The Idaho Lifestyle: What Makes Idaho Feel Like Home

Garrett and Shelby explore what Idaho is truly known for beyond its scenery—from genuine neighbors and small-town values to the culture, kindness, and community that make so many people choose to put down roots in the Treasure Valley.

Transcript

Speaker 0:00

And thanks for tuning into the Idaho Life Show Real Estate in community. I am Garrett Thill, the broker and owner of Idaho Life Real Estate.

Speaker 1 0:07

Yes, and I'm Shelby Matson, Realtor, and VP of Idaho Life Real Estate. Garrett, I feel like every time we sit down for one of these, I end up wanting to go camping by Friday.

Speaker 0:18

I'm ready to go every single time. And every time we're on the air on a Saturday, I go, gosh, I wish we were out there, rain or shine. And um, you know, that that's the goal, honestly. This this show was never supposed to be just about buying and selling houses and real estate and and interest rates and loans. It's it's about what it actually feels like to live here. This is why, I mean, that's why our broker just we called it Idaho life. It's literally the lifestyle here. It's where we work, it's where people raise families, it's being part of a town that that uh eventually knows you by name at the local coffee shop.

Speaker 1 0:53

That's right. And today we're going to dig into something people ask us all the time, especially clients moving here from out of state. What is Idaho actually known for? And it's more than the license plate.

Speaker 1:07

Exactly. So, you know, we're officially the gem state, and that's the postcard answer, right? Sure. But if you ask anyone who's lived here for a while, you know, they'll tell you the real gems are the rivers, the mountains, you know, the way a whole town shows up for a, you know, Friday night football game, the guy who plows your neighbor's driveway without being asked. It's it's really, it's just something unique here that we have in Idaho.

Speaker 1 1:32

It really is. And and that that is actually the show for today. What Idaho's known for and why the community part of it matters just as much as the scenery. Let's get into it.

Speaker 1:44

Yeah, I'm excited. So, what we have planned today, Shelby, is we're gonna kind of ask each other some questions and talk a bit more about Idaho and and why we're here and why families are moving here to Idaho because it just is a special place. Now, um, you know, it's been growing a lot and it's growing a lot for many great reasons. So um, let's go ahead and get into it, Shelby. So when you have you know a lot of people that are that are buying and selling that are from Idaho, and you also have a lot of people that are moving in from out of state, right? And the people that come from outside of Idaho or even from northern Idaho and are moving down to our southwest Treasure Valley area here, when people ask you what it's like here in in the Treasure Valley, what's what's the first thing that you'd actually say?

Speaker 1 2:32

I always respond, and I mean this from the depth of who I am. It is the people and how genuine they are. They are just the realest, kindest, willing to help out type of people. And coming from out of state myself years ago, I didn't understand the importance and significance of having people that waved to me when I was driving through the neighborhood, or uh, you know, just neighbors showing up without being asked.

Speaker 2:58

It's something that I feel like you shouldn't have to expect that, but when you came here, it's you're probably shocked, right? That they want you to that.

Speaker 1 3:07

It was a cultural shock for sure. Um, you know, we went through a windstorm one one day, and my son was playing baseball, so we were at his game. We come home and there's a group of neighbors in our yard literally cutting a tree that had fallen from the neighbor's yard into our front yard. Wow. They didn't ask, they didn't wait, they just dug in, everybody rallied up, and we felt bad because we weren't there to help, and it was in our yard, but everybody just rallied up together, and that's just the community that we have here.

Speaker 3:39

It's so neat. I mean, you know, when I asked, you know, what's the first thing that comes to mind? I'm sure there's so many stories like that you can't even think. It's it's really you kind of have to live it, smell it, feel it, right?

Speaker 1 3:51

Yep, for sure. I think too that um something that I was afforded, and I've noticed that a lot of my clients are afforded when they uh relocate from out of state is really just, you know, trying to come in and and really align yourself with everything that's going on in the state, whether that's physical or emotional, trying to get their bearings. And when they do, everybody seems to be reaching out, even if you're at the gas station and you're trying to figure out the new systems or whatever that looks like. People lean over the gas, gasoline pump and they're like, Hey, did you need some help? And it's definitely a cultural shock, but it it's very inviting. Never happens in other places that it didn't where I came from, that's for sure. Yeah.

Speaker 4:32

I I love that. So what I guess what surprises people, you have clients that are moving here. Um what surprises them the most when they actually kind of start exploring? They they leave the airport lot, you know, they're in their rental car, checking out the area, they get past the freeway, past the airport. What would you say surprises these people that are visiting for the first couple of times the most?

Speaker 1 4:57

I would say the cleanliness uh when comparing to other states, our freeways are kept very well, and so are the communities. Um, also just how the landscape changes in such a short amount of time from you know, having hillsides to flatland to lakes or streams or the Boise River, the Green Belt, all of that it comes into play. And, you know, just having like here's a city life, downtown Boise, and you can literally step over to Cuna within 10, 15 minutes, and it's farmland. It's a completely different lay of the land. And then you have 20 minutes away from there, you've got your foothills, which just are so breathtaking, especially if you make it to the top.

Speaker 5:41

It's so beautiful. And I think it's just a different dynamic than what people are used to coming from in different areas and you know, not having those outdoor activities, which we'll kind of get to more in this in this uh segment today. Um, it's just definitely very different than what they're coming from.

