Posted on 07/17/2011 4:11:56 PM PDT by ChocChipCookie
For the past few years I have wanted to leave the Phoenix area and move somewhere cooler, greener, and with more water. I want our kids to know something more than life in the desert and a suburban lifestyle. The Phoenix heat is getting really old, too.
We are looking at various options, want to stay in the western half of the U.S. Northern California is out, mostly because the fate of that state is uncertain. Utah is okay, but we are looking more seriously at Idaho. We've heard great things about the state, as a whole.
I'd love some Freeper input about not only Idaho but perhaps other desirable locations in the western U.S. Spouse is an electrician, so either finding a job or setting up shop as a sub-contractor will be important.
Thanks in advance.
It is beautiful in the summer. It gets too cold for me in the winter.
The entire state is too cold for you? We’re looking at the southern part — Boise to Pocatello.
A salesguy where I work had to make a lot of trips recently to the Fruitland area.
He surprised me when he said he saw a lot of meth-heads (”tweakers”) hanging around there.
So I guess the Moral of The Story is ... stay away from Fruitland. Or at least the areas where he was.
I spent 6 glorious years in the Panhandle about a half hour from St. Maries, ID. That was in the early and mid ‘70’s, though. Couer D’Alene to Sandpoint would be an area that might support your employment needs.
Well if your looking out West, South Dakota has the natural gas boom right now and along with Wyoming, they have no State income taxes.
There's just the little matter of dealing with insanely cold winters.
The jobs are in Spokane. Read the Coeur d'Alene Sunday newspaper for an idea of the job "prosperity" there. It's a commute to Spokane on icy snowy roads in the wintertime.
Well, that pretty much opens the door to anywhere but Death Valley -- Lol!
Seriously, Idaho is a beautiful state (especially the northern panhandle) but the state income tax rate in Idaho is more than double that of Arizona's to the average earner.
Something to consider.
“The entire state is too cold for you? We’re looking at the southern part — Boise to Pocatello.”
Well, I live in Atlanta Ga, where it is much warmer. I know some people like colder weather.
Move to Fort Worth, Texas.
Jobs here are available. We get snow on Christmas eve year before last.
No state income tax!
In a 21st century world, cold doesn’t mean as much anymore.
You don’t have 5:00am farm work to start, the houses are comfortable, the cooking stove gas, and the showers hot, the winter clothing is cheap, light, and hi-tech, the cars are warm and cozy and dependable, and phones and music never leave us.
Just as modern Phoenix was made bearable for you, all climates are easy to live in now.
Mountain Home. Not the end of the world, but you can see it from there.
The “American Redoubt” includes Idaho.
http://www.survivalblog.com/redoubt.html
Pastor Chuck Baldwin recently moved to Montana from Florida.
Visit first. I considered ID when I fled CA about 8 years ago. It didn’t fit for us. We are pretty much rural/suburban people. I like to live by farms, but be able to drive into a real city within 30-45 minutes. I like to be at the supermarket and some other shopping within 10 minutes.
I’m going to mostly tell you the downsides, but really Idaho is a great fit for a lot of people. Every state will have its + and -, and everybody needs to find what fits. These are pretty much all the reasons why, even though we thought ID would be perfect, we didn’t move there.
Boise is isolated from other large cities. There are not a lot of great job options, even in the best of economic times. It’s just not big enough, so unless you work something with jobs everywhere (retail, restaurants), you are stuck. I don’t know how old you are or how many careers you’ve had yet, but remember that what you are doing right now is not necessarily what you’ll be doing next year. A layoff means you have a good chance of needing to move cross-country again. You also have to drive a really long time to get to museums and things that a larger city could offer. The upside is that Boise is really beautiful and has kind of a “small town” feel for a city.
If you want to move to a small town, be sure you don’t choose one that is mostly Mormon, unless you are also Mormon. You’ll be excluded, and Mormons will generally not patronize a non-Mormon business when there is an alternative Mormon-run business.
Rural areas can be a big shock for “city folk” who think “country folk” are all nice and “quaint.” You can run into some really bad people in the country. There is entrenched poverty, and there are meth issues.
Bluntly, the ID suburban areas look “poor” compared to other areas of the country. I drove through the surrounding areas to Boise, and one of the other “large” cities in ID, and there just wasn’t much to offer us.
Too many Californians. (lol)
The weather is really cold in the winter, but seriously, get a jacket and learn to layer. With modern AC/Heating, modern cars, and good snow removal, winter weather is no big deal (for me).
I have lived in Boise for 5 years and love it here. We have two young kids and this is a very family friendly area. Tons of parks and outdoor activities. The weather is actually great. Our downtown area is fun. I couldn’t recommend Idaho more. I’m not sure about the job situation for you though.
Buttes. Columbia River. It's all amzing.
However, it's 25 years hence. I've come to know some people who live there, part time. It's apparently become a bedroom community to west coasters, complete with all sorts of idiotic forms of "entertainment," the sorts of which appeal to vaporous space taker-uppers. However, largely conservative, even in those ultra-plastic wilderness-burbs. Or as conservative as such a thing can be.
Like any other place, I guess -- if you can deal with the transplants -- or better yet, avoid them completely -- you might actually be able to appreciate its historic and unique character.
Things have changed a bit since you were here last. About 1/2 a million people live in the Treasure Valley, including 205,000 in Boise. We even have indoor plumbing now!
Driving in snow and ice, especially in rural areas is at best, a hassle, at worst, potentially fatal.
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