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My wife and I have lived in Portland OR (now across the river in Vancouver WA) all our lives. We are currently in our late thirties and the biggest thing that's kept us here is jobs and family.. We struggle to fit in here. We are very conservative and constantly feel like progressive agendas are being shoved down our throats. We've had a hard time finding other couples that have similar beliefs. We love the outdoors and beauty here but haven gotten really exhausted by the rain. We would both prefer a snowy winter and a longer warmer summer. Because of political protests and the homeless problems we rarely go downtown anymore. Its rather depressing.
We are currently on 5 acres in what we thought would be our forever home that we designed and had built. We love the privacy yet are only 10 to 15 minutes from society.
I took a new job last summer that has me going to Spokane and CDA for 1-2 days every other week and fell in love with CDA. Small town (yet close enough to Spokane), gorgeous nature, colder winters and warmer summers and much more conservative (polar opposite) climate than we've ever been in before.
Last time I was up there just before the lockdown I brought my wife and we looked at some acreage lots on the lake itself with an agent. Although a little less privacy because the lots are narrower, the views were incredible, the neighbors were friendly and the price was doable. They were about 20 minutes from downtown CDA so a little bit of a trek but nothing we arent used to already.
I have the option of switching to a territory up there with my company by the end of 2020 and being based out of CDA and my wife does health consulting entirely online so she can work anywhere. She LOVES the idea of living up there- more conservative culture and weather more in line with what we would prefer for our hobbies.
Only major drawback I'm struggling to swallow (outside the obvious of selling, building again and renting up there for a bit during the build) is we are in a tax haven in terms of state income taxes currently and would be reverting back to paying quite a bit to the state each year.
For those of you who have moved to CDA or Northern Idaho in general what were the biggest surprises good and bad? What didn't you consider that you wish you did? Any advice? If you live on the lake - how's Lake life?
Regarding taxes, I have a belief that the state and local governments will get the money they need to run themselves one way or another. If it's not income taxes, it's sales taxes or property taxes or corporate taxes. I am in the camp that believes that consumers end up paying corporate taxes through higher prices, so in most cases you bear the burden of those also. The only way you might possibly escape is corporate taxes is if the state has large corporations that don't do a lot of consumer business locally. I'd encourage you to do some research on total tax burden here vs. where you are - there are a few good resources on line that can help you with that. While you are at it, you might also consider overall cost of living, as I'd guess that would be an advantage of the CDA are vs. where you are now.
In any case, it sounds like you'd be much happier in this area compared to where you are. If I'm assessing that correctly, I think any reasonable difference in overall tax burden shouldn't be a major factor. We went through that same sort of thought process before we decided to relocate to ID when I retired, and in the end decided the differences weren't worth making that a high priority in our decision. The happiness of living where we really want to live, hopefully for many years to come, far outweighs that issue IMO.
We moved here from CA in 2016. We had spent many years researching and thinking about where we wanted to retire, and had spent quite a bit of time here before we pulled the trigger. Given that, I don't think we had too many big surprises. One that is commonly mentioned is the short, gray days in winter. Even if you visit here during winter, which we did, it's hard to understand how that will impact you. It can be very different when you are here for a short time vs. being here for the duration. In our case it's not been an issue, but some others are more significantly affected by it. We're about the celebrate our 4th anniversary since making the move, and we still take great pleasure in all four seasons here.
We aren't on one of the lakes since we wanted a larger property and the seclusion that can come with it, so I can't really help with any specifics there. We do a lot of kayaking and fishing and don't find that having to travel a bit to get to a public access point is a problem, but I can see the appeal of being on the lake, especially if you are an avid boater or fisherman. You will have to deal with the lack of privacy though. Given out situation it may be that we are more likely to experience many different lakes than we would if Lake Pend Orielle was right out our back door.
One thing you should be sure to consider is how that 20 minute drive might change on a winter morning after a big dump of snow. Summer vs. winter commute times can be very different, especially if you are off the beaten path a ways. Another factor to investigate is Internet access. Outside the cities/towns it's often the case that your only option might be satellite. That's what we have, and I'd say at best it's OK. Don't plan on doing a lot of video streaming though.
I would encourage you to search. I don't mean that to sound harsh but it has been covered many a time and what you pay in state sales tax here levels out with cheaper taxes on other items.
The biggest issue you are going to face here with your wife working at home is finding property with good internet access.
.......... but haven gotten really exhausted by the rain. ......
If rain is one of your motivations for moving, be aware that we gets lots and lots of rain in North Idaho.
I've moved here from Oregon and property taxes in North Idaho are noticeably higher, plus there is sales tax on groceries as well as everything else. Also income tax. Besides the tax on groceries, grocery prices are higher.
My car insurance took a huge jump upward, but gasoline is nicely less expensive.
CDA is most definitely a beautiful place to live for those who value scenery if you are choosing a place to live based upon the views. Outdoor activities seem generous, unless you are moving from Oregon, and to me, they are a lot less by comparison. But still available.
