Bonners Ferry Info Please! (places, snow, town)

[redwood66]

You say you keep to yourself and in the next breath admonish someone on the internet for not reporting a neighbor to the cops. Perhaps Idaho is not the place for you. Good luck in your search and may it bring you the paradise you seek. Have a great day!

BTW North Idaho doesn't have a Charming and this isn't Sons of Anarchy despite what you have read on the internet.

[The Lyin' King]

Originally Posted by redwood66

You say you keep to yourself and in the next breath admonish someone on the internet for not reporting a neighbor to the cops. Perhaps Idaho is not the place for you. Good luck in your search and may it bring you the paradise you seek. Have a great day!

BTW North Idaho doesn't have a Charming and this isn't Sons of Anarchy despite what you have read on the internet.

Have a safer day . . . you know about MAC, IP addresses and warrants I'd guess?

https://www.boundarysheriff.org/report-a-crime

[SacTown11]

Wow this thread devolved quickly back in 2019. I learned a lot about Bonners Ferry before the paranoid drug boomer guy began ranting about meth heads lurking behind every corner. Looking forward to visiting Bonners Ferry this weekend and moving the family out there next Spring.

Surfed a lot of Bonners Ferry threads. I felt this one deserved a bump for posterity.

[Mister Torgue]

Originally Posted by SacTown11

Wow this thread devolved quickly back in 2019. I learned a lot about Bonners Ferry before the paranoid drug boomer guy began ranting about meth heads lurking behind every corner. Looking forward to visiting Bonners Ferry this weekend and moving the family out there next Spring.

Surfed a lot of Bonners Ferry threads. I felt this one deserved a bump for posterity.

That dude was totally off the rails and I'm glad he moved on and didn't move here. He wouldn't of been welcomed. Yes there are drug users just like literally every single community in the country. Is it some sort of problem that it impacts QOL or safety? No. The jail is overrun with drug users but crime here is nearly nonexistent by your average standards simply because everyone and their grandma carries a firearm (literally, older folks carry). I came from Texas where you cannot say that--even in a rural setting (plus there the Southern border messing things up). I went from CCW'ing in Texas to mostly open carry like a lot of my fellow boundary county residents shortly after I had some time invested here to get the lay of the culture. It is very community oriented and people care about each other here. You just need to understand your limitations with winter and the fact that you cannot eat the scenery. It isn't for everyone and you can perish or suffer if you are not prepared and or are skilled. I don't recommend it to anyone who behaves like that guy or comes in with baggage and tries to change the culture here or someone who must be near "amenities". And especially don't recommend it for people who aren't of the preparedness mindset.

My wife and daughter and I love it here. It fits us perfectly.

[SacTown11]

Originally Posted by Mister Torgue

That dude was totally off the rails and I'm glad he moved on and didn't move here. He wouldn't of been welcomed. Yes there are drug users just like literally every single community in the country. Is it some sort of problem that it impacts QOL or safety? No. The jail is overrun with drug users but crime here is nearly nonexistent by your average standards simply because everyone and their grandma carries a firearm (literally, older folks carry). I came from Texas where you cannot say that--even in a rural setting (plus there the Southern border messing things up). I went from CCW'ing in Texas to mostly open carry like a lot of my fellow boundary county residents shortly after I had some time invested here to get the lay of the culture. It is very community oriented and people care about each other here. You just need to understand your limitations with winter and the fact that you cannot eat the scenery. It isn't for everyone and you can perish or suffer if you are not prepared and or are skilled. I don't recommend it to anyone who behaves like that guy or comes in with baggage and tries to change the culture here or someone who must be near "amenities". And especially don't recommend it for people who aren't of the preparedness mindset.

My wife and daughter and I love it here. It fits us perfectly.

Yeah, my wife and I are trying to get to a self-sufficient lifestyle. We do a lot of that here in the urban Treasure Valley already through long-term food storage, canning, and gardening, but I am sure it'll be an adjustment. Adjusting to the lack of amenities will be the biggest challenge, because those do afford a casual laziness that we are also trying to move on from. It will still be hard. lol. We don't want to be near populated regions anymore. It's just not for us.

I have the advantage of earning my income working from home with two jobs, so as long as I can find reliable internet (Starlink even) I can continue to support the family.

[Mister Torgue]

Originally Posted by SacTown11

Yeah, my wife and I are trying to get to a self-sufficient lifestyle. We do a lot of that here in the urban Treasure Valley already through long-term food storage, canning, and gardening, but I am sure it'll be an adjustment. Adjusting to the lack of amenities will be the biggest challenge, because those do afford a casual laziness that we are also trying to move on from. It will still be hard. lol. We don't want to be near populated regions anymore. It's just not for us.

I have the advantage of earning my income working from home with two jobs, so as long as I can find reliable internet (Starlink even) I can continue to support the family.

FYI, Starlink is very good here. Not ready to switch over to fiber yet even though it's available. Here's a speedtest I just ran.

https://imgur.com/a/p3OqW0S

[northbayeric]

SacTown, hopefully you can give us an update soon on how your Bonners Ferry/Boundary County visit went!

