Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Opinions from Idaho residents?

The girlfriend and I are looking to move to Idaho, we’ve both been looking for jobs in the southern part of the state. Most of the jobs I’ve found in my trade are in Boise obviously and the surrounding area. I did however find a job listing in Ketchum Idaho. Was hoping to get your guys thoughts on the different areas is all. Ketchum looks beautiful from the few pictures I’ve seen but I suppose it could be a trap lol, thoughts? I do HVAC by the way. Thanks gents!

I would think that you could find work doing HVAC most anywhere. Boise is my least favorite part of the state. I worked in Idaho for 5 years 25 years ago and I am sure lots has changed. I know real estate prices were sky high.

I am not in construction anymore but good HVAC guys are never out of work anywhere , that I know of!

It is not a trap, most everywhere in Idaho is beautiful country or within a short drive of it.

Buying a house in Boise/Meridian/Coeur d'Alene/Twin Falls was ugly for a while, largely due to Californians migrating out, but things are starting to settle down. Prices are moving down, inventory is up, days on market is up. Nowhere close to back to pre-migration levels but better.

If you are planning to rent, rents lag so are still up. On the bright side there is a good bit of new construction happening, in the cities pretty much exclusively, so plenty of demand for HVAC guys.

At the moment the reality is every city in "the West" saw housing prices increase bigly. It is a tax for moving out of places like PA and well worth the cost.

Ketchum full of Californians and expensive. Real estate in Idaho has gone through the roof and wages have not kept up

It’s hot, dry, and very windy.

Winter’s are not bad.

Ketchum gets a lot of snow.

The roads in the national forests are awful.

The enforcement of motor vehicles not allowed areas is almost non existent .

The elk hunting is very restricted unless you want to shoot cows near hay fields.

Most archery seasons are only in September.

Antelope rifle seasons are a tough draw.

The trout fishing in reservoirs is good due to the commercial trout industry donations. That may change as Clear Spring Foods has a new business model.

The catfishing on the snake is awesome.

The dairy industry has made the magic valley very very smelly. The wind helps that issue.
The houseflies are unbelievable.

The freedom to camp, shoot , enjoy federal land is awesome.

It can be pretty steep on the mountains.

The ability to take trash to dumps for free is also very nice.

The mosquitoes aren’t bad.

Firewood is plentiful.

The Ketchum-Sun Valley-Hailey area is indeed beautiful. It's also filled with liberals. It's Idaho's one blue county. In 2020, the county voted more than 2:1 for Biden.
Prices for everything are outrageous. Working people have a hard time making it there because of the high cost of housing and because wages don't match the cost of living. Numerous attempts at building low cost housing have been shot down by local regulations. Many working people live in Shoshone, 55 miles away, and commute.

^^^^What he said, nobody working for a living can live in Belmont or Ketchum, commute only.

I live 12 miles from ID but I'll jump in.
Over the decades I've watched the Boise area change from a nice area that I considered moving to, to a over developed metropolis that I hate to even drive through (I call it the new Salt Lake City), and it's now an expensive place to live as well. Coming from PA your impression might be diffferent.
The Ketchum job would probably have to come with housing to be practical, and I disagree about the Mosquitos not being bad there, depending on season and location of course.
I agree that good HVAC guys can always find a job, almost anywhere.

Ketchum is snowy (it is Sun Valley, after all), but great for outdoor recreation opportunities of all kinds. Like all exclusive resort communities, the excluded part is the labor force that does the work.

Unless the job comes with housing, you'll pay a lot for something a long commute from the job.

Most of the larger towns in so. Idaho are in the Snake River plain. It's dry and largely high desert. I-84 goes through it and most travelers never get off it so all they see is desert. 30 miles north or south of it is where the real outdoor Idaho is found.

Thank you for the info, I’ve noticed that HVAC jobs seem pretty easy to find, I know I’ll be taking a pay cut most likely. Thank you for the warning about the liberals in Ketchum, that’s part of the reason we are leaving PA lol. Unfortunately we will need to rent to start out and yes I have noticed finding places to rent, especially that allow pets is near impossible but we will keep searching. That’s a beautiful area Rock Chuck!

Not to hijack… but How’s the rent in boise? I’m looking to get 2nd home in Idaho. So when I retire I want to be a snow bird.
Watching the market adjust . I’d rather be in the sticks, but wifey wants to be closer to the city.

I'd check out Rexburg. It's close to the Tetons, to some of the best fly fishing around, and it's at lower elevation than some alternatives such as St Anthony. It has a nice college, and adequate shopping.

For a little bigger burg, check Idaho Falls. Not quite as close to Yellowstone and the Tetons, but accessible.

Yes, the wind blows in Idaho. But the climate isn't bad. Cold in winter, hot in summer, typically very low humidity.

Have you considered Utah?

I moved from central PA (Stormstown) to Idaho via Utah (college) in the early 80's. Idaho is awesome. There are some areas in S. Utah I would live like Cedar City. The Wasatch front is horribly crowded. My parents and one of my kids live there. When I have to drive there my blood pressure spikes.

I would try to live up in the Stanley Basin area.

There’s not much for housing and no jobs in Stanley. It’s a summer tourist destination with 6+ months of winter and about the coldest place in the state

One might explore some of the places up the Panhandle aways.

Nearby to Lewiston are some smaller towns and there is "decent" city type services there (doctors, shopping, Costco across the river in Clarkston WA).

Grangeville, Riggins maybe if you're looking for smaller towns not too far away (by Out West standards ) from city stuff.

Moscow and Lewiston aren't too bad for "cities", but if your wife requires malls and stuff, you're going to be stuck in the bigger cities down in S ID or find an affordable place nearby to Coeur d'Alene so you can drive across the border to Spokane if you want to live up in the Panhandle.

Good luck with the move.

Sometimes, maybe more than a few, the coldest place in the Nation.