Hey guys;

Looking for a place to retire in about 4 years...I've done a bit of research and like the climate, size, access to hunting/fishing Gun/reloading shops and terrain of the Lewiston area. Planning to scope out a good number of areas in the next few years.

I know that at least 6 or 7 of you live in either Nampa, Boise, Twin Falls, etc. so I was wondering if you'd care to comment as to the suitability of Lewiston or any other city in Idaho.

Thanks Much,

Doug

Only thing I still remember about Lewiston, is The Potlach Paper Co. Had to deliver a load there 25 years ago, and I can still remember the smell...

Hogs smell sweet in comparison.

Didn't Jack O'Connor live in Lewiston? Anyway, about 8 years ago I met a guy who had pictures of Jack's house, which had recently sold for $215,000. It had a beautiful fireplace and Persian carpets. This guy said it was a neat area.

the area around Lewiston is called the "Banana Belt" by residents. Mild winters, and the best steelhead fishing in the country.

I live in Nampa as does NPD345.

Not kicking the tires here Rich,but remember a few days ago when you were bitching about the snowfall + shoveling same.There is always a payoff of checks + balances,pos.+neg. just nature.Texas has hot summers but semi mild winters (depends on what year)For what it's worth,if Papa preferred Idaho then that is good enough for me.

For those that are romanticizing about retiring to Idaho because Hemingway, O'Connor and Keith lived here in the 1940's and 50's I think you would in in for a surprise. It's 2014 and things have changed. Still, if you like the outdoors, Idaho is a great place to live and retire to. I've never regretted it.

In years past I spent a lot of time waterfowling around Nampa/Caldwell. Met a lot of really great people and the hunting was outsstanding.

I hear now that the cornfields we used to hunt geese on are now under subdivisions......

.

Keep going east and move to Montana.......

Hey, thanks, guys. I knew I'd get some colorful answers.

Primarily looking mild winters/dry summers is biggest reason. Lived in IL, PA, NH and now NC...all too humid for my liking...

Paper mill- not so much fun. got one down near Waynesville- stinks worse than when I raised hogs years ago.

Anyway, I'm gonna do a bit of exploring before setting up a new place.

Thanks again.

quote:

Originally posted by Shootshellz:
Keep going east and move to Montana.......

Agreed! Kalispell/Lakeside area is a hot spot for gun makers and activities. (Jerry Fisher lives there, so did a number of the great old stock makers like Monte Kennedy who lived there the last decades of their lives.) Still good rifle barrels made there, where old John Buhmiller had his shop. His equipment was bought by Sharon barrels, and now someone else whose name I can't recall offhand, and two of the premier modern Sharps rile makers are still there too. Winters aren't bad there either.

If I was contemplating a move to Idaho, I'd take a strong look at Orofino...just upstream an hour or so from the Lewiston area. I'd personally stay away from the area over near I-15 on the east side of the state unless I REALLY loved snow and lots of it. And I don't like a lot of that east side even when it isn't snowing. Much of the area is miles and miles of volcanic debris....kind of like the moon's surface. Good hunting as far as amount of game, but wretched walking surfaces which just eat boots and mass produce sprained ankles. Where that rock debris has pulverized over the years, there's huge expanses of really sticky mud in the Spring and Fall.

Montana measures snow in feet...

I've lived in or around Nampa for 36 years now, and never really had any concerns about winter weather.

Or.........you can move here to southwest Kansas and experience all of the four seasons; sometimes all in less than a week!

quote:

Originally posted by Alberta Canuck:

quote:

Originally posted by Shootshellz:
Keep going east and move to Montana.......

Agreed! Kalispell/Lakeside area is a hot spot for gun makers and activities. (Jerry Fisher lives there, so did a number of the great old stock makers like Monte Kennedy who lived there the last decades of their lives.) Still good rifle barrels made there, where old John Buhmiller had his shop. His equipment was bought by Sharon barrels, and now someone else whose name I can't recall offhand, and two of the premier modern Sharps rile makers are still there too. Winters aren't bad there either.

If I was contemplating a move to Idaho, I'd take a strong look at Orofino...just upstream an hour or so from the Lewiston area. I'd personally stay away from the area over near I-15 on the east side of the state unless I REALLY loved snow and lots of it. And I don't like a lot of that east side even when it isn't snowing. Much of the area is miles and miles of volcanic debris....kind of like the moon's surface. Good hunting as far as amount of game, but wretched walking surfaces which just eat boots. Where that rock debris has pulverized over the years, there's huge expanses of really sticky mud in the Spring and Fall.

Thanks for the thoughts, AC.. Kalispell has a good bit of appeal to..Got to keep the wife happy too- looking for mild winters...actually, her preference would be more in your area- probably Prescott/Sedona area. I looked at the area up the I-17 corridor when we out there a couple years ago- might be too hot for me though. And the I-15 corridor side of ID doesn't seem like it would have as much appeal as the OR or WA border side.

I will be giving Orofino a good look, too!

