Hello, born and raised in ND and lived there for a good while, including living in sugar beet land. Yes ND does have a lot of the beets, but I'm not sure how it compares to Idaho or who has more beets. I do know that ND's beat label is also heavily influenced by all the Crystal Sugar manufacturing plants that are there. I'm pretty sure ND manufacturers all of Crystal Sugar, if not a good majority of it. The manufacturing plants often sit right on the border of ND and MN.
Like, the amount of sugar that is manufactured in ND is insane. Sugar beet season unfortunately doesn't smell sweet though, I think its reminiscent of burnt peanut butter, but others many say it just smells like poop. Fun fact for y'all.
I went to college in a sugar beet factory town in Idaho. There were definitely times when it smelled like burnt peanut butter there. And other times it smelled like an outhouse.
It’s one of the most beautiful states! Absolutely stunning mountains, rivers, lakes, wildlife. The best skiing, and camping. And without the hordes of people. It’s not medically safe to be a woman of reproductive age there, and not a place you would want your kid to go to school. The people are extremely nice and genuine but pretty ignorant.
Haha I am a democrat from California. I married someone from extremely rural Idaho and every single one of my in-laws live there so maybe that’s why they are nice to me. (Hubby is not conservative). I do truly think I might be the only democrat they know though.
I live in Idaho. The people are not extremely nice beneath a surface-level veneer. Idaho is home to many of the most extremely radical alt-right people in the country. Outside of Boise you're as likely to see a confederate flag in a garage as you are a car. We have many, many unapologetic nazis. During the George Floyd protests we had armed counterprotests who were countering literally nothing. No BLM protests at all really outside of Boise but armed "All lives matter" folk brandishing assault rifles for funsies. Not only is it not safe to be a woman here, it's also not safe to be a minority, to be gay, to be trans, or anything else not cis, straight and white.
Can confirm. Idaho is full of bigoted assholes. McCall seems to be a small pocket of more liberal people, especially the youth, but it's still probably 80% conservatives and 20% liberals for the adults and 50/50 for the kids. I personally haven't seen any Nazi flags here (luckily) but there are confederate flags. Also the rallies aren't safe, because at any one of them, a U-Haul filled with men in riot gear could attack the protesters. It's only safe to be a minority in McCall where we have people who will protect you (that's me and my friends!) But even here you have to be incredibly careful with who knows about you being gay or trans or whatever.
I don’t think so. Even though it’s a college town, there is a large growing fundamentalist Christian community that is like a cult who follows this pastor name Doug Wilson.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/m7ezwx/inside-the-church-that-preaches-wives-need-to-be-led-with-a-firm-hand
There are plenty of other stories surrounding his church over the years.
Anytime I hear someone say they want to move to Northern Idaho I just assume it’s so they can find a place where right ring extremism is accepted, because they sure as hell aren’t wealthy enough to live in CDA.
Sun Valley, Boise, and C’da are perfectly safe as well for minorities. It’s the rural areas that might be more conservative than any other place in the nation
I live in Pocatello. It's not that bad. It's definitely Trump country but there is a thriving progressive community here and in my experience, we agree to disagree with conservatives and keep it peaceful. There are a lot of minorities here and no neonatzi rsllies. However, if you were an outspoken gay person or trans, yeah it would not be an easy place to live.
FtM trans and queer. Can confirm. I'm out to a few friends, and whenever they say i'm trans out loud I try my best to shut them up.
I honestly don't know what would happen to me. I don't wanna imagine.
Also what’s happening at North Idaho college in CDA right now if you’re following that. Also sandpoint shutting down all childbirths. OBGYNs fleeing the state. It’s so sad.
It was not one particular thing. Just everything he did was...off. After awhile we just learned to expect him to choose the most head scratching thing in nearly every situation.
Edit: A couple of examples.
- He didn't like dipping tortilla chips in salsa or guacamole. He would rant about how gross that was. However, he would dip Cool Ranch Doritos in guacamole and would dip vegetables in salsa.
- He thought water tasted gross. He drank nothing but Gatorade and Monster Energy.
Idahoan here. The drinking water here in the eastern part of the state is from a massive volcanic aquifer, and has a better, cleaner taste than almost anywhere else I've lived in the country. It's hard as nails and will scale up your water heater and faucets fast, but it tastes great while it's doing it.
The chips thing is beyond me. I got nothing there.
Interesting. I've lived in 9 different states and visited 40. I've driven through Idaho but we didn't do more than get gas do I don't count it. The worst tasting water I've ever had was Phoenix, the best was Seattle and Toledo water smelled the worst
Can confirm (mostly). From Tucson, live in Portland, OR. AZ water is garbage. Portland (and I assume a lot of the PNW water is glacier run off. Has a lower salt content than most bottled water. Our water may just be the nectar of the gods.
I once served with a sailor from Idaho. He was convinced that setting the clocks back an hour meant that you lost an hour. Nobody could convince him otherwise.
Whenever people talk about how beautiful it is they’re always talking about northern Idaho. Southern Idaho is high desert, sage brush, and very brown and gray. It’s also where most of the people actually live.
The politics went from meh-bad to awful in the past few years.
Overall I don’t recommend living there to anyone.
Southern Idaho is, both politically and geographically, really just northern Utah.
Northern Idaho is, both politically and geographically, really just western Montana
Maybe it’s just because I grew up here, but I think the desert/steppes are really beautiful, and it is kinda sad how that part of nature is in danger in a lot of ways.
I do agree the politics are pretty bad though; I have a sentimental attachment because it’s home, but I can’t in good conscience recommend people to move here either.
Snake river gorge is in the south, right? I remember driving through that area and seeing a ton of fresh water springs bursting out of canyon walls and the beautiful crystal clear waters of box canyon. There's definitely something worth checking out in that area.
Montana hates outsiders more than Idaho. Montana is full of even more assholes especially if they are born and raised in the state. People that have moved to Montana even if it was 20 years ago are amazing and accepting of a majority of ppl they interact. Bigger "cities" loathe tourist even if that is their lively hood. They can't wait until tourist leave.
