here.
Long growing season?? Not happening. Coming from ME you'd probably be fine with long gloomy Winters and similar growing season.
CSAs and local meats/produce? Check. Regular farmers markets here are always well-attended.
Homeschooling? Check. Schools here are a mixed bag and there is a large contingent of home-schoolers.
Pot? Check. Dispensaries all over the place.
Drugs and crime getting worse. We've had some murders and other shenanigans this year ... not enough law enforcement/EMS to support the growth explosion and the bottom-feeders that come with it. Meth problem? Check. Homeless problem? Check. Judges and DAs who go light on serious crimes? Check.
Short term rentals are highly frowned upon for adding to the Valley's housing crisis - wages no longer support the cost of living here. Cities and county need to put a moratorium on STRs as they are a huge reason our market is so off-balance. I've never seen more folks living in cars and trailers, or piled in with family and friends than I have the past year or so ... didn't used to be like that.
If you want to be among mostly wealthy transplant poseurs and fragile egos, Whitefish is the place. It's ~20%+ premium on real estate in the 59937 zip code.
"Cali-spell" and Columbia Falls are only slightly more 'affordable' - affordability being subjective. We're on 10 acres in CFalls, these lots went for ~165K just a few years ago. The last lot in our 20-unit subdivision is for sale at 'only' $539K. No utilities - requires drilling a well, installing septic, and bringing in power from the road. For comparison, we paid just a bit more than that for our new-ish house + lot in 2017, when there were no insane bidding wars, plenty of options, etc.
Now, like so many others, any plans we'd had to consider a different property here in the Valley is long-gone. We could sell for a huge profit and that doesn't even buy us a lateral move, and forget about an upward move. It's either a huge downsizing or leaving the area altogether ... not an option right now, so we stay put.
If you're looking to build vs. buy, plan on 2-3yrs wait time (so I'm told by contractor and realtor friends).
As an added bonus, our latest assessment has our property taxes going up 60% next year. We are not alone in protesting this. Low rates, the "pandemic", money printing, and FOMO all combined to wreck this housing market inside of just a few years. Just something else to think about.
I really liked Maine and the time I spent there visiting my future wife. I was in CO at the time - lived in Boulder County 45yrs before her career brought us here. Don't even waste your time with CO - it's been lost. Not sure what your reasons are for leaving Maine, just know that as appealing as the West might be, there are also plenty of downsides. No place is going to be perfect.
OP - If you are even looking anymore and are serious about moving, then you might expand your search to some other areas that would fit your list of wants a bit better. SE Washington and NE Oregon would probably fit your list better.
First I would recommend Dayton, WA. It's a better area for crop growing as the winter is shorter and not as extreme. It is a conservative area of a liberal state, so most people have the same attitude about the policy makers in Olympia and the rest of Western WA. Anyway, Dayton is a nice little town with all your basics, but just down the road is Walla Walla, WA that would have the rest. The tree covered mountains are to the south and full of trails to ride, and a couple small ski hills for winter fun. This property looks pretty nice.
The other conservative area I'd recommend is La Grande and Baker City Oregon, and the many small towns near them. La Grande at ~14K in population has the only "big box store" by having a Wal-Mart. So, Baker City at just less than 10K in population doesn't have any. Other than the one Wal-Mart it's all local and regional shopping, except for Albertsons/Safeway, in both towns. The Grande Ronde river valley north of La Grande is a true farming valley. Farming for grass seed is popular, as well as mint/spearmint, corn, and of course alfalfa. La Grande also has a small state University in town and the bigger hospital as it's the biggest town in upper NE Oregon. Baker City has the taller mountains closer to town to the West. Anyway, a couple more options that might be closer to your list of wants.
My boyfriend and I are trying to decide on the best place to settle down and start a family and I'm attracted to the idea of Northern Idaho, Western Montana or Northwest Wyoming. I am currently living in Maine and have never been to any of these states, but have been in pretty much every other western state at least once.
We would be looking for a large plot of land (Ideally 10 acres or more) to build a house and preferably many smaller outbuildings or tiny houses or yurts we could use for relatives/friends/airbnb, raise grazing animals, and generally be our own undisturbed off grid bubble.
The reason we are attracted to these 3 regions is
-Red states, most people will be generally more politically aligned with us (we consider ourselves dissident right, new right, alternative, independent, etc.)
