Guidance on My Family’s Long Term Move

[NRA4LIFE]

Definitely visit Great Falls. The wind blows a bit there. You need to experience that to understand. Was there last fall

 

[WeiserBucks]

Idaho is full, I thought everyone knew that by now?

 

[Fever Buck]

Idaho is full, I thought everyone knew that by now?

If Idaho is full, what’s the word for Colorado?

 

[Maverick1]

Howdy y’all,

Background:

My wife and I live on the front range of Colorado but are originally from Georgia and we are not city people at all. My wife is more rural than I am and is in desperate need of owning a house with more than .1 acre (current house). We love being out west and will continue to live out here. We are looking at moving in the next few years and hope to finally settle down for good in whatever area we choose. We will be raising a young family. We would prefer to have access to :

- decent healthcare

- good year around access to outdoor activities (hunting, fishing, hiking, skiing, etc) (huge priority personally for me is the ability to have closer access to hunting)

- airport that we could fly to visit family in Colorado and Georgia

Need some pros/cons from y’all fine folks on some towns my family and I are considering. Also any other suggestions on areas I may not be considering is totally welcome.

The areas being considering (not in order of preference):

1) Area around Alpine and Afton WY - healthcare is a concern here as it seems that the only hospital in the area is in Jackson. I assume the hunting in this area is good but don’t have any personal experience and no state income tax is appealing. Tetons are also my wife’s favorite place she’s ever visited.

2) Coeur d’Alene - seems to have good amenities and beautiful water. Just have heard the hunting isn’t great in Northern ID. I’ve really enjoyed the few times I’ve been here.

3) Idaho Falls - never been but it seems to be more affordable than other areas considered but airport is pretty far away. Also have no idea about hunting access in this spot.

4) Bozeman - pretty dang expensive but good amenities. Good access to skiing and hiking, don’t know about hunting or fishing. I do worry about local angst against outsiders that move to Montana. I can deal with people being mean/rude to me but don’t want people to be ugly to my wife and kids.

5) Missoula - beautiful area but same worry about local angst.



Sorry for the long post but I’d love to have some perspective from people with similar hobbies that may be familiar with these areas or have other spots to consider.

I do not have any useful information on those particular areas. Since you mentioned raising a family at some point - my input is more along these lines: move now, before you have children. It is much easier; moving later becomes more challenging, and it increases as they age and begin to take root with friends and activities. Ranked easiest to hardest:
1. Moving before kids
2. Moving when kids are little/young
3. Moving when kids begin to grow.

If you move now/sooner, that’ll give you time to either get things setup for their arrival, or move again to find the “right” place for you.

Good luck!

 

[WeiserBucks]

If Idaho is full, what’s the word for Colorado?

Colorado needs good folks on front range, therefore they still have room.

 

[Fever Buck]

Colorado needs good folks on front range, therefore they still have room.

I like your train of thought.

 

[Fever Buck]

I do not have any useful information on those particular areas. Since you mentioned raising a family at some point - my input is more along these lines: move now, before you have children. It is much easier; moving later becomes more challenging, and it increases as they age and begin to take root with friends and activities. Ranked easiest to hardest:
1. Moving before kids
2. Moving when kids are little/young
3. Moving when kids begin to grow.

If you move now/sooner, that’ll give you time to either get things setup for their arrival, or move again to find the “right” place for you.

Good luck!

Yep. That’s definitely in my mind. We have a 1.5 year old and another one on the way. Def want to get moved before the family sets up roots here.

 

[Phaseolus]

Palisade, Colorado is a nice place to live.

 

[Beendare]

I looked hard at Afton...its pretty high, 6,600'

I think a guy needs to be in that 2700'-4500' range

 

[4090Sharps]

We will be raising a young family.

You didn't mention quality schools or the ease of access to special services should kids need them. Have kids yet? Homeschooling? Those two items can be a HUGE deal and drive which states you choose to settle in.

 

[Pharmseller]

Oregon didn’t make the list.

Smart man.




P

 

[NRA4LIFE]

Washington too.

