What is the worst thing about Boise? (Nampa, Meridian: ski resort, condos)

[huntman58]

Drugs and cost of living. Wages are not that good for most jobs .the drug of chouse is meth. Also Boise dose have some gang activity. The reason you do not find much about Boise is the state and city keep as much away from people as they can as the only way Boise will still grow is to bring in out of state jobs. What most do not find out tell there is they do not pay any thing that great. Most also do not offer benefits to boot. The car smog check is every year (more then calif every two) but is also a lot less restrictive then califs by far. Also in the winter you have the inversions that trap the bad air in the valley were you will not see the sun for days. Drivers drive to fast for the ice they get on the roads not much snow but the roads are ice covered at times. On the free ways it is not unheard of to have almost if not over a hundred cars off the road way .I also lived in Boise for over ten years and then left never to come back not because of the area but because of the people and the noninforcment of state laws. My welcome or my wife’s at the time was to be spat on for having calif. Plates on her car. This person also knew she had moved there and worked there as it was a week after we got there. I found out later by some others at my church that also had this done to them. Most do not like any one from the west or east coast moving there as they blame them for what they see as all the bad things in the state. High cost of housing, low paying jobs and taking away jobs from Idaho people. I believe it is the state and cities trying to make people believe it is so good. Like Boise saying in 92 there was no gang activity at all. Yet being from calif you could see it in the graffiti (even thou there was not much it still showed) and other things around town. Ask most why they will not live in garden city (surrounded by Boise) or out in south west of amity and five mile road area .ask how bad is Nampa and the other cities are as it dose not just stay there. Boise is the regional shopping area for over a few hundred miles also the big hang out for bangers and mall rats .talk to the young kids there ask them about gangs and drugs you will here more of the truth from them then politicians.
Yes some love Boise and Idaho I am not one of them living there cost me to much. Like my family!

[Pineboy]

Originally Posted by huntman58

Drugs and cost of living. Wages are not that good for most jobs .the drug of chouse is meth. Also Boise dose have some gang activity. The reason you do not find much about Boise is the state and city keep as much away from people as they can as the only way Boise will still grow is to bring in out of state jobs. What most do not find out tell there is they do not pay any thing that great. Most also do not offer benefits to boot. The car smog check is every year (more then calif every two) but is also a lot less restrictive then califs by far. Also in the winter you have the inversions that trap the bad air in the valley were you will not see the sun for days. Drivers drive to fast for the ice they get on the roads not much snow but the roads are ice covered at times. On the free ways it is not unheard of to have almost if not over a hundred cars off the road way .I also lived in Boise for over ten years and then left never to come back not because of the area but because of the people and the noninforcment of state laws. My welcome or my wife’s at the time was to be spat on for having calif. Plates on her car. This person also knew she had moved there and worked there as it was a week after we got there. I found out later by some others at my church that also had this done to them. Most do not like any one from the west or east coast moving there as they blame them for what they see as all the bad things in the state. High cost of housing, low paying jobs and taking away jobs from Idaho people. I believe it is the state and cities trying to make people believe it is so good. Like Boise saying in 92 there was no gang activity at all. Yet being from calif you could see it in the graffiti (even thou there was not much it still showed) and other things around town. Ask most why they will not live in garden city (surrounded by Boise) or out in south west of amity and five mile road area .ask how bad is Nampa and the other cities are as it dose not just stay there. Boise is the regional shopping area for over a few hundred miles also the big hang out for bangers and mall rats .talk to the young kids there ask them about gangs and drugs you will here more of the truth from them then politicians.
Yes some love Boise and Idaho I am not one of them living there cost me to much. Like my family!

What a bunch of negative jibberish. Boise of course has problems just like any other city of any size in this country. There are drugs, some crime, etc...but even little cities of 5000 people have these problems. And currently in Boise there are not really any gang problems at all, just some random fights between drunk punks after bars close on weekends, which happens anywhere. Graffiti is scarce but there is some. Go to Nampa and Caldwell and you will find more gangs and graffti, but the gangs are only wanna be immigrent mexican gangs. I think if families are torn apart or affected by Drugs and Gangs then the issue is with the family themselves and how they are brought up by their parents not a city. I work with many people who have relocated here from all over the country and none of them have ever mentioned getting ridiculed moving here. THe Census stated that 3 in 5 people living in Boise are from outside of the area so I hardly think saying that if you are from out of state is bad. Boise is not perfect, but either is anywhere else, but Boise is better than a lot of places, a lot better People love living here, there is tons, and I mean tons of civic pride and the city is clean. Remember there is good and bad everywhere.

