patrick.net

I knew two people who moved from LA to Idaho, something like 20 years ago. When they visited 1-2 years later, it looked like they had AGED like 20 years! Wrinkly, leathery skin that is usually seen in people who live places like Victorville, Barstow, and Palmdale.

IDK what Boise is like, but my parents tried to retire to Clearlake, CA which is a rather isolated community. If you didn't go to high school there, there was NO assimilating into the community. Lots of passive and not so passive aggression. They wanted out badly and it took 2+ years to finally sell the place at a loss.

Coeur d'Alene is gorgeous. I have had clients who retired there and loved it, even the winter, because they liked winter sports. However, they were Northern European and were into that kind of stuff.

By some accounts, Boise is one of the places where coastal Californians can actually adapt, especially if they have the option to leave at the worst two cold months of the year. However, Californians probably will feel so rich there, frequent vacations won't seem like a problem. And yeah, Idaho is gorgeous in many areas. 600k in Boise will get you some pretty nice digs.

If medical care is important to you, keep in mind that Kaiser, consistently rated by its members as the best HMO in the U.S., operates only in CA, OR, WA, CO, MD and VA.

The most temperate climate in the U.S. is in the mountains region of Western NC.

They do have a Trader Joes .

Boise welcomes with open arms all of the California Civil Service Pension Expatriates, who are fleeing the shithole they wiped with their asses on the way out.

Automan Empire says

When they visited 1-2 years later, it looked like they had AGED like 20 years! Wrinkly, leathery skin that is usually seen in people who live places like Victorville, Barstow, and Palmdale

Bwahahaha.

I think I can deal with the four seasons, lack of congestion, and low cost of living. The leathery skin may be a deal breaker however lol

Ceffer says

Coeur d'Alene is gorgeous.

Beat me to it. Northern ID is pretty badass. Another cool spot up there is Sandpoint, ID. Probably about 30 min. north of Coeur d'Alene. Didn't get a chance to get on it, but Lake Pend Oreille looked pretty amazing. Plus if you're cool with somewhat long drives of ~6 hours there's a ton of amazing shit in any direction if you have long weekend opportunities.

Can't speak to Boise personally, haven't been since I was a kid and don't really remember it. If you're cool with seasons changing, it's likely going to be a place you can enjoy. I can visit/vacation to CA, but I don't know how some of y'all actually live there. I could most certainly see myself living in Idaho though.

If you have schoolagers, the worst part of the Bay Area is not the traffic.

And not the high rents/housing costs. Nor the taxes.

The worst part, is the toxic environment in the public schools.

I know three former coworkers who had personal connection to three of the suicides (one of them was a parent of suicider, another a godparent).

All three Honors Students at public high schools in The Fortress.

Three different kids. Two boys, one girl. Equal Opportunity victims: one Chinese, one Indian, one white. Three different modes of suicide: Caltrain, hanging, overdose.

The toxic environment here is not worth it. GTF out before about 4th grade or so.

/\ I never thought of this when distant relative in bay are suicided in HS.

Automan Empire says

I knew two people who moved from LA to Idaho, something like 20 years ago. When they visited 1-2 years later, it looked like they had AGED like 20 years!

No surprise: they saving so much money compared to LA they have no choice but live in the Caligulan splendor....

None at all.
currently consumed with Girlsey, California...

BayArea says

Thoughts on Boise, Idaho?

Fetid, tiny crap shack on the Peninsula with a 20 year old car, or Caligulan splendor on an estate with hired help in Boise, your choice.

Ceffer says

Fetid, tiny crap shack on the Peninsula with a 20 year old car, or Caligulan splendor on an estate with hired help in Boise, your choice.

But the weather, man, THE WEATHER!!!

Boise is 89% white.

I think this will bother some on this site.

BayArea says

Boise is 89% white.

I think this will bother some on this site.

Are there any 89% POC demographic locales worth retiring to?

CBOEtrader says

BayArea says

Boise is 89% white.

I think this will bother some on this site.

Are there any 89% POC demographic locales worth retiring to?

I’ll get my popcorn...

CBOEtrader says

BayArea says

Boise is 89% white.

I think this will bother some on this site.

Are there any 89% POC demographic locales worth retiring to?

no

Diversity does not equal quality of life.

To scope it out see how weather is in the winter, check out culture. If you can live in that move, otherwise keep looking.

Two things you cannot change... weather and neighbors.

That’s why I want sufficient room away from neighbor via land.

CBOEtrader says

BayArea says

Boise is 89% white.

I think this will bother some on this site.

