BC and the thought was, both of these places would be great places to live if you could figure out a way to make a decent living (or be wealthy enough to not worry about it.)

But too many crazy people!!! and no jobs- unless you can buy a farm, farmers get great tax breaks here.

Idaho is a wonderful part of these United States, and all states have something to contribute and enjoy

And welcome to DU, democratXX

I can well imagine that Idaho is difficult now...floating down the wrong fork of the current river of American politics.

I grew up in Idaho Falls, arriving at age 1 and leaving in 1968 after my sophomore year of high school. It was an OK place to live then. My father was a chemical engineer working at what was then called the National Reactor Testing Station, now the Idaho National Laboratory. I like to joke that he worked as a breeder...breeding plutonium from uranium...which is in fact, what he did. Despite being a mostly farming community with a higher Mormon population percentage than Salt Lake City, there were several thousand highly trained technical workers as well. Family friends were mostly associated with Dad's work. I had a whole range of friends from school and other activities. We vacationed at Yellowstone, in the Sawtooths and the Tetons, and at Priest Lake in northern Idaho. Skiing was nearby. The nature connection was great.

I managed to develop a reasonable political view point, mostly through my father's influence - he subscribed to the New Yorker, Natural History, USSR Today, Ebony, Science, and other technical publications. In my early teens I added Ramparts and Garbage. Friends and I staged an 'environmental protest' by staining the foam on the Snake River with RIT dye...not recognizing that, of course, we were adding pollution by dumping that stuff in the water. A friend and I were proud to be photographed gathering signatures downtown against the Anti-Ballistic-Missile defense system - we joked that it was the FBI. I campaigned for Frank Church.

We left in '68 for Chicago when Dad went back to Argonne National Labs. I did a year of high school, then undergrad in the Windy City...wow, what a great music scene. Then to Palo Alto for grad school and a tech startup.

Now, enjoying Oregon on a farm outside Eugene. We have the magical Pete DeFazio as a representative, and two good Senators Merkley and Wyden. Though there have been proposals to be build a North-South fence along the divide of the Cascades, separating the Left coasters from the Right cattle folk, that hasn't been necessary...yet. Must be noted that we are trailing our northern neighbor on marriage equality and marijuana, but we're working on that. Yes, the income (and estate) taxes are high, but so are the benefits...and so are most of the residents of Eugene.

Let me know if you're passing through. DG.

I'm northwest of Boise, in Eagle for the last 10 years. I like Boise a lot and am glad to live a days drive away from the Oregon coast. Family keeps me here .. And I want to hang around to support the opposition to the conservative majority. I shouldn't complain it's not that bad.

I miss it every second that I'm in California. If not for the job I'd be gone. This place had turned into a cesspool. No money for schools, Taxes -- expensive even if your rich. Sales taxes ~10% with increases in the works -- doesn't sound progressive to me. Gas prices 2nd highest in the nation. Cost of living outrageous. Median home price in Sonoma county $340,000 -- more expensive further south. Gangs out the wa zoo. Can't hike in the national forests without potentially running into a MJ grow and possibly getting shot (Mexican Drug Cartels). Measuring distance in hours not miles -- traffic sucks. Life runs a thousand miles a minute unless you're stuck on a freeway then it's a thousand minutes to the mile.

Convince us to save water but when we do they raise the prices because we don't use enough to cover the fixed costs (bureaucracy).

Good points: beautiful weather, lots to do, great scenery, good golf courses (if you can afford them), very progressive.

Idaho has the same Federal background check laws as the rest of the country. Some states are a little more strict (California) but the federal (Interstate) laws are the same.

I guess the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.

Take Care

I agree about the grass being greener and all that.....there are so many good reasons to stay here and stand up for progressive causes but sometimes it's frustrating.

I grew un in one of two counties in Idaho that voted for Obama so I guess I had it better than most.

Take Care!!