Idaho Homesteaders?

Laci · #1 10/07/08, 11:32 AM

I'm just wondering if there are any Idaho homesteaders on here. We live in Oregon, are considering moving to Idaho, and would just like to make some contacts.

Thanks,
Marcy

copperpennykids · #2 10/07/08, 11:49 AM

We live north of Coeur d' Alene.

Camille

Joy in Eastern WA · #3 10/07/08, 12:58 PM

I'm in Washington State, but just 15 miles from the Idaho border, in the Washington palouse, south of Spokane.

Laci · #4 10/07/08, 02:37 PM

So, I'm a bit of a hippie (well, maybe more than a bit, lol, judging by what my friends and family says), and the people that I've talked to about possibly moving to Idaho say that our family won't fit in there. Is this something that would be true, in your estimation? I don't want to move somewhere and be completely shunned, lol. I can't imagine that being the case, but just thought I'd ask. :-)

Marcy

Sunbee · #5 10/07/08, 06:49 PM

Well, we're not exactly homesteaders, just a garden and a few chicks, but we're near Moscow and believe me, hippies fit in just fine and dandy in Moscow. I suppose it has to do with the universities.
There's really two Idahos, I think. Southeast Idaho's pretty different from north: people, culture, land, water, and all. I grew up down there. Where were you looking at moving to?

Laci · #6 10/07/08, 09:05 PM

It's just an idea we're tossing around now, no definite ideas of where to move to. I have been to northern Idaho, and thought it was gorgeous, so I would probably be more likely to move there rather than the more desert-y looking areas. I guess I'm having a problem figuring out the logistics of such a move, lol, not being on an unlimited budget. How do you find decently priced rentals (or owner financed properties with low payments) that are somewhat secluded, yet still close enough to somewhere to get work, especially when you are having to do this via the internet. It kind of seems overwhelming, but it is really something that we want to do. If we didn't have kids, it wouldn't be a problem, we'd just take the RV up and live in it, but with four kids that isn't really feasible.

Anyway, any input would be great.

Sunbee · #7 10/08/08, 12:38 AM

Huh! We have four kids too. Well, if you end up in the Moscow area, there is the Vandal Trading Post website, and Palouse Ads, as well as the newspapers and the real estate/property management agencies. It can be hard to find something that's not on a 12 month June or August lease. It's easier to find something in the smaller towns when you're actually there. We found our place because we knew someone who knew someone . . . If you want something reasonably priced you're looking at the smaller towns. Maybe Camille knows some similar websites in her area.
If you're going to need work, you probably want to secure that first. You've got the RV, you could live in it for a few days or weeks until you find a spot.

TundraGypsy · #8 10/16/08, 10:34 PM

I live part of the time in the northern panhandle and jobs seem to be a little difficult to find. I love the area and the little town I live in would make a great place to raise kids. In fact I wish my DD and family would move there. I want to move permanently to Idaho, but would miss my four grandkids too much. So, check out towns around Coeur d'Alene and Sandpoint.

Get out a map of Idaho and start looking up the names of the towns that might be of interest to you. Call the local Chamber of Commerce and request information when you find a town you might want to move to.

That is what I did when I had a place over in Montana that we'd put it up for sale four years ago. I just got on the Internet and started plugging in names of towns in northern Idaho. Once I found my little town, I looked at real estate and wa la, I bought a little house for just the two of us. Nothing fancy, but had the amenities we were wanting. Good luck.

Tracy in Idaho · #9 10/17/08, 08:32 AM

I'm in south central Idaho - the land of the snow, lol. We have lots of granola types, so I can't imagine you wouldn't fit in

There were EIGHT houses for rent in our little paper yesterday. Unbelievable. But with the real estate market the way it is, I guess it shouldn't be a surprise. Nothing is selling here now.

Tracy

pamda · #10 10/17/08, 11:02 PM

We're in the Boise area and just have an acre, kinda small for homesteading but works for us. You would fit in fine here and there are loads of places for rent and jobs if you look.

pamda · #11 10/17/08, 11:02 PM

oooppps

LisaInN.Idaho · #12 10/18/08, 08:57 AM

We're up at the top near Sandpoint. There is a thriving hippie population hereabouts.

Rocky Fields · #13 10/18/08, 12:41 PM

Hey.

Thar ain't menny Idahey steaders left cuz the bears eats dem all up. Thay dun't eat Lisa cuz shes tough and grizzly...thay respec thar own;-)

RF

copperpennykids · #14 10/18/08, 05:16 PM

North Idahoans are a pretty independent bunch of folks. No one is going to mind if you are a "hippie", so long as you take care of your business and don't try to run your neighbor's! A little respect from all sides and folks find each other's differences interesting.

