The Phone Call That Changed Everything: How a Headhunter Landed Us in Southern Idaho

I want to tell you about the phone call.

We were living in Flagstaff, Arizona. Fifteen months in. I was commuting twice a semester to Weber State University in Ogden, Utah, working toward my master's degree. Life was moving forward but it wasn't the life we'd been dreaming about — the wide open spaces, the acreage, the American Redoubt.

Then a gentleman in Nebraska — someone I'd never met, someone who'd somehow gotten hold of my resume — called me.

"Have you ever thought about living in Idaho?"

I laughed. Not because it was a ridiculous question. Because Idaho and Montana were the exact two places my wife and I had been dreaming about for years. The American Redoubt. The sparse populations, the wildlife, the like-minded communities, the space to actually build the homesteading life we'd been studying and planning for nearly a decade.

Of course I'd thought about Idaho.

How the Interview Came Together

Here's where it got interesting. The job was in southern Idaho — Twin Falls. My natural concern was logistics: how do you get from Flagstaff to Twin Falls for an interview without making it a major production?

Then I realized: Twin Falls is two hours north of Ogden, Utah — the same Ogden I drove to twice a semester for school. I'd been driving within two hours of my future home twice a year and didn't know it.

I set up the interview. A month later I had a job offer.

That's not luck. That's what happens when you've been specific about what you want and you've prepared yourself to say yes when the opportunity arrives.

The Decision

The family conversation about the move was a short one. We'd been preparing for this — studying homesteading, learning self-sufficiency skills, researching the American Redoubt states — for seven years. When the opportunity showed up dressed as a headhunter from Nebraska, we recognized it.

We said yes.

The hospital in Twin Falls covered relocation. We started packing. Fifteen months in Flagstaff, and now we were heading north to the place we'd been aiming at for years without quite knowing the exact address.

What Southern Idaho Delivered

I could write — and have written, and will continue writing — about what Magic Valley gave our family. The three acres outside Filer. The chickens and the pigs and the garden and the canal. The 4-H experience for the girls. The canyon ten minutes from our door.

But what I want people to understand is that it started with a phone call we were ready for. Seven years of preparation, of learning, of being specific about what we wanted — that's what made it possible to say yes immediately when the right opportunity arrived.

If you're thinking about a move to southern Idaho — whether it's a headhunter calling or a deliberate search — I can tell you from experience that being ready matters. Knowing what you want matters.

I help families relocate to Magic Valley all the time. The ones who land well are the ones who know what they're looking for.

📞 Dr. Ron Jones | 208-712-8386 — I made this move on purpose. Let me help you do the same.

This post reflects Dr. Ron Jones' personal account of his family's relocation to southern Idaho, as originally shared on the Orange Jeep Dad blog.

Dr. Ron Jones | Rim & River Real Estate | rimandriver.com | 208-712-8386