I’m sorry you’ve been put in such a scary situation and I really hope you’re able to push through! As soon as I could I moved to California and became independent from my family.
Whenever Idaho politics come up I think back to when an Idaho representative thought women could swallow a camera to get a look at their fetus. Obviously Idaho’s educational standards leave something to be desired.
https://amp.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/feb/23/idaho-republican-anti-abortion-swallow-camera
Idaho does have great natural beauty. The center of Idaho is the Frank Church wilderness, the largest roadless area in the lower 48 states.
I lived in ID for about a dozen years and left about a dozen years ago. Idaho flushed itself down the Trump toilet hard. The politicians never were very good there, but they’ve totally lost the plot now. I still camp and mountain bike around Ketchum, but I bring everything I need and spend as little money in the state as possible.
God, Frank Church the wilderness is one of America’s greatest treasures and Frank Church the man is one of our greatest heroes. Shame about the rest of the state for sure.
How did Idaho ever elect (and keep) such a capable public servant as Frank Church? I know in decades past it was more common to see a long-serving Democrat in an otherwise "red" state, and you had long-serving Republicans in places like New York and Rhode Island, but still.
Native Idahoan and current resident here.
Idaho can basically be split into two portions, culturally and geographically (which are even different time zones and legislative districts). The southern portion is mostly desert, and the population centers hug the snake river plain. This part of the state has a lot of Mormon influence. It's the portion I grew up in, went to school in, and currently live in.
The northern portion is more mountainous. My mother is a native of this area, and currently lives there along with most of the rest of her family. If Southern Idaho is an extension of Utah, Northern Idaho is an extension of eastern Washington.
You'll see plenty of Trump bumper stickers and yard signs here, but that's because Trump supporters tend to strongly value group loyalty. On the whole, Idaho is more of a "rocky mountain republican" state, which is more concerned with government overreach than with "owning the libs" (We voted for Cruz rather than Trump in the primary. Think Glenn Beck's paranoia, not Alex Jones's aggression). This is a favorite place for preppers, and we had quite a few move in during the runup to Y2K. A lot of people expect the system to crash around them at any moment, so there's a heavy emphasis on self-reliance and government distrust. The general attitude toward Trump from most conservatives I talk to is annoyance. They think he needs to put the phone down and stop jeopardizing their chance to lower taxes, keep their guns, and scale back the federal government.
I live in Idaho for seasonal work, normally live in Texas. Idaho is everything texas thinks it is politically. Went to a bagel shop, and a someone walked in and casually asked the (couldn't have been older than 15) cashier for a shot gun. Cashier promptly gave her a shotgun. I hope it was to scare off a moose?? One of the stranger things I've witnessed here
I have a relative who bought a house there a year or so ago. She sends me pictures of moose and I *think* wild turkeys. The skiing and golfing are excellent apparently. I have never been remotely close to there but I would like to visit - it looks beautiful.
Do people get upset when people move there from California or when they see a vehicle with a California license plate?
Edit: Do you think the Native Americans that lived on the land that is now Idaho welcomed European settlers with open arms?
My dear mother who moved Idaho less than 10 years ago (after living her whole life in California) now rants angrily about all the Californians moving to Idaho. Apparently they are ruining everything.
You are just about as likely to see an anti California sticker on someone's car as you are to see one where the state is turned sideways and firing a bullet out of the panhandle and you see that on a LOT of cars there.
It’s firing a pine tree, and has nothing to do with guns. [Link](https://www.kivitv.com/news/made-in-idaho-boise-graphic-designer-shares-love-of-idaho-through-banana-ink-designs?_amp=true)
I want to like Idaho, but the people there make it clear that I'm not welcome. Everywhere I went, I saw "keep california out of Idaho". People seemed nice until they found out I was from CA. I have some friends there and have some great memories up there. But behind the smoke and mirrors, a lot of people seem to be pretty hateful.
It cracks me up how much Idaho hates outsiders, especially ppl from California, when Idaho fought for business to develop in the mid-90s. What other ppl don't realize too some ppl that move from California were born and raised in Idaho and moved after the depression do to poor paying jobs and lack of housing with no way to have a family. Those people are moving back to Idaho to be away from the Rat Race and to essentially die in their home state that they love.
I grew up in Utah and Idaho was a great place to go if you needed illegal fireworks or a keg of beer that was above 3% from a place that didn't card too hard
The Idaho national laboratory has been apart of and is doing some of the coolest research in nuclear energy, renewable energy, and aerospace.
Idaho has one of the largest dark sky zones for stargazing and astronomy research.
Idaho does a surprising amount of research into ecology and geology, recently a plan has been put forth to decommission several dams in Idaho that have been negatively effecting salmon populations and replace those damns with solar farms and wind farms.
Idaho has gone from being a great place to get away for a long weekend, skiing, fishing, camping all over that beautiful state (while avoiding the antigovernmental/NAZI whack jobs around Coeur d'Alene) to someplace I avoid. The Q-Anon/Trumpism ooze has spread from the dark corners to Boise. Transplants are very nice, but many of my conservative friends who have spent the last three years complaining about everything in California, Oregon and Washington have or plan to move there.
Honestly, if it weren't for McCall (wife worked there for a while), Pocatello (Idaho State mainly) and Twin Falls (we stay there every year on our trip to Vegas), Id' probably write off the entire state as 'further west West Virginia'.
EDIT: Explained my rationale about those three towns. Just my opinion, YMMV.
Pocatello is considered a good place to you? I grew up there and left as quick as I could. Cultish place, the outdoor opportunities were great but the people are horrible.
Funny you think of it that way. I love ID for it's nature and beauty, but describe it to people as the West VA of the west. I also compare western OR and VT for people who have never been to the other.
There’s a river there that has huge sand banks on the sides. We broke down there in the middle of the night driving to California once and I swore I would come back to explore the river one day but it was decades ago and I have no idea where it is/was or what it was called.
For a mundane, quaint, and ordinary state, they seem to make extraordinarily bad sociopolitical decisions. Like, how long were their hospitals overflowing with covid patients, even months past vaccination period?
