Calling All CDA/Sandpoint Snowbirds!! (Post Falls, Clark Fork: to rent, loan, new home)

[NW Crow]

Springdale is still under 500 people but Hurricane has exploded to 16k. La Verkin, 4k.


Sandpoint in a county of 45k.

Payson is a more traditional alternative to Sedona.

[ChrisMT]

That triangle is full of jack rabbits, deer, mountain lion and pronghorn...oh and coyotes...also Carson City to Silver Springs is a giant wild horse parking lot

Ely is cold and a bit rough around the edges..it's a mining and ranching town and pretty isolated with very little real estate available at this time.

Elko is actually quite nice and we like the surrounding environs...the Ruby Mtns are beautiful. Elko is cooolllddd in the winter, much colder than N NV. It has got some good infrastructure now, when my grandmother lived there, she would drive to Salt Lake for real shopping...

Smith Valley in Lyon County is really developing fast and has more moderate winters as does Fallon and Fernley. It's more flat and desert or agriculture in Fallon though.

Nevada has the 'Live and Let Live' attitude that is hard to replace...nobody is in your business or nit-picking about rules and dogs on leashes etc. (outside of the cities). If you want or like lots of rules, you can get upset here. Happens to Californians moving into Douglas and Lyon County all the time lol..

Since the BLM owns most of Nevada there is limited development (plus the mountains stop development and lack of water in some areas). BLM managed land is the best for not having onerous rules and restrictions. Just don't hurt anything.... dirt roads and trails everywhere. That is also hard to replace.

That is something I didn't like about Idaho...ID is so beautiful, but it's all privately owned and inaccessible. Well more than I am used to...we just have so much open space here to recreate in with no fences or signs or many restrictions. However, I am sure there is much more public access to be discovered and if you owned 20 acres then you could access it all you want

[NW Crow]

Fwiw, pretty waterfall near La Verkin UT.

https://www.google.com/search?q=La+V...g7gBULBc3iztmM

Sand Hollow lake looks interesting too.

[NC_Cpl]

Lots of suggestions and thanks everyone...but honestly, these places are far too small for us to consider. I'm 63, so rock climbing and mountain biking (realistically) are not on my "important" list. Those things may make the area more desireable, but not for my purposes. Many others are just way, way too small. We're not pioneeers nor looking to live off the grid. Many reasons behind that but here's one....I need a large hospital no more than 30 or 40 min MAX (i.e., have a heart attack or stroke in any of these small towns and your chance of a good outcome really really LOW).

The "triangle" was merely to point out the challenge in finding a climate "sweet spot" in NV/AZ. Setting that aside, the original point of the post was to pick the brains of people familiar with a two location lifestyle (pros/cons/challenges, expenses, surprises, etc.), so if anyone can jump in on that, please do!

Thanks everyone!!

[Cnynrat]

I didn't realize Springdale was that small. I think the town itself seems bigger since it's built to accommodate the Zion tourist traffic. And yes, LaVerkin and Hurricane aren't too far away, but IMO the value of living near Zion falls away pretty quickly as you get further from Springdale.

In any case, sounds like that isn't the sort of place NC is looking for.

NC, since you have mentioned health care a couple times, I'd suggest you not spend time looking at Bonner County/Sandpoint. You can get a broken bone handled up here, but much more serious than that and you're headed to Kootenai Regional Medical Center in CdA (or perhaps Spokane) . If that's an important consideration I'd suggest you'll want to be in the CdA area. Just read an article about a developer who plans to build 5000 new homes in the CdA/Post Falls area, so there should be no shortage of housing available.

We had friends who lived in Payson AZ for a time. I like the Mogollon Rim area, but there are mostly smaller towns there. Our friends did not speak highly of the quality of medical care in Payson. Also, I know it does snow there. I'm not sure how much, so that's something to check out.

I'd also suggest your concern about quality medical care nearby will likely rule out Sedona. It's not a large enough city to support a top notch hospital.

Have you thought about Tuscon? Sure, it's hot in the summer, but you won't be there then.

