What is the worst thing about Boise? (mover, houses)

[gcflyfish]

Originally Posted by 2much2soon

It kills me when people from large metro areas say "Boise's traffic isn't bad".

I was in Chicago 10 years ago, for a week. Drove all over the city with my cousin, North side, West, up and down the lake. He taught at a CC on the border of the South side and also at the Great Lakes Naval academy so he knew his way around town pretty well.

I distinctly remember getting off the plane in Boise, getting on the freeway to Meridian, and thinking, "Geez, the scale of the traffic is different from Chicago (not as many freeways), but the intensity is identical".

What does that mean to me? It means if I am sitting in traffic on Boise's one freeway anywhere from South East Boise to the other side of Canyon County, it don't feel any different than sitting in traffic in Chicago or SoCal. Its 5 lanes of traffic, for a good part, and when something happens, everything stops.

Also, I occasionally read someone from Orange County complaining about half-hour to 45 minute trips to do "anything" down there.

Guess what? That pretty much describes Meridian these days. Its at least a half-hour trip, each way, to go from the heart of Meridian to West Boise. I know, I have to do it several times a week.

Boise is a great place to live. I live in SE Boise and can bicycle a lot of places. But this BS about Boise's traffic not being bad is ridiculous. I think its mostly the attitude of "I am from X big city, and because it's X big city, everything is bigger and badder and you dumb hicks don't know what you are talking about".

I agree that the Meridian area is the worst for congestion/traffic ( with State Street around 17th a close second... rush hour is a bottle-neck that backs up literally to Eagle). I try and avoid anything west of the mall since I live near downtown. I''m from Chicago, and it's a simplification to say "sitting in traffic is sitting in traffic". Chicago is not that bad to get around if you know the best routes and if you know what to avoid at what time. Boise has fewer route options so one is forced to oftentimes deal with the brunt of rush hour with no alternatives.

Most of the complaining about traffic is from those who chose the value, perceived safety, and "convenience" of a home in Nampa, Meridian, Eagle, and Caldwell. The downside to the suburban dynamic (besides how everything looks the same) is that most residents commute to the core city (Boise) for work during normal business hours.

Look at traffic as a positive economic indicator if your glass is half full.

gcflyfish

[jwest09]

Originally Posted by 2much2soon

It kills me when people from large metro areas say "Boise's traffic isn't bad".

I was in Chicago 10 years ago, for a week. Drove all over the city with my cousin, North side, West, up and down the lake. He taught at a CC on the border of the South side and also at the Great Lakes Naval academy so he knew his way around town pretty well.

I distinctly remember getting off the plane in Boise, getting on the freeway to Meridian, and thinking, "Geez, the scale of the traffic is different from Chicago (not as many freeways), but the intensity is identical".

What does that mean to me? It means if I am sitting in traffic on Boise's one freeway anywhere from South East Boise to the other side of Canyon County, it don't feel any different than sitting in traffic in Chicago or SoCal. Its 5 lanes of traffic, for a good part, and when something happens, everything stops.

Also, I occasionally read someone from Orange County complaining about half-hour to 45 minute trips to do "anything" down there.

Guess what? That pretty much describes Meridian these days. Its at least a half-hour trip, each way, to go from the heart of Meridian to West Boise. I know, I have to do it several times a week.

Boise is a great place to live. I live in SE Boise and can bicycle a lot of places. But this BS about Boise's traffic not being bad is ridiculous. I think its mostly the attitude of "I am from X big city, and because it's X big city, everything is bigger and badder and you dumb hicks don't know what you are talking about".

Reasons: Traffic light intervals are set too slow. You wait longer to go, then traffic moves in large groups (Eagle RD.), instead of at a even consistent flow.
Too many 2 lane roads, instead of 4 lanes.
Too many stop signs, instead of signals.
Very few services available, in the newer outlining residential areas, where people live. They have to commute farther to the busy streets for shopping, gas and food.
Not complaining, just the facts.

[DrummerBoy]

Worst things about Boise? Unprecedented urban sprawl over the past 10 years; Increasingly poor air quality; Underrated summer heat which has gotten worse over the past several years, when virtually all the record highs have been set. And low, low wages, coupled with laughable high home prices that were jacked-up due to the California invasion over the past 10 years.

[Niners fan]

Originally Posted by DrummerBoy

Worst things about Boise? Unprecedented urban sprawl over the past 10 years; Increasingly poor air quality; Underrated summer heat which has gotten worse over the past several years, when virtually all the record highs have been set. And low, low wages, coupled with laughable high home prices that were jacked-up due to the California invasion over the past 10 years.

Something about this post made me laugh. I don't know what it is. Sorry about that.

I also don't know about the heat getting worse. If you look at the summers in Boise for the last 137 years only three have occurred in the last decade:
(source: http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/boi/climo/TO...%20SUMMERS.rtf)

Year Summer
1865 76.8 1
1869 76.6 2
1961 75.7 3
1875 75.5 4
1871 75.2 5
1870 74.9 6
1874 74.8 7
1873 74.7 8
1967 74.2 9
1936 74.2 10
1872 74.0 11
1994 73.7 12
1970 73.7 13
1906 73.7 14
1864 73.7 15
1931 73.6 16
2000 73.5 17
2002 73.4 18
2001 73.4 19
1922 73.4 20


Also, I don't know about the air quality claim either. It's not quite up-to-date, but the following link doesn't show a significant change in unhealthy or moderate days:

http://www.deq.state.id.us/Applicati...rt/histAda.pdf

In the end, I suppose, this is an opinion thread. And opinion often feels like reality. Hope these charts cheered you up a bit. I think the Treasure Valley is a great place to live.