 

[fngTony]

Not on your list but how about western slope Colorado around Grand Junction? You have enough locally for most needs but you’re also less than a day’s drive from SLC or Denver if you need large city stuff. As someone else said winters can be a pain in some places. Also if you’re looking long term don’t forget about access to healthcare as you and your family age your needs will increase and your ability to travel will decrease.

 

[butcherboy]

If you stay in CO then I would look at Grand Junction or even Montrose. Southern CO around Durango is still good but houses are high so just a little to the east of Durango is Bayfield. Bayfield is small town agricultural. Durango has a great hospital and a little further south is Farmington, NM which a lot of folks from CO come down to have more shopping opportunities. If you are looking at Idaho then another option close to the Tetons would be Rexburg.

 

[TaperPin]

I’ve lived in Fort Collins, Alaska, western Wyoming, and southern Idaho, and know a lot of folks in Montana. There are some serious differences in lifestyle in this kind of move. Three things stand out as critical to living in these areas.

The state’s economy and your personal standard of living are two completely different things. Some areas have good job markets and others have so few jobs you’ll need to wait for someone to die unless you’re a remote worker, independently wealthy or set with a good retirement. Every year people move to areas thinking they will work hard and everything will work out, only to struggle for a few years until it becomes obvious nobody in your family is happy and you’re so broke it’s very hard to enjoy all the hunting and fishing.

Weather is so different from the Front Range to many rural spots, that you will probably thrive or fail with your love of winter sports. If you love skiing, make sure to move to an area with a ski slope, or at least one within a few hours drive. Snow mobiles are a great winter escape on weekends in many communities - ask about local snowmobile trails and how active the local association is. Again, if you are so broke that it’s hard to keep a good collection of snowmobiles or to be able to get season ski passes, or to keep reliable winterized vehicles, it really limits things.

Third, you need to know what your family likes to do. If you are a huge fly fishing fanatic, many large areas of the west have fantastic fishing and as many large areas that look like fish should be everywhere have none. If you love trophy hunting stick to Wyoming and Montana - as a resident your odds of drawing fantastic tags is better. Idaho has pockets of great hunting, but the population boom will have guys from Boise competing all over the state. If you are into boats and water sports that can mean a 20 min drive, or 3 hrs.

Here’s a fourth thing you need to look into - there are local governments with little money, school rooms may be modular homes and activities are limited, and there are well funded ones with great schools and a lot of activities. Often it’s related to the tax structure and how schools are funded.

In Wyoming much of the western part is pretty expensive with out of state people bringing their own money. Cody is a great little town - it still has much of the feel western Wyoming had 25 years ago.

Good luck - it’s really hard to know what a place is like until you’re there in person - spend a lot of time in different towns.

 

[Fever Buck]

If you stay in CO then I would look at Grand Junction or even Montrose. Southern CO around Durango is still good but houses are high so just a little to the east of Durango is Bayfield. Bayfield is small town agricultural. Durango has a great hospital and a little further south is Farmington, NM which a lot of folks from CO come down to have more shopping opportunities. If you are looking at Idaho then another option close to the Tetons would be Rexburg.

We’ve talked about moving further out but staying in Colorado as well. Not ruling it out but my thought process is that if I’m moving away from the city, I’d rather take advantage of other states where there is better hunting and more in line with my political views and how I’d like to raise my family.

 

[PredatorSlayer]

Interesting, for some reason I thought there wasn’t an airport. That makes it a better choice for sure. And I never said cheap. I said more affordable, which it is compared to the other cities listed. No where is cheap anymore.

Its not a big airport. Most people drive to SLC or boise to fly anywhere. There is a bus that runs from IF to the SLC airport for a reason.

 

[Mykolaivka887]

We’ve talked about moving further out but staying in Colorado as well. Not ruling it out but my thought process is that if I’m moving away from the city, I’d rather take advantage of other states where there is better hunting .....

Grand Junction. In less than a decade, if Colorado goes to big game hunting by draw permit only, the hunting will improve dramatically.

 

[TaperPin]

What is your career if you don’t mind me asking?

 

[Fever Buck]

What is your career if you don’t mind me asking?

I’m an electrical engineer at a power company. Hoping I’ll be able to swing working at one of the local electric utility companies.