"Can I walk out to get the sunday paper, and not get mugged"
YES (the muggers know everyone here is an armed redneck)
"If I put the decoys in the boat the night before, will they still be there in the morning"
YES (please let me know your address and when your going hunting)
"How far is it to a reasonable camping place (streams, canyons, TREES)"
20-30 minutes to water (AF res, Springfield Lake, Snake River)
15-30 minutes to public trees
Times are dependent upon where you live. Some areas of town are within 5 minutes of public forest/camping.
"How likely am I to be able to find a place to hunt for a day, if I can't make it out for a week"
I hunted deer for 7 days in a row last season, most of the time on public land. I slept at home each night. Same with the elk hunt-only had to hunt 2 days.
"In general, for a guy who likes to be outside, include my 4 year old in the plan, is it a place that I want to live?"
I should tell you no, as there are more people here every year. Its not a perfect place by any means, you know we like to see what we breathe here.....(simplot air) but it is certainly well located. And really, its not a place if your looking for nightlife, fine dining, theater, etc. But, if ya have a boat, fishing pole (or 3) and gun (or 3) there is lots to do. I have a 5 year old. We went fishing sunday and shot .22's.