Speaker 1 5:57

Yeah, for sure. And I think too that, you know, people expect one Idaho and there are about six of them. And what I mean by that is there's so much you could do so many different things, right? You can be a hiker and literally jump on a mountainside and go hiking. You can jump in the Boise River in a kayak and go down and or float the river. I mean, there's just so many things that you can do here. It's not just about potatoes.

Speaker 6:24

That's right. That's right.

Speaker 1 6:26

So, Garrett, what's a moment where you watched a client really get it about why people move here and actually stay?

Speaker 6:34

So funny question. Um I'm gonna use myself as this example. So when when we came here, one of the very first things that we did, we're exploring the town, and it's an afternoon, it was in the summer, it was hot, and we said, you know what, let's just get something cold to drink, and we're not soda drinkers. And you know, there's a of course, you know, Starbucks, which we're not huge Starbucks people, but there was something there. And and we get in line, and um this is after we've already been here, and people are just almost to us, it felt overly friendly. It overly friendly, and it was smiles, it was um you know, how can we help? It's even from arriving at the airport at the rental car uh place, it was just it just felt different, you know.

Speaker 1 7:21

It's a different feeling for sure.

Speaker 7:22

Really different. And when we're in line, it's silly of a story as it sounds, but when we're in line, we go to pay and they say, Hey, no, we you know, you're taken care of it. I said, What do you mean? They said, Well, the the folks in front of you paid for your your drinks. And that was our first time going through uh a coffee shop here in Idaho. Never have had that happen, gone through a lot of drive-throughs before and never had that happen. You see, have you ever seen the YouTube videos of people doing that?

Speaker 1 7:50

Yeah, I've actually been part of one of those, and it's such a great experience. It's so neat. Yeah.

Speaker 7:55

And so uh, I was so excited because I've seen these videos that go, no way, this almost feels like I'm being punked on TV or something, that this is some kind of an experiment um to see what my reaction would be like, you know, my first time. And I feel like it's just all being lined up and like a setup almost. And I go, I'm so excited to, I didn't care what the people behind me had ordered, I say, awesome, let me pay for the people in back. Yeah. And I'm I I don't know how long that, you know, freight train, if you will, lasted that day. But I just I think that was as silly and small of a thing that is when you say, you know, why people move here and they stay. I think it's just that it's the people.

Speaker 1 8:32

Yeah. Can I add on to that? Please, yeah. So my first first experience with my children when we relocated, uh, we also stopped at a Starbucks because we didn't know where the mom and pop shops were yet. So we we went inside because the drive-thru line was just way too long. So we go inside, I pay, we're waiting for our order, and then the barista comes around the corner with a pad of post-it notes, but but they're blank, right? Is handing everybody, including myself and my children, a post-it note with a Sharpie and saying, Do you mind writing something that happened to you in the past two days that was very special? And then we all stuck our post-it notes up on their bulletin board. And I'll never forget that because it was our first time here in Idaho. We were just grabbing our coffee. It was early morning, we were tired, didn't get much rest in our hotel room. There we were, and that was an experience, right? So we continued to go back to that uh Starbucks the entire time and length of our stay for that visit. And those post-it notes were still up there. They just kept them up there for people to read. It was so positive and encouraging. I I've never experienced anything like that.

Speaker 9:45

You know, it's like they say um it's true when they say positivity can be addicting, and and the opposite is is true as well. So coming from, I think when folks are coming from other parts of the country, I think negativity on the opposite side too can be it can be like a pandemic. Yeah. You know, but but here it kind of goes in reverse, and that positivity just it compounds like a wave one after another. It's such a great thing. And I think it's a very instinctual thing that you feel that when you come here and you drive into Toboise for the first time, Treasure Valley, or you land, and you go, wow, just you feel something special, you're not sure quite what it is, but it is the it's the people.

Speaker 1 10:22

It's the people for sure. So, Garrett, tell me how do you see pride in place show up day to day around here?

Speaker 10:31

You know, I think it's it's the small things, Shelby, that you see that that people really care about the Treasure Valley. They care about keeping it clean. You have the trails that are always being picked up. You know, when we if you see a piece of trash, even the kids kind of take notice. They they see uh people walking their dogs and they pick up a piece of trash. And now that our kids want to do that. They see trash on the side, or or you know, you've got uh your neighbor that you realize that they're out of town, their trash cans are out. So, you know what? I don't want them to get a fine, or or you know, just help them out, you know, you put the trash cans back for them. So it's really being the neighbor that you'd want a neighbor to be to you. Um and and just keeping Idaho, Idaho. That's that's uh a lot of pride for you know Idaho and even those that are not from from Idaho, they go and come here and they go, This is this is what we like, you know, and we want to keep it this way. So it's just the the little things that you see uh on the day-to-day, or you see a lot of um business sponsorships, you know, sponsoring little league, baseball, soccer. Um, are they really gonna get any business out of it? Probably not, but just a lot of sponsorships that you see, small businesses that really care about the local community, which is just it's a great thing that they're not expecting something in return.

Speaker 1 11:46

I agree. And coming from out of state myself and being a fundraising parent for all three of my children's activities, I always had to seek out businesses to find those donations to help sponsor the sport they were in. And here I feel like when they catch wind of it, they're coming to us. The businesses are completely different approach.

Speaker 12:05

Yeah, absolutely. Okay, Shelby, so we're gonna take a quick break. When we come back after the break, we're gonna be talking about the outdoor lifestyle as a daily habit, not a vacation. Stay with us.