[pinkpalace]

Originally Posted by sillygal

Sounds like a good movie, but does it really take place in Boise? and show what Boise looks like? Or is it just Hollywood scenery!!!!

There are scenes in the movie that are definitely Boise. It's been a while since I've seen it, but I remember one scene that was probably taken from the train depot, looking down at the state capitol, along Capital blvd.

Other parts of it... NOT in Boise. I think I also remember seeing Richard Pryor going into some big buildings that aren't in Boise.

[pinkpalace]

Boise is a good place to live. There is drug problems and crime, but you'll find that anywhere. There were drugs and crime in my rural 3,000 population central Maine town too.

Traffic is bad by Idaho standards, but it's laughable by big city standards. I've never driven through Phoenix, but Boise traffic is nothing compared to Boston, Atlanta, Chicago, Washington DC, etc. Even SLC has worse traffic than Boise.

huntman58 had some bad experiences in Idaho, and I really feel bad for him and his family. However... his experiences and opinions are unusual compared to most of us that spent a lot of time living in Boise. I lived in Idaho for around 30 years, with the last 10-15 years being in the Boise-Nampa area.

I'll respond to a few of his points with my own opinions:

Drugs and cost of living. Wages are not that good for most jobs . Yes, drugs are a problem, but not any worse than any other area I've seen. Cost of living in Boise is higher than most other places in Idaho. However, potential for getting a "good" job is better in Boise than other places in Idaho.

the drug of chouse is meth. Also Boise dose have some gang activity.
Meth is taking over as the drug of choice nationwide. Gang activity? Wannabe's. You'll have to go out of your way to find any of these thugs.

The car smog check is every year (more then calif every two) but is also a lot less restrictive then califs by far. The emissions test is around $12 per year. It's more of a hassle than anything else.

Also in the winter you have the inversions that trap the bad air in the valley were you will not see the sun for days. true. If you drive up the hill to Bogus Basin, you'll see blue skies and actually be a bit warmer than down in the city.... it's weird.

Drivers drive to fast for the ice they get on the roads not much snow but the roads are ice covered at times. true. IMO, the counties in Idaho do a poor job of keeping the roads cleared. Ice can be a problem for a few days.

On the free ways it is not unheard of to have almost if not over a hundred cars off the road way . not true. hundreds? hmm.... maybe a dozen or so after a bad storm.

[micrguy]

I forgot that the movie took place in Boise. I saw it at a Dollar theater and paid too much money to see it.

[sillygal]

Well, i was thinking of renting that movie this weekend, but if I am not going to get a good glimpse of Boise, why bother right? And I am not going to know what is real, and what is hollywood....? Because I have never been there.

[montyc]

The movie starts out in California and then goes to Boise, ID, where Richard Pryor's character and family move too.
The exact locations are:

Canyon Country, CA
El Sugundo, CA
and finally Boise, ID

All of this is weird considering that in the movie, he starts out by working for a company in New Jersey.....lol

Take care,

Monty

[Brent85]

This summer I was on a road trip from Portland to Billings. I saw the Oregon coast, gorge, yellowstone, tetons. And from all those places Boise is where I'd want to live. It's a good city, in a good location. I remember going up to the sawtooth area, and driving by a meadow with purple and white flowers, with the mountains in the background, it was like a paradise. I couldn't believe how clear one of the rivers was that I saw. I'm definatly going to go back for whitewater rafting. The reason I though Boise was the ideal choice is because...Portland area is scenic but too gloomy and rainy. The city of Portland is crowded with homeless people, lots of crime. People actually hangout at the falls by the gorge with walkie talkies, then break into cars. Wyoming and Montana... scenic also but the cities are too small and don't have much to offer. So the Boise area is in between. I wasn't there very long though, so these are just my first impressions.

[sillygal]

U went from Portland, down the coast did u get to see Eugene? that was an area I was interested in.......? I am actually thinking that area or Boise?

[Brent85]

Originally Posted by sillygal

U went from Portland, down the coast did u get to see Eugene? that was an area I was interested in.......? I am actually thinking that area or Boise?

no, we only went down to Newport. Then across to salem, and north. I'm also curious about Eugene, but it's so far away from me, i'll probably never get to visit it.