Kootenai has become very crowded with the huge growth in Coeur d'Alene and Post Falls. But "crowded" is relative. At our house in the San Fran Bay Area (population 6 million), it often takes 75 minutes to go 12 miles. It doesn't feel like that at all in North Idaho. Even with the growth, you have these populations:
- Bonner County - 44,000
- Boundary County - 12,000
- Kootenai County - 158,000
Your age can determine a lot about where you want to live. If you need health care, you want to be closer to medical services and you don't want to be on a remote back road. Medical services are very good in Coeur d'Alene and Spokane. If you like the outdoors and skiing, choose a spot near good ski mountains. Mt. Schweitzer in Sandpoint is excellent and had 400 inches of snow last year. The several other smaller ski areas around CdA and Spokane also had 400 inches last year.
You will be asked a lot "Do you hunt? Do you fish? Do you golf? Do you ski?" It helps to answer "Yes" to all such questions.
Schweitzer Mountain Ski Area