Bonners Ferry Info Please! (Sandpoint, Troy: transplants, crime rates, how much)

[The Lyin' King]

Originally Posted by redwood66

Bonners Ferry has grown since this original post though it is still a pretty sleepy town. There is a new Super 1 grocery store and there will be construction to widen US95 over the coming few years. It will likely be a bit of a mess during that time. I love Boundary County and would so love to pack up and move from Kootenai County. Jobs are still pretty scarce and pay is still low like most of Idaho. There is a lot of farming and I love the people though. The ground is perfect for those with livestock rather than the rocks we grow to the south.

Update the update?

I'm interested in hearing what the various areas and topics previously spoken to in this thread are like now.

Input from folks currently living in the areas mentioned would be most helpful.

Thank you!

[banjomike]

Originally Posted by The Lyin' King

Update the update?

I'm interested in hearing what the various areas and topics previously spoken to in this thread are like now.

Input from folks currently living in the areas mentioned would be most helpful.

Thank you!

You might not get a reply.

Here's the deal, in a general way; Idaho is changing for sure, but this state tends to be resistant to changing quickly. The changes that have happened are fast to us, but for other folks in other places, they may not seem to be as fast as we think they are.

So while I haven't visited Bonner's Ferry for quite a while, I expect what was said about the town before is still pretty true. It has undoubtedly grown some since I was there last, but I don't think the people have changed all that much, as Bonner's Ferry has gotten less pressure than Coeur d'Alene or Sandpoint.

Both have grown faster, and both were both larger. Growth puts pressure on a town, and the town changes for the pressure put on it. Bonner's Ferry hasn't had as much pressure, so I'm pretty sure the Idaho ways of the past still prevail there.

Those ways are very hard to change. Most of the time, it's the newcomers who adapt to them, not vice-versa despite the sudden growth pressure.

[The Lyin' King]

Thank you!

I know the "pressure areas" have evolved over time into places I have no interest in. Nice to hear that there may still be old school pockets that remain.

[redwood66]

Originally Posted by The Lyin' King

Update the update?

I'm interested in hearing what the various areas and topics previously spoken to in this thread are like now.

Input from folks currently living in the areas mentioned would be most helpful.

Thank you!

It hasn't changed much since my last post. Still one of my favorite places but we are still in Kootenai County for the next few years. I wish the real estate prices weren't so high for what is a low growth potential area.

[The Lyin' King]

Originally Posted by redwood66

It hasn't changed much since my last post. Still one of my favorite places but we are still in Kootenai County for the next few years. I wish the real estate prices weren't so high for what is a low growth potential area.

Thank you Redwood!

Low growth is a plus for us, we hail from a former once booming small logging town of less than 1500, half full timers. A place where every one knows everyone.

We all knew each other well and had "handles" in town and at the local bar like "Junk Man Bob", "Mike the Wrench", "Crummy", "Jeep Bob" . . . etc.

There was a real sense of community where folks rode horses to the post office and left the doors to their home unlocked, garages open and keys in the ignition a the local store/ACE hardware/bar.

If you needed a hand there was a neighbor or community member to extend one, we watched each others backs!

I'm sure Bonner isn't that loose but it sounds as close as can be had in this day and age.

Perhaps I'm just dreaming of what isn't anywhere now days???

[Clark Fork Fantast]

Clark Fork. No horses being ridden to the PO, usually, but down at the Evergreen ACE hardware store everybody runs into everybody at some point or another. And sooner or later you run into everybody at the Cabinet Bar and Grill, or the Monarch Market, or the Clark Fork Pantry with the amazing bread and pies. Some people still have "handles." The sense of community is absolutely there. But it is a very small community of about 550 permanent residents.

If you're interested in Bonners, you really need to come for a visit. And then take a drive a few miles east, and look at the community of Moyie Springs. We almost bought property there about 10 years ago, but liked Clark Fork better--but Moyie Springs is located high on a ridge at the confluence of the Moyie and the Kootenai, just gorgeous. The view at the bridge across the river canyon is out of this world. It's a small community, 700+ people, but with easy access to Bonners on Hwy 2, and another short drive to Troy, MT, further east.
It's been a while since I drove through, so I can't remember what the local business are like. Residents may have to drive the few miles to Bonners for groceries etc.

http://www.city-data.com/city/Moyie-Springs-Idaho.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moyie_Springs,_Idaho

[The Lyin' King]

Originally Posted by Clark Fork Fantast

Clark Fork. No horses being ridden to the PO, usually, but down at the Evergreen ACE hardware store everybody runs into everybody at some point or another. And sooner or later you run into everybody at the Cabinet Bar and Grill, or the Monarch Market, or the Clark Fork Pantry with the amazing bread and pies. Some people still have "handles." The sense of community is absolutely there. But it is a very small community of about 550 permanent residents.

