Questions about Northern Idaho area.... (Boise, Nampa: university, inspection, living)

[Sage of Sagle]

Somehow I should have seen that one coming, even though that movie was so awful that even when I watched it as a $5 DVD I felt I got ripped off.

What I meant was if you look like the oddly pierced chain-mail bikini wearing bad guys in that movie....but yeah...Ok, I should have been more specific.

I guess my point is body art is one thing. We can all appreciate it, although dramatic facial ink is still off-putting to most people. Extreme off-putting self-mutiliation looks are another.

[Toyman at Jewel Lake]

Sage, I agree with you on that movie. I was looking forward to it, parts of the Battle of Thermopalye (SP?) are pretty famous, I expected good things once it came to the silver screen. The movie was terrible, half-a**ed sci-fi/fantasy adaptation of a classic military battle. The history channel special was a lot better.

molon labe

[Toyman at Jewel Lake]

Originally Posted by mistyriverranch

Gotta disagree here Sage. If you look like you left a cast party for 300 and you happen to be Gerard Butler....no issues...none at all. You'll be more than welcome with the majority of the female population of north Idaho. Other than that, yeah...I agree.

I had to go back and search Gerald Butler and some scenes from the movie. I have so many wise-a** comments to make...just none that are CDF appropriate .

Oh heck, I can't help myself.

I didn't realize you were into leather Misty...

[mistyriver]

Was he wearing leather? I didn't notice.

[kstorts]

Hahahaha you guys are cracking me up as I read the responses!!

I agree...Gerard Butler would make anyone happy regardless of how he looks, I still prefer Johny Depp though, even in make up...hahahahaha
(I never did see 300....It got a lot of hype...I own it, just still have not made it around to watching it...it's on my bucket list, along with trying artichoke and pomegranates...haha)

Clark- you didn't come across cranky at all, I came here looking for all opinions, not just what I wanted to hear. You perspective is valuable to me as it is important to know how the populations surrounding a shop are going to receive something like a tattoo shop- it isn't like it is a hair salon, some areas are still a bit conservative for that sort of thing and if the general popluation isn't ready for that type of business the business will fail. So, that being said, I appreciate your point of view! I hope your ankle feels better soon, being in pain is no fun!!!

...oh yea....I am definitely not into the piercing thing...or the branding thing....why someone would do the scarring or branding is beyond me- I am sure people think that about tattoos too, but burning and scarring? Ew! LOL And piercings, well....yea, they just don't look very good to me...lol.

David- I live in the Valley, near Modesto (If you aren't familiar with where that is, think Lacy Peterson, it is where she lived, she and I even had the same OB/GYN). More specifically, I am from Turlock. For those only familiar with the town from a distance they would assume that I am exaggerating in my claims that it is as bad as it is. You can look it up on here and see the crime rate is well above the US average. My brother in law is a leutenant for the PD here, and he has insisted that my sister keep the door locked at all times, and also installed a more sophisticated alarm system due to all of the home invasions in our area. I have a buddy that was a victim of a home invasion across town at gun point (one of the 3 invaders was shot by a resident by his own rifle that he brought to invade them with.....), but yes, even this once safe little town is no longer that safe...A lot of the bay area people shifted downwards due to cheap housing here, which in turn of course made it unaffordable for those of us living here...but with their paychecks, they brought their unsupervised wild kids whom brought their gang activity with them. My sister works at an elementary school just outside our town and when they have fire drills they actually have to go a more unsafe route to exit because the threat of a drive by shooting is higher then the threat of the kids being burned in a fire, in fact, her classroom has no windows because it faces that side and they have several drive by shootings in that area. This is a school that is very mixed, 1/2 the kids are in poverty, the other 1/2 are rich...

I have considered that it is possible that there are only 2 shops because of Boise, i also wonder if it has anything to do with the city having a cap on the number of those sorts of businesses they allow (I know there is a city near me that only allows 2 shops in their city). So, I will need to do more research and make some phone calls to find this out.

I think we have decided that NID is not for us, i mean, It is gorgeous, but I think it would be smarter for us to stick to the Boise area....We aren't used to snow, so we should start small on that one, and I think it would be too big of an adjustment going from being in a small Cali town of 68k to a city there of 20k..LOL. I am trying to be as realistic about this as I can, what draws me to NID is its beauty, but there are too many things that I would be incredibly lost on having never experienced them....like heavy snow...lol.

