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I see a lot of various post of folks looking to relocate to CDA and other Idaho towns. Looking for some insight from locals and transplants alike, especially anyone who has moved from SoCal. We would be moving from San Diego if we did this.
We are considering a move out of California for a number of reasons (political, costs, taxes, pace of life, geo, etc). I'm born and raised in North San Diego and my wife is from Seattle. We have 4 kids (11,9,7,4) and we are part of a public charter homeschool which we love. I work from home. We love to camp and love the outdoors. I miss skiing/snowboarding so would enjoy that in the winter.
I'll be honest... the weather in San Diego is perfect 95% of the year. 70 degrees and sunny just about everyday. My wife and I want 4 seasons, want some rain (not seattle rain!), want some snow, etc. But we're the first to say we've visited the snow but never had to shovel it day in and day out. The longer winters concern us a bit but willing to give it shot. I realize nowhere is going to match the weather we have now. We are spoiled but we pay for it. We definitely want more weather than we have now though. Rain is a good thing actually.
Even though we're in SoCal now, we're in a more country part of San Diego. It's very brown here though and never rains. The beach is nice but we rarely go. We love the PNW green, the water, weather, etc. I would say we are country folks, love land and space, quiet location, little to no crowds, no traffic, etc. We deal w/ a lot of people, traffic and business here that we don't like anymore.
The reality is we would like to relocate out of CA. It's not sustainable for us anymore, although it's home and we're somewhat comfortable here. While we are fairly open to locations to move to, our family is all on the west coast... from Seattle to San Diego, even some in Spokane too. With that in mind, we're thinking west of the Rockies only at this time.
We visited CDA (summer) and it was beautiful. We're somewhat familiar w/ Spokane winters but have never lived there. Closest was Seattle. The winters do scare me a little but only b/c I have no real experience living it. We love the snow, I can drive in it just fine and we would do our best to enjoy the winter activities... and also hunker down and enjoy a slower life too.
San Diego quality of life is good. Great schools near us, air is clean, weather is great, stores are good... but unfortunately, it's in CA.
The plan would be to rent our place here in SD, rent a place in CDA and give it a year. If we love it, we make the perm move. If not, we either go back to SD or find somewhere else.
The things that would be important to us:
- Good community of people, strong community feel
- Access to good schools
- Good grocery stores (hey, you gotta eat!)
- Slower pace of life, more down home feel (people here are so busy, hard to connect at times)
- Outdoor activities (camp, hike, shoot, ski, bike, swim)
- Gotta be green. We are tired of the brown.
- Good restaurants (both kid friendly and ones for date night)
Would love to hear from locals and transplants. Thanks for your time reading this.
Wages are a reason why it doesn't work great for everybody. If you have a way for that to work for you, the rest will probably work out.
Do you want to be in CDA for sure or is outside it under consideration? How far outside is ok?
In CDA it will rain or snow at least a little about every other day. Half those times it will amount to much. In spring & fall about every third day. About once a week in summer. Mostly sunny or better about half the time overall (and about 40% less often than in San Diego), probably a third or less from late fall til mid to late spring, depending on year. Nicer in warm months. Sound alright?
Welcome to C-D and the Idaho Forum! You're not nuts--your plan is sensible, as long as you enter into this adventure with your eyes open. We're in East San Diego County (and lived in Encinitas for 10 years), and we're building a retirement place in Clark Fork, east of Sandpoint. We've spent part of every summer in the area since 2004, and have visited during the winter. I'm originally from a place with long, dark winters myself, so NID winters don't scare me (much!).
It sounds as if you might be able to work anywhere (online? Transfer?). If not, you need to secure jobs before you move--don't rely on something being available.
Feel free to DM me if you think I might be able to answer specific questions for you.
Wages are a reason why it doesn't work great for everybody. If you have a way for that to work for you, the rest will probably work out.
Do you want to be in CDA for sure or is outside it under consideration? How far outside is ok?
In CDA it will rain or snow at least a little about every other day. Half those times it will amount to much. In spring & fall about every third day. About once a week in summer. Mostly sunny or better about half the time overall (and about 40% less often than in San Diego), probably a third or less from late fall til mid to late spring, depending on year. Nicer in warm months. Sound alright?
Thanks for the reply and info on the weather.
We do not need to be in CDA proper and are fine being outside a bit. We don't know much about the area yet but plan to visit next month to explore and learn more. I would think being 15mins or so from the main stuff is fine... meaning grocery store, etc.
Did you mean that it will rain or snow just about every other day in the winter in CDA? Based on what I've seen so far, that seems about right and what we would expect. We fully realize we would have to change our wardrobe quite a bit as we don't have a winter in SD.
