Is it the weather, the cities, the people? Perhaps it is the agricultural availability, the splendorous views of our mountains, lakes, streams and desert? Is it the history of the Lewis and Clark journey and the Indians that lived here and still live here (on reservations) or the history being made today at places like Kelly Whitewater Park in Cascade? Or is it something more like relocation by your employer, or the cost of living is better than where you were previously living?
People move to Idaho for all kinds of reasons. Certainly the lifestyle is a big factor. Most people I talk to come for work and a better lifestyle for them and for their family. Many people travel here for a trip of one kind or another and fall in love with all that Idaho has to offer, ending with a move back here to find a job – if they didn’t find it before they left, or at retirement. Idaho has several National Parks and historical Monuments; the Nez Perce National Historical Park, Craters of the Moon National Preserve, City of Rocks National Reserve, and Yellowstone National Park, the California National Historic Trail, Oregon National Historic Trail, Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument, Minidoka Internment National Monument and the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail.
Idaho is full of history of several Native American Tribes – the Salish and Kootenai Tribes, the Coeur d’Alene Tribe and the Nez Perce Tribe in north Idaho, the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of southwest Idaho, and the Shoshone and Bannock Tribes of southeast Idaho. The Basque, Japanese and Chinese people who helped develop our state is documented in the museums and monuments here as well.
Mining, lumber and cattle towns have dotted the state of Idaho since the land was discovered. They hold the rich history of the ‘wild west’ in many forms. Some are still active, some are not, but all are fabulous in their own ways.
Idaho is rich in waterways from the beautiful lakes of Priest Lake, Pend ‘Oreille and Coeur D’Alene in the north to Payette Lake and Cascade Reservoir mid-state, to Lake Lowell, the Anderson Ranch, Lucky Peak and C.J. Strike Reservoirs in the southwest to the American Falls and Blackfoot Reservoirs and Grays Lake, Lake Walcott and Bear Lake in the southeast, and all the many rivers, creeks and streams between and around them. Anglers of all kinds come here to fish our lakes, rivers and streams. Winter/snow lovers come to Alpine and Nordic ski, snowboard, ice fish, snowmobile, and camp. Summer brings those who love the outdoors to hike, backpack, camp, trail ride on motorbikes, four-wheelers and horses, go zip lining and just enjoy the splendor of God’s handiwork displayed here.
We obviously have agriculture, our “Famous Potatoes” and many other products – sugar beets, onions, melons, mint, grasses, hays and silage crops, wheat, barley, beans, dry peas, oilseeds, vegetables of all kinds, dairy, beef, Kobe beef, pork, sheep, goats, llamas, poultry, buffalo, fruits, tree nuts and berries, Christmas trees, ammunition and viticulture with many small vineyards.
We have Broadway shows and live entertainment, art galleries and museums, movie/film-makers, fairs, carnivals, parades, and sports - a PGA Tour sanctioned golfing event, National rodeos, three College Football teams, world-class ski resorts and national, international and Olympic athletes, an International Whitewater Competition, a minor league baseball team (Boise Hawks), an American professional minor league ice hockey team (Idaho Steelheads) and a NBA development league (D-league) basketball team (Idaho Stampede).
There is much more to be found here than I have written about. Whatever you’d like to find can be found in Idaho, even the furthest inland seaport in the country - in Lewiston at the confluence of the Clearwater and Snake Rivers! Idaho is a great place to live, play and raise a family - and our Realtors’ can help you find your perfect place to call home!!
Sherri Hudson
208-861-1935
shudson@atova.com