Hi everyone,

Probably over the last year I have been actively searching of areas to move to. Right now I live in Southern California (Orange County) and I can't wait to get out. I have posted a couple questions on countryside in the last year about different areas (thanks for the help) and right now I am researching Boise Idaho.

It has been a real struggle trying to find a place that I would be willing to go but also my wife is willing to go to also. She is a CPA making the big bucks here in the city and just will not live anywhere that is not next to a big city with jobs, she is very much into stability etc.... I on the other hand don't really care as much, I have the attitude that I can scrap out a living pretty much anywhere. I want to live somewhere with trees and mountains etc.... but not the most extreme winters or rainy all the time, gotta have some sun but with 4 seasons and not too hot during the summer etc.. seems like boise idaho might fit the bill for both of us. I have done some searching on the net and it seems like there is some nice land within commuting distance of boise that I could build a house on. I know to some of you it would seem very expensive but remember it is all relative. Where I live houses cost 350,000-650,000 etc... so it seems cheap to me when I look at land/house prices in the area. I have also done some job searches and even though my wife could find a job at about a 40-50% pay cut, with the equity in our current house we could buy/build a house mortage free in boise. Seems like a good deal to me. So far everything I have read about boise says that the area is predicted to have an unusual amount of job growth in the future. My wife likes this, keeps here happy.

It is not easy trying to find a place for a city girl and someone who spent many months as a kid on his uncles homestead who abolutely loves the outdoors.

Does anyone here live in Idaho? What can you tell me about boise or any other place in Idaho? Do you think Boise will work for us?

I spent 3 weeks this summer backpacking 220 miles of the most beautiful land in the sierra nevada mountains (john muir trail) and I am ready to leave Orange County for some place more scenic. I can't stand it no more, I really need to get out of this concrete jungle.

If there are any other places that you think might be good to look at by all means please let me know.

If you are wondering why I am always referencing my wife and her job it is because she is the soul money maker. I posted on countryside before about our situation (I am sure no one remembers) but basically we had a second baby and we didn't want to do the daycare thing no more and I couldn't support the family on my salary so in Jan. I quit my job and have been taking care of my 2 kids (5yr, 6months) and home until we found someplace else to move to. It has been a great experience to say the least. My family still thinks I am crazy, wasting away my college education, career etc... The one thing I have learned is I will never put expections on my kids that you are only successful in life if you go to college and earn lots of money being the big time executive. Success is following your dreams and being happy. It is not easy trying to live your dream when your parents think it is the worst mistake in your life. It is also not easy to try to make your parents, who you love dearly, proud of you when every decision you make upsets them. Sorry for the little emotional rant, it just bugs me everytime I think about it.

Thanks for listening, Sean

-- Sean Parker (sparker@sprintmail.com), December 24, 2001

Answers

Good For You!! Your kids are the only thing you really leave to this earth, and they will be better adults knowing there father loved them enough to quit his job and raise them instead of a stranger comming in to do it. You are giving them more than money can buy. I think your wonderful.

-- Teresa (c3ranch@socket.net), December 24, 2001.

I live in Idaho, and have been to Boise. It's a pretty nice place, as far as cities go. If I had to live in or near a city, Boise would be a good choice. Why don't the two of you go for a quick trip there and see what it's like? See the sights, get a feel for the place. It's nice in that it has snow, but isn't unreasonably cold there. There is also Twin Falls, I have had family there and they realy liked it. It was too busy and crazy for me, I like Boise better.

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), December 24, 2001.

I am hoping to find something within a 30min-1hr commute of the city. Far enough away for me but close enough for my wife :)

-- Sean (sparker@sprintmail.com), December 24, 2001.

Try to spend a week or 2 up in Boise before you make any further decision. Have you condsidered just moving to another part of southern California? That might satisfy you and all parties involved. Not all of OC is concrete jungle. I lived in Irvine there last year, now over in Corona Hills 30miles inland. There's a few small homesteaders around here. Very horse friendly area. You can garden all year round here. I have all the windows open this morning yet I see lots of snow up on the mountains. Can't beat the weather here. Southern OC has some nice areas removed away from the urbanization. Cleveland National forest, San Onofre beach(sept-may), etc lots of places to go and never know you're close to LA. Temecula and Escondido are 2 areas south of here where you can still find decent land that's affordable by southern cali standards. I've moved many times, over a dozen the past 16 years, all different regions of the US and this area has more good points than bad. Real estate cost being the worst here.

-- Dave (something@somewhere.com), December 24, 2001.

Do either of you like to be able to go to the beach once in a while? If so, you might want to look a bit inland, but still in CA or some other coastal state.

Another thing to consider is state income taxes--if your wife is making that much money, you might want to look at a state where you don't get penalized for doing so.

Be prepared for big culture shock moving from CA to just about anywhere else (smile).

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), December 24, 2001.

I live in Fairfield, Idaho....about an hour and a half or so from Boise. It's a bit different here, we hit -21.2 a few nights ago Boise doesn't have those extremes :)

Idaho is a great place to live and raise a family. I would agree with possibly taking a trip up to check it out.