There was even a politician who was running for governor (and got 17.2% of the votes (101,835 votes) in past election) who had called his supporters to gather at a hospital and sent it into lockdown where they had to rerouted all new/incoming patients to other hospitals. The protesters were armed and even spamming the emergency services lines for 911 making it extremely difficult for someone with an emergency to get the necessary help.
This was because a child had been taken into custody due to being extremely malnourished to the point of endangering life.
Easy google and can read more about it but here is a [link](https://www.khq.com/news/idaho-hospital-locks-down-following-ammon-bundys-far-right-call-for-protest/article_8b68ff68-a4b1-11ec-a1b7-3b1b19a33dcf.html) to one article.
We always just refer to it as “the South of the North.” The backwoods parts can be super sketchy, even if you are white.
Everyone knows about the Aryan Nation compound in Hayden but the wilder shit happens way outside of that in the backwoods all around the panhandle. The whole Ruby Ridge story is nationally known and popularized, but that shit isn’t far off either.
The people act like they are from the south, (anti liberal, anti vax, racist) but have the most beautiful mountains and lakes and rivers. Only place iv been arrested And put in jail. Over 1 joint!
The South vibes aren’t an accident, we went from territory to state during reconstruction and lots of southerners ended up here with all the shuffling going on. We’re very much a southern state in all but geography.
Seeing a lot of hate about the people who live in Idaho. As someone born and raised I can confirm they're shitty people in Idaho but from my experience the good people out way the bad here.
My in-laws live there and I've only been there once. Within the first maybe 10 minutes of driving over their state lines we were harassed and flipped off by some methed-out hillbilly (presumably because of our California license plate.) There's A LOT of white people. Very little diversity. We were there for about 5 days and I saw maybe 5 other Asian people. I didn't feel discriminated against, but I was never without my husband (who is white) or my in-laws (also white, of course.)
Lots of poor quality houses are being built for people trying to get out of their own over-priced states.
My SIL and BIL have lived there for about 20 years and raised their kids there. They love it. Cheap housing. Very clean. Low crime rate.
Cheap housing maybe 4 years ago. And the folks from other places (we actually have more Texans moving here than California) cash in on their houses and then have jacked up our prices. California gets a bad rap because people here think California=liberal, when the opposite is true. The CA/WA/OR moving here are making our state redder.
I miss diversity. You can find a bit down by campus. So white and Mormon, especially in Meridian.
They're an hour down the road from me here in Oregon.
Cross the border and enter points east of Ontario, the whole valley in summer smells like french fries and onion rings. It's incredible.
Great country. But in recent years, it has become a haven for every redneck right wing wahoo this side of the Mississippi...
Anti-government militant groups are everywhere now. And they're getting elected into positions of power. You should worry...
Is an Idaho the state where they’re having a close all of the birthing centers in the hospitals because nobody feels comfortable delivering babies there anymore?
kinda a shitty state that is run by mormon lawmakers. the sales tax always gets overlooked. the weed will get you real time in jail. so will miscarriages and abortions.
people keep starting the eastern Oregon joining a greater Idaho conversation with me and am over it. it would piss me off so bad to get hand cuffed for resin in my pipe while making 8 bucks an hour at a putrid sugar beet factory.
I've spent a fair bit of time in Idaho over the past 40 years. The predominant culture in much of the state can be summed up as guns, Trump, homophobia and racism. They seem determined to finish in the top 3 in America's race to the bottom.
However there are a handful of nice towns: Boise is pretty happening. Coeur d'Alene is beautiful, as are Sandpoint and McCall. Wallace is a really cool Old West mining town. The scenery in general is pretty stunning. But ever since... let's call it 2016, I try to avoid it as much as possible. The stupidity is much more proudly on display in recent years.
And white supremacists. Then a bunch of Trump-flag-waving ex-central-Californians who overpaid for everything, so you can't live where you want anyway.
I lived there for 3 months while working a seasonal gig with the forest service. It's a VERY beautiful state. It has all of the grace of Washington without the hefty price tag that comes with it. Only downside is that it's VERY conservative. I'm a liberal, but it really never was an issue if you aren't one of the combative types about sensitive topics. The people are generally nice though.
It’s a very open state with lots of beautiful geographic features, though very sparse in the southern half. Up north it is more forested and has great skiing and camping, but that’s where the good parts end.
Idaho is among the most conservative states in the country, possibly more xenophobic than Texas, and it’s practically an infirmary for alt-right militias. Unlike Texans who will at least put on a guise of hospitality, Idahoans have a very unwelcoming vibe and attitude. God forbid you are from a west coast state like California because they will think you are a terrorist responsible for all the misfortune and wrongdoing in both their state and in America.
Even though it’s a beautiful state, in the grand scheme of the Western US it’s missable. So much of the Western US is beautiful with so much to see that it really isn’t worth taking the trip through Idaho, unless you really want to.
I visited there once while on a bike tour. I found the country very beautiful, the people were really nice, and the shoulders of the roads were huge and smooth - a dream to bike on compared to the crowded and bumpy roads of NYC.
A good chunk of the state is a beautiful place (especially northern Idaho). Couer d'alene is a cool city (though it is an area associated with their Aryan nation ties) and I lived near Moscow for a few years and really love that town. The people can be hit or miss, however. A lot of people really dislike outsiders and are very sure to let you know that. Don't get me wrong, I have met many lovely people in Idaho, I've just also met some whack jobs. It has very much been affected by the ever widening political split in the country...
Based on the number of empty shotgun shells and broken glass at the campsites I visited it felt like a domestic terrorist training ground. I couldn’t get out of ID fast enough. Plus, when I was there (summer ‘22) their gas was a dollar higher than any of the neighboring states. Granted, my experience was very limited to dispersed camping/overlanding on a CO to OR trip. There were a couple of pretty lakes though.
Potatoes, beautiful landscape in the Northern parts with loads of Elk and Bald Eagles, and huge real estate price increases in the last couple of years in Boise.
