Where to relocate around Boise - help!! Lots of questions (Nampa: real estate, condo)

[JCO311]

Hi. After vacationing in Idaho for several years, my husband and I are "taking the plunge" and relocating to the Boise area in the next couple of months. We have a "general" feel for the area but I would love some input from of you locals:
1. Is the "Bench" really a great place to live? It looks like an older area that has experienced a resurgence in property values, but I'm wondering if it's all it's cracked up to be.
2. What areas should we avoid at all costs?
3. It looks like growth of the metro area tends to more northward up the I-84 corridor, am I correct?
4. Is Eagle "stuffy"?
5. Has development south of I-84 gotten any better? The last time we drove those areas, it was neighborhood after neighborhood with little to no infrastructure (stores, shopping, etc). Is it still like that?
6. Which arterials are the most congested during rush hour?
7. Is Garden City a bad place to buy a home? (I get the feeling it's not very desirable....??)
8. Are property taxes in Boise proper alot higher than its surrounding "suburbs"?
9. Is there anything going on south of the Airport on I-84, or is that sorta where the city "stops"?
10. Is the area just east of downtown (near Lucky Peak) becoming over-saturated with residential? We liked that area but don't want to find out it's full of cookie-cutter homes.
11. Best Mexican restaurant? Best Italian? Best steakhouse?
Lots of questions... I hope you are kind enough to share your knowledge with us. Thank you so much for reading this.

[grmi66]

To answer some of your questions, The Bench was just starting to take off when we first moved here 5 years ago. Many thought it would be the next North End, but it has not really taken off again. You can find 2-3 bedroom post-war homes for as low as $55-75,000 now. Five years ago they would have been $100-200,000. Personally I think The Bench will only take off after the recession ends and prices probably won't get much lower.

Best authentic Mexican is probably Los Betos and they have various locations around town. Used to live in Arizona and it's about as close as I could find to what I ate in Phoenix. Not much to look at, generally a little dirty but if you want authentic go to Los Betos. Second choice would be Corona Village on State Street. Again, not much to look at but the service there is excellent and is more of a sit down family style restaurant.

[JCO311]

Appreciate your input! Being from Texas, obviously it is a requirement of mine to have a "decent" tex-mex or mexican food place in the vicinity.
Thanks for your comments about The Bench... pretty much what I suspected. Thanks again.

[Hp1167]

Originally Posted by JCO311

Hi. After vacationing in Idaho for several years, my husband and I are "taking the plunge" and relocating to the Boise area in the next couple of months. We have a "general" feel for the area but I would love some input from of you locals:
1. Is the "Bench" really a great place to live? It looks like an older area that has experienced a resurgence in property values, but I'm wondering if it's all it's cracked up to be.

It depends on where you're at. There are pockets that are incredible, but most of it isn't that awesome. I generally like most of the bench north of Overland, and to the east of Orchard. The "Central Rim" area (east of Orchard, north of Emerald) is a hidden gem.

What you'll get in the Bench is North-End lite. Smaller lots, smaller, older homes and neighborhoods and proximity to downtown. Not as walkable, not quite as much charm.

2. What areas should we avoid at all costs?

It depends on what you want and where you work. Personally, it's very easy to me: I absolutely avoid anything to the west of Milwaukee and/or Veteran's Parkway. Anything south of Overland. Most of western Boise, including Meridian and Eagle, depends too heavily on an automobile and is too confined within the city.

3. It looks like growth of the metro area tends to more northward up the I-84 corridor, am I correct?

No. Most of the growth in Boise proper used to occur south of I84 and into Kuna. Boise has already grown west into Meridian, so what's left is pretty much just infill. There's not a lot of room to grow north, although some planned communities have tried.

Most of the growth in the Valley will focus on filling in the gaps between Boise and Kuna, Meridian and Nampa, and Eagle and Star.


4. Is Eagle "stuffy"?

Not really... I just don't think it has the character and charm everything thinks it does. Eagle is basically a very, very small downtown, a business core that has similar building facades which give it a faux-mountain charm, and a lot of generic subdivisions and larger lots for the richies.

The commute to Eagle sucks no matter how you get there. State St. sucks hard during rush hour, and Eagle Road is the busiest in the state.


5. Has development south of I-84 gotten any better? The last time we drove those areas, it was neighborhood after neighborhood with little to no infrastructure (stores, shopping, etc). Is it still like that?