If you're interested in Bonners, you really need to come for a visit. And then take a drive a few miles east, and look at the community of Moyie Springs. We almost bought property there about 10 years ago, but liked Clark Fork better--but Moyie Springs is located high on a ridge at the confluence of the Moyie and the Kootenai, just gorgeous. The view at the bridge across the river canyon is out of this world. It's a small community, 700+ people, but with easy access to Bonners on Hwy 2, and another short drive to Troy, MT, further east.
It's been a while since I drove through, so I can't remember what the local business are like. Residents may have to drive the few miles to Bonners for groceries etc.

http://www.city-data.com/city/Moyie-Springs-Idaho.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moyie_Springs,_Idaho

Thank you very much, I've added Clark Fork to my short list of areas to research. Moyie was already on it for the reasons you highlighted. There are only 29 homes for sale in Boundary County at the moment so my Wife and I are using the time for investigation.

We don't want to live "in town", a 45 minute drive to emergency medical services during typical winter road conditions would be just fine given where we've lived the past 29 years.

Here's a four year old 4 minute trip down the main drag of Bonners, you've likely been there more recently. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6B1-goZqno

It may be of interest to folks like me, not that I want to help grow the area.

We love being with folks . . . when we feel like it.

Again, much appreciated!

[The Lyin' King]

Fully realizing that our Country is in the grips of a full on drug epidemic I was hoping to find some little corner of this once great Nation where my Wife and I would have no need for our CCWs.

This hunt has been a nearly three year long quest and I've now hit every State in the Union.

I know ADA, and Canyon County are Federally designated High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTAs), the mess that is Twin Falls, how Boise has gone to heck and how bad other non-designated places are, what are the main highways and interstates used for transport, where it comes from, where it goes to, what is being trafficked, who is trafficking it, who the consumers are, what they are consuming . . . etc.

I've just started looking around the panhandle hoping it would be different than what I've encountered in the southern portion of the State, gave up on it due to crime and the drugs that spawn it not long ago and then worked my way up here.

So today I started the old grind with Police/Sheriff reports and local News Paper reports in this hood.

Took less than five minutes to encounter this.
https://www.bonnercountydailybee.com...7a19f5f7b.html

Is anyone willing to say how bad it really is around these parts?

Realtors and dopers need not opine!!!

[volosong]

Originally Posted by Clark Fork Fantast

If you're interested in Bonners, you really need to come for a visit. And then take a drive a few miles east, and look at the community of Moyie Springs. We almost bought property there about 10 years ago, but liked Clark Fork better--but Moyie Springs is located high on a ridge at the confluence of the Moyie and the Kootenai, just gorgeous. The view at the bridge across the river canyon is out of this world. It's a small community, 700+ people, but with easy access to Bonners on Hwy 2, and another short drive to Troy, MT, further east.

Went out to Moyie Springs several times this past autumn. It is the gateway to the forest and high mountains in the northeast corner of Idaho/northwest corner of Montana. I was doing some recon trips as part of planning an assault on the 49˚N 116˚W Confluence Point this upcoming summer.

Certainly picturesque. Has a gasoline station with a little 'greasy spoon' and market for essentials. Strange little place, but people are friendly enough. I agree that you'd probably want to head back to Bonners Ferry for groceries. Would I live there? Probably not. Just a little too isolated, but perfect for someone who just wants to be left alone. Its the perfect jumping off place for exploring the Purcell Mountains. Grizzly country, so don't be stupid.

[The Lyin' King]

Originally Posted by volosong

Went out to Moyie Springs several times this past autumn. It is the gateway to the forest and high mountains in the northeast corner of Idaho/northwest corner of Montana. I was doing some recon trips as part of planning an assault on the 49˚N 116˚W Confluence Point this upcoming summer.

Certainly picturesque. Has a gasoline station with a little 'greasy spoon' and market for essentials. Strange little place, but people are friendly enough. I agree that you'd probably want to head back to Bonners Ferry for groceries. Would I live there? Probably not. Just a little too isolated, but perfect for someone who just wants to be left alone. Its the perfect jumping off place for exploring the Purcell Mountains. Grizzly country, so don't be stupid.

Thank you! I've lived around Bear, Mountain Lion and Rattle Snakes all of my life . . . I prefer them over two legged meth critters.