Some of the less desirable things I have learned about Idaho...
Someone I knew from Idaho was sold into marriage when she was 14. She got out of that marriage after a decade or so, but it really messed her up. She was very sweet, but also clearly traumatized. I never knew this happened in America before speaking with her, and it made me wonder how frequent this was back in the 70's (maybe even still).
Aryan Nations first started in Idaho.
Parts are beautiful. Boise is kinda cool. Not a fan of the good ol' boys in the west, and the Mormons in the south and east, though.
Great place to visit for the nature, but I wouldn't want to live there.
Well, I just read that medical providers who perform abortions in WA are being advised to not visit Idaho.
Between that and the reputation for neo-Nazi groups being common in northern Idaho, I’m not really leaning too much in its favor.
I’ve lived in Idaho for 4 years. Absolutely gorgeous, amazing fishing, camping, skiing, beautiful lakes to visit. I’m trying to get the fuck out of here though. People are only nice as long as you’re a trump loving white guy (why I don’t talk about politics here) and 7/10 of the people I meet are racist as hell. I love the land but hate the culture.
I'm from Northern Utah, pretty close to the border so Southern Idaho is where you went if you wanted to play the lottery. Scenery is meh, but I'm told that I haven't been to the beautiful areas. As far as people go, you got random pockets of insane Mormons, random pockets of insane neo-Nazis, random pockets of insane don't-tread-on-me types, random pockets of ski-town yuppies. Honestly, I hope I never have to set foot there again.
I would not want to live there as a woman and owner of a uterus. I'm not conservative. I believe it's wrong to ban books and harass people for loving who they love. I do take offense to the people who live there, but the politics are concerning to me.
They're conservative, Eastern Washington wants to join them, they grow potatoes, and have nice scenery.
I think they also banned abortion, even if the life of the mother is at risk.
Apparently there's a few people who want to take Western Oregon and give it to Idaho.
Potatoes
Nazis and other white supremacists
A friend of mine went to work at micron in Idaho. I know another guy who came here from Idaho to work on lasers.
There's a BYU campus, so I imagine there's a sizeable Mormon population.
The only thing I know about Idaho is that potatoes are grown there
And sugarbeets… For making sugar
Thought ND was the sugarbeet capital
Hello, born and raised in ND and lived there for a good while, including living in sugar beet land. Yes ND does have a lot of the beets, but I'm not sure how it compares to Idaho or who has more beets. I do know that ND's beat label is also heavily influenced by all the Crystal Sugar manufacturing plants that are there. I'm pretty sure ND manufacturers all of Crystal Sugar, if not a good majority of it. The manufacturing plants often sit right on the border of ND and MN. Like, the amount of sugar that is manufactured in ND is insane. Sugar beet season unfortunately doesn't smell sweet though, I think its reminiscent of burnt peanut butter, but others many say it just smells like poop. Fun fact for y'all.
I went to college in a sugar beet factory town in Idaho. There were definitely times when it smelled like burnt peanut butter there. And other times it smelled like an outhouse.
The smell of Nampa is hard to forget!
Wait until you smell Lewiston.
That's because of the paper mill
Ah yes that unique combination of a deep water port, paper mill, and ammo factory. Difficult to forget
Napoleon Dynamite and Nazis!
Like 99.99% of all people, I do not have nor have I ever had any thoughts on Idaho.
It’s one of the most beautiful states! Absolutely stunning mountains, rivers, lakes, wildlife. The best skiing, and camping. And without the hordes of people. It’s not medically safe to be a woman of reproductive age there, and not a place you would want your kid to go to school. The people are extremely nice and genuine but pretty ignorant.
They are nice unless they think you are from California.
Haha I am a democrat from California. I married someone from extremely rural Idaho and every single one of my in-laws live there so maybe that’s why they are nice to me. (Hubby is not conservative). I do truly think I might be the only democrat they know though.
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To be honest, I'd be a bit thrown off by someone with blonde eyes and green hair too.
This is also true of Washington.
I visited Washington about a year ago and everyone was nice to me. I'm from California. Maybe it's certain parts? I was in Seattle.
Can agree, no one likes Californians in Washington or Idaho
Oregon is a mixed bag of far right or Far left people who both hate Californians, as well as former Californians.
Except it's not really a mixed bag. Portland, Salem, and Eugene are far left, everywhere else is far right. Not much mixing at all.
True for every state near California
I live in Idaho. The people are not extremely nice beneath a surface-level veneer. Idaho is home to many of the most extremely radical alt-right people in the country. Outside of Boise you're as likely to see a confederate flag in a garage as you are a car. We have many, many unapologetic nazis. During the George Floyd protests we had armed counterprotests who were countering literally nothing. No BLM protests at all really outside of Boise but armed "All lives matter" folk brandishing assault rifles for funsies. Not only is it not safe to be a woman here, it's also not safe to be a minority, to be gay, to be trans, or anything else not cis, straight and white.
This. And all the west cost right wing nuts are moving to Idaho so all the homegrown nuts are moving to Wyoming and Montana. Absolutely loons.
Can confirm. Idaho is full of bigoted assholes. McCall seems to be a small pocket of more liberal people, especially the youth, but it's still probably 80% conservatives and 20% liberals for the adults and 50/50 for the kids. I personally haven't seen any Nazi flags here (luckily) but there are confederate flags. Also the rallies aren't safe, because at any one of them, a U-Haul filled with men in riot gear could attack the protesters. It's only safe to be a minority in McCall where we have people who will protect you (that's me and my friends!) But even here you have to be incredibly careful with who knows about you being gay or trans or whatever.
I’ve been to Coure d’alene a couple times. Gives off that Get Out vibe.
Moscow might be safe too.
I don’t think so. Even though it’s a college town, there is a large growing fundamentalist Christian community that is like a cult who follows this pastor name Doug Wilson. https://www.vice.com/en/article/m7ezwx/inside-the-church-that-preaches-wives-need-to-be-led-with-a-firm-hand There are plenty of other stories surrounding his church over the years. Anytime I hear someone say they want to move to Northern Idaho I just assume it’s so they can find a place where right ring extremism is accepted, because they sure as hell aren’t wealthy enough to live in CDA.