If you are talking as far north along I-17 as the Sedona/Cottonwood/Jerome area, the summers are a whole different ball game from the Salt River Valley (Phoenix & environs). Up there (literally "up"...much higher elevation) the summers are relatively cool, and there is a short "snow season" every winter. That is within 40 miles of some really good winter skiing, and is much closer than that to several of Arizona's very best Elk hunting units. Nice Mule Deer too.

The best place I have lived, weatherwise, has been the Las Cruces, NM area. Mild winters, perfect spring and fall, and a hot but dry summer (108-109). Then, in late July came the monsoons, which cooled things off when they came in. On New Years Day, 1998, my wife and the dogs and I went on an outdoor picnic in the mountains near Silver City. I really wouldn't mind moving back there.

that is correct DO NOT move to the east or south east part of the state.
DO NOT come err go hunting over there either, the residents are jerks and will slash your tires.
we err they DO NOT have any mountains or shooting ranges or lakes.
we err they do have lots of mud and snow and it gets cold in the winter.
STAY AWAY there are too many people her err there already.
they all [okay just most of them, some moved there] like guns and shooting and know the local sheriff by name, DO NOT GO THERE.

besides they are all mormans and will try to convert you non-stop 24 hrs a day, every time you leave your house.

quote:

Originally posted by Lamar:
that is correct DO NOT move to the east or south east part of the state.
DO NOT come err go hunting over there either, the residents are jerks and will slash your tires.
we err they DO NOT have any mountains or shooting ranges or lakes.
we err they do have lots of mud and snow and it gets cold in the winter.
STAY AWAY there are too many people her err there already.
they all [okay just most of them, some moved there] like guns and shooting and know the local sheriff by name, DO NOT GO THERE.

besides they are all mormans and will try to convert you non-stop 24 hrs a day, every time you leave your house.

.....but, but, did any of them learn to communicate?

Funny Lamar!

I'm quite a few decades from retiring but I thought I'd like to be able to spend most of my golden years outdoors. By that I mean no bugs, no inclement weather, plenty of open space to roam and plenty of my interests to pursue.

I doubt I'd choose Arizona because although it'd be nice to live around elk and big mule deer, not being able to draw a tag to hunt them would be frusterating. I'd love to be 46 or 66 years old and wing shooting in North Dakota, but maybe not so much when 86.

Idaho looks mild and very outdoorsy. Nevada is mild and has some good wing shooting as well as eastern Oregon.

quote:

Originally posted by Scott King:
Funny Lamar!

I'm quite a few decades from retiring but I thought I'd like to be able to spend most of my golden years outdoors. By that I mean no bugs, no inclement weather, plenty of open space to roam and plenty of my interests to pursue.

I doubt I'd choose Arizona because although it'd be nice to live around elk and big mule deer, not being able to draw a tag to hunt them would be frusterating. I'd love to be 46 or 66 years old and wing shooting in North Dakota, but maybe not so much when 86.

Idaho looks mild and very outdoorsy. Nevada is mild and has some good wing shooting as well as eastern Oregon.

I wouldn't choose AZ either IF I was still young, just because elk hunting is my shooting passion and drawing a tag more than once every 5-10 years here means you are one lucky dude!

But ya know, funny thing is we all get old if we are lucky. So, if I was going to move to a different state, I'd only want to have to do it once after I was , say, 40 years old or more.

So, I'd pick a state (or at least a part of a state) where I wouldn't Have to move from late in life just to get an outdoors I could enjoy, combined with excellent medical facilities, top quality entertainment of other sorts, good shopping for the amenities such as gourmet foods, wines, and liqueurs, and all the things which make retirement some of the better years of ones' life.

Having tried it both ways, I like not having to drive in rotten weather on icy roads, having access to such health care as the Mayo Clinic, all that stuff, right down to such minor things as not having to bother covering outdoor water taps with heated wraps when it drops way below freezing.

No place is perfect (except New Zealand) these days, but if I wanted a pretty good combo of everything, I'd look at somewhere like Baker, Oregon (at the more "primitive" end of that range of good possibilities) or somewhere in central Nevada (as a more "civilized" possibility).

Best of all, of course, is to be able to afford a small winter home in one state or area of a state, and a small summer home in another. In Oregon, a person can do that. And, if he makes friends with one of the local ranchers over around Mitchell (SP?) it is still a 100% draw every year for bull elk tags, and if the rancher asks the local game biologist, he can trade the hunter's "bull" tag for two "cow tags"...just far too many elk in that area and they want them culled every year.)

Oh, and one other thing - my own preference is to live in a small city or town where natural gas is one of the amenities in almost every house. Produces much less expensive heat in the winter and cheaper fridge operating costs in the summer. Plus, I like being able to flip one switch to turn on the gas fireplace, instead of having to cut, split, haul, stack, bring in the house, wood for the fireplace...not to mention having to clean the ashes out of it and dispose of them. Much less fire danger too, doesn't require monitoring when in use, and never smokes up the air inside the house.

I knew a retired guy over on the Nevada/ Oregon/ California border that used to love to hunt Chuckar. Loved hunting 'em, and I really mean loved it. Fella used to kill something like 250 birds a year, all over pointers, all big walking miles, fair chase, wild birds, very sporting.

