Okanagan County or Colville or? (Seattle, Omak: fit in, crime, house)

[forgetwho]

I'm looking for a place to retire to and am considering Okanagan County or the Colville area. I like rain, some snow, wildlife, space, and privacy. I have lived in the past in a house off the grid, on generator power, and would consider doing so again, so long as there is year-round access on at least a maintained gravel road. I'm looking for a small (anything over 500 sq. ft. is okay) house, cottage, or cabin in decent condition, with at least five acres of at least partially treed land, for less than $85,000. I don't like heat, so higher elevations would be better. Might I find something like that in Okanagan County or the Colville area? If not, where might I? Any suggestions for who to contact? Thanks!

[chris]

you'll have a hard time finding something for 85k in Colville with something liveable on it. I made several trips there myself about a year ago, looking at land and property (ultimately I gave up after not finding what I wanted at the price I wanted).

You should be able get 5-10 acres for 30-40k though, so if you can build your own home or hire a contractor to assist you, you could possibly do it for 85k. There are also log kit homes (shell only) for about 30k, so it could be done feasibly if you don't mind sweat equity. Do your research though if you decide to go down that path.

If you look into Kettle Falls, also be careful as I ran into a lot of characters over there and was told by others that there are drug issues in that area.

I can't tell you much about Okanagan County, but I hear it's beautiful out there. Land is cheaper the further north you go, and seems to be cheaper than Colville.

[RodFarlee]

Might also look in Oregon (northeastern corner: Grande Ronde valley below Enterprise, or south central near Lakeview), north Idaho (Bonner's, Ferry County, or maybe Kooskia to Elk River), or if you don't mind longer/colder winters, northwestern Montana (Kootenai valley near Libby, or down around Philipsburg) or even northwest Wyoming (the Wind River valley near Dubois, or the Shoshoni near Thermopolis). These are just real pretty areas that are well worth a visit, and haven't been "discovered" and completely priced out like the Flathead and Yellowstone and Clark Fork and Bitterroot and Rogue and so many other valleys. The Okanagan is nice, but there are prettier valleys, they just don't have the orchards.

[djay]

try conconully, wa. Tiny place outside of Okanagen

[lilblondsmurf]

Originally Posted by forgetwho

I'm looking for a place to retire to and am considering Okanagan County or the Colville area. I like rain, some snow, wildlife, space, and privacy. I have lived in the past in a house off the grid, on generator power, and would consider doing so again, so long as there is year-round access on at least a maintained gravel road. I'm looking for a small (anything over 500 sq. ft. is okay) house, cottage, or cabin in decent condition, with at least five acres of at least partially treed land, for less than $85,000. I don't like heat, so higher elevations would be better. Might I find something like that in Okanagan County or the Colville area? If not, where might I? Any suggestions for who to contact? Thanks!

I have a 2/1 house in Addy on 1/2 acre, that is ready to move in, quite neighborhood, but nice and helpful neighbors if you want them. Everyone keeps to themselves so it is nice to have, but also nice to not have. It has been recently remodeled so it is in great shape, brand new deck, and bathroom. If you are interested please contact me via email, we would sell it for 85,000 if we don't have to list it with a realtor. Please contact me immediatly if you are interested.
Thanks

[aullori]

I'd check with a realtor in orient or kettle falls - you can find land with a cabin (even with todays prices) for what you quoted.

(not sure about the rumors about kettle falls but since your not looking to move in town it dosen't matter much - so far, I like the area a lot. Beautiful views, right on the river and more fishing and hunting than I can fit in my schedule.)

[Stirewalt1104]

Wow, We are moving there. Is it really as bad as it seems from the blogs on this page, they are quite old, so now I'm wondering if we should make this move ???.........hhhhhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmm

[PS90]

Originally Posted by Stirewalt1104

Wow, We are moving there. Is it really as bad as it seems from the blogs on this page, they are quite old, so now I'm wondering if we should make this move ???.........hhhhhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmm

You're moving where? Colville? Okanogan County? Kettle Falls?

I'm not sure what the rumors you are describing are, but I grew up in Okanogan County and now live in Colville. Because of this, I may be biased, and very likely have a different opinion than a coastie moving over here for retirement.

I haven't experienced any excessive drug use or drug dealing in this area. There is a big faction of old hippies that are into their "recreational" drugs, but they are completely harmless. I'm sure that meth is a problem here, but I'm just assuming that's the case because every small town in WA state has some amount of a meth problem currently, although I don't know anyone who knows anyone on meth, and there have only been a few incidences of petty crime due to tweakers. And BTW, Kettle Falls and Colville are right next to each other and essentially the same town.

Okanogan County has it's own share of problems - again, minor meth issues, and (depending on where you live) an ongoing cultural battle between two specific ethnic groups. But, again, still a very nice place to live.

In short, both places are great little small town regions, but they each have there share of minor problems. And those problems are different than big-city problems. And attitudes and political outlooks are very different than most big-cities. I know that I stress this point all the time, but Omak, and Colville, and Kettle, are NOT smaller versions of Seattle.

I could possibly answer more questions if you were more specific.