[DESERTRYDER]

Great Info Niners.
Beer on me for that one.

[DrummerBoy]

Overall summer average temps can be skewed by a short blast of coolness, like we had last week. Thus, if we had record-high or near record-high heat for two weeks and then ONE or TWO days of weird, 70-degree weather, the monthly average would come oout normal, thus hiding the fact we had near record heat!
Look guys, I'm not trying to get in a peeing contest with anyone. The bottom line is that it now gets hotter in the summers than it used to. More record highs have been set in the past five or six summers than ever before. Don't believe me? Ask ANY longtime Boise resident. ANY! I guarantee you, to a person they will agree with me. Ask them about the air quality too.
I will not comment on Boise weather ar air quality again. It's like arguing about the sun rising in the east. There is no doubt in my mind. Again, please go ask around. Thanks...

[TohobitPeak]

Originally Posted by DrummerBoy

Overall summer average temps can be skewed by a short blast of coolness, like we had last week. Thus, if we had record-high or near record-high heat for two weeks and then ONE or TWO days of weird, 70-degree weather, the monthly average would come oout normal, thus hiding the fact we had near record heat!
Look guys, I'm not trying to get in a peeing contest with anyone. The bottom line is that it now gets hotter in the summers than it used to. More record highs have been set in the past five or six summers than ever before. Don't believe me? Ask ANY longtime Boise resident. ANY! I guarantee you, to a person they will agree with me. Ask them about the air quality too.
I will not comment on Boise weather ar air quality again. It's like arguing about the sun rising in the east. There is no doubt in my mind. Again, please go ask around. Thanks...

As a long time resident of Boise, I would have to say that the summer seasons have actually gotten cooler the past few years compared to 3 to 5 years ago.
This has been a fabulous Summer with great temps. The air quality this year has been good compared to recent years too. Maybe the air here is bad for someone who grew up in Rupert or Driggs, but Boise air is a huge breath of fresh air when compared to other similar sized and larger cities.
I'm gonna go out and enjoy the fresh air in Boise this morning and ride my bike along the greenbelt. It is a beautiful Summer day here, a little cloudy, the smell of pine in the air wafting down into the Northend from the forests above the city, and a nice fresh breeze is blowing.

[Torrie]

Originally Posted by TohobitPeak

As a long time resident of Boise, I would have to say that the summer seasons have actually gotten cooler the past few years compared to 3 to 5 years ago.
This has been a fabulous Summer with great temps. The air quality this year has been good compared to recent years too. Maybe the air here is bad for someone who grew up in Rupert or Driggs, but Boise air is a huge breath of fresh air when compared to other similar sized and larger cities.
I'm gonna go out and enjoy the fresh air in Boise this morning and ride my bike along the greenbelt. It is a beautiful Summer day here, a little cloudy, the smell of pine in the air wafting down into the Northend from the forests above the city, and a nice fresh breeze is blowing.

I agree TohobitPeak, this summer has been awfully nice and much cooler than usual. It's so nice out right now, I'm sitting on my patio and it's probably about 75 degrees with a light breeze this evening. It's perfect! I don't think the air has been bad this year at all. I know there were a couple of days when it wasn't great, but according to the news that was because of a fire up in Canada.

[Jarndyce]

Poor Air Quality in Boise is not a problem. Go to California if you want to experience what real bad air is like.

There are a lot of crappy smoke-belching cars/trucks on the roads in Boise. It seems dumb that Ada County is the only county with yearly Smog checks. It should be a statewide thing, not a single county thing. Those smoke belchers must not be registered in Ada County because there is no way they would pass the test. So what's the point of testing if you can't actually "monitor" the cars/trucks that are the problem?

Summers here (I made it through my second) are hotter than I thought, but they are fine. Especially now, even though it's mid 90s, it cools down quickly at night. I like upper 80s to low 90s anyway...

The worst thing about Boise is the social life. It's pretty meager here. I think that's more a product of the economic collapse.

[DrummerBoy]

Originally Posted by Jarndyce

Poor Air Quality in Boise is not a problem. Go to California if you want to experience what real bad air is like.

There are a lot of crappy smoke-belching cars/trucks on the roads in Boise. It seems dumb that Ada County is the only county with yearly Smog checks. It should be a statewide thing, not a single county thing. Those smoke belchers must not be registered in Ada County because there is no way they would pass the test. So what's the point of testing if you can't actually "monitor" the cars/trucks that are the problem?

Summers here (I made it through my second) are hotter than I thought, but they are fine. Especially now, even though it's mid 90s, it cools down quickly at night. I like upper 80s to low 90s anyway...

The worst thing about Boise is the social life. It's pretty meager here. I think that's more a product of the economic collapse.

Speaking of California, here's an anecdote you might like: A friend of mine who is also my barista at a coffee shop I frequent is one of the tens-of-thousands of recent SoCal emigres to Boise. Well, the other day, when both our eyes were red and burning due to the smog here, she remarked that she finds the air here more bothersome than in LA! In fact, she claims that she never had to use eye drops or so much moisturizer in LA as she does here. Also, she said that as soon as she steps of the plane when she visits LA, here sinus and eye problems vanish. Imagine! Revelling in LA air after returning from Boise.
Food for thought.