What is the worst thing about Boise? (Meridian, Hayden: school, place to live)

[Syringaloid]

Go to a Walmart in any sized city, even Seattle, San Francisco, Boston, NYC, and you will see what is considered hick, trash, punk, ghetto, from a broad spectrum of ethnicities. I find it interesting that there are only two Walmarts in Boise and one of those is technically Garden City--the other is on the western extremeties of the city. So......most people I see on a daily basis in the inner city--downtown boise, east boise, the foothills, inner bench area probably don't shop at Walmart. Why would they...there are some nice, clean Fred Meyers and many clean Albertsons scattered around the city and the discount chains are tossed to the boundaries of the city.
Most people I know don't step foot in a Walmart. I live near downtown Boise and I often times forget that Walmart exists...you will not see Northenders sporting a new Walmart wardrobe!

[IDCorry]

The traffic is pretty bad because the freeways aren't accesable enough to certain parts of town, but I would put this a close second to poor weather forecasting... they always get it wrong!

[picklejuice]

What about race relations? Considering Boise for locale and scenery, but wondering about social aspects.

[Sonrise]

Originally Posted by picklejuice

What about race relations? Considering Boise for locale and scenery, but wondering about social aspects.

Other then the football and basketball players at BSU, their aren't many blacks in Boise.

[jufrbo]

People here though are less racist than people I've met that come from areas like the South and California and back East. It has something to do with having such a large amount of whites that people haven't had a chance to build up stereotypes in places that are more diverse get. Here everyone gets the benefit of the doubt.

[boisefan88]

Originally Posted by jufrbo

People here though are less racist than people I've met that come from areas like the South and California and back East. It has something to do with having such a large amount of whites that people haven't had a chance to build up stereotypes in places that are more diverse get. Here everyone gets the benefit of the doubt.

Disagree. Most Idahoans I know tend to be subversively racist, though perhaps in an innocuous way (insomuch as racism can be innocuous). What I mean by that is they won't overtly act or get in someone's face, but they tend to blame all of the world's woes on some minority group, or they'll tell racist jokes, that type of thing.

[picklejuice]

Originally Posted by Sonrise

Other then the football and basketball players at BSU, there aren't many blacks in Boise.

Got ya

[picklejuice]

Originally Posted by boisefan88

Disagree. Most Idahoans I know tend to be subversively racist, though perhaps in an innocuous way (insomuch as racism can be innocuous). What I mean by that is they won't overtly act or get in someone's face, but they tend to blame all of the world's woes on some minority group, or they'll tell racist jokes, that type of thing.

Thanks for handing out fact, rather than fiction. It is refreshing.

[boisefan88]

I will say this: the minority experience in Boise really depends on your age, temperament, and adaptability.

People tend to prefer to be in places where they are similar to other people - in how they look, culturally, religiously, politically, or a mix of other things. Other people don't mind, or thrive in places where they are very much an outsider.

In Boise, as a minority, you will be an outsider, at least in how you look. If this doesn't bother you, and you're a social, adaptable person, you can and will thrive in Boise. I play basketball at the Boise State rec center, and in talking with many of the students there (many of whom are minorities and/or come from out of state), some adapt and some do not. Those that adapt tend to make a lot of friends, and those that don't tend to hang with a smaller group and sort of wait out their time here (not that they hate it, but they just prefer home to here).

So either way you'll likely find friends and possibly enjoy your time here. But it is very conservative and very white, culturally - if you know what that means.

One of my favorite stories comes from a young man from Georgia, who was black. His shock being here wasn't that he was stared at, or ignored, insulted, and anything like that. Rather, he was blown away at how isolated and stand-offish everyone was. Walking down the street people ignored him, and at first he thought it was a racial thing, until he was here long enough he found out it was just a Boise thing - people tend to keep to themselves.

I hear the downtown scene is different, if just because it's so small that after a few weeks everyone knows each other. But I wouldn't know about that, as I'm much too old for that scene.

[Niners fan]

Originally Posted by jufrbo

People here though are less racist than people I've met that come from areas like the South and California and back East. It has something to do with having such a large amount of whites that people haven't had a chance to build up stereotypes in places that are more diverse get. Here everyone gets the benefit of the doubt.

Originally Posted by boisefan88

Disagree. Most Idahoans I know tend to be subversively racist, though perhaps in an innocuous way (insomuch as racism can be innocuous). What I mean by that is they won't overtly act or get in someone's face, but they tend to blame all of the world's woes on some minority group, or they'll tell racist jokes, that type of thing.

Originally Posted by picklejuice

Thanks for handing out fact, rather than fiction. It is refreshing.

Not meaning to start an argument, but what made you conclude that statement #2 is fact and statement #1 is fiction?

Originally Posted by Sonrise

Other then the football and basketball players at BSU, their aren't many blacks in Boise.

This actually is a fact.