Sandpoint lauded as family town
<p>Sandpoint has long been valued as a great community to raise a family, as Aaron Roark and his baby daughter Finnley could tell you last year at Sandpoint Farmers Market. (Photo by CAMERON RASMUSSON)</p>
SANDPOINT — According to a recent study, Sandpoint is a top-notch location to set the foundation for a lifetime of family memories.
Consumer advocacy and financial research website Nerd Wallet is the latest outlet to sing Sandpoint’s praises. In a recent article evaluating cities based on friendliness for young families, researcher Mike Anderson included Sandpoint as one of Idaho’s top 10 Idaho communities. It’s an evaluation with which Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce president Kate McAlister agrees wholeheartedly.
“I think our school district, the recreational opportunities it affords and the small town lifestyle make Sandpoint a great choice,” she said.
According to Anderson, many individuals simply look at average home values as a factor when considering strong communities for young families. However, that doesn’t tell the whole story, he said.
“There’s a lot more that goes into creating quality of life than home values,” he added.
That’s why he used several points of comparison that would interest young couples raising or expecting a child. First, a quality education is a concern for any child, so Anderson set about comparing Idaho school districts based on comparative data from sources like nonprofit Great Schools. Next, Anderson inspected median home values combined with average monthly costs, including mortgage payments, real estate taxes, insurance costs, utilities and fuel. Finally, he assessed the health of the local economy by comparing income growth data over the past decade.
All those factors added into a total score, after which Anderson selected the top 10 highest scoring communities to highlight. Sandpoint ranked seventh in the list.
“In the last several years, the city has grown significantly, particularly in the retail and manufacturing sectors,” he wrote. “The job market for the latter nearly doubled between 1996 and 2006.”
According to McAlister, simple statistics might determine a community’s economic viability and ease of starting a home, but it doesn’t tell the whole story. She said qualities like a population that values outdoor recreation and a friendly small town atmosphere made a big difference for young parents.
“If I had to start over again, this would be a great place to raise a family,” she said.
In fact, McAlister said the chamber plans to promote the community’s family friendliness and younger population in upcoming collaborations with the Lake Pend Oreille School District. One of the ideas generated during the Idaho Rural Partnership community review, the project will highlight the lives of just a few young local students, she said.
“We really need to highlight our kids more, because we have some great ones,” she said.