-Lots of nature and open spaces and mountains (we love hiking, hunting, camping, general solitude and hate cities)
-Horse culture (I am an avid trail rider)
-Less monoculture agriculture than the midwest (and therefore less environmental toxins and exposure to pesticides)
-Less people and less ticks and less mold than the East
-Generally cheaper than coastal states (we are comfortable and don't mind paying for quality, but no one likes to spend needlessly)
All these states seem to fit the bill, but I have a few very specific preferences that I'm not sure which will best meet:
-We plan to homeschool, and want a good homeschool community that is not exclusively christian (our beliefs are.. very nuanced)
-We prioritize organic produce and grass-fed meats in our diet, so we would prefer an area with a farmers market, CSA, health food store, and general organic farming community near by that we can be a part of. The less barriers to getting local food/products from producer to consumer, the better.
-A very SAFE town that we can go to for some shopping or special treats (a yoga class, a good lunch, music in the park, etc)
-Somewhere not being taken over by the woke crowd (The idea of lots of cali transplants doesn't bother me as long as they are also escaping blue state madness, they may actually be my crowd. Do the cali people like organic food and also small government? Yoga and also gun rights? Those are my peeps. Though I suspect the new people are probably dyed in the wool liberals moving somewhere cheaper and who can't figure out why blue states suck..)
-Somewhere with a lot of small, locally owned businesses (I hate big box stores) Maybe some history (I hate modern architecture/newly built cheap houses which the west seems to have a lot of compared to the east coast's historical buildings and housing)
-Good homesteading/survivalist/primitive skills community
I do like green and trees a lot, which is a bit of a luxury out west I know, and I'm not fond of wind. Longer growing season is nice. Being near water is very nice, it is pretty essential for the off grid stuff we want to do. We enjoy consuming raw milk and occasionally cannabis, and will probably do so whether or not it's legal, but it would be nice if it was.
Kinda of a niche culture I want to tap into, which do you think is my best bet?
10 acres isn't enough for many grazing animals. Wind will be hard to escape in many places. You'll really have to prove yourself being conservative since you're from back east which is just as despised as the West Coast. Yoga and organic foods are often considered liberal. If you want local stores where you can actually shop you'll need a decent sized town and if it's a pretty mountain town you'd better have pretty deep pockets. The attitude about cannabis is pretty archaic among a lot of people and considered liberal. Be aware that in northwest Wyoming (amd possibly North Idaho) it's a large LDS community which means religion is a big part of the culture.
"We would be looking for a large plot of land (Ideally 10 acres or more) to build a house and preferably many smaller outbuildings or tiny houses or yurts we could use for relatives/friends/airbnb, "
Places may or may not have rules on new small outbuildings over a certain size. Greenhouses are helpful to vital, so check into that. Many will have rules on tiny houses and yurts, especially as more than 1 dwelling on a property. Air bnb is getting regulated by more communities.
Whichever state you select, you have to decide how many people ideally are in a town or city to live near and how close. And maybe the same for the bigger town / city beyond the first one. Unless you guesstimate and state those criteria it is not really possible for others to pick correctly among the options for specific recommendations.
"Hate cities"? Would that extend to metros like Coeur d'Alene, Kalispell or smaller like Sandpoint or Cody? Prefer to be far away or close to places in this size range?
From the east, not married yet, uses weed, wants air bnb, comfortable, can afford a horse, into yoga, organic food and eastern architecture, nuanced religion... Fwiw, some people may not initially see such a person exactly the way they see themself, even with the other characteristics / preferences.
Some feel they fit in quickly and are accepted. Others complain they are treated as outsiders for a decade or life. Experiences vary.
"Very SAFE", as in much safer than national average, is less common. What your minimum is will eliminate some to many places.
"undisturbed off grid bubble"- Land in parcels at or near 10 acres may have neighbors that you may be able to see and hear (ATVs, shooting, generators, construction, etc. at their timing and preference).
Off-grid energy choices vary and need to be carefully selected for location / specific site. Internet speed? May be limited. High speed satellite not available everywhere to everyone yet.
Do you have off-grid, animal raising, prepper experience already or just considering starting? What's worth saying or not will vary greatly based on an answer to this.
Butte area would be a pretty good candidate in many ways, though few even consider.
Air service for you or visitors? How close, how good? Many places will be hours from a commercial airport and only the biggest will have more than 1 or 2 connecting destinations or even more than 2-4 daily flights.
Montana may or may not still have possibility of electing a Democratic Governor. Personality has been a big factor in past but may not be enough anymore. In Idaho and Wyoming, it comes down to how corporate / "moderately conservative" the Governor is compared to aggressively ideological.
Last edited by NW Crow; 09-01-2023 at 09:56 AM..
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