Dave

[Veritas Vincit]

Why are people trying to reinvent the wheel? OP doesn't want winter & needs a sizable city. If Phoenix is too big then there's options like Yuma, AZ, the Bullhead City/Lake Havasu City, AZ area or Las Cruces, NM or something like Palm Springs in CA. Who cares how hot it is in the summer if you're there November-March when those places are mild and pleasant generally?

[Clark Fork Fantast]

Originally Posted by Veritas Vincit

Why are people trying to reinvent the wheel? OP doesn't want winter & needs a sizable city. If Phoenix is too big then there's options like Yuma, AZ, the Bullhead City/Lake Havasu City, AZ area or Las Cruces, NM or something like Palm Springs in CA. Who cares how hot it is in the summer if you're there November-March when those places are mild and pleasant generally?

My impression was that the OP also has to take into account turning the winter place into a full-time place down the line when moving twice a year becomes too difficult. So that's why I'm thinking that all the really hot places are also off the list.

The problem is of course that we're all trying to find the ultimate sweet spot. It's a game being played all over C-D. Weather-wise I have to say that that is exactly where we live now, in San Diego County, SoCal. Winters are lovely, and summers are bearable. No icy streets, ever. Ocean breezes. Beaches. Beautiful back country. Decent size city with good health care. Fairly low crime rate. And so forth. But then there are other reasons why a SoCal retirement isn't all that attractive, and we all know what those are...

[NC_Cpl]

I think all three of the last posts have really helped advance the discussion:

Cnynrat - on healthcare, (I have no existing concerns or issues. I work in healthcare so aware of the survival stats related to the level of care). Your insight into Sandpoint is important. Quite valuable. The time to worry about your distance to a good hospital isn't AFTER you have symptoms - it's just good planning and "insurance." Consequently I've decided being within a 45 min. radius of a Level Two trauma center is an important consideration for anyone entering retirement. Maybe we're spoiled - we had access to one of the best - Duke University Medical System. I'll look deeper at what Sedona has to offer. If you had a major event in CDA they'd likely stabilize you there, then transport to Spokane. Thats perfectly acceptable. Despite what seems like a big focus on HC, it isn't the only or even the top consideration, just an important one.

Veritas Vincit - Good point and suggestions.

Clark Fork Fantast - Your impression is spot on. Even if the snowbird lifestyle works successfully for let's say the next 12-15 yrs., eventually, you reach an age where you need or want to stay put. When that day comes, I want to be able to stay in our "primary" location because it's well-suited to long term needs, we won't have to abandon our social network, etc.

Too bad we can't even consider San Diego for all the reasons we won't get into here.

[Cnynrat]

Based on our research I think Kootenai Medical Center may be marginally better than the hospitals in Spokane. That research was oriented around a hip replacement for my wife, so post-op infection rates was the primary risk we were considering, and KMC does better on that count than the hospitals in Spokane.

That said, Northwest Specialty in Post Falls does better than all of them. Highly recommended based on our experience. NW Specialty doesn't treat sick people, which is one reason they do better on that statistic.

I know heart attack/stroke type events in Bonner county are typical stabilized and transported to KMC. The local EMT community has developed some protocols to try to minimize transport time to KMC, including use of Life Flight when necessary.

NC, it may be the case that Sedona meets your 45 minute criteria based on what might be in Flagstaff. The drive up Oak Creek canyon from Sedona to Flagstaff is right at 45 minutes. That said, I don't really know anything about the quality of medical care there since we crossed northern AZ off our list early on due to concerns about the long term sufficiency of water supplies in the area.

Personally, I would not be anywhere in the southwest for the long term based on that concern, but obviously each of us has to judge and balance all the various factors that are important to us.

Dave

[NW Crow]

When to leave CDA? It depends on the criteria. If you want to leave after it stops getting to 70s in day, then the time to leave is probably to 10 days from now. If low 60s are ok (and the possibility of a few mornings in low 30s or less), then stay half or all of October.

When to return? Do you want reliably over 45 for highs? Then, Late March -early April or after. Over 60? Late April - early May In the 70s? Mid to late May (or later).