Idaho?

Now perhaps it's time for me to rant about our education system...even with a high school education, most of the local people here cannot spell ordinary words and need calculators for simple math (such as .69 X 2). I've had only one month of high school and seem to do better than that.

The best high paying work I see here is in construction. If you're female or not physically able to do the work, you settle for lesser paying jobs, unless you've been privileged enough to obtain a college education (which most locals haven't) or are simply lucky.

Now, if you want to commute, there are more opportunities, but then you have to weigh whether the difference in pay makes up for the cost of the gas.

I think you would be surprised how many people count themselves lucky to procure a job at the grocery store at $5.15 an hour...

Bare

I just did a quick google search and came up with Sandpoint Real Estate. There's no shortage of expensive pieces but there are also not so expensive (e.g. 20 acres for $50K) ones as well. And that's from a 2 minute search - not actually making an effort.

I will grant you prices have really risen since we were looking (about three eyars ago) but that seems universally true.

When we settled on our place you could find a decent house for around $60K - the same house I have in mind just sold for $120k+.

The fact is, the little guy is getting priced out of the housing market.

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Peace

Bwhahaha.

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Peace

Why don't you post a link to that 20 acres for 50 grand. I haven't seen anything in that price range in some time anywhere between Coeur d' Alene and the Canadian border. I'd like to have a look at it.

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Iraq casualties
3,410 American deaths to date in Iraq
25,345 Americans wounded in action to date (your guess how many have died since and been uncounted)
$424,000,000,000 to date

Ok how about Montana, since ID sounds way to expensive. It sure is beautiful in ID though.

Mike

You might check out Pend O'Reille and Stevens Counties in NE Washington. They are right over the border from Idaho and beautiful. From what I know land is still affordable in Stevens C., and you pick up the whole Spokane job market. Stevens isn't as highly regulated as other WA counties (from what I hear).

Prices are higher in Montana, unless you go to eastern Montana which prairie country. Then prices get real cheap. But if you are going to consider eastern Montana, then you ought to look at North Dakota too. Sounds like you want the mountains.

By the way most of the less expensive land in North Idaho is remote, off the grid with winter/mud season access problems. Of course a lot of us here like it that way.

Where are you HydroDude?. Are you on hydro power? Welcome!

I agree...The mountainous areas of MT are often quite pricey. Though, depending on what you consider a reasonable price for acreage, and how much of it you want, you could probably still find something.

Anything around Bozeman or Missoula is just outrageously expensive. If you start searching around the smaller towns though (that are not right next door to these larger cities), you might happen across something you like.

As you progress east, away from the Rockies, real estate prices do go down. For instance, I live in central MT, and I'm aware of 20 acre parcels selling nearby for approx. $2000-$3000/acre. (Here's a link: http://www.rockymountaintimberlands..../o_rm-72.html).

Be aware though, if you find property w/ river frontage, water rights could become a big deal for you. We learned about them when we were filling a couple barrels w/ water (for my garden, before I got spigots and hoses rigged up, right after we moved here). We were informed by a friend not to "get caught" taking the water because we were, in fact, "stealing" it from those that had purchased rights to it. Was news to us. So anyway, keep that sort of stuff in mind...

Hope this helps!!

Erin

Since we have owned our land in North Idaho for sometime, the already high and going higher prices don't affect us except for the property tax increases. What is concerning us is that the high prices are attracting a different type of person. The people with the big money to buy property up here are really only interested in a pretty view and building a showcase log home. They typically do not do anything else with their land. They have no interest in homestead activities or self sufficiency. So we are loosing neighbors of like interests. On the other hand all these monied folks make a great market for organic gardeners and artists like my wife. We are on the fence right now about what to do.

If you dont want to be all that far north more 3/4 the way up. Idaho County has some reasonable land prices to. Also here in southeast WA

You feel free - I posted the agency where I found it.

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Peace

I live in the eastern panhandle just north of highway 12. It's been two years, and prices were going up back then.

We are about 300 miles from Spokane, Coeur d'Alene, etc. This area is still relatively undiscovered, as there are no big beautiful towns or tourist attractions other than those for people who love the wild outdoors. The biggest tourist attraction here is the Lewis and Clark "trail", which is possibly through here, and possibly over there . . . I know I wouldn't travel to see that, but some would.

There are no jobs here, and the biggest town of any size is Orofino, pop 3300.

I'm sure this place will be 'discovered' at some point. We looked up north toward Bonners Ferry, and chose the central panhandle b/c this area gets 55+ inches of rain per year, so it is green and lush into August and September.

Coming from LA and Seattle, the locals seemed a little wierd. OK, a lot wierd. I mean, look at Bare.

I have applied an old joke to the locals up here . . . what has nine teeth and twenty two legs? . . . . the Grangemont Volunteer Fire Department!

Plus, if you like to hunt and fish, season is open all year round. If the freezer is empty, the season is open.

During hunting season proper, the roadsides are littered with stinking elk and deer carcass. Draws in the timber wolves and bobcats, dang it.

The Randy Weaver Syndrome is an Idaho stereotype, but as with all stereotypes, there's a grain of truth to it. The folks around here are genuinely isolated. They are poor cash wise. It seems like most parts of northern Idaho are still somewhere in the early sixties, with a few old fords and chevys from that era that still run. The politics are almost inevitably conservative, and perjorative words for nonwhites are salt and pepper in conversation.

