First Post From the New World...

[Dave_L]

Colorado does have some of the highest insurance rates. Not surprising to see that drop so much in Idaho. Our registration costs are such BS.

[Danimal]

Deleted

[Bailey Guns]

The Lewiston/Clarkston area sits in a valley. The elevation on the Snake River is only 750' there. Average low in Dec/Jan is like 28 or 29 degrees. Very little snow in the valley...neighborhood of 10" avg per winter. Like Danimal said...winter is moderated significantly by the Pacific and the low elevation.

On the other hand, I lived in Bailey at 8400' for 25 years. Pretty much anything would be an improvement in terms of winter weather and temps.

[Bailey Guns]

What are property taxes like? Just curious.

Probably similar to a lot of places in Colorado. However, Idaho has a "Homeowner's Exemption" that applies to your primary residence. It can reduce the taxable value of the property by 50% or nearly $90,000 depending on how much your property is worth...so it significantly reduces the property tax costs for most people.

If you’re a homeowner, you can apply for an exemption on the value of your owner-occupied primary residence, including a manufactured home. The exemption applies to fifty percent of the value of the residence(including up to one acre of land) or$89,580, whichever is less. Taxes are computed on the nonexempt value. You may also apply for this exemption on your home (not land) if you’re paying occupancy taxes.

[Gman]

Climate Lewiston - Idaho

I lived in OR for a while, and the folks live in WA. The Pacific has a buffering effect in the winter. Plenty of O2 at that elevation as well.

[Bailey Guns]

I wanted to revive the dead thread for an update on the end of our first full year in Idaho.

So far everything is working out nicely. We're in a far better financial position after being here a year than we ever could've been in Colorado. We haven't necessarily downsized, just "discovered" the benefits of reducing debt, avoiding new debt, and the advantages of buying used and re-purposing things or repairing older things. For example...sold my newer Duramax and the massive payment that went with it and bought a nice, low-mileage used truck. It was way too easy to fall into that trap of always wanting the nice, new stuff and forgetting the financial havoc that was having on our future. So, much less debt, more house/less payment, make do with older stuff that still works. Taking advantage of the seller's market in Colorado had a lot to do with being able to do that...we're thankful the timing was good. It really helped us get on a better financial footing here. We're trying to come up with a realistic way to implement a 10-year payoff plan on the house.

We do miss a few things that were available in a large metro area like Denver that aren't available here. Mostly the endless variety of good restaurants. There are some good places here, but obviously not as many.

One of the reasons for the move was milder weather. So I get here and this winter has been the coldest and snowiest in the history of the planet in the valley. We have over 12" of snow in the yard. The average low for Dec/Jan is normally around 28 or 29 degrees. Until I get here. I've already lost count of the number of times it's been below zero in the last month.

It's really easy to disconnect from the rest of the world here. I'm not much of a TV guy so I never watch any news. I listen to talk radio during the day when I can get a signal (yes, no AM radio signal is a common thing up here in the remote areas) and can generally keep up with the big, national stories. Local stuff is a lot harder.

And an odd thing that both my wife and I have noticed. Much of the local population has lived here all their lives and most never travel far from home. Even so, few people seem to know much about the area or the history of the area. It's the strangest thing. It's a very blue collar area and, frankly, that's one of the things I like about it. But life and people are much less sophisticated here than in a place like Denver. And I don't mean that in a disparaging way at all. It's just that, for most people, their lives are here and that's what they know. It's very simple...and comforting...and that's how most folks here seem to like it.

It's harder to sell things like guns and ammo here because of the lower population. Most buyers, if they want what you have badly enough, will come from CDA/Spokane or Boise. I discovered this by selling off a chunk of the gun/ammo collection to fund a used tractor purchase because that'll be a lot handier than the guns/ammo will be. FYI...tractors are like gun safes. Everyone always says buy more safe than you think you need. Same goes for tractors.



I've only owned it a few weeks and, I swear...I don't know how in the hell I survived as long as I have without a front end loader and a backhoe. Handiest damn thing I've ever owned. And it's certainly earned it's keep with all the snow that needs to be moved. **FREE TIP: If you decide to move to Idaho, even a place like the LC valley (where it never snows), don't leave your plow and all your snow shovels in Colorado.

I need an alternate heat source in my shop. I've been using a propane heater...the non-vented type. Problem is propane creates way too much moisture when burned. That and the high RH in the winter here and moisture beads up on every cold metal surface in the shop. So I either need something electric or a vented propane heater of some sort. I burned the heater for about 3 hours the other day. Ran a de-humidifier at the same time. After just a few hours I had about 4 or 5 quarts of water in the de-humidifier bucket. Just crazy.

There are more jobs here than you can shake a stick at. Especially driving jobs. My company has been looking to hire another driver in Moscow but can't even get anyone to apply. Schweitzer Engineering Labs is building a huge new place in the Pullman/Moscow area and is supposed to hiring 800 people in the near future for various positions. All the mills and logging companies are always looking for people. And heavy mechanics are needed everywhere from what I'm hearing.

I'm looking forward to some short road trips this summer. I want to head up to Vancouver on the bike for a few days and look around. I've never been there but thought if I ever went to Canada that would be where I wanted to go. I also want to do a ride along the coast in OR and WA. There's a tremendous amount of places that need to be seen in this part of the country. Which reminds me:

For a great look at what the area has to offer, check out these movies. You may be able to find them on-demand from CBS (that's where I saw Idaho The Movie 2) or another source. If not, they're well worth the price on Amazon:

https://smile.amazon.com/Idaho-Movie...daho+the+movie
https://smile.amazon.com/Idaho-Movie...daho+the+movie

Really fantastic scenery.

Sorry for the rambling...just posting for anyone interested.

[Bailey Guns]

Oh, yeah. I came home the other day and my wife was wearing bib overalls and a pair of rubber muck boots. She looked like she robbed someone from Green Acres. That's what happens.

[roberth]

Glad you're doing well there BG, thank you for update. Cool tractor!!

[Great-Kazoo]

Oh, yeah. I came home the other day and my wife was wearing bib overalls and a pair of rubber muck boots. She looked like she robbed someone from Green Acres. That's what happens.

Sounds like my wife's UOD outside doing chores. She's leaning more towards a bobcat then tractor, for now.


I need an alternate heat source in my shop.


Mini-Split
http://www.mitsubishicomfort.com/products


Been a propane user for years. After the weight reduction on the right leg she was insistent there would be nothing to trip over. Outside the usual crap in the shop Our daughter told her about the ones she installed in their place (4K sq ft) was cheaper than running ducts around the house.

ANYWAY ..... i wasn't sold on it. Close to a year later and it's one of the best investments made. Especially when the AC's running, so much easier reloading when it's 100 outside.


BTW: Happy to hear you're doing well.

[Bailey Guns]

I downloaded a brochure for the Mitsubishi stuff. Thanks.