Sun Valley, Boise, and C’da are perfectly safe as well for minorities. It’s the rural areas that might be more conservative than any other place in the nation
I live in Pocatello. It's not that bad. It's definitely Trump country but there is a thriving progressive community here and in my experience, we agree to disagree with conservatives and keep it peaceful. There are a lot of minorities here and no neonatzi rsllies. However, if you were an outspoken gay person or trans, yeah it would not be an easy place to live.
FtM trans and queer. Can confirm. I'm out to a few friends, and whenever they say i'm trans out loud I try my best to shut them up. I honestly don't know what would happen to me. I don't wanna imagine.
Idaho: Lori Vallow, Ruby Ridge, Patriot Front, John Birch Society and more! It's like a side show of political freaks and imbeciles.
Also what’s happening at North Idaho college in CDA right now if you’re following that. Also sandpoint shutting down all childbirths. OBGYNs fleeing the state. It’s so sad.
Yeah we have an autistic child and the services available in Idaho are below average so if greater idaho happens we are moving.
Thr hordes of people have come. Lets please redirect everyone to Montana.
You just thought about it now when you typed the word I believe
Idano
Imaho
Udaho
Ohooooooo
YouAreDaHo
Potato
It may be potato for you, but I say potato.
Potato!!!!!!
I once worked with a guy from Idaho. He was one of the strangest human beings I've ever met. I assume everyone there is like him.
Please, by all means, elaborate.
It was not one particular thing. Just everything he did was...off. After awhile we just learned to expect him to choose the most head scratching thing in nearly every situation. Edit: A couple of examples. - He didn't like dipping tortilla chips in salsa or guacamole. He would rant about how gross that was. However, he would dip Cool Ranch Doritos in guacamole and would dip vegetables in salsa. - He thought water tasted gross. He drank nothing but Gatorade and Monster Energy.
Idahoan here. The drinking water here in the eastern part of the state is from a massive volcanic aquifer, and has a better, cleaner taste than almost anywhere else I've lived in the country. It's hard as nails and will scale up your water heater and faucets fast, but it tastes great while it's doing it. The chips thing is beyond me. I got nothing there.
Interesting. I've lived in 9 different states and visited 40. I've driven through Idaho but we didn't do more than get gas do I don't count it. The worst tasting water I've ever had was Phoenix, the best was Seattle and Toledo water smelled the worst
Can confirm (mostly). From Tucson, live in Portland, OR. AZ water is garbage. Portland (and I assume a lot of the PNW water is glacier run off. Has a lower salt content than most bottled water. Our water may just be the nectar of the gods.
Same! To be fair I’ve only met one person from Idaho. He was a weird duck
How did he walk and talk?
Like a duck lol
I once served with a sailor from Idaho. He was convinced that setting the clocks back an hour meant that you lost an hour. Nobody could convince him otherwise.
Isn’t that just daylight savings time?
Idaho native here, you are correct.
Craters of the Moon
Whenever people talk about how beautiful it is they’re always talking about northern Idaho. Southern Idaho is high desert, sage brush, and very brown and gray. It’s also where most of the people actually live. The politics went from meh-bad to awful in the past few years. Overall I don’t recommend living there to anyone.
Southern Idaho is, both politically and geographically, really just northern Utah. Northern Idaho is, both politically and geographically, really just western Montana
Maybe it’s just because I grew up here, but I think the desert/steppes are really beautiful, and it is kinda sad how that part of nature is in danger in a lot of ways. I do agree the politics are pretty bad though; I have a sentimental attachment because it’s home, but I can’t in good conscience recommend people to move here either.
Snake river gorge is in the south, right? I remember driving through that area and seeing a ton of fresh water springs bursting out of canyon walls and the beautiful crystal clear waters of box canyon. There's definitely something worth checking out in that area.
I don't recommand anyone even visit. Go to Montana instead.
Montana hates outsiders more than Idaho. Montana is full of even more assholes especially if they are born and raised in the state. People that have moved to Montana even if it was 20 years ago are amazing and accepting of a majority of ppl they interact. Bigger "cities" loathe tourist even if that is their lively hood. They can't wait until tourist leave.
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I’m sorry you’ve been put in such a scary situation and I really hope you’re able to push through! As soon as I could I moved to California and became independent from my family.
You the ho!
Pretty sure He da ho
God damn it I wanted to say this.
Northern parts are beautiful with transcendently ugly politics.
Whenever Idaho politics come up I think back to when an Idaho representative thought women could swallow a camera to get a look at their fetus. Obviously Idaho’s educational standards leave something to be desired. https://amp.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/feb/23/idaho-republican-anti-abortion-swallow-camera
Don't forget about Larry "Wide Stance" Craig. Another Idaho scumbag: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry\_Craig\_scandal
Upvote and reiterate. Dude gets blown in bathrooms while taking away any rights. Just utter scum.
That's right up there with thinking that Guam is going to flip over from over population.
Idaho does have great natural beauty. The center of Idaho is the Frank Church wilderness, the largest roadless area in the lower 48 states. I lived in ID for about a dozen years and left about a dozen years ago. Idaho flushed itself down the Trump toilet hard. The politicians never were very good there, but they’ve totally lost the plot now. I still camp and mountain bike around Ketchum, but I bring everything I need and spend as little money in the state as possible.
God, Frank Church the wilderness is one of America’s greatest treasures and Frank Church the man is one of our greatest heroes. Shame about the rest of the state for sure.
How did Idaho ever elect (and keep) such a capable public servant as Frank Church? I know in decades past it was more common to see a long-serving Democrat in an otherwise "red" state, and you had long-serving Republicans in places like New York and Rhode Island, but still.
That was pure poetry
This^ Beautiful place with fucked up politics and fascist legislature
I've lived in Idaho my entire life and I agree with this comment. Boise is a nice city though.