Are there any 89% POC demographic locales worth retiring to?

El Paso TX if you like desert hiking and polite, friendly people

Thailand is awfully nice and the people are friendly.

Quigley says

Thailand is awfully nice and the people are friendly.

Sticky hot. Like Florida. Ick.

But, beaches and superbly handsome people.

https://weatherspark.com/y/2142/Average-Weather-in-Boise-Idaho-United-States-Year-Round

CBOEtrader says

Are there any 89% POC demographic locales worth retiring to?

Perhaps you can ask John Cleese.

Planning a trip to go have a look.

As said above, a lot is made about whether the Bay Area is a good place for school aged kids. The positive side is that they will have endless opportunities and they will be pushed. The negative side is that, well, they will be pushed (competition and pressure).

Putting kids through school in the Bay Area weighs heavily on parents, no doubt.

CBOEtrader says

Boise is 89% white.

When I was a kid in the 70s California was 91% white. I don't remember anyone bitching until about a decade ago.

BlueSardine says

None at all.
currently consumed with Girlsey, California...

BayArea says

Thoughts on Boise, Idaho?

Guaranteed that image is not from CA. Looks like Havasu or something like that.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/iowa-man-tore-burned-lgbtq-flag-imprisoned-67824683

There's IOWA

Took family to Boise for a week to check the place out since its been on our list of places to ditch CA for. I stayed in downtown Boise but drove all over looking at properties and doing fun things with kids.

Negatives
Usually I look for and find major negatives but honestly, I couldn’t not find any at least when I was there but one might be the cold in winter. Some minor negatives would be all the building going on I could see why this pisses natives off there with all the people moving in.
Pros
Income tax rate 1.25 to 6.925%
Property tax rate .69% is average
Sales tax 6%
Gas tax 25 cents per gallon
Very clean even in downtown. I didn’t smell pot everywhere like I do in LA. Only saw two possible homeless people one of which had a sign during the day, at night I saw non and no tents or anything anywhere. Lots of people riding bikes. Everyone was very friendly unlike here where it seams half the time if someone approaches out of nowhere there is an ulterior motive. Children playing all over without adult supervision or at least without any that I could see, this reminded me of when I was a kid. Tons of green spaces and places for kids and families to have fun, parks everywhere. Quick access to outdoors, mountains, rivers, camping. Very little police presence or at least they don’t stick out, only saw them when there was an accident when a truck crashed by a river, city was there replacing fencing damaged within 30 minutes, here shit would stay damaged for god know how long. Population seems 90%+ white. At no time anywhere did I feel unsafe.
By the end of our trip my oldest son which I though would be the hardest to sell the idea of moving on because he would have to make new friends, looked at me grinning and said “I love this place lets move”

One lady I talked to told me she doesn’t and everyone else doesn’t like Californians moving in. Then she told me the state is run by a bunch of uneducated county bumpkins that work in government part time, that it was to right wing and that she hates Trump. She told me she had lived there for 30yrs. Then she told me she was from Pacific Palisades CA (typical limousine liberal) and the only one I encountered.

Other Items of note there are a lot of Mormons they make up the largest religious group at 16% in Boise but over 25% for whole state, followed by Catholics and other Christian groups. There is no lottery. I didn’t see much public transportation.

RC2006 says

One lady I talked to told me she doesn’t and everyone else doesn’t like Californians moving in.

No one does. My buddy out in Bozeman/Belgrade/Livingston MT area hates them (CA transplants). First time I went to Bozeman was 20 years ago. It's done and I wouldn't move there now. It's trash. Over exaggeration, but there's like 50 craft beer/booze shops everywhere. Craft beer is the enemy of neighborhoods. Not for drunkenness, it's because you know you've been hipstered. You know the woke have come once craft beer starts spiking. No joke either.

Bozeman is the per capita leader I believe for White Claw. Cowboys are dead apparently.... The men out there think it's okay to drink. I'm astonished when I visit my buddy. You can't even get a normal beer out there either, it's all BS craft beer and some guy throwing it in a vat and calling it some stupid name with shit graphics.

I'm in SoCal. Once thought about moving, but seriously I'm old, have golden handcuffs and weather is huge for me. I just decided to carve out good niche, own my own inc. with paper losses so taxes don't effect me, stopped at two kids, going with cheap/family oriented catholic schools with no zim zer bullshit, low property taxes, joined a local country club for some beugey.

I do think this is the last generation that can live in Cali, because in a decade comes the marxists bullshit, so the plan is to encourage kids to go to college out of state and just move to where they go and hope they settle there and start families.

