I can almost taste the freedom!

I came to NJ right out of grad school, and have trying to get back to my native state ever since.   Turns out, I had to wait till retirement to pull it off.   At least that gave my wife, a born-and-raised Jersey girl, time to get used to the idea.

I’m not sure when we’ll actually be moving, we’re neither packed and ready to move, nor is our current home ready to go on the market.   I’m hoping we’ll be ready within the next six weeks or so.

Because…drum roll please…we closed on our new house today!  We’ll be moving to Coeur d’Alene, in the Idaho panhandle.  There are lots of lakes, state forest, and BLM land surrounding a decent size town, just over 30 minutes from Spokane International Airport.   Four ski hills within an hour’s drive.   Lots of wildlife.   Plenty of brewpubs.  Hiking/biking trails everywhere.  Constitutional carry.  Our property tax bill will be reduced by 80%.  State income tax is lower, and when the state is running a surplus (most years) they mail checks to the residents to refund the overage.

It’s a nice house on which we closed, but I mostly show the views from the deck.    We’ll be on a hill overlooking Hayden Lake, which is located between the larger Coeur d’Alene and Pend Oreille lakes.   

 

 

 

Congrats. Don't look back 

Is…there a guest room?   

1 hour ago, voyager9 said:

Is…there a guest room WING?   

FIFY

Best of luck with the move and all it entails, Gary!

Beautiful.  Congrats and best of luck.

Congratulations!! I'm originally from Seattle, but one of my uncles had a homestead up there in Pend Oreille county WA, pretty close to Idaho. beautiful area even though the rest of Washington has gone from bad to worst.  I would go back to Idaho, but my wife wants a warmer climate and milder winter, so we're looking at TN.

BTW, wife is a Jersey girl too, but she can't wait to exit this state. It's sad too because NJ does have a lot to offer.

I travel to Idaho Falls semi-regularly for work. It’s very nice although cold af in the winter 

Congratulations on your impending escape!!! 
 

Freedom tastes sweet!

Well don't forget to drop into the Forum periodically and give (false?) hope to the rest of the PODs trapped on the wrong side of the river.

Seriously, best of luck out there. You'll like it, regardless of the winter temperatures!

Congratulations!  I'm jealous, of course.  I don't see myself leaving here anytime soon.

How's the fishing?

Just beware of the shift from the left.

13th Oregon county secures approval to ditch Democrat-compromised state to join Idaho | Blaze Media(theblaze.com)

I've been watching PA on the knife edge since 2017, even without shifting borders across counties .

Congrats Gary! And welcome home.

2 hours ago, 45Doll said:

Just beware of the shift from the left.

13th Oregon county secures approval to ditch Democrat-compromised state to join Idaho | Blaze Media(theblaze.com)

I've been watching PA on the knife edge since 2017, even without shifting borders across counties .

Wow!   That's almost 2/3 of the state land-wise.  It would be cool, but I doubt the state of Oregon will give that up.  

I keep hoping for a Warren (and maybe Sussex) trade with Pennsylvania for Philadelphia.  And yes, Warren County could easily and happily be renamed!

Congrats!  

And it looks like there's easy I-90 access!

@10X I'm only posting this because we're talking about Idaho. The truth is it could be any other state in the union. They will leave no stone unturned, especially the conservative ones. I'm still holding hope.

Citizen Free Press on X: "3 busloads of illegal invaders dropped off in Boise within 15 minutes. This is Idaho, not El Paso. https://t.co/LaEdDSixan" / X

On a more uplifting note, I saw one of these guys on Fox this morning. Veteran/first responder based.

Your North Idaho Agent – Your North Idaho Agent

Edited May 25, 20242 yr by 45Doll
2nd link added.

Congrats sir!  That's quite a view from that expansive deck!

80% less and they still have paved roads, schools, electricity and running water!!??  Inconceivable! 

 

On 5/24/2024 at 8:53 AM, 45Doll said:

Well don't forget to drop into the Forum periodically and give (false?) hope to the rest of the PODs trapped on the wrong side of the river.

Seriously, best of luck out there. You'll like it, regardless of the winter temperatures!

The temps aren't a lot different than here, lower humidity, a bit more snow in the winter, but not crazy amounts.   Oddly enough, the panhandle has the mildest climate in Idaho, as it's around 2,000-2,500' above sea level, while most towns in Idaho are 3,500-7,500' above sea level.   The high peaks get close to 13,000'

On 5/24/2024 at 10:31 AM, CMJeepster said:

Congratulations!  I'm jealous, of course.  I don't see myself leaving  anytime soon.

How's the fishing?

I think the fishing is pretty good, I look forward to finding out.  I knew they had salmon and a few varieties of trout in the panhandle, but apparently smallmouth and largemouth bass, perch, and a half-dozen other gamefish are common.    And the northern pike get pretty big.

That's the state record fish, caught last year in Hayden Lake-40.76 lbs, 49" long.   I had no idea pike got that big.

On 5/24/2024 at 10:39 AM, 45Doll said:

Just beware of the shift from the left.

13th Oregon county secures approval to ditch Democrat-compromised state to join Idaho | Blaze Media(theblaze.com)

I've been watching PA on the knife edge since 2017, even without shifting borders across counties .

Yeah, the "Greater Idaho" movement is interesting.   It shows how bad Oregon has gotten, that 2/3rds of the counties have voted for secession.   Oregon won't let that much tax money go, unfortunately.

6 hours ago, gleninjersey said:

Congrats sir!  That's quite a view from that expansive deck!

80% less and they still have paved roads, schools, electricity and running water!!??  Inconceivable! 

I'm always impressed by the roads...I've never seen a pothole, the maintenance is impeccable.  I guess that's what happens when a state actually spends the gas tax on road maintenance.     I think the schools are pretty decent.   Water everywhere and cheap hydro power!

On 5/24/2024 at 11:32 AM, High Exposure said:

Congrats Gary! And welcome home.

Thank you!

Congrats on escaping.  Stock up on Pork Roll and good Pizza...

11 minutes ago, Krdshrk said:

Congrats on escaping.  Stock up on Pork Roll and good Pizza...

This this thing called the interwebs.  It's like AMAZING!  

I've sent my parents pork roll from there for a few years now.  Just in case you can't find any out that way.  

https://jerseyporkroll.com/

Congratulations. That's a hell of a porch view. Will you also be exploring some the areas backcountry airstrips after you're settled in?

1 minute ago, planenut said:

Congratulations. That's a hell of a porch view. Will you also be exploring some the areas backcountry airstrips after you're settled in?

That would be awesome...Idaho is famous for it's backcountry airstrips, as you probably know.

But I'll either be joining a flying club, or renting aircraft...and I suspect there will be prohibitions on backcountry landings.    I don't think buying a bush plane is in the budget.     After I take a mountain flying course, I hope to at least see a few of those strips from the air.

Yeah flying clubs can be hit or miss (I'm on my third one in nearly 20 years). It's usually, someone screwed up so now we need a new rule. I'm sure you're familiar with these guys, but I'll mention them in case anyone else wants to know about them, as I've been following them online for a while. The RAF

On 5/25/2024 at 5:06 PM, Krdshrk said:

Stock up on Pork Roll

@Mrs. Peel will delete or edit this.