Why would someone ever go out onto a frozen lake, cut a hole in the ice, and fish in the cold over the course of hours or even days? Well, this is one of many questions I asked myself when I first moved to Sandpoint over six years ago.

If you moved here from anywhere other than Northern Idaho, there were probably a few aspects of Sandpoint culture you didn’t quite understand at first…and here is that list.

1. In most places, lockdowns typically occur when the school is in danger of an intruder. In Sandpoint, a lock down will occur if a moose is seen casually strolling around school property.

2. If you’re originally from anywhere that is sunny and warm year round, then you probably didn’t understand why the month of June seems like an emotional wreck of ever changing weather. Rain, hail, snow, and sunshine within 15 minutes, why not Sandpoint?

3. After being in Sandpoint for a while, you may have come to the realization that the real Mickey D’s is not McDonald’s and is clearly the local favorite, MickDuff’s.

4. Maybe you’re from a city with a population over 8,000 and if so, there may have been more of a variety of radio stations. However, in Sandpoint, we have three main genes of radio stations, with country music making up the majority.  

5. When asking around for good restaurants, Joel’s came up in almost every conversation you had with a local.

6. If you were a middle schooler and weren’t at the city beach everyday during summer, did you really have a summer?

7. You may have learned quickly that being in SSA was a must for elementary schoolers. Soccer was all the rage and being apart of your own soccer team with a funky name was the way you wanted to spend your Saturdays in the fall.

8. You may have thought that the Bonner Mall meant shopping galore…but when you finally saw it, that two hour drive to Spokane Valley didn’t seem all that long anymore.

9. At some point, you may have found yourself complaining about all the construction or traffic in Sandpoint, but if you’re from big city, you’ll inevitably remind yourself that it could be worse.

10. Learning how to ski, if you didn’t already know how to, was a must. If your friends are skiers/snowboarders and you aren’t, good luck trying to make plans on the weekends because chances are, if you can’t get ahold of them, they’re up on the mountain.