Possible Move to Idaho (Boise, Nampa: homes, buying, to live in)

[mrsemseadi]

Hi All

We are in the very early stages of looking to uproot our lives from the East Coast to possibly Idaho. Hoping to get some suggestions on where to look for housing. I work from home, but my husband works in Manufacturing and would need a commute of less then an hour. We are looking for land, not to much but enough that we don't have neighbors on top of us (at least .5 acre). I also like scenery and would like something interesting out at least one window. We are looking to spend under 400K on a house. Also, we dislike the snow. From all the research it seems as though we would be looking in the southern area of the state. We will visit the state before we actually uproot our lives, just looking for some sort of starting point.

Thanks in advance!

[nm9stheham]

Can you be more specific about what type of manufacturing and at what type of position?
You are not going to be 'snow-free' anywhere. But being at lower elevations means less snow.... which points to the southern and western Treasure Valley part. The Boise/Nampa/Caldwell area is your best bet for both that type of work and the least snow and some mountains to the east.


The is a Boise specific sub-forum and one thread is titled something like 'A year in Boise in a few minutes'. Go to that thread, click on the link in the first post and you will see the mountains there.


If I may ask, what general area are you coming from?

[banjomike]

You will have to learn to love snow, or at least tolerate it, if you live here.
North, south, in the middle; there's nowhere in Idaho that doesn't get snowfall. It has snowed here in my hometown twice on the 4th of July.
Winter here can begin in the first week of October, and can last as long as the last week of May, but most don't.

It is typical, though that mid-January to late February can have a cold snap where the temps will drop below zero, usually 10-20º below in the coldest hours just before dawn. Those snaps typically last for 7-14 days, and they can bring a blizzard with them. Or no new snow, and just turn the old snow into an ice sheet.

So if snow is the deal-buster, it's better to start looking at another state. Snow is a fact of life here. This is a mountain state in the heart of the snow belt.

But everything else on your wish list can be found here with no probs. In abundance and in extremes.

Our Snake River has a canyon deeper than the Colrado's Grand Canyon, and a waterfall that's higher than Niagara.
...and that's just for starters. Though civilized, Idaho is still about 1/3 primitive wilderness, the most in the lower 48 states. Awesome takes on an entirely different definition of the word out here.

I suggest coming out and looking Old Mother Idaho over before you make any plans to move. Life here is so different from the East it is impossible to attempt to describe in words, but I guarantee it's very little what your expectations are right now.
If you come out, I'm sure you will experience something here I never have, and I'm a 5th generation native. We ain't called the Gem State for nothing. It's no brag either.

Idaho is not for everyone- lots of folks move here and leave a year later. But as many come, are struck in the heart, and will never leave again.

[mrsemseadi]

I should have been more specific in regards to the snow. We are used to snow (we live in New England now and we got LOTS of snow) but we are looking to live somewhere that has considerably less snow. To not have 5+ feet of snow during a winter would be fantastic.

I bet it's very different out there then what I'm used to, which makes us both very excited for a new adventure and will be checking out the Boise sub.

[NW Crow]

Basically you are looking at Boise and Twin Falls metros. Maybe Mountain Home if they have any manufacturing, supporting the airbase or otherwise.

Which suburb to live in depends to some degree on where your husband finds work. For a bigger lot, maybe look around Middleton / Star, Kuna or SE Boise and just beyond it.

Mountain / foothills views aren't that common but there are ads for those homes. Some riverfront spots. Open space fields (for now) on edges of towns and beyond. Planting your own trees and other greenery or buying an established property is a main strategy.


For climate information, this is what I mainly use:
https://wrcc.dri.edu/summary/Climsmsid.html

Snowfall and snowdepth info can have missing data, so round up. Use left sidebar to get even more detail, if interested. In general expect snows in SW Idaho to usually melt off within a day to a few days. More than 6 inches hanging around isn't that common (beyond dump piles and shaded spots) but can happen.

[nm9stheham]

Yes, the Boise snow is not all that big a deal. We were there in Feb 2017 and supposedly there was a lot of snow on the ground for Boise, and it was maybe 15-18" total. Not like what you have now, OP. If you WANT snow, then you don't have to go far to find it.

[nowhereman427]

Originally Posted by nm9stheham

Yes, the Boise snow is not all that big a deal. We were there in Feb 2017 and supposedly there was a lot of snow on the ground for Boise, and it was maybe 15-18" total. Not like what you have now, OP. If you WANT snow, then you don't have to go far to find it.