Pretty much still ticky tacky. Given the choice of South Boise or Kuna, I choose Kuna. 90% of the homes built in South Boise are terrible CBH or Hubble quality.

6. Which arterials are the most congested during rush hour?

All of them get pretty bad flow. From downtown Boise Front and Myrtle get clogged up. Fairview is pretty bad, but really bad during Christmas. Meridian Rd and Eagle Rd are atrocious. State St. is pretty terrible, and Chinden is horrible too.

Franklin, Overland, Victory, 5 Mile, Maple Grove, and Curtis don't get too bad, really.

The problem with the arterials isn't the traffic per se, it's the timing of the stoplights.

7. Is Garden City a bad place to buy a home? (I get the feeling it's not very desirable....??)

I actually think Garden City is pretty cool. The character and business off Chinden Rd. are bad (lots of strip joints, bars, and salvage yards) and there are a lot of mobile home parks along the river, but GC has access to the Greenbelt and is close to downtown, and will be revitalized next. You can find some cool areas.

8. Are property taxes in Boise proper alot higher than its surrounding "suburbs"?

For the most part.

9. Is there anything going on south of the Airport on I-84, or is that sorta where the city "stops"?

There are some geographic restrictions based on land management/ownership, but there is talk about the Chinese putting in a huge industrial/retail center somewhere in that area... I'd just avoid south of the airport. I can't see why anyone would want to live out that way, unless you're between Boise and Kuna.


10. Is the area just east of downtown (near Lucky Peak) becoming over-saturated with residential? We liked that area but don't want to find out it's full of cookie-cutter homes.

I think some of Boise's worst subdivisions are in this area (Surprise Valley, Columbia Village), but there are some really cool pockets and some of the stuff near Harris Ranch (corner of Warm Springs and Eckert) are really cool. Lots of opportunity out that way, especially if you crave Greenbelt or Lucky Peak access.

There are a lot of cookie cutter homes in this area, though.

11. Best Mexican restaurant? Best Italian? Best steakhouse?

I'm not the best for these questions... I like Pollo Rey, Smokey Mountain and Lock Stock and Barrel. Chandlers is the steakhouse name you might see pop up. But certainly take my advice here with a grain of salt.

Lots of questions... I hope you are kind enough to share your knowledge with us. Thank you so much for reading this.

.................

[JCO311]

Thank you, HP1167! Wow, lots of informative tidbits. I'm "on the fence" about Garden City, it looks affordable but I've heard some you-don't-want-to-buy-there comments from realtors, altho we haven't ruled it out entirely. Your post is pretty insightful and has shed a brighter light on some of our concerns. Thank you for the advice.

[Hp1167]

There's a subdivision called "the Waterfront" that I'd buy in if I were looking at GC - that's pretty much it. I'd say GC is a good 20 years from being completely revitalized, and by then it might be *the* place in Boise.

[grmi66]

I think that if you want to be an urban pioneer Garden City and the Bench has the most long term potential. One of the nice things about the Bench are that the lots are relatively large. The two bedroom houses that surround my office have bigger lots and more mature vegetation than my home in west Boise. With GC you have all of the Greenbelt and Boise River right there and you are only 5-10 away from downtown.

[JCO311]

So are you two saying it's okay to buy in GC but be prepared to hold long-term? I have a commercial real estate background, so I am familiar with revitalization of areas and the advantages / disadvantages associated with such, but is it a bad drive? ie., do you have to drive past shady businesses or neighborhoods in order to get to "the good part"? It's been awhile since we've driven thru that area, but on a map, it looks like GC and Eagle could almost "mesh" if given the opportunity, down the line. Or is that a complete stretch of the immagination?

[grmi66]

There is one nice new little condo development if you continue on Orchard past Chinden towards the river by the Ranch Club. Have a couple of friends that live there and they really like it. I think anything close to the river and the greenbelt has huge potential.

You can also find some 5-10 acre mini-farms tucked into the western end of GC. If you look long and hard and look past the industrial & trailer parks I think that GC could be a winner. But it will be at least 5-10 years away.

Eagle and GC won't run into each other until the gravel pit and the huge swath of farmland goes away. But I think that they are planning to extend 5 Mile Road across the river in the near future and that may open up the western edge of GC.