Social boundaries are different, too. In the city, you develope an "I don't see you" attitude to the masses and crowds just to keep your sanity. Out here, if you don't wave to oncoming vehicles you are a snob and a Californian. We had to put up a gate to keep people from just dropping by and staying to jaw all afternoon. They are so friendly, and trusting and open. It is charming, but I have a hard time with it.

Also, everybody knows everybody, and they know more about you than you know about you. Even stuff that isn't necessarily true (somehow my DH became an MD up here, having only a PA when we moved . . .).

If you are broken down on the road, you will not see motorists whizzing by as if you weren't there. Elmer will pull over, smoke ten cigarettes and toss all the butts in the ditch while he somehow rigs your distributor cap so you can get home with whatever tools and bits of stuff are on the floor of his truck cab.

Property taxes for 20 acres, house, four outbuildings are 400 a year, with home owner's exemption.

I get fresh eggs, milk and butter from a lady down the street who has a fridge in her garage and you pay by the honor system (or barter or even IOU).

Thievery is extremely rare. There is probably a snarling rottweiler living under the trailer, nobody has anything to steal anyway. A couple of times the taverns or stores were robbed for liquor and cigarettes.

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It may be that our sole purpose in life is simply to be kind to others.

Ah, she's just jealous because she has to live down there in Southern Idaho.

Orofino's only reason for existence is the state mental hospital, so what do ya expect for neighbors?

At least up here know how to spell weird!


Flannelberry, there are 21 or so real estate companies in Sandpoint, none that go by the name of Sandpoint Real Estate, but all of them have the term Sandpoint Real Estate on their web pages. The closest is Sandpoint Realty and I did look through their listings.

I just hoped you'd look though your history and be able to find the page quickly. I really am interested, because I haven't seen anything in the 2500/acre range in some time.

__________________
Iraq casualties
3,410 American deaths to date in Iraq
25,345 Americans wounded in action to date (your guess how many have died since and been uncounted)
$424,000,000,000 to date

He's right. Although I don't know how bad we're going to get hit up here in Bonner (or Boundary, for that matter), I read that Kootenai County assessments are going to be between 50 and 75 percent.

Mainly it's the multi-million dollar housing developments they're putting in down around lower CdA and Post Falls...along with some Rathdrum mega-developments too.

And people wonder why I don't want any more houses built. Yes, I'm a hypocrite. But I don't want to pay more money for taxes because of people who stay for two weekends out of the year...and their fingers at my chickens...

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Gun-toting, church-going, homeschooling, right-wing conservative, happily married, stay-at-home mom of three living in the real United States of America!

I think it might be www.sandpoint.com and in the upper left corner, there's a real estate link.

Tomlinson Black, Coldwell Banker Schneidmiller, John L. Scott, Rainbow Realty, Hope Realty, Lana Kay Realty...those are the main ones up here, off the top of my head.

Be sure your property has a decent well. Some places have good ones at 50+ gpm, others (like our community system ) may start out at 18 gpm and, for some reason, drop to 11 gpm over a year or two (all those housing developments, maybe?)

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Gun-toting, church-going, homeschooling, right-wing conservative, happily married, stay-at-home mom of three living in the real United States of America!

Check out E WA if you like Northern ID- in our little town we still have land $2000 an acre, sometimes less. (Ferry Co, just over the pass from Stevens Co-) it is beautiful- folks with the big bucks are buying more and building vacation houses. Colville and Kettle Falls have better growing seasons than we do here, but we are less expensive and more rugged.

I DO NOT LIVE IN SOUTHERN IDAHO!!! THEMZIZ FIGHTIN WORDS!! THAT SKOOKUM FOR YA? YA LIVE IN CANADA, HEY!

The rest of what you said is absolutely true.

__________________
It may be that our sole purpose in life is simply to be kind to others.

It's Canada, EH?

__________________
Iraq casualties
3,410 American deaths to date in Iraq
25,345 Americans wounded in action to date (your guess how many have died since and been uncounted)
$424,000,000,000 to date

I've lived in Kootenai county (Coeur d'Alene, Post Falls, etc.) for 28 of my 29 years. It's the fastest growing county in Idaho. One of the fastest growing in the country. I wouldn't move here if I were you. The taxes are high, the building codes are getting really nasty, and the real estate has in many cases more than doubled (my brother's house more than tripled) in the past 3 years. The prairie is quickly filling up with vinyl coated cookie cutter developments. It makes me sad. Downtown Coeur d'Alene is just a tourist haven anymore. It almost feels meaningless to me now, it didn't use to be this way.

My wife and I have a dream of homesteading "out in the woods". If that dream comes true, we will stay close to Kootenai county because of family, but I imagine we will either be in Bonner county (north, Sandpoint) Benewah (south, St Maries) or Shoshone (east, Kellogg/Silver Valley/largest superfund site in the country). There's always several pieces of land, 5 - 10 acres, listed on the MLS for between 20000 and 50000 in one or more of these counties. But I think the best deals are found off the market by word of mouth. But that gets tricky cause of course you have to know someone or know someone who knows someone.

Bonner, outside of the city limits of Sandpoint, currently has no building codes. Land close to Sandpoint is pretty expensive, but a little further out it isn't so bad.

Here's a few links to local real estate agencies:

http://marshallmend.com/mls.html

http://www.starhawkrealty.com/

http://www.laurenbisbee.com/tb-listings.html

http://www.stmariesidaho.com/realestate.htm

You might consider the Lewiston area. It's kind of in the 'bananna belt' of the northwest. Much longer growing season down there.

For what it's worth.
Maybe this helps.