My husband and I both have our own small businesses. He%26#39;s in RV repair and I own a furniture consignment store. I had a career in law firm management for 20 years before that. We also have an outgoing 14 yr old son about to start high school. Have a fair amount of equity in our home, and are ready to ditch So Cal for cleaner air, family values and a more affordable lifestyle as we get closer to our retirement years. Not sure if our current businesses would translate in Idaho, but would be open to any ideas/suggestions. Would love to find a safe, friendly neighborhood near a good public high school, but also near the Idaho everyone dreams of. I%26#39;ve been wanting to do this for years!
So Cal Family/Business Owners Weighing Up Options...
You%26#39;re not alone in your desire to get out of So Cal. Our family did it about 5 years ago (from Thousand Oaks) and we%26#39;re so glad we did. We moved to Coeur d%26#39;Alene, which is up at the northern tip next to Washington, but from what I understand there are quite a few transplanted Californians in the Boise area also.
Speaking from up north -- both of your businesses sound like they would travel nicely. Idaho has a lot of resort areas and a lot of people passing through the area driving RVs, and a furniture consignment store seems like a good idea, too.
I can only give you an idea of what it%26#39;s like here, but the average home price is around $185,000 - $200,000 right now, but that will buy you a pretty nice home.
Our kids had no trouble adjusting to the school system. They were in 3rd and 4th and the curriculum was a little behind California, but that was a good thing since they came in the middle of the year.
The entire state of Idaho is on the conservative side I would say and place a great emphasis on family activities (school sports, etc.).
Hopefully someone will answer specifically for the Boise area, but I think it%26#39;s a move you won%26#39;t regret.
Good luck!
So Cal Family/Business Owners Weighing Up Options...
While I shouldn%26#39;t encourage any CA folks to move up here.... I guess I can%26#39;t resist. My husband and I moved from Long Beach - wow, in 1984 and it was the best thing we ever did. We visited friends here twice and fell in love. The people are nice, the air is clean, and you have a feeling of safety here. We are growing and it is changing, but it is a great place. We live in Boise which we enjoy because we have all that we need, but are close enough to get out and go gold panning in the hills in less than an hour. When we moved here there wasn%26#39;t much in the way of shopping and we didn%26#39;t even have a mall. I love the small towns, but driving to work (and I can only think of Boise or Coeur d%26#39;Alene as the places to make decent hourly wages)on icy roads doesn%26#39;t appeal to me. With the types of businesses you both have you might be able to make it in out skirt cities -- close to bigger towns. There are tons of RV%26#39;ers here so that really sounds good. I have a 16 yr. old son who goes to high school here and loves it. The kids for the most part are pretty good ones. If you have any specific questions on Boise that I can help you with, please let me know.
Well, you%26#39;ve heard from the Western and Northern parts of the state, so I thought I%26#39;d weigh in on the Eastern side.
We%26#39;re from Oregon originally, lived for two years in California (San Francisco and Santa Barbara), and then 8 years on the East Coast (South Carolina and Massachusetts) before moving to Idaho in 1995.
Idaho Falls is a great place to raise a family. Very safe, wonderful nice people, extremely family oriented. It%26#39;s a fantastic place to be a kid. I don%26#39;t expect my children to want to stay here after college (it%26#39;s a conservative, small town without a whole lot to do entertainment-wise), but I%26#39;m sure that they%26#39;ll consider it the perfect place to be FROM. My kids are 13, 11 %26amp; 9 and really like it here. The schools are wonderful (though I personally believe that ANY school is what you make of it - you get back whatever you put in). We have a very high percentage of Mormons (my family isn%26#39;t), and that influences a lot of the culture here.
There%26#39;s not necessarily a lot to do in Idaho Falls proper, but it%26#39;s conveniently close to a lot of things (Sun Valley, Yellowstone National Park, Jackson Hole, WY and Salt Lake City are all within a couple of hours). There%26#39;s lots of outdoor activities (skiing, hiking, camping, rock climbing) very close by. We have a wonderful soccer league; as well as hockey, basketball, swimming, softball and a myriad of other sports (both youth and adult). We do have some nightlife - but it%26#39;s limited (so don%26#39;t expect too much).
The winters can be long (it%26#39;s 26 degrees today with snow forecast tonight and tomorrow) and the summers can be short (we really only get two dependable months [July and August]), so people tend to get outdoors when they can. We spent 10 years in much warmer climates, but, I can honestly say, you do get used to it here. The landscape is a little bleak (wide open, and I mean WIDE OPEN spaces) with very few trees. It%26#39;s also very dry here, because we are in a ';high desert'; area. We get about 10-12 inches of precipitation annually (a lot of that is snow with very low moisture content - so a lot of snow melts down to very little water; but that%26#39;s also what makes the skiing so good - dry, light powdery snow).
Our economy is growing, and we get a ton of R-V%26#39;ers coming through. There%26#39;s a lot of new construction going on everywhere. New houses, restaurants, office buildings and roads are going up all over. Housing prices are a fraction of what you%26#39;d see in Southern California. In fact, newcomers tend to overpay because they%26#39;re used to such a different price scale. We own a 1930%26#39;s 3,000 sq ft, 4 bedroom home on 1/4 acre right in town that would list for about $150,000.
In summary, I%26#39;d recommend Southeastern Idaho to anyone who is outdoorsy and likes a small town atmosphere. You need to be willing to put up with the cold and enjoy a rocky, desolate view. If you%26#39;re looking for nightlife and entertainment - you%26#39;re probably not going to be happy; and if dry and brown (as opposed to green and verdant) will drive you crazy - then this isn%26#39;t the place for you.
Chiming in for south central Idaho... PajamaJan, you might want to take a look at the Wood River Valley on your quest for your own private Idaho. Gorgeous moneyed area up there, fantastic schools, and smack in the middle of skiing and summer outdoor activities. The towns include Hailey, Bellevue, and Ketchum, all a hop and a skip from Sun Valley.
You have the entire state to pick from... come on up for a visit and see which part you like best!
Best regards,
Pug
Hi PajamaJan,
What a great decision for you to make! Boise is great! TONS of people do the RV thing around here and there are only a few furniture consignment shops around, we could definately use more! The Boise school system is great. I think you should check out Eagle Idaho as well. The school system is fantastic there and you are very close to the foothills.
I work in real estate and we have worked with sooooo many people making the move from California. You get so much more for your money here and you can%26#39;t beat the quality of life.
Let me know if you have any specific questions about the area. My email is jamieandmike4@juno.com I can easily send you emails of real estate listings so you can see what the houses are like.
Agreeing with the ';Pug'; here-- the Wood River Valley is great, I just moved here from SoCal myself. However, be prepared for loooooooooong winters. But the pros of living here far outweight the cons of the long winters. (And they%26#39;re long!). Good luck.
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