Welcome to C-D and the Idaho Forum! You're not nuts--your plan is sensible, as long as you enter into this adventure with your eyes open. We're in East San Diego County (and lived in Encinitas for 10 years), and we're building a retirement place in Clark Fork, east of Sandpoint. We've spent part of every summer in the area since 2004, and have visited during the winter. I'm originally from a place with long, dark winters myself, so NID winters don't scare me (much!).
It sounds as if you might be able to work anywhere (online? Transfer?). If not, you need to secure jobs before you move--don't rely on something being available.
Feel free to DM me if you think I might be able to answer specific questions for you.
Oh wow a former Encinitas resident... thx for the reply! I will DM you for sure as I'd love to know why the move from East County to N. Idaho. Yes, I work online so just need decent internet. I do fly occasionally for work and Spokane would be fine for that. Lacking some direct flights as compared to SD but for the limited number of times I travel, it's fine.
Yes the data says rain or snow above a trace about 50% of winter days. In peak of winter the area gets above .1 inch of precipitation about one day in 3 but for whole of winter it is about 1/2 of the 1/2 or about one day in four. .1 inch of precipitation if it is snow is about 1 - 1.5 inches of snow.
A visit in winter - spring is a wise step to get a feel for it. Considering living outside the city, pay attention if you are on a state or county plowed road or side road that you and / or your neighbors are on your own to negotiate / plow (yourselves or paying someone to do it). Sometimes people buy remote and didn't plan for that hassle and / or expense. Some places are worse than others in terms of snowfall and length & difficulty of terrain traversed.
In addition to CDA and CDA waterfront, you might look at Hayden Lake and some of the lakes northwest (Spirit & Twin).
We do not need to be in CDA proper and are fine being outside a bit. We don't know much about the area yet but plan to visit next month to explore and learn more. I would think being 15mins or so from the main stuff is fine... meaning grocery store, etc.
Did you mean that it will rain or snow just about every other day in the winter in CDA? Based on what I've seen so far, that seems about right and what we would expect. We fully realize we would have to change our wardrobe quite a bit as we don't have a winter in SD.
Former Escondido resident here. No. It does not rain/snow 'every other day'. At least this winter. It will snow/rain for a few days, then not for a few days. Usually enough time for the streets to dry out. This past week, it has turned cold, so the snow has not melted, and some has turned to ice. However, it is considerably cloud covered most days. A few sunny days here and there, but mostly cloudy. That bothers some people. It's been a week since it snowed, but it is forecast this weekend.
I'm in Rathdrum, across the prairie from the 'circus'. It's fairly quiet out here, (except for the trains), but close enough to get back to the action for shopping and such. Food from the grocery stores is more expensive than in CA. I've found the lowest prices at Fred Meyer's in CdA. Some people do their food shopping at Walmart, (yuck!). However, most people shop at their local market.
The biggest adjustment for me was the length of the daylight hours in the dead of winter. Thankfully, it doesn't last too long and now that the days are longer, it feels more "normal". So far, I love it here. Even though SoCal has pretty much the perfect climate, as you know, that is about the only attraction left for wanting to live in the area.
Anyone who visits in summer will love the place! It is the best place to be in the summer. But, that lasts 2-3 months tops. Rain and forest fire smoke can ruin a good summer easily. Fall is rainy but nice. Your first winters will be amazing because they are new for your family. Kids will be fighting for the snow shovel in the beginning. Spring is my least favorite, and longest, season.
Homeschooling in So Cal vs. North Idaho will be a big change. Ask yourself if you can homeschool your kids yourself with few choices for suppport. People like Idaho homeschooling because of the hands off regulations. But that means hands off. Nothing like the So Cal options. Also, community options to entertain and educate kids is less. Check out gizmos in cda. That will be your option for extra curricular electives, as well as you can find music lessons. Kroc Center for a somewhat kid friendly gym. That’s basically it.
And internet will be much slower than other areas that have invested in that infrastructure. Online the companies will offer higher speeds, but when you call them, if they are honest, they will tell you that the lines coming in to this area will not support those speeds. Outside of the main city areas, some people have no internet or cell service.
Grocery stores. No Bristol Farms, or even Trader Joe’s. Your best option will be Costco, then Fred Meyer or Safeway. If you want healthier fare, Pilgrims, but you will go broke. If that is a big deal for you, you might stop in and see the options.
Also, I would definitely rent. I don’t know your price point. Lots of Californians sell house in Ca for big profits and come up here and are amazed that they can build a huge house for so little. So they do. Unfortunately, when they want to sell, they struggle. Houses in the 200-300k range sell well here. Over 500k properties tend to sit and people lose money on them. Neighborhoods up here all have their quirks. It isn’t like you can say, choose east of this street or north of another. I would live up here and check things out for a year or two. To give you an example, I have a 6bed 3bath house I have considered renting. Property management has said I could rent it for $3k in this high rent market. You could probably find cheaper outside of town, but will run into the Internet problem.
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