I'm thinking of buying some land as a retirement 'compound' where I can sit on 40 acres and not see a damned person that I didn't invite  :)  I've seen some breathtaking views of Idaho and I'm planning a trip out there to scout the place.  I have some questions.

What's the job situation like there?  Any hope of a decent paying job in IT?

Gun laws?  They look pretty good but are there any surprises?

Cost of living and such?

Lots of good property to be had or are people fighting over scraps?

I'm looking at some other states as well.  If the oppertunities are good maybe I can head out there before I get old and retired.

Thanks for any insights.

I went up to Idaho in June 03 to visit future in laws. I must say Idaho is a nice place. However its no utopia. Im sure it has alot of the same BS that other areas have. However, I found the people to be quite nice and polite.  I was lost trying to find a tourist attraction and I pulled into a residential area near a school. before I knew it a plain clothes detective was on me and asking me what I was doing. Once I informed him I was an AF cop, he showed me where I was on my map and even offered to show me where I was going. He had me follow him right up to the front of the place I was going and wished me a nice stay in Boise. Ive never had a cop help me like that. I found alot of the restaurants and store offered excellent customer service not often found in other parts of the country. In all I really enjoyed Idaho and all it offered. I wouldnt hesitate for a moment to move there. As for your questions;
 Idaho is growing, that means jobs.
 The gun laws were good.
 The hunting is awesome Im told.
 Finding decent proprty shouldnt be a problem.
 I found that things there were cheaper compared to Nevada.

If you have question about southeast Idaho I can answer them for you.  As far as IT jobs go I not sure how many there are here since I don't work in that field.  The largest employer in my town is  Department of Energy contractors.  Here is a link to the biggest ones web site.  The job link is near the top of the page, you have to go thru a lot of links to get to it. www.inel.gov  

You will find the salary here is a lot lower than a lot of other places.  However it is cheap to live here.  You can get a very nice house for under $150,000 depending on what city you live in.

If you have any specific questions shoot me a e-mail or IM.

Paraord16

You must be around the Pocatello/Idaho Falls area??  SE Idaho is nice and has a wide range of terrain, I was just out camping and plinking this past June on my property outside of Preston.  One of these I'll have to remember to take out an inner tube so I can float down the Bear River just below the Oneida Reservoir.  Good Luck!

I picked up some real estate flyers when I was out there and wasn't surprised to see the prices much higher now for bare real estate, but still cheaper than some other states.  I definately got lucky as I bought my 80 acres for $300/acre back in December of '92 two weeks before I shipped off to Kunsan, AB Korea.  I bought it sight unseen from across the river (snowfall was REAL heavy that winter) and never stepped foot on it until summer of '94, until June I hadn't been back there since July of '99.

Paraord16, my Dad was born/raised on the Downey Flats  and Grand Parents had a store in Malad. Good memories. I have lots of relatives in S.E. Idaho,N.Utah.

Quoted: You must be around the Pocatello/Idaho Falls area??  SE Idaho is nice and has a wide range of terrain, I was just out camping and plinking this past June on my property outside of Preston.  One of these I'll have to remember to take out an inner tube so I can float down the Bear River just below the Oneida Reservoir.  Good Luck! I picked up some real estate flyers when I was out there and wasn't surprised to see the prices much higher now for bare real estate, but still cheaper than some other states.  I definately got lucky as I bought my 80 acres for $300/acre back in December of '92 two weeks before I shipped off to Kunsan, AB Korea.  I bought it sight unseen from across the river (snowfall was REAL heavy that winter) and never stepped foot on it until summer of '94, until June I hadn't been back there since July of '99.

You're making me cry.  Most stuff I'm seeing is $1000 to $1500 per.  Thanks for the replys!

Prepare to pay closer to 5K an acre atleast and thats if you buy more than 10 acres, Things have gone up alot in 12 years. I live in the Idaho falls area and it growing fast.

Quoted: Quoted: You must be around the Pocatello/Idaho Falls area??  SE Idaho is nice and has a wide range of terrain, I was just out camping and plinking this past June on my property outside of Preston.  One of these I'll have to remember to take out an inner tube so I can float down the Bear River just below the Oneida Reservoir.  Good Luck! I picked up some real estate flyers when I was out there and wasn't surprised to see the prices much higher now for bare real estate, but still cheaper than some other states.  I definately got lucky as I bought my 80 acres for $300/acre back in December of '92 two weeks before I shipped off to Kunsan, AB Korea.  I bought it sight unseen from across the river (snowfall was REAL heavy that winter) and never stepped foot on it until summer of '94, until June I hadn't been back there since July of '99. You're making me cry.  Most stuff I'm seeing is $1000 to $1500 per.  Thanks for the replys!