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is plentiful, with more than 310 restaurants,
trendy shops and art galleries dotting the quaint,
trendy downtown. The Plaza Shops is an
upscale enclosed mall and the site of book
signings, fashion shows, concerts and art
displays. Five-star restaurants, wine shops,
bookstores, large retailers, antique stores, box
stores, brew pubs and coffee houses are
all here (and the beautiful new library is a
treat), but for those in need of even more
shopping options, big-city fun and cultural
amenities, Spokane, Washington, with its theaters,
malls, restaurants and museums, is just 35 miles
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The lake along which the town is nestled is the
center of activity here. With 135 miles of shoreline,
it brings out boaters, parasailers, water skiers, fishermen
and anyone else who enjoys the water (a boardwalk and picnic
areas near downtown welcome those who prefer to stay on dry
land). The massive Coeur d'Alene Resort and its
championship golf course (with a floating 14th hole and
voted by Golf Digest as America's most beautiful
resort golf course) is spread along the lake's horizon and makes
for an impressive backdrop. The views from anywhere on
shore are indeed spectacular, with steep, rugged mountains seeming
to jut out of the amazingly blue water.
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During winter months, residents ice fish on the frozen lake and
snowmobile, cross country ski and snowshoe across hundreds of
miles of nearby mountain trails. Two downhill ski resorts
are also within close proximity.
For a small city, health care is quiet good. The primary
care facility is Kootenai Medical Center (337 beds and home to the
respected Kootenai Heart Center), a winner of the Five-Star
Hospital award and named a Top 100 Hospital, in a survey of 2,000
hospitals nationwide, by Cleverley and
Associates. Spokane is also home to several major
hospitals.
Senior services are provided through the Area
Agency on Aging and by the Lake City Senior Center (208-667-4628),
founded in 1983, which has the mission of "providing for the
nutritional, social and educational needs of citizens age
60 and better."
Coeur d'Alene is located on I-90 and US Highway 95, so it is
accessible, but it is still "way up there" and can feel
a little isolated. The Spokane International Airport
has daily non-stop flights to all major hubs, and the Coeur
d'Alene Airport accommodates small private
aircraft. North Idaho Community Express travels to and
from neighboring towns.
Crime rates meet the national
average.
Retirement in here has a few
drawbacks. One may be the winter weather, which can bring 80
inches of snow in a season and last from October to
April. January temperatures average in the low 20s,
and the humidity averages 45%, but summers are glorious with
average temperatures rarely rising above 85 degrees (the elevation
is 2,187 feet). Coeur d'Alene is also a popular tourist
spot, and summer traffic is thick and heavy. To those
from larger cities, retirement here may feel a bit too far off the
beaten path.
For anyone in search of a healthy lifestyle, a cooler clime
and a scenic
mountain location, though, Coeur d'Alene is a gem and should be on
the list of potential retirement destinations.
Return
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Great Retirement Spots Newsletter is
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