Tracy

-- Tracy (zebella@mindspring.com), December 25, 2001.

Sean, My husband and I lived in the Boise area for 25 years in Middleton actually, the area has grown considerable and that is an understatement, the place is practually booming that's why we moved the city had grown out to meet us and we lived 10 miles out of town. Anyway the weather there is definately 4 seasons winters can get to below zero but usually don't, summers can get to the 100 mark and usually do, the inversions can be terrible and the traffic really is other than that the place is great lots of shopping and commerce. Very good colleges and schools and great medical treatment facilities. There are some nice open country areas to purchase if you are willing to drive a little. There are mountains around but the really big mountains are a 50 or so mile drive away, great skiing there also. good luck

-- Diane (oleoranch3@aol.com), December 26, 2001.

Thanks for the information.

Moving to another place in southern california is just not an option. My wife works in long beach and the commute is long enough all ready with the traffic. Besides, there is no where to go, the desert doesn't appeal to me.

It's funny when I hear people talk about how crowded it is in Boise. The population in the small insignificant city that I live in is the same as Boise and I also live 35 miles from LA. I am surrounded by people no matter where I go. I can drive for a couple of hours and never leave the city, it is just one house, building, freeway or street after another. I went to Denver with my wife for a conference this year and I thought it was great, I guess when you live with millions of people your idea of places not being too crowded is a little different than most.

My wife and I are going to take some time next year and go visit Idaho and the rest of the northwest.

-- Sean Parker (sparker@sprintmail.com), December 27, 2001.

I like Boise, it is a nice city if you need to live in or near a big city. I have spent time there but prefer northeast of Boise. Although your wife probably wouldn't want to drive. As a CPA why can't she work in a small town in a great location and have it all?

-- Debbie (bwolcott@cwis.net), December 29, 2001.

Well she drives about 45minutes to an hour right now depending on traffic, so we want to keep it the same or less. I have tried to talk to her about working in a small town etc.. but she is not convinced at all that we will be able to pay for our bills even if we have absolutely no debt. I know we can but there is no way to convince her.

She did a little research on her own and found out that one of the Big 5 accounting firms has an office in Boise, which is good. The Big 5 are the 5 largest public accounting firms in the country (probably the world too). She worked for the Big 5 (was Big 6 then) before, got her CPA, then went private and just received her Master's degree in tax from USC and received a promotion to tax manager at her work. She even talks from time to time about going to get her law degree. So you can see when we talk about working in a small town she just can not even imagine that. She has lived her whole life in either San Francisco or Orange county and when we met in college she really thought that the whole state of California was just like these places. She never went camping, visited or even driven through any rural areas, never seen snow etc.... I just could not believe it. For the first 5 years just about everything we did together or talked about was something that she was doing or learning about for the first time in her life. My dad was a farmer in Minn. and I have lots of family that homesteaded or built their own home on a small acreage etc.... When I grew my first veg. garden she just could not believe that you could grow your own food in your backyard and it was OK to eat. We where so different but have known each other for 12 years, married for 7 and are a perfect match. Now she loves the outdoors and we have done lots of camping, backpacking, hiking etc.. together and she really wants to live more close to nature. I truelly do understand if she doesn't want to give up her career and I am OK with that. I just need to find someplace where I can at least have some nature, clean air, trees, mountains, silence, etc...

Right now we are just in a holding pattern until we can take a little road trip this summer. I am sure we can find someplace that we both will want to go.

Today I went to Joshua Tree National Park to go rock climbing with a friend. It is a magical place that just feeds your soul. There is nothing better then to have climbed up a sheer vertical rock face that takes all your physical and mental abilities to do for 150 feet and then just sit at the top looking at the view in complete silence with just the sound of the wind. Of course I had to drive 150 miles to get there and 150 miles to get back home as well as sit in traffic on the freeway but it was worth it.

-- Sean (sparker@sprintmail.com), December 30, 2001.

I lived my whole life before I married in the Los Angeles or Northern CA. area, my parents are in the Sierra Nevada mountains and my bother still lives in Granada Hills (San Fernando Valley). My brother feels he has no choice too..because he is an Building Inspector plus something else. He also graduated at USC with a Masters. My husband and I went to UCLA. So I know the area well. 20 some years ago my husband gave up his CPA job to take a job with the military as an ammunition inspector for (at the time quite a bit less). I thought when we moved I would find a Paralegal job in a day like LA. WRONG, I never did find a job and am quite happy about that. We have moved and moved with my husband's job and I raised our girls. We now live in a very rural (actually have always since marriage lived in rural areas, they tend to put ammo bases in rural areas!!). All this to say I am glad he gave up his job and I am certainly glad we left LA. I like Okie land but if I had my choice I would live in the Mountains. We have lived in the Mountains a few different times. Were here now for good, children both in colleges. My very nice home on 300 acres is the same price as my brother's tiny home on a pint size lot!! People out there are nuts to pay the prices they do. You will be surpized at how the cost of living drops. For one thing there are no great restaurants on every corner so you learn to cook and do other things which of course is cheaper and more family oriented. Debbie

-- Debbie (bwolcott@cwis.net), December 30, 2001.