I do have to say that I am blown away by what I am hearing about the Boise/Meridian area...the crime there- or lack there of- sounds too good to be true!

I've definitely got my homework cut out for me!!!

...the next big decision to make, is do we leave our business open here, or close it....ugh.....

Thank you all for the laughs and for taking the time to respond to my post, it is much appreciated!!!

[Count David]

Yeah, I'm fairly familiar with Modesto/Turlock, I've driven through/stopped there numerous times.

I'm originally from Riverside, and when I decided I wanted a change of climate, I didn't move somewhere with a more mild (real) winter first, I went all in -- I moved to Colorado. I'll admit that winter isn't for everybody, but the adjustment can be made if you are willing.

I don't think moving to NID (near CDA) would be that big of an adjustment for you. Spokane and CDA's two counties combined have about as many people as urban Fresno -- it's not like you'd be moving to a true "small town". Nonetheless, any new experience will enrich your life.

I'll admit that I'm partial to Spokane/CDA because I lived there for a time this year, it turned out to be my idea of a "near-perfect place", which is something I didn't expect going in. I'd give just about anything to live there again, and I plan on it someday.

I might suggest visiting NID and Boise sometime this winter, if you are able. Then you might get an opportunity to see "the worst" (climate-wise) of each area. Your impressions of each place might be different than you expect them to be.

Either way, I wish you the best.

[kstorts]

Turlock has really changed a lot in the last year or two...I imagine the economy doesn't help, but it is suddenly way more crowded and I am noticing way more homeless people than there were before...I always have people going through my garbage can bother at my house and my business and they always leave a huge pile of garbage next to it. My car was also broken into a month or two ago. I guess the bottom line is I am tired of it, and I feel like I am never going to get ahead by staying here.

I prefer cold weather, in fact, I love it- however, it is easy for me to say that when cold here isn't really cold anywhere else...lol.

We are planning a trip to ID somewhere between Dec-Feb, I would really like to check out both locations (NID as well as the Boise/Meridian area). My biggest hesitation to going that far up north is being that much further from family, the added 5-8 hours to an already 10 or so hour drive makes me think that coming home for visits will be much more sparse.

I am excited about the climate change, Summer is my worst time of year, I hate it...I just cannot tolerate the heat....during winter here I fight the urge to open my windows and relax outside, lol.

Colorado was on our list as well, for some reason we are both just feeling really pulled towards ID...it's wierd, because when we first started talking about getting out of Cali 10 years ago we always said we would move to OR, which would be a much easier move to make since we know plenty of people there, know the area pretty well, and so on....our guts are telling us to go to ID, and usually, when I listen to my gut, I don't regret it.

Thanks again David for your help and advice, i appreciate it!!

[Paladin3]

I moved from SoCal to North Idaho last year and found that it's all about your attitude. If you are a get-along, friendly kind of person then you will fit in. If you try to bring the California culture with you and change Idaho, whooo-boy, it will suck to be you!

It's also been my unfortunate experience that there are a class of people up here who are just plain ignorant. They hate anyone they can label as different, and making it public knowledge that you came from California is one of the things that will often set them off. Try not to give them a reason to fix their attention on you. Just nod and laugh at their jokes, and make friends with the multitude of good, honest folks living up here.

[Trace_Rinaldi]

Originally Posted by mistyriverranch

Gotta disagree here Sage. If you look like you left a cast party for 300 and you happen to be Gerard Butler....no issues...none at all. You'll be more than welcome with the majority of the female population of north Idaho. Other than that, yeah...I agree.

I got to hang out with that guy one night in a VIP room in a Vegas night club for a few hours.. He was VERY cool... This was right about the time when 300 was out but not many people recognized him without the beard..LOL..

To the OP... There are MANY inked folk up here.. I understand Mike Metzger (motorcycle freestyle guru/Metal Mulisha) just moved out of Slow Cal near my old place to CdA to do Tat's among the many other things he does..
One of my best buds owns a Tat shop in Vegas and has done quite a bit of work on me... I KNOW he would love to do some guest gigs up here
Good luck! from one former Californian to another who moved to Gods country!

[mistyriver]

Originally Posted by Trace_Rinaldi

I got to hang out with that guy one night in a VIP room in a Vegas night club for a few hours.. He was VERY cool... This was right about the time when 300 was out but not many people recognized him without the beard..LOL..

http://bestsmileys.com/fainting/1.gif (broken link)