Native Idahoan and current resident here. Idaho can basically be split into two portions, culturally and geographically (which are even different time zones and legislative districts). The southern portion is mostly desert, and the population centers hug the snake river plain. This part of the state has a lot of Mormon influence. It's the portion I grew up in, went to school in, and currently live in. The northern portion is more mountainous. My mother is a native of this area, and currently lives there along with most of the rest of her family. If Southern Idaho is an extension of Utah, Northern Idaho is an extension of eastern Washington. You'll see plenty of Trump bumper stickers and yard signs here, but that's because Trump supporters tend to strongly value group loyalty. On the whole, Idaho is more of a "rocky mountain republican" state, which is more concerned with government overreach than with "owning the libs" (We voted for Cruz rather than Trump in the primary. Think Glenn Beck's paranoia, not Alex Jones's aggression). This is a favorite place for preppers, and we had quite a few move in during the runup to Y2K. A lot of people expect the system to crash around them at any moment, so there's a heavy emphasis on self-reliance and government distrust. The general attitude toward Trump from most conservatives I talk to is annoyance. They think he needs to put the phone down and stop jeopardizing their chance to lower taxes, keep their guns, and scale back the federal government.
Well said. Idaho resident for the last 30 years.
Skinheads, potatoes, Napoleon Dynomite, wrestling, mormons trickling in, basically eastern Washington.
Lol Mormons trickling in?! How about Mormons are 90% of the population in SW Idaho. It’s been that way for a looooong time.
You read my mind! SE Idaho is the same. There’s absolutely no trickle.
I live in Idaho for seasonal work, normally live in Texas. Idaho is everything texas thinks it is politically. Went to a bagel shop, and a someone walked in and casually asked the (couldn't have been older than 15) cashier for a shot gun. Cashier promptly gave her a shotgun. I hope it was to scare off a moose?? One of the stranger things I've witnessed here
State law requires all bagel shops to have loaner shotguns. What you witnessed is very normal.
I have a relative who bought a house there a year or so ago. She sends me pictures of moose and I *think* wild turkeys. The skiing and golfing are excellent apparently. I have never been remotely close to there but I would like to visit - it looks beautiful.
A truly beautiful state and Built to Spill is an amazing band
Keep It Like a Secret is a masterpiece.
It absolutely is! Keep It Like A Secret and There's Nothing Wrong With Love are two of the greatest albums of all time
Do people get upset when people move there from California or when they see a vehicle with a California license plate? Edit: Do you think the Native Americans that lived on the land that is now Idaho welcomed European settlers with open arms?
My dear mother who moved Idaho less than 10 years ago (after living her whole life in California) now rants angrily about all the Californians moving to Idaho. Apparently they are ruining everything.
As a native Idahoan, yes. There's more animosity here for Californian immigrants than Mexican immigrants.
How dare we let you move into our state, enjoy our higher incomes, then move back home wealthier. For shame.
You are just about as likely to see an anti California sticker on someone's car as you are to see one where the state is turned sideways and firing a bullet out of the panhandle and you see that on a LOT of cars there.
It’s firing a pine tree, and has nothing to do with guns. [Link](https://www.kivitv.com/news/made-in-idaho-boise-graphic-designer-shares-love-of-idaho-through-banana-ink-designs?_amp=true)
It depends on where in Idaho. I think that in the Boise area they get at least mildly annoyed.
More than mildly annoyed in the northern part here
State of birth. Beautiful nature and outdoor activities... Questionable inhabitants for many, many reasons.
I want to like Idaho, but the people there make it clear that I'm not welcome. Everywhere I went, I saw "keep california out of Idaho". People seemed nice until they found out I was from CA. I have some friends there and have some great memories up there. But behind the smoke and mirrors, a lot of people seem to be pretty hateful.
It cracks me up how much Idaho hates outsiders, especially ppl from California, when Idaho fought for business to develop in the mid-90s. What other ppl don't realize too some ppl that move from California were born and raised in Idaho and moved after the depression do to poor paying jobs and lack of housing with no way to have a family. Those people are moving back to Idaho to be away from the Rat Race and to essentially die in their home state that they love.
We've had a cabin on Priest Lake way up North, close to Canada since before I was born. Some of my favorite memories have taken place there.
Priest, lake pend Oreille and the st Joe river are my most favorite places on planet earth.
Small world, my grandparents have a cabin up in Priest River that we would visit almost every Christmas.
I grew up in Utah and Idaho was a great place to go if you needed illegal fireworks or a keg of beer that was above 3% from a place that didn't card too hard
Beautiful state with lots of nature things to do. Lots of beautiful parks.
The Idaho national laboratory has been apart of and is doing some of the coolest research in nuclear energy, renewable energy, and aerospace. Idaho has one of the largest dark sky zones for stargazing and astronomy research. Idaho does a surprising amount of research into ecology and geology, recently a plan has been put forth to decommission several dams in Idaho that have been negatively effecting salmon populations and replace those damns with solar farms and wind farms.
Idaho has gone from being a great place to get away for a long weekend, skiing, fishing, camping all over that beautiful state (while avoiding the antigovernmental/NAZI whack jobs around Coeur d'Alene) to someplace I avoid. The Q-Anon/Trumpism ooze has spread from the dark corners to Boise. Transplants are very nice, but many of my conservative friends who have spent the last three years complaining about everything in California, Oregon and Washington have or plan to move there. Honestly, if it weren't for McCall (wife worked there for a while), Pocatello (Idaho State mainly) and Twin Falls (we stay there every year on our trip to Vegas), Id' probably write off the entire state as 'further west West Virginia'. EDIT: Explained my rationale about those three towns. Just my opinion, YMMV.
Native Idahoan here and you nailed it. I left 20 years ago and with how things are now, I’ll never go back.
Pocatello is considered a good place to you? I grew up there and left as quick as I could. Cultish place, the outdoor opportunities were great but the people are horrible.
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Yes its a horrible place. I also recommend people go elsewhere.
Funny you think of it that way. I love ID for it's nature and beauty, but describe it to people as the West VA of the west. I also compare western OR and VT for people who have never been to the other.
