Blaine county?? (Twin Falls, Jerome, Hailey: real estate, house, to buy)

[leavingcarolina]

Hi everybody!! What about Blaine county? I see Hailey is a tourist town, where do the locals live? My husband is looking at a job there that pays between 35,000-45,000 a year. Will we be able to afford to live anywhere around there? I cant seem to find anything on realtor.com. Any suggestions? Thanks!!!

[altaina]

Well, I'd hoped someone from Blaine county would answer this with more specifics, but I can give you a general idea.

Hailey is part of the beautiful - and I do mean Beautiful - Wood River Valley.... surrounded by steep mountain slopes, lovely deciduous forests, and a gentle small river.....along with Bellevue and Ketchum-Sun Valley.

Note: Sun Valley. Think: Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. Beverly Hills North.
Does that give you a clue about real estate? I mean, CEO's and movie stars fly in to their weekend mansions there on their private jets. One dude just sued the city of Hailey because they wouldn't let him land his private 737 there (their airport is too narrow).

A few years ago, an individual applying for a position at our local hospital said he'd go on up to Ketchum to check out a position there that was offering 20% more salary. He came back and said, "I can't afford to buy GROCERIES up there!"

Each fall I go up there for a professional conference. The 2-lane road from Twin Falls to the Wood River Valley is crowded with people commuting to work up there who live in Twin Falls/Jerome. That tells you something about real estate prices. A colleague of mine who lives in Hailey and has worked there 20 years (so has no small salary) told me: "if I hadn't bought my house 20 years ago, I couldn't afford to live here"

Ketchum has an ordinance against any franchised business. No fast food, no cheap food. The only McDonalds in the area is in Bellevue, as is the only Albertson's grocery store. But their prices are still 20% higher than elsewhere in Idaho. If you want to live up there, Bellevue is probably the cheapest of any of them.

Type in "Hailey" on google, and you'll get city-datas statistics on it. Median income about 50k; median home price 200k. That's MEDIAN. By comparison, Twin Falls median income is only 32k but median home price is 93k.

You're looking at what is probably the most expensive place to live in the entire state.

[leavingcarolina]

Sounds exactly what we're NOT looking for! Thank you VERY much for the insight. My husband is so desperate to get to Idaho, he's about to take any job. But I dont want to live like that. Thanks soo much!

[cleosmom]

What is it that your husband does for a living? That might help in steering you into the right (geographical) direction?