Homes are all one-story, single-family, custom-built designs with no stairs.  As standard features, each one has energy-saving attributes, a gas fireplace, air-conditioning, a garage, landscaping, underground sprinklers and "aging in place" features such as wider doors and no-step showers.   Further features include a covered walkway, a covered back patio, a garage workshop, a kitchen pantry and walk-in closets.   All homes also come with a heated driveway and sidewalk, a nice perk in Idaho.   There are 18 floor plans, and residences have from 990 square feet to 2,000 square feet.  Homes are priced from $129,880 (2 bedrooms and 2 baths) to $211,970 (4 bedrooms and 2 baths).    Keep in mind that these dwellings sit on leased land, which is why the prices are relatively low.  Land lease fees are $295 per month and include city water and sewer, garbage pick-up, property taxes, snow removal, clubhouse privileges and RV storage.  There is no HOA fee, and all homes are owner-occupied.  Visit www.goldenspikeestates.com for more information.

The clubhouse here is 12,000 square feet and has a kitchen, a ballroom, a computer lab, a pool table, a Jacuzzi, an exercise room, a small library, a movie room and craft rooms, as well as a pool with exercise classes offered.   The new 9-hole golf chip course, horseshoe pits, fire pit and outdoor BBQ, seven-acre "people park" and ½-acre pet park give residents a reason to be outside (with or without a pet).  

The best thing about retirement here may just be the location.  This is beautiful, rugged country, and mountains surround the development.  Outdoor recreation opportunities, including fishing, camping, skiing and hiking, abound.  For more urban pursuits, picturesque Coeur d'Alene (42,000 people), 15 miles down the road, offers a good selection restaurants, shops, casinos, golf courses, theater venues, galleries and has very good medical care.   The small town of Rathdrum itself (population 6,600) is growing (30% in the last decade) and has a crime rate and a cost of living below the national average.

A nice benefit of retiring in this development is that Idaho has a $75,000 home owners' property tax exemption for which residents of Golden Spike Estates qualify, even though they do not own the land upon which their homes sit.  

The weather here is on the cool side.  Some might even call it cold.  Summer daytime temperatures average in the 70s, and winter temperatures are in the teens, 20s and low 30s.  Winters can also bring 15 or more inches of snow each month and skies are often overcast.  Summers are characterized by bright blue skies.   The elevation is 2,200 feet.

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