If it were me and my wife was cool with it, I would just live in a freedom, low tax state and spend 90 days in Thailand, then 90 in Bali, etc. Just maximum stay hop in cheap, friendly places during the bad winter months.

Thailand is swampy as shit in the interior, but get to the coast/islands it's not that bad. Spent 30 days on Ko Tao once and lived in a beach bungalow, one of the best times of my life. Cheap as shit too, but that was in 2000 when there was a bhat crisis, so may be more expensive today. $4 a day I lived like a king.

Automan Empire says

Clearlake, CA

Meth capital of NorCal.

I have a neighbor who is from Boise, she says it’s okay.
I’m sure it’s cold in the winter. She says she’s going to go back someday but I wonder when.

I’m thinking about the subject lately, and I’m not sure what the solution is.

I’m okay in Baja Sur Mexico and it’s even comfortable in the summer on the Pacific, but I worry about any health emergency being deadly. I’m bilingual and know the area and have some friends there. I’m going to spend time there when it’s winter in California with rain and cold.

Florida is okay in the area where I lived, but summer can be rainy and hot which turns you into a steamed clam at the gas station. If I lived in Florida, I would leave for 6 weeks per year at least.

I know a guy who is in Colombia about half the year, the other half in Florida. He’s Colombian so he knows where to go down there.

I’m really okay with my situation in California except for the taxes, but I calculate savings of 7 months of no heat nor AC, and other positives and I won’t leave permanently for the time being. My situation is a bit unique, I’m lucky.

The inexpensive countries around that may be live able are largely Spanish speaking.
Nicaragua (cheap), Costa Rica (better), Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile. Mexico is I guess another but it is not so cheap sometimes.

At least I am fortunate enough to be able to travel and can afford to spend money on it. I know some guys who have the money, but bad health or wife with bad health, other guys afraid to spend money, others wives don’t want to travel, others can’t stop working, they’re stuck.

My biggest issue with CA is I don't really see a future here for my kids. CA is on the decline and I just don't see it getting any better and can't see my kids raising a family here.

WookieMan says

Bozeman is the per capita leader I believe for White Claw. Cowboys are dead apparently.... The men out there think it's okay to drink. I'm astonished when I visit my buddy. You can't even get a normal beer out there either, it's all BS craft beer and some guy throwing it in a vat and calling it some stupid name with shit graphics.

100% agreed on craft beer. WC is for womyn, I have one once in a blue moon on a really hot day outside the summer cabin. This hipster shit is unnerving. Just make a good clean regular pilsner without fanfare and shut up and I'll be a happy customer. Beer wise Europe is still far ahead cause craft beer derailed the US beer brewing progress.

mell says

Just make a good clean regular pilsner without fanfare and shut up and I'll be a happy customer.

Making good clean regular pilsner is hard. Dumping shitload of hops to mask ones inability to brew good beer and calling it "Beaver Vomit Quadruple IPA" is easy.

CA seems terrible to raise kids. I honestly am at a loss. I don’t know what state is family friendly and not into promoting all the degenerate crap to children.

My 1st reaction is Boise sucks to the high heavens and a very dangerous place to live, stay out!!!

However, I currently live in the country about 45min from Boise itself not to far from Ontario, Or and have basically lived in this state most my life. I lived and worked in Boise all through the 80s and 90s and in 2000 started migrating out of the city wanting my own air to breath so to speak moving west of Boise city, to Star then Middleton now near a small town called New Plymouth. I'm sure your life style choices and such are a bit diff. then my own.

Treasure Valley (Boise and surrounding towns) is a phenomenal place to live, natural recreation of most any sort depending on the direction you roll. Green belts by the miles and lots of community supported activities. Knowing what I know I would be considering the towns mentioned N. West of Boise, Eagle, Star, Middleton along the foothills on 1 side and Boise river on the other, if you are not looking to live more in the city itself ( Boise/Meridian) I thought I read you would like a bit of space. There is a nice small sub going in about a mile from my place, don't know a lot about it but think it's custom builds the lots are 2-3 acres, private wells etc and hear New Plymouth has fantastic school system, small being the city pop is <2k where the country pumpkins get their education. ;) Lots of wineries, craft/micro breweries and we do have lotteries, and fairly close casinos Jack Pot NV for 1 and speaking of pot I live with/in 20mis of several pot shops in OR. however ISP frowns on Idahoans transporting across boarders ;)

Here is a Realtor I have had business dealings with you could contact, is a hard worker, very ethical and confidential when it comes to her clients. https://www.susanlikesrealestate.com/