Tell me about Idaho

[astrochex]

The wife and I are thinking more these days about retirement. I figure we are roughly 5-10 yrs out. We have been planning for much longer than that.

After growing up in SoCal, we have been in Florida for two years for my job. We like the financial position Florida has put us in, but long term, we don’t see it being the place for us. The constant humidity and annual hurricane season are simply not agreeable. We also can’t see moving back to California, even though that is where family is. It is simply too expensive to consider for long term residence. Besides North Carolina (which is thankfully documented elsewhere in OT), we have discussed Idaho as a potential retirement location.

We have conducted some basic internet research and are planning a trip to Idaho next year to see the land for ourselves. I don’t fully trust the internet research, but I do trust the quality and scope of advice offered here.

We are not the hustle and bustle types, so city life is not required. But we do enjoy good food and live music so we don’t want to live in the wilderness. It will also be helpful to know places to avoid. I understand the landscape will change between now and when we retire, but we need to start somewhere.

Thanks for the advice.

[biosurfer1]

Co worker tried to retire to Idaho a few years ago. His wife had grown up in Idaho Falls a long time ago and wanted to go back. They made it about 18 months and called it quits. Idaho Falls is pretty far north but he basically said fall/spring/summer is quite nice but the winters were so miserable, it wasn't worth it.

If you can deal with those kind of winters, I think the other benefits like taxes, cost of living, etc are pretty nice.

[Jims5543]

I knew a rx7 forum guy from Mountain Home, Idaho, he said it was a fantastic place to live and one of the best kept secrets in Idaho.



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[herr_oberst]

Why is it always windy in Twin Falls?
Cuz Utah sucks and Montana blows.

[red-beard]

I really like Boise. But I don't think it will last, as "everyone" has discovered this. The price of housing is way way up.

[LakeCleElum]

I go there a lot on MC trips and passing thru twice a year to see Grandkids in Colorado.....

I love Idaho and think 2 areas fit your criteria:

1) Boise area. It's now one city after another that includes Napa, Caldwell, Meridan, and Boise....In the past few years, there is now freeway "rush-hour" traffic between these towns. Do some research on the winter weather. Fog can hang in the "Treasure Valley" for weeks on end......I could still do it.

2) North Idaho around Couer-de-Alene, Hadyen Lake and Sandpoint areas.....Prices have gone up, but a very nice area. Only 25 miles to Spokane for a bigger town......Snow in the winter kinda like what I have here in the Mts of WA......

Other parts of Idaho are pretty small and/or isolated.

[billybek]

I love the Sandpoint area and Lake Pend Oreille. My favorite Idaho.
I have been looking on the northern side of the border for something similar but I am not at all convinced that I could do winters there as a full timer.

[herr_oberst]

Originally Posted by LakeCleElum

Fog can hang in the "Treasure Valley" for weeks on end......

It's called an inversion. Air can get trapped for weeks on end and just gets browner and dirtier as the winter goes on and on. If you ski, you're in luck, because when you drive up to Bogus Basin, the air is often clear and blue so you can get some respite for a day. That inversion can be pretty depressing.

[LakeCleElum]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

It's called an inversion. Air can get trapped for weeks on end and just gets browner and dirtier as the winter goes on and on. If you ski, you're in luck, because when you drive up to Bogus Basin, the air is often clear and blue so you can get some respite for a day. That inversion can be pretty depressing.

Correct - I see it all the time when I snowmobile.....Climb out of the depression and have a blue bird day....

There is a lot to like in Idaho. Agree with others that Couer-de-Alene is a great place to be. And big enough to suit your food and entertainment needs. I would choose it over Boise, and Spokane is not far if you need a larger city.

[varmint]

I have about two hundred in-laws living in the towns of Wallace, Pinehurst, and Kellog. A century ago this was a big silver mining region. And they built beautiful houses. The mines closed and they’re near ghost towns now. Everything is incredibly cheap by California standards.

