Star information??? (Boise, Nampa, Meridian: houses, school district, subdivisions)

[LVGAZ]

In a previous thread someone mentioned the town of Star Idaho - stating that it was 30 minutes from downtown Boise. When I look into this - it shows no schools? CAn anyone give me any information on this town - regarding housing? schools? closeness to working downtown Boise?
SAfety?
What is the terrain like - is it near the foothills? river? bike paths? greenery?
Does it have its own small downtown with amenitites?

[micrguy]

I just drove through Star yesterday and it's basically a wide spot in the road right now (think Buckeye AZ 20 years ago). It had a small cluster of shops, it's right along the river and appears to have a lot of future potential. Could be a good time to get in right now, some people are claiming that it will become the next Eagle.

[fabforever]

We drive through Star to get to Eagle sometimes and it is a very small place with few amenities. However people started building large houses there since the price of land is cheaper than Boise. I believe it will see some major growth in the next few years, but right now it is just a very small town.

[chiefs fan]

Star is in the Meridian school district, and I believe they funnel into Eagle HS (part of Meridian district). I would think your commute into downtown Boise would take a bit longer than 30 minutes if you are going during rush hour. You would most likely take State Street into Boise, and it gets more congested the closer you get to Boise. I used to live off of State Street & Gary Lane in NW Boise and worked downtown at 7:30am, and it would take me about 20 minutes (this was 2 years ago).

[Syringaloid]

Originally Posted by LVGAZ

In a previous thread someone mentioned the town of Star Idaho - stating that it was 30 minutes from downtown Boise. When I look into this - it shows no schools? CAn anyone give me any information on this town - regarding housing? schools? closeness to working downtown Boise?
SAfety?
What is the terrain like - is it near the foothills? river? bike paths? greenery?
Does it have its own small downtown with amenitites?

Star is a very small town, but is close to Nampa, Caldwell and a short drive to Boise, so it isn't isolated, but a growing town. I think kids in Star go to Eagle for school??? Not sure though. Star is becoming more upscale with expensive homes, there is a very quaint small downtown with new commerical projects on the way. I was there last weekend and there are signs for quite a few new commercial projects, so the shopping will increase. Plus in Star you are very close to Eagle/Meridian with their shopping areas and then of course Boise. Star is very beautiful and is in the Boise River bottoms and is lush, trees everywhere and the mountains and foothills are close by.
The drive on State Street (highway 44) from Eagle to Star is great with all of the trees, the river and the attractive farm lands. I think you would like Star.

[logicskier]

Star Sucks.
1. There is one school, elementary, that is it.
2. No grocery store. No the Merc does not count.
3. Home prices are ridiculous because many expected it to become Eagle like (by the way, Eagle is pretentious and over rated). This will never happen. I know. I am a market analyst for a home building company in the valley.
4. The mayor is terrible. He is a developer and treats Star as his own large scale development with no reflection on proper development patterns.
5. Lame, boring subdivisions with no amenities are not what I would call nice and if you want to discuss Heron River (John L. Scott development) go ahead. The expected home prices in that development will average from $300,000 to $1,000,000. FOR WHAT?
6. To date, there is only one city park. A horrible, sad little green patch located in the Saddle Brook Subdivision located on Star Road across the street from the school.
7. Yeah, there is the river, but if you are not careful, the high groundwater can lead to mold problems if your home does not have proper drainage.
8. Oh yeah. I cannot forget "Toon Town". Those who live in Star know what I am talking about.

[StarGal]

Star is a great place to live! I guess there has to be at least one in every crowd. . .If it is so horrible, then I suggest you go away and make room for some of these folks that are pleasant neighbors.

The reason there are no amenities is because Star is so young. With a population of about 5000, you cannot expect for there to alot here - yet. If you take the time to do the research, it is amazing what is planned for this community! Neighboring Eagle has a population of close to 30,000, that is a huge difference in revenue - and I don't think Star wants to be the next Eagle - they want to be Star.

Star Elementary is a terrific school and the Middle and High School kids go to Eagle schools which are about 4 miles away. There are also several charter schools in the immediate area and a new private arts academy is opening this year about 4 miles away from Star.

We love Star!!!

[pimit2]

Hey LVGAZ,

Well, as usual, a flurry of mixed opinions. I live in northern Idaho and have never visited Star, so no opinions here. For some facts, Star has a small website. Find it by typing in Star Idaho into your browser, For more data, go to Wikipedia and type Star Idaho into their browser.

Best of luck,

pimit2 (Bob)

[Anchorless]

Originally Posted by StarGal

Star is a great place to live! I guess there has to be at least one in every crowd. . .If it is so horrible, then I suggest you go away and make room for some of these folks that are pleasant neighbors.

The reason there are no amenities is because Star is so young. With a population of about 5000, you cannot expect for there to alot here - yet. If you take the time to do the research, it is amazing what is planned for this community! Neighboring Eagle has a population of close to 30,000, that is a huge difference in revenue - and I don't think Star wants to be the next Eagle - they want to be Star.

Star Elementary is a terrific school and the Middle and High School kids go to Eagle schools which are about 4 miles away. There are also several charter schools in the immediate area and a new private arts academy is opening this year about 4 miles away from Star.

We love Star!!!

I think Logic hit it well on the head. For a town of 5,000 to have as few necessary amenities as it does, it suggests that most people that live there are commuters (and will have to commute for necessary services). That's fine and dandy for those who want to, but to be honest State St. is never going to get any better, especially when Eagle doubles in size in the next 5 years (thanks to M3Eagle and their wonderful foothills plan).

It isn't so much that Star is a bad place to live, but that in the next 5 years the town is going to go through some very difficult growing pains until it can develop a stable infrastructure, and be something more than a large (un)planned community. Y'all need something to keep people in Star, and not leaving Star every morning for work/chores/play.

Frankly I don't mind seeing growth creep west towards Star (though I'm sure the locals might have a problem) instead of continuing north, but there really is going to be some major traffic flaws in that sector. You really only have State St. / 44 and Chinden, both of which are a mess, and Eagle Rd. as a N/S artery. Unless they plan an expressway to connect to I84 to relieve some of that traffic flow, or divert some of it to Nampa, there are going to be some major concerns in that direction.

I don't want to keep coming off as the negative Nelly in this forum, but these are the realities of living in the Treasure Valley in this day and age, and we have to start planning accordingly. God knows our leaders aren't.

[Mom09kids]

We are moving to Star soon and I would like to know more about the elementary school. I'm also very interested in the private arts academy that you mentioned. Any details would be appreciated.