Welcome to Russell Miller Properties.  We are glad you stopped by and I look forward to showing you around Southwest Idaho and telling you about our experience relocating from California to Idaho.

To say our relocation from California to Boise was a well-planned out venture would not only be exaggerating, but an outright lie.  My wife had been researching places to live outside of California.  Texas, Florida, and South Carolina were also on the dart board.  Our research was narrowed by several factors, but only two weeks transpired from the time we left our VRBO in Boise until our California house sold.  The decision was made.  But what pushed us in the direction of Southwest Idaho?

First, in our situation, we needed to be within reach of California.  We have aging parents, siblings, friends and rental properties on the Central Coast.  Living on the Central Coast has spoiled us in terms of climate.  While we knew we could not duplicate the weather, we still wanted to live outdoors year-round (check out our article on Southwest Idaho climate).  Avid surfer and an adrenaline junkie, year-round outdoor sports are critical to my long-term well-being.   The waterways are spectacular.  The ski boat came out of California storage and made its way to our garage in Idaho along with the collection of paddleboards, wakeboards, and my beloved VW campervan for the myriads of campsites along the Payette and Boise River, on Cascade Lake or in McCall, the getaway for locals.  The jeep (that was for sale in CA), is a keeper in Idaho due to the hundreds of backroads that wind along and through the rivers.

Living on the Central Coast of California is a mix of nature and convenient access to travel and shopping.  Like the Central Coast, Southwest Idaho has a mixture of cities that provide varying levels of open space, yet all are within a reasonable distance of Costco, Trader Joes, the Boise Airport, and, yet you can fish in between errands.  Doesn’t get much better than that . . . .for both of us!

Due to the fact that our house California home sold in two days, we landed in a rental in downtown Boise for an unspecified length of time to scout out the area and decide which city suited us best.  While we loved the vibe of downtown Boise, my wife got a job as a school teacher in Meridian.  Meanwhile, I decided, if I’m living in Idaho, I want to be in walking distance to the river.  Our search had narrowed to a small section of Eagle.  Sunday schedule consisted of church, lunch at Rembrant’s in Eagle, and open houses with refueling at Eagle River Coffee late in the afternoon.  Within 2 months of arriving, the coffee-fueled search produced a home in Mace River Ranch and our Idahome was in escrow. 

It’s been a wild ride, but truly exciting.  I suppose we could have thrown the dart to a location in the United States that would have not produced so many guests, as Idaho is a wonderful destination for friends and family vacations.  Our suggestion to those moving here:  Take guests into account when you purchase.  But, they won’t be guests for long as, once they experience Southwest Idaho, their house may be on the market in California sooner than they had ever imagined!