I decided against it because I didn’t want to be under the thumb of my wife’s family. But you might make a go of it.

[HardDrive]

I've got my own private place out there.

[varmint]

It is the only place I’ve ever seen a pawn shop combined with a liquor store.

And every dirtbag Los Angeles cop I ever met planned on retiring to northern Idaho. So I image the a-hole factor is high.

[cstreit]

Originally Posted by astrochex

The wife and I are thinking more these days about retirement. I figure we are roughly 5-10 yrs out. We have been planning for much longer than that.

Thanks for the advice.

You've described just about where we are too. Substitute Illinois for California.

Idaho has some beautiful spaces but I'm really trying to get somewhere where the weather is *better* than Northern Illinois.

Colorado is high on the list but the displaced Californians are driving the cost stratospheric. What about New Mexico or Southern Colorado. I need mountains and water. ...and like you, don't want to be IN the urban, but I want to be near it. 30 minutes away maybe?

Perfect place? In the foothills on a lake or river, 25 acres, 30-40 minutes from a good dry aged ribeye. (Not because I can't live without ribeye, but it represents the civilization I want, when I want it.)

[LakeCleElum]

Originally Posted by cstreit

. What about New Mexico or Southern Colorado. I need mountains and water. ...and like you, don't want to be IN the urban, but I want to be near it. 30 minutes away maybe?

Perfect place? In the foothills on a lake or river, 25 acres, 30-40 minutes from a good dry aged ribeye. (Not because I can't live without ribeye, but it represents the civilization I want, when I want it.)

My wife's son/grandkids are in Montrose, CO.......I could do Grand Junction, Montrose, Durango, or Cortez myself.....Lots of sun and winters not that bad...Not humid, no bugs......Great real estate prices......You have my vote....

[Gogar]

+1 Boise has grown very quickly and doesn’t seem quite as charming as it used to.

Sand point and couer d’alene are beautiful.


How about Bozeman?

[Craig T]

My wife and I seriously considered Boise for retirement. I spent six month there on business from April to Oct of 2012 and really enjoyed it. The downtown is vibrant with a good nightlife and restaurant scene. The university insures a good diversity. It's a great area if you like to fish, which is a passion of mine.

I brought my wife up a lot on weekends and she did a lot of house hunting over that summer. It's still cheap by CA standards. She discovered there is a large Mormon population that is almost it's own parallel universe. Those communities are easy to identify.

What killed it for us was going up over the winter. BRRRRRR! They can have weeks of sub-freezing temps. Not a lot of snow, but damn it gets cold. That's not for us an we removed it from the list.

There is a lot of right-wing nonsense up there once you get outside Boise. I have a friend who retired close to Coeur d'Alene. At first they loved it, but just couldn't make friends. His wife is a Harvard educated Brazilian with dark skin. Somebody at his golf club made an insulting comment that really upset him. When he talked to his golfing buddy he said..."what did you expect". They are selling and moving to Scottsdale. I asked why AZ? He said..."One winter was enough!" Lol

[Superman]

I grew up in the Coeur d'Alene area so...I am biased. Property is cheap. Lifestyle is relaxed, laid back. That lake is huge a gorgeous. Adult playground.....in the summer.

Idaho is cold. Much colder than you are accustomed to. Wherever you go in Idaho, there is snow on the ground for several months each year. I suspect you won't like it.

Treasure Valley. I never liked Boise. Colder in the winter, and hotter in the summer, than N Idaho. Snooty people, IMHO. The day I got disgusted and left for good was in January and there had been an inversion layer covering the valley since THANKSGIVING! Visibility, maybe 200 feet. Maybe. Brown air. Boise blows.

Lake Coeur d'Alene:

[wildthing]

Originally Posted by HardDrive

I've got my own private place out there.

It's not a love shack, is it?

[Evans, Marv]

I suspect there are lots of us here with wives who other than Caucasian who would end up not feeling comfortable in a number of those northern states. I've heard comments before like what Craig said his friend experienced.