I could do that.

Big moose here are a daunting proposition for anyone regardless of age. I can't see myself being in my mid 80's around here and knocking down a big bull by myself. Now following my dogs around in pursuit of quail or pheasants,........that I can see.

I like having four seasons myself. A fireplace with a good fire going is one of winters treats, the smell of the wood smoke, accompanied late at night by the sound of 50 or more honking Canadian Geese in gathering formations overhead. Occasionally, I hear the midnight sound of the fast freight letting everybody know he is approaching the crossing near my house.

Winter is bullet casting, sizing and lubing, and big game and waterfowl hunting time.

About the time the novelty wears off, it's Thanksgiving Day, and the family gathering. Before you know it, it's time to take the kids and get a tree, and sitting back in my recliner trying to surround a 5th of Amarula while the kids and my lovely bride decorate the tree.

And then, a salute and farewell to the year on December 31st, and hopes for a joyous New Year.

Next thing you know, it's time to make the drive to SCI, and look at hunts.

And a glimmer of Spring. Spring and early Summer, and a a dozen or so drives up to the High Country to snipe at Rockchucks.

And cranking up the HD for the Saturday rides going all over Idaho and E Oregon with friends.

Getting ready for Quigley.

For me, the four seasons just separate activities and provide balance. I need that; and Idaho provides all four in balance...

I live in Utah and my wife is from Idaho.

I love Idaho and for all around hunting, this is the state I would choose (open for another debate). I have been to a lot of Western states and Idaho is at the top of my list. There are all kinds of over the counter type tags you can buy. The trophy quality may not be as good as other states but, if you want multiple hunting opportunities, yearly, Idaho is the place!

quote:

Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:
I like having four seasons myself. A fireplace with a good fire going is one of winters treats, the smell of the wood smoke, accompanied late at night by the sound of 50 or more honking Canadian Geese in gathering formations overhead. Occasionally, I hear the midnight sound of the fast freight letting everybody know he is approaching the crossing near my house.

Winter is bullet casting, sizing and lubing, and big game and waterfowl hunting time.

About the time the novelty wears off, it's Thanksgiving Day, and the family gathering. Before you know it, it's time to take the kids and get a tree, and sitting back in my recliner trying to surround a 5th of Amarula while the kids and my lovely bride decorate the tree.

And then, a salute and farewell to the year on December 31st, and hopes for a joyous New Year.

Next thing you know, it's time to make the drive to SCI, and look at hunts.

And a glimmer of Spring. Spring and early Summer, and a a dozen or so drives up to the High Country to snipe at Rockchucks.

And cranking up the HD for the Saturday rides going all over Idaho and E Oregon with friends.

Getting ready for Quigley.

For me, the four seasons just separate activities and provide balance. I need that; and Idaho provides all four in balance...

Thanks, Rich, for the thoughtful comments. Yes, balance is good! I'm a four season guy too- just looking for a bit less humidity in Summer and a bit milder in Winter. Where I live in NC, I've go the second, but not the first.

Sounds cold to me.

lavaca,

I'll take a little cold (because I live in a house with central heat and air) versus six months a year of drought, and 100+ degree weather.

Nampa, where I live, is the second largest city in Idaho in terms of population at 85,000.

Our football team is headed to the Fiesta Bowl in a couple weeks, ranked #20. The Boise River runs thru the middle of downtown. You can drink the water safely at the downstream end.

Our air quality is among the cleanest in the Nation, and 35 miles north of us people are snow skiing.

Rich


UPDATE: actually, I made all that up. Our SMOG is 10 times as bad as LA, the infrastructure is non-existent, the state is deeply in debt, unemployment is high, and illegals and other welfare sub-human species are taking over. Stay where you are!

Oh, Rich- you poor suffering bastard!
Since I'll be retiring and not collecting unemployment, the welfare will be able to go farther, even with my presence. LOL!

Enterprise, Oregon or Dayton, Washington.

I'd say either Idaho or Mt in Bitterroot valley
Excellent hunting, lots of space dry summers mild winters and least amount of liberals and minorities

Fuggitabout either Oregon or Washington if you want to avoid liberals. Both are extremely 'blue' states. Montana is a no brainer, IMHO. Much larger than Idaho with two thirds of the population.

quote:

Originally posted by Shootshellz:
Fuggitabout either Oregon or Washington if you want to avoid liberals. Both are extremely 'blue' states. Montana is a no brainer, IMHO. Much larger than Idaho with two thirds of the population.

Just stay east of Cascade mountain range and you will be in conservative country.

I know a few people who have retired or have bought homes planning to retire up around Coolin and Nordman in the Priest Lake area and Sandpoint in the Lake Pend Oreille area. After hunting up North of Priest Lake I'm considering buying there too. I already have a retirement home in MS that came as a package deal with my wife, but if I spend 6 or 8 months away from her it will give her the time and quiet she needs to determine what she will complain about next.

Norseman: The late Senator Henry 'Scoop' Jackson said it best: "I can see all the votes I need from the top of the Space Needle". Washington (blue) politics are dominated by the western half of the state. That will never change.