Considering moving to Idaho from California? Our Experience (home, property taxes)

[boiselover]

sagle I was interested in colorado as a place to call home but noticed the issue with its politics and figured some cali expats might be to blame. That said not all californians are idiots or unkind of course I have found the far north (to be known as Jefferson if the folks here have their way) is quite nice folks are pro guns hunting farming and very kind you still have issues of course which is why many continue to leave for places like idaho. Course most in my family seem to leave only to return our roots here are deep

Before moving a year ago (and the times I've come back for a visit) I've noticed boise feels a little less kind and much more hurried and overbuilt

[Gingersadie]

What do you guys know about Salmon? Do they hate Californians too?

[Clark Fork Fantast]

Gingersadie, read this thread:
https://www.city-data.com/forum/boise...ia-advice.html
Some very sensible comments, especially from our moderator, Sage. Don't jump to conclusions about anybody in Idaho "hating" Californians, based on a few hostile forum posts.

[banjomike]

Originally Posted by Gingersadie

What do you guys know about Salmon? Do they hate Californians too?

Only when Californians continue to act like Californians.

Life in Cali is a lot different from life here. Really a lot of things a Cali native is completely used to simply don't exist here in most places. Most ex-Cali folks who move here settle in pretty quickly, but it definitely takes some serious adjustment time.
The thing that irritates the natives is when a Californian starts asking why things here aren't like there.

An example: About 10 years or more ago, I ended up babysitting a Cali gal who was here visiting an old girlfriend who had moved here years ago. When I took her to lunch, she asked "Doesn't anybody drive a car here? All I see are trucks!"
I asked her if she had any particular place in mind she wanted to go eat. She left the choice to me, and I asked if she would like to go to a real down-home local place, and she thought that was fine.

When I ordered the special, grilled lamb chops, she looked at me like I had just ordered grilled lizard. She had never eaten lamb in her life, and the thought of it was repulsive. I grew up eating lamb, but even here, it's rarely offered any more. (It's delicious.)

Since we had about 6 hours to kill, I asked her if she would like to go up and see our ranch. She liked that idea, but when I asked if she had a jacket with her, she said she didn't need one. She never stopped to think that, if I thought there wasn't going to be a need for a jacket, I would not have asked. If she had said "Do you think I need one?" I would have answered yes, that having one and not needing it was better than the other way around at 5000 feet high.

Can you see what was irritating me? She had no idea of what the weather's like here, or how close to wilderness everyone is here (hence the need for a truck), or that people actually ate sheep once in a while here. She wasn't stupid- she just didn't stop and think before asking one dumb question after another, all coming from what she knew to what she didn't know. And all with a faint air of Idahoans being nothing but hicks.
Some of are hicks, some of us aren't. We simply have a different lifestyle here, and different priorities. In my experience, Idahoans are far more willing to accept folks from California than some other intermountain states.

The smaller the town, the more a Californian needs to listen first, speak later. That would apply to Salmon or any town it's size. At the same time, there's no need at all for you to apologize from where you came from, as we have folks from lots of places who moved here.

[Sagle Sam]

Notice to all immigrants to NID (especially ex-Kalifornians): ASSIMILATE ASAP!

I did!

[Heidi60]

WOW, a babysitting experience colors a person for life against anyone from California. Really? Children are not born with a wealth of knowledge so I'm sure the child appreciated being educated.

There are many, many other groups who refuse to assimilate to the United State so there are bigger issues to be concerned about. It is sad to see so much contempt for those of us that are born and bred in the United States of America and still hold on to our values and heritage with much to contribute to society.

I'm sure there are lots of folks in NID who appreciate people and are open minded enough to not fear someone asking them a question about local traditions.

[clearwater66]

May I propose that if we Idahoans wish to be true to the values we hold so dear, we should not exploit such ignorance by raising rents and real estate because "those dumb Californians" don't know what these are really worth.

In other words, you shouldn't steal money from those pool souls because if you do, you become just like them and you contibute to the changes you say you don't want to see.

[Lacerta]

I went back and reread the entire thread and is seems like the basic premise of the OP is that people are rude in Idaho. That made me laugh. I work in a real estate/building/property management office in Boise, so I deal with a LOT of out of towners moving here. BY FAR, the number one comment people have about Idaho is that they are amazed by how nice and polite people are here. 2nd and 3rd runners up are probably how clean everything is and how safe it is. Unless it is a bad air in Boise, in which case, that probably comes in 1st.

Are there still some bad apples? Of course there are. Do nice people still have a bad day sometimes? Sure they do. If you want to find 100% nice people who never are in a bad mood or have anything negative to say, move to Stepford, or Pleasantville, because that sort of place doesn't exist in the real world.

[banjomike]

Originally Posted by Heidi60

WOW, a babysitting experience colors a person for life against anyone from California. Really? Children are not born with a wealth of knowledge so I'm sure the child appreciated being educated.

There are many, many other groups who refuse to assimilate to the United State so there are bigger issues to be concerned about. It is sad to see so much contempt for those of us that are born and bred in the United States of America and still hold on to our values and heritage with much to contribute to society.

I'm sure there are lots of folks in NID who appreciate people and are open minded enough to not fear someone asking them a question about local traditions.

You read too much into my post. I have nothing at all against the state of California, and I never generalize so broadly as you seem to think I do. I know lots and lots of ex-pat Californians who've moved here, since they have been moving here in pretty large numbers since the late 70s. The panhandle immigration is a lot newer than in the rest of the state; from Boise to the Utah border, they been coming for 30 years now.

She was not a child… you missed the point where I mentioned she was a woman. In fact, she was probably in her late 30s, but I felt like I was baby sitting. She was was a tagalong that day; her girlfriend had been going out with a friend of mine off and on, and had moved away from this locality a few months before. For whatever reason, she came back to spend a little time with my buddy, and didn't want a 3rd wheel, so I volunteered to show the gal around.

She was actually nice enough. She was simply bringing a big bunch of S. California ways with her, and naturally enough- she had never been out of Cali much. Since she had no plans of immigrating here, I didn't bother to try to change her pre-conceived notions, as she was going right back to where she came from the next day.

I've done exactly the same with other folks who have moved here. As you see in the replies to this topic, many do their best to adjust to a much different lifestyle as quickly as they can, and most succeed very well in a relatively short time. My own wife was one.

But there are also those who can never pack up their big city life up in a box and stash it in the garage. I've also known folks who moved here, and after a few years, moved back down, and never came back.

Not everyone who moves here is going to love it as much as they think they will. I've lived in s. California, and I could never adjust to the lifestyle there, no matter how long I spent living there. I also know others who are just like me who have done the same. We are all happier when we are back home in old Mother Idaho.
That's the way it is with people everywhere. Some can move, adjust and be happy, and others cannot. There's nothing wrong or right about it, and love and hate are both emotions too strong to describe this. I wasn't miserable living in California, and really liked some of my life there, but I never was as content to my bones there as I am here.

[Publius4]

Originally Posted by clearwater66

May I propose that if we Idahoans wish to be true to the values we hold so dear, we should not exploit such ignorance by raising rents and real estate because "those dumb Californians" don't know what these are really worth.

In other words, you shouldn't steal money from those pool souls because if you do, you become just like them and you contibute to the changes you say you don't want to see.

To steal is to take from another without their consent. Increasing rent or sale price on real estate is called capitalism. If the market is willing to pay more then it's worth more. Simple economics, not stealing.