Thanks for your replies! The property we are looking at is within a small gated community so our internal roads will be plowed as part of our HOA and it links up to a major highway pretty quickly but the snow/road conditions are definitely something to consider. The property has satellite internet options or having a signal bounced across the lake from us with decent speeds although a bit concerning for her to be doing video calls. Neighbors we talked to said they can watch Netflix and such in HD just fine but can't have multiple streaming devices going at once. As for property taxes - I did estimates and compared to what we pay here in Washington (over $10k a year) and they'd be thousands less surprisingly for a similar value home unless I was fed false data. It would be hard to tack on income taxes though as we don't pay them now (nor do we pay sales tax on groceries which is a shame they do that in Idaho). Rain? Well... I'd rather we have snow here and there with rain over the winter then just rain. Rain gets boring fast. At least snow provides other opportunities for outdoor activities (and is much more beautiful to look at out your window). I need to do quite a bit more research but appreciate everyone's insight!
Relatively speaking, north Idaho does not get a lot of rain, it's actually a fairly dry environment. Yes, it's not Arizona, but we get significantly less rain compared to the average in the U.S. overall.
Here's some data:
Average annual rainfall in the U.S.: 38"
Average rainfall in CDA: 27"
Average rainfall in Portland OR: 43"
BTW, while I was looking that up I noticed that CDA gets an average of 42" of snow per year.
Relatively speaking, north Idaho does not get a lot of rain, it's actually a fairly dry environment. Yes, it's not Arizona, but we get significantly less rain compared to the average in the U.S. overall.
Here's some data:
Average annual rainfall in the U.S.: 38"
Average rainfall in CDA: 27"
Average rainfall in Portland OR: 43"
If you are looking at a specific property here you should be able to look up the taxes on that property and do an accurate comparison of property taxes here vs. there (obviously). Kiplinger thinks the median property taxes are about 30% lower here in ID compared to WA.
Sales taxes are 6% here (some localities have additional sales taxes) vs. 9% in WA. Yes, groceries are taxed, but you do get some of that back when you file your income taxes. Also, I think it's important to keep it in perspective. If you spend $10k per year on groceries (just an arbitrary number that makes the math easy), you are talking about a max of $600 in taxes per year. It sounds horrible to pay a tax on groceries, but would you live in what you find to be a less desirable location over $600 per year? I know my answer! Keep in mind that in other states some of what you purchase in the grocery store is subject to sales taxes anyway, so the actual difference is probably less. There is a perennial discussion in Boise about eliminating the tax on groceries, time will tell if it ever happens.
Gasoline taxes are about 33% lower here in ID vs. WA.
Then, as I mentioned, I think you'd find the overall cost of living to be lower here, so that will offset some of the additional tax burden. I think COL is about 7% cheaper here vs. WA, but keep in mind those numbers you find on line include differences in state and local taxes, and therefore are dependent on income level, property value, etc.
In the past I've advocated looking at state spending per capita instead of looking at taxes directly. I think it's a better measure of what it's going to cost you in the way of state tax burden, including the hidden things like corporate taxes, fees, etc. That won't work in some states that have unique a unique ability to generate tax receipts without burdening the citizens. NV with its gambling, and AK with its oil come to mind. But generally speaking, as I said in my prior post, states get their money one way or another. So, for your case, WA spends about $10k per capita, compared to ID which spends about $5k per capita. You would want to also factor in local spending as well, which I have not done here.
If you are looking at a specific property here you should be able to look up the taxes on that property and do an accurate comparison of property taxes here vs. there (obviously). Kiplinger thinks the median property taxes are about 30% lower here in ID compared to WA.
Sales taxes are 6% here (some localities have additional sales taxes) vs. 9% in WA. Yes, groceries are taxed, but you do get some of that back when you file your income taxes. Also, I think it's important to keep it in perspective. If you spend $10k per year on groceries (just an arbitrary number that makes the math easy), you are talking about a max of $600 in taxes per year. It sounds horrible to pay a tax on groceries, but would you live in what you find to be a less desirable location over $600 per year? I know my answer! Keep in mind that in other states some of what you purchase in the grocery store is subject to sales taxes anyway, so the actual difference is probably less. There is a perennial discussion in Boise about eliminating the tax on groceries, time will tell if it ever happens.
Gasoline taxes are about 33% lower here in ID vs. WA.
Then, as I mentioned, I think you'd find the overall cost of living to be lower here, so that will offset some of the additional tax burden. I think COL is about 7% cheaper here vs. WA, but keep in mind those numbers you find on line include differences in state and local taxes, and therefore are dependent on income level, property value, etc.
In the past I've advocated looking at state spending per capita instead of looking at taxes directly. I think it's a better measure of what it's going to cost you in the way of state tax burden, including the hidden things like corporate taxes, fees, etc. That won't work in some states that have unique a unique ability to generate tax receipts without burdening the citizens. NV with its gambling, and AK with its oil come to mind. But generally speaking, as I said in my prior post, states get their money one way or another. So, for your case, WA spends about $10k per capita, compared to ID which spends about $5k per capita. You would want to also factor in local spending as well, which I have not done here.
Only major drawback I'm struggling to swallow (outside the obvious of selling, building again and renting up there for a bit during the build) is we are in a tax haven in terms of state income taxes currently and would be reverting back to paying quite a bit to the state each year.
WA is a tax haven. Spokane?
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