If folk really don't like you, they tell you to wear little bells into the woods to let the bears know you are coming.... Lots of bells in the scat LOL!

Seriously, check the smaller towns - Rathdrum rather than Post Falls, Spirit Lake and Blanchard are a bit of a drive so rent is usually lower etc. And I haven't really paid attention to rentals, but sales are verrrry slow here, so imagine that the rental market may just be wide open. Also East of Coeur d'Alene (Wallace, Kellogg etc) is generally less expensive Real Estate wise than Coeur d'Alene and Hayden Lake.

I can check with a real estate guy we know in the SandPoint area for referrals for rental/property management places.

Try to have a job lined up somewhere as lots of blue collar workers have been laid off recently (lumber mills) so "picking up" a job may be tougher than you might think - I mean that pays well for a good skill level.

avandris · #15 10/18/08, 05:33 PM

I also live on the Palouse(near Moscow) and you would fit in just fine if you were near Moscow or Pullman. A good employer in the area is Schweitzer Engineering. They make computer parts. Well, micro processors and other things. They are a great company to work for. That said, my husband and I do not work for them. Prices in the area are pretty steep for housing. However if you are coming from the Portland area they prices will not shock you much.

I used to live in the Sandpoint area about 15 years ago and it is a great area, but jobs are difficult to find. So as others have said make sure that you have jobs lined up before you move.

I wish you the best.

Elsa

Laci · #16 10/18/08, 06:47 PM

Thanks for all of the tips, we're looking into everything before making such a big move. I'm not exactly sure how to go about lining up jobs from so far away, but I'm definitely going to give it a shot!

Marcy

LisaInN.Idaho · #17 10/20/08, 02:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rocky Fields

Hey.

Thar ain't menny Idahey steaders left cuz the bears eats dem all up. Thay dun't eat Lisa cuz shes tough and grizzly...thay respec thar own;-)

RF

And don't you forget it!
Actually, not so tough anymore. We just became grid-tied and we're enjoying the easy life (such as it is).

Joy in Eastern WA · #18 10/20/08, 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Laci

Thanks for all of the tips, we're looking into everything before making such a big move. I'm not exactly sure how to go about lining up jobs from so far away, but I'm definitely going to give it a shot!

Marcy

When we moved out west here 13 years ago, we had no jobs waiting for us, but knew we could find some kind of work, just needed to get away from the east coast and an ever intruding extended family...no matter what happened!
But, before we moved, a Spokane newspaper subscription was mailed to us and that gave us a rough idea of what the job/housing market was like. We also had a solid four months of savings to bring along with us to make the transistion a little less stressful.
The Moscow/Pullman area is and probably always will be a thriving area, since the region has two universities, WSU and University of Idaho. Lewiston isn't too far south from there either. Nice community to live and work.
Wishing you all the best in your move over this way! You'll love it here!

fretti · #19 10/20/08, 03:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sunbee

Well, we're not exactly homesteaders, just a garden and a few chicks, but we're near Moscow and believe me, hippies fit in just fine and dandy in Moscow. I suppose it has to do with the universities. There's really two Idahos...

I agree with Sunbee and the others who recommended the Moscow area. I was born and raised in the Moscow area but, sadly, did not stay in the area. If you've ever been to Eugene, Oregon, it's a lot like Moscow.

Moscow had a fantasic food co-op where all the hippies shopped LONG before co-op's were popular. And Moscow has always been slow to catch up with national trends. It's certainly more laid back and easy going than other areas.

The Palouse area is a great place to grow crops except for those that like heat (you can travel down to the Lewiston/Clarkston area which is in the valley and can grow a lot more). At our little farm, we grew most of the food on that incredible soil to feed our family year around.

We didn't have enough land to grow grains so we would buy those wonderful locally grown varieties of barley and wheat. And Moscow isn't known as the "dry pea, lentil, and soybean capital of the world" for nothing!

It's a fairly short growing season so you have to take that into consideration. There is more of a fluctuation in temperatures than there is here in the PNW nearer the coast. In the years that I lived in the area, we had a hard freeze in every month of the year but not every year (eg. 18 degrees in May 1954, 25 degrees in June 1976, 27 degrees in July 1977, etc.). And I clearly remember December 30, 1968 when it was -65 degrees (no windchill) at our house (the nearest official weather station recorded -48). At the opposite end, on the exact days we moved to our farm from living in town (3 miles away) it was between 104 and 110 in early August, 1961. That made an impression on this 6 year old kid!

At least when I lived there, the residents of the farm communities in that area were avid canners and preserved much of their year-around diet. Neighbors helped neighbors a lot, be it plowing driveways, helping with the grain and hay harvest, hauling animals to the auction, help with butchering and providing for others during hunting and wood harvest times of the year.

I'm getting homesick.