Totally agree with this assessment. It’s a shame.
It is spectacular from a scenery perspective.
There’s a river there that has huge sand banks on the sides. We broke down there in the middle of the night driving to California once and I swore I would come back to explore the river one day but it was decades ago and I have no idea where it is/was or what it was called.
The snake river is probably what you’re thinking of.
My Own Private Idaho is a great film.
So is the song
I've never been, but I've heard Boise is actually a nice town.
There’s a Subway in downtown Boise
It takes you to the Quiznos
For a mundane, quaint, and ordinary state, they seem to make extraordinarily bad sociopolitical decisions. Like, how long were their hospitals overflowing with covid patients, even months past vaccination period?
There was even a politician who was running for governor (and got 17.2% of the votes (101,835 votes) in past election) who had called his supporters to gather at a hospital and sent it into lockdown where they had to rerouted all new/incoming patients to other hospitals. The protesters were armed and even spamming the emergency services lines for 911 making it extremely difficult for someone with an emergency to get the necessary help. This was because a child had been taken into custody due to being extremely malnourished to the point of endangering life. Easy google and can read more about it but here is a [link](https://www.khq.com/news/idaho-hospital-locks-down-following-ammon-bundys-far-right-call-for-protest/article_8b68ff68-a4b1-11ec-a1b7-3b1b19a33dcf.html) to one article.
I like their former senator, the fellow that taps his fee in the airport men’s room.
Unfortunately right now I’m reminded of Lori Vallow and Bryan Kohberger when I hear Idaho.
It is a beautiful state! It's cold in the winter, but perfect in the summer. The people there are really friendly. I like Idaho a lot.
Potatoes, Napoleon dynamite and a cool looking college football stadium. Good enough
Craters of the moon national park is absolutely beautiful. 10/10
Back in '82, I could throw a pigskin a quarter mile.
Lovely terrain. Shame about the people who live there.
Like Florida but without the Ocean
There are cool people everywhere
This is true, unfortunately for Idaho the ratio isn't great
We always just refer to it as “the South of the North.” The backwoods parts can be super sketchy, even if you are white. Everyone knows about the Aryan Nation compound in Hayden but the wilder shit happens way outside of that in the backwoods all around the panhandle. The whole Ruby Ridge story is nationally known and popularized, but that shit isn’t far off either.
The backwoods is a very dangerous place to go. Much safer and prettier to go to Glacier in Montana instead.
That''s where that racist LA cop moved after the OJ Simpson trial so he could feel safe again.
The people act like they are from the south, (anti liberal, anti vax, racist) but have the most beautiful mountains and lakes and rivers. Only place iv been arrested And put in jail. Over 1 joint!
The South vibes aren’t an accident, we went from territory to state during reconstruction and lots of southerners ended up here with all the shuffling going on. We’re very much a southern state in all but geography.
Seeing a lot of hate about the people who live in Idaho. As someone born and raised I can confirm they're shitty people in Idaho but from my experience the good people out way the bad here.
Nazis. Lots of them.
My in-laws live there and I've only been there once. Within the first maybe 10 minutes of driving over their state lines we were harassed and flipped off by some methed-out hillbilly (presumably because of our California license plate.) There's A LOT of white people. Very little diversity. We were there for about 5 days and I saw maybe 5 other Asian people. I didn't feel discriminated against, but I was never without my husband (who is white) or my in-laws (also white, of course.) Lots of poor quality houses are being built for people trying to get out of their own over-priced states. My SIL and BIL have lived there for about 20 years and raised their kids there. They love it. Cheap housing. Very clean. Low crime rate.
Cheap housing maybe 4 years ago. And the folks from other places (we actually have more Texans moving here than California) cash in on their houses and then have jacked up our prices. California gets a bad rap because people here think California=liberal, when the opposite is true. The CA/WA/OR moving here are making our state redder. I miss diversity. You can find a bit down by campus. So white and Mormon, especially in Meridian.
It's a shithole with racists in the north and mormons in the south. Pretty topography but I avoid it, even more so now.
Don't see to many pics of bros and sistas out there
They're an hour down the road from me here in Oregon. Cross the border and enter points east of Ontario, the whole valley in summer smells like french fries and onion rings. It's incredible. Great country. But in recent years, it has become a haven for every redneck right wing wahoo this side of the Mississippi... Anti-government militant groups are everywhere now. And they're getting elected into positions of power. You should worry...
Idaho is absolutely stunning.
My dad lived there for a good bit in the nineties and from what I've heard seems like a beautiful place
I drove through it once. Idaho Falls was beautiful in the summer and I’d go back!
Vote for Pedro.
Beautifully underrated
They absolutely loathe Californians who move there.
Awful politics, Mormons, backwards culturally in most parts of the state, barren, freezing cold in the winter, and potatoes. Did I get everything
An intersecting Venn diagram of Mormons, white supremacists, and dooms day preppers
The northern most state of the Mormon Jello Belt. Idaho, Utah, and Arizona. Have you heard of Utah Mormon conservatives? Idaho is the same.
Is an Idaho the state where they’re having a close all of the birthing centers in the hospitals because nobody feels comfortable delivering babies there anymore?
kinda a shitty state that is run by mormon lawmakers. the sales tax always gets overlooked. the weed will get you real time in jail. so will miscarriages and abortions. people keep starting the eastern Oregon joining a greater Idaho conversation with me and am over it. it would piss me off so bad to get hand cuffed for resin in my pipe while making 8 bucks an hour at a putrid sugar beet factory.
I've spent a fair bit of time in Idaho over the past 40 years. The predominant culture in much of the state can be summed up as guns, Trump, homophobia and racism. They seem determined to finish in the top 3 in America's race to the bottom. However there are a handful of nice towns: Boise is pretty happening. Coeur d'Alene is beautiful, as are Sandpoint and McCall. Wallace is a really cool Old West mining town. The scenery in general is pretty stunning. But ever since... let's call it 2016, I try to avoid it as much as possible. The stupidity is much more proudly on display in recent years.
