I love these sorts of visualisations. Well done, OP!

OH MY GOD, YOU SHORT-SOLD KENNY!!!

Lived in Idaho for nowhere near long enough, and can confirm that CDA and Sandpoint are expensiveAF: as in, private jets at the airports on a daily basis (some with fin numbers you can trace to holding companies and shell companies associated with some very high-net worth individuals) and multimillion-dollar homes on the lakes. Even saw whatever the four-wheel drive that Ferrari make (not the SUV) with a plate prefix of ‘7B,’ which means it was local. Porsches on parade, quite a few seaplanes, and the summer festival of Car d’Alene is not to be missed. And apparently the skiing up there is spectacular, but since I don’t know how to ski I can’t comment on that.

Big problem with the place is that employers will use Spokane as the basis for salary, which is a complete slap in the face when you work in a high-knowledge industry (engineering) and you’re offered a completely lowball salary ($70k vs the $130k I was making in Mooresville, NC for virtually identical work). Nearby places like Hayden and Athol (which I always pronounced as ‘asshole’ with a lisp 🤣) are more affordable. Basically if you plan on buying a decent house in CDA, Dalton Gardens, Sandpoint, or basically anywhere nearby you need to be married (or living in sin) and both you and the spouse need to be six-figure earners.

There are a few dumbfucks in the area whom I “lovingly” refer to as Y’all-Qaeda, mostly stupid rednecks who insist “dem mex’kins” are coming to take their jobs (that they’re not qualified for anyway) and to help the government steal their guns; I jokingly tell them that us brown people are only in the country to vote democrat and rape white girls, because ignorant morons are like nazis: no matter what you do to them, you never feel bad. Despite the reputation the area got from some idiots in the past, I’ll be honest and say I didn’t notice any kind of racism or similar bullshit there that was any better or worse than anywhere else I’ve lived — which is to say I experienced almost none of it, but I’m also a fairly big guy with a permanent scowl and a contempt for humanity that wafts from me like waves of acidic cologne (and also everyone thinks I’m Italian or Greek for some reason…), so your mileage may vary.

One somewhat annoying drawback is that Spokane is the closest ‘normal’ airport, so getting in or out of the place is a pain in the ass because you’re going to be routed through SEATAC or MSP for pretty much any destination. Not a huge deal but when I have to fly to PHL or JFK the extra connections are irritating. But whatever: I always say that if you’re important, other people should wait for you.

Anyway, thanks for reading my pointless rant that allowed me to reminisce about God’s country; 10/10 would absolutely slowly torture motherfuckers to death to be able to live there again.

Spent time in Mooresville and exploring Charlotte, Asheville, did the Smoky Mountain RR train ride, and basically went from Cherokee to Wilmington. Gorgeous goddamn state, and a lot more tolerable than some of the more ‘civilised’ places like NYC, Philly, DC, etc.; nowhere near as armpit-humid in the summer and quite mild in the winter. Ignorant idiots can STFU about NC.

…except for that ‘dooo wuuut?’ response 🤣🤣🤣

https://www.etsy.com/listing/867687461/cross-stitch-pattern-correlation-does?load_webview=1&bid=QoX4MYi2_sC5bGfDXF4St4_91NYp

Best part of Wikipedia was reading articles that were actually written clearly and somewhat concisely in order to get a handle on a topic, and then trawl the references for ‘legitimate’ sources to cite for proper work and get deeper explanations as needed. Was like a free cheat code in grad school when the professor felt like mailing it in and focus on pet projects instead of actually doing their job.

Source: personal experience.