IDAHO, USA — Many Los Angeles police officers and firefighters are commuting from California to Idaho, and for many in those professions, it's a common commute. Some have been doing it for years. Captain of the Los Angeles City Fire Department, Chris Yokoyama, said his love of Idaho started with camping.
"We camped in the High Valley RV Resort near Eagle," Yokoyama said. "We kind of fell in love with the Eagle area specifically Dry Creek Ranch."
Born and raised in Long Beach, California, Yokoyama said. he never realized how close Idaho is to California. That realization, mixed with a new interest in the Gem State, turned into a new adventure for his family. They built a house, packed up their belongings and moved to Idaho – and started the commute.
"I was commuting every week. And then it turned out that there were several of us actually commuting every week," Yokoyama said.
He did that commute for two years, until he and his family moved back to Long Beach about seven months ago.
"It was great while it lasted, and then we decided to move back because my wife wanted to homeschool the kids," he said.
Caldwell Police Chief Rex Ingram also made that same commute for two years.
"I commuted here in 2020, and my wife and kids and I moved from Los Angeles, California to the great state of Idaho," Ingram said.
He would work four days and have three days off, and sometimes he would stack his days.
"So out of a 28 day deployment period, I was able to work like seven days straight, and then take a week off. But it just depends on what the mission was at the time," Ingram said. "In those two years, I met several people on the airplane. Here at school dropping off my kids at school, I'm like, Oh, that guy looks familiar. I think he is, or she is a police officer."
He said rather than spend long hours driving, he chose to fly. He said that way he could see his kids and have time with his family.
"I think the biggest pivotal point was in 2020, we just saw the United States just completely polarized against, you know, basically cops versus everyone," Ingram said. "I wanted a place for my kids to be safe to grow up in an environment where they didn't have to look over their shoulder because dad may have said something on the news or may have done something at work. I just couldn't allow myself to sacrifice my entire life for the city of LA but have my kids being on the backburner."
Ingram added that, while he was making more money in Los Angeles, he was also paying taxes in both states.
"So, it was tough, you know, and I had to really budget and save, put things away for certain California and Idaho taxes," he said. "There are a lot of people that have critics in California that say, Well, you know, we're paying your salary in Los Angeles, your money should stay in Los Angeles. Well, this is America, we do what we want with our money, and I choose to live my life in another state."
He said that he would not have been able to commute without the support of his family, but that it sometimes felt like a double life.
"Where I'm getting off the airplane in Los Angeles and land, and I'm going to work and it's just shootings and perimeters and pursuits and news and dealing with the Vice President of the United States who lives in the area where I used to work. Then I get on an airplane and I fall asleep for an hour and 20 minutes, and I wake up and it's like, oh, I'm on vacation now," he said.
Ingram said people are commuting to Idaho for a reason because they want to be a part of the community.
Yokoyama said he and his family may revisit the idea of moving back to Idaho down the road, but for now they have been left with fond memories; "It was a good experience and no regrets."
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