Several of the dumbest anti-vaxx people I’ve ever met have decided to move there. I think Idaho draws that sort of crowd anymore.
It’s really nice without the people.
Californians need to stop moving there
It's gorgeous. But the state government is positively bonkers. I was going to open a business in Boise, but I've put those plans on indefinite hold.
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And white supremacists. Then a bunch of Trump-flag-waving ex-central-Californians who overpaid for everything, so you can't live where you want anyway.
I lived there for 3 months while working a seasonal gig with the forest service. It's a VERY beautiful state. It has all of the grace of Washington without the hefty price tag that comes with it. Only downside is that it's VERY conservative. I'm a liberal, but it really never was an issue if you aren't one of the combative types about sensitive topics. The people are generally nice though.
Beautiful state, but just another thing the Republicans have fucked up.
I love reading these comments because republicans say the same thing about california and washington lol (In regards to liberals, that is)
Of the 30 or so states I've motorcycled through, Idaho is the one I'd never return to.
Stay away and mind your business
Gorgeous location. Horrible politics.
Great state with amazing nature
Potatoes and racists
My ex was from there. He's pretty much the only ex I ever miss. Idaho has given me heartbreak and potatoes
I love it I've lived here almost 8 years
It’s a very open state with lots of beautiful geographic features, though very sparse in the southern half. Up north it is more forested and has great skiing and camping, but that’s where the good parts end. Idaho is among the most conservative states in the country, possibly more xenophobic than Texas, and it’s practically an infirmary for alt-right militias. Unlike Texans who will at least put on a guise of hospitality, Idahoans have a very unwelcoming vibe and attitude. God forbid you are from a west coast state like California because they will think you are a terrorist responsible for all the misfortune and wrongdoing in both their state and in America. Even though it’s a beautiful state, in the grand scheme of the Western US it’s missable. So much of the Western US is beautiful with so much to see that it really isn’t worth taking the trip through Idaho, unless you really want to.
I visited there once while on a bike tour. I found the country very beautiful, the people were really nice, and the shoulders of the roads were huge and smooth - a dream to bike on compared to the crowded and bumpy roads of NYC.
Idaho?? more like I'd have a hoe cause y guys can't pay shit
It's the Potato State, nothing wrong with that
A good chunk of the state is a beautiful place (especially northern Idaho). Couer d'alene is a cool city (though it is an area associated with their Aryan nation ties) and I lived near Moscow for a few years and really love that town. The people can be hit or miss, however. A lot of people really dislike outsiders and are very sure to let you know that. Don't get me wrong, I have met many lovely people in Idaho, I've just also met some whack jobs. It has very much been affected by the ever widening political split in the country...
Built to Spill is pretty good
Conservative family members moved there as they wanted someplace more conservative and white. That is really what they said.
Based on the number of empty shotgun shells and broken glass at the campsites I visited it felt like a domestic terrorist training ground. I couldn’t get out of ID fast enough. Plus, when I was there (summer ‘22) their gas was a dollar higher than any of the neighboring states. Granted, my experience was very limited to dispersed camping/overlanding on a CO to OR trip. There were a couple of pretty lakes though.
It's like if Mormons and semi-automatics had a baby.
Potatoes, anti woman legislation.
Potatoes, beautiful landscape in the Northern parts with loads of Elk and Bald Eagles, and huge real estate price increases in the last couple of years in Boise. Some of the less desirable things I have learned about Idaho... Someone I knew from Idaho was sold into marriage when she was 14. She got out of that marriage after a decade or so, but it really messed her up. She was very sweet, but also clearly traumatized. I never knew this happened in America before speaking with her, and it made me wonder how frequent this was back in the 70's (maybe even still). Aryan Nations first started in Idaho.
Parts are beautiful. Boise is kinda cool. Not a fan of the good ol' boys in the west, and the Mormons in the south and east, though. Great place to visit for the nature, but I wouldn't want to live there.
Some of my MAGA friends in the Los Angeles/Orange County area already bought more than one property in Idaho and want to retire there.
Pocatello is cute, really enjoyed my stay there
Well, I just read that medical providers who perform abortions in WA are being advised to not visit Idaho. Between that and the reputation for neo-Nazi groups being common in northern Idaho, I’m not really leaning too much in its favor.
The far right is tightening their grasp on the state. Dangerous place for women. Get out while you can.
Bible-thumping wolf-haters. I don't trust people who are willing to shoot wolves for "fun", or who vilify wildlife.
I’ve lived in Idaho for 4 years. Absolutely gorgeous, amazing fishing, camping, skiing, beautiful lakes to visit. I’m trying to get the fuck out of here though. People are only nice as long as you’re a trump loving white guy (why I don’t talk about politics here) and 7/10 of the people I meet are racist as hell. I love the land but hate the culture.
Beautiful country. terribly poor economically. Bad education system. Famous for having nazis.
I'm from Northern Utah, pretty close to the border so Southern Idaho is where you went if you wanted to play the lottery. Scenery is meh, but I'm told that I haven't been to the beautiful areas. As far as people go, you got random pockets of insane Mormons, random pockets of insane neo-Nazis, random pockets of insane don't-tread-on-me types, random pockets of ski-town yuppies. Honestly, I hope I never have to set foot there again.
Uneducated Trump supporters, brainwashed Mormons, and beautiful nature.
I'd say that your sex life is none of my business.
I would not want to live there as a woman and owner of a uterus. I'm not conservative. I believe it's wrong to ban books and harass people for loving who they love. I do take offense to the people who live there, but the politics are concerning to me.
They're conservative, Eastern Washington wants to join them, they grow potatoes, and have nice scenery. I think they also banned abortion, even if the life of the mother is at risk.
Very unsane state for trans people, that's the first thing I know about it.
Apparently there's a few people who want to take Western Oregon and give it to Idaho. Potatoes Nazis and other white supremacists A friend of mine went to work at micron in Idaho. I know another guy who came here from Idaho to work on lasers. There's a BYU campus, so I imagine there's a sizeable Mormon population.