My wife and I, who wanted to move out of California for a long time, finally were able to do so in 2018. After considering my native Missouri 10 years prior, we since discovered North Idaho and ultimately chose Bonners Ferry, and have been really blessed. For a smaller community, I think we have a lot of good amenities, such as EL Internet (and we keep getting ads in the mail for Ziply Fiber), restaurants such as Mugsy's, The Rusty Moose and Kootenai River Brewing Company in the downtown, plus Chic N Chop, The Badger's Den, Dodge Peak Lodge restaurant, and Two Tones Cafe (which is sadly closing at the end of the year, due to limited parking; it hopes to reopen here in a different location). Mi Pueblo Mexican, which is located downtown, is a solid choice. I do miss having a better Chinese restaurant. The one we have, just south of the city limits, had excellent service but subpar food. I should probably give it another chance these few years later.

Whatever we lack here in town, we drive down to Ponderay (good-sized commercial district with a Wal-Mart and Home Depot) and neighboring Sandpoint. North 40 is a good store with lots of clothing and outdoor-geared merchandise.

You might also be interested in the School of Traditional Skills, which recently opened an office in downtown Bonners Ferry. It has a website, and focuses on teaching people all kinds of homesteading skills - canning, preserving, beekeeping, animal husbandry, and many other ways of becoming more self-sufficient.

I think this region is one of the loveliest areas there is in terms of 4-season scenery. Just watch for deer on the highways, especially when traveling just after sunrise or around sunset.

[Mister Torgue]

Originally Posted by northbayeric

SacTown, hopefully you can give us an update soon on how your Bonners Ferry/Boundary County visit went!

My wife and I, who wanted to move out of California for a long time, finally were able to do so in 2018. After considering my native Missouri 10 years prior, we since discovered North Idaho and ultimately chose Bonners Ferry, and have been really blessed. For a smaller community, I think we have a lot of good amenities, such as EL Internet (and we keep getting ads in the mail for Ziply Fiber), restaurants such as Mugsy's, The Rusty Moose and Kootenai River Brewing Company in the downtown, plus Chic N Chop, The Badger's Den, Dodge Peak Lodge restaurant, and Two Tones Cafe (which is sadly closing at the end of the year, due to limited parking; it hopes to reopen here in a different location). Mi Pueblo Mexican, which is located downtown, is a solid choice. I do miss having a better Chinese restaurant. The one we have, just south of the city limits, had excellent service but subpar food. I should probably give it another chance these few years later.

Whatever we lack here in town, we drive down to Ponderay (good-sized commercial district with a Wal-Mart and Home Depot) and neighboring Sandpoint. North 40 is a good store with lots of clothing and outdoor-geared merchandise.

You might also be interested in the School of Traditional Skills, which recently opened an office in downtown Bonners Ferry. It has a website, and focuses on teaching people all kinds of homesteading skills - canning, preserving, beekeeping, animal husbandry, and many other ways of becoming more self-sufficient.

I think this region is one of the loveliest areas there is in terms of 4-season scenery. Just watch for deer on the highways, especially when traveling just after sunrise or around sunset.

Indeed, always be alert at Deer O'clock! Though I've noticed that up here the deer roam around 24/7 seemingly. Stay alert!

[northbayeric]

Thank you, Mister T! Gotta stay alert and slow down a bit.

One thing I should add for SacTown's benefit: It's about 5 pm as I write this, and it was already pitch dark 15 minutes ago with light snow and overcast sky. Bonners Ferry is in the NE corner of the Pacific Time Zone for the lower 48 states and just south of the 49th Parallel, meaning very early sunsets now and through January, but also very early sunrises from mid May through mid July. Taking vitamin D3 supplements is a must, at least for me. I take up to 7,000 IU of D3 combined with vitamin K2 in the same supplement to compensate for the lack of sunlight.

Again, I've taken to North Idaho like a duck takes to a pastoral lake, but vitamin D3 deficiency and seasonal affective disorder can be common issues here.

[Mister Torgue]

Originally Posted by northbayeric

Thank you, Mister T! Gotta stay alert and slow down a bit.

One thing I should add for SacTown's benefit: It's about 5 pm as I write this, and it was already pitch dark 15 minutes ago with light snow and overcast sky. Bonners Ferry is in the NE corner of the Pacific Time Zone for the lower 48 states and just south of the 49th Parallel, meaning very early sunsets now and through January, but also very early sunrises from mid May through mid July. Taking vitamin D3 supplements is a must, at least for me. I take up to 7,000 IU of D3 combined with vitamin K2 in the same supplement to compensate for the lack of sunlight.

Again, I've taken to North Idaho like a duck takes to a pastoral lake, but vitamin D3 deficiency and seasonal affective disorder can be common issues here.

Kudos for the vitamin D reference. On the wildlife thing, I've been neglecting putting some extra ditch/side lighting on both our trucks. Hope I'm going to get something put on while the weather isn't too bad. Up until a couple days ago the turkeys were very active. In my neck of the woods they love to take their time crossing the road. LOL