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I work online and I'm looking to get out of the midwest for a change of pace.
I'm looking at a number of cities, and I'm wondering if Boise is a good fit. Here are my criteria:
-Affordable rent (under $1000 for 1 or 2 BR)
-Nice weather (sunny, mild winters, not too humid)
-Easy to make friends (especially the nerdy, board game playing kind)
-Low taxes (property, income, corporate)
-Scenic (Mountains, lakes, clean, not too many homeless)
-Good outdoor rec (especially hiking and biking, skiing is a plus too)
-Not extremely conservative or liberal (I'm a libertarian, I get along best with other libertarians, moderates, and independents)
-Good music scene
-Plenty of things to do in the city (bars, nightlife, cultural spots, parks, restaurants, places to wander around)
-Not too crowded or sprawling, but not tinytown USA
-"Livable" (easy to walk/bike places, plenty of amenities, low COL)
-Pet friendly
-Plenty of young, college educated people
Any thoughts from people who have lived or visited? Thanks!
Last edited by Doubting_Thomas; 04-19-2015 at 02:42 PM..
I work online and I'm looking to get out of the midwest for a change of pace.
I'm looking at a number of cities, and I'm wondering if Boise is a good fit. Here are my criteria:
-Affordable rent (under $1000 for 1 or 2 BR) Yes.
-Nice weather (sunny, mild winters, not too humid) Yes, sorta, not humid, gets hot though
-Easy to make friends (especially the nerdy, board game playing kind) I think Boise is very hard to mark friends in if you're a newcomer. Church, school, and work would be the places to do so. It depends on how hard you work at it. Some do well, some don't.
-Low taxes (property, income, corporate) Probably about average.
-Scenic (Mountains, lakes, clean, not too many homeless) Yes, but we're also in a desert. Nice mountain views, two reservoirs close by, not too many homeless.
-Good outdoor rec (especially hiking and biking, skiing is a plus too) Yes, yes, yes.
-Not extremely conservative or liberal (I'm a libertarian, I get along best with other libertarians, moderates, and independents) Sounds about right.
-Good music scene Yes.
-Plenty of things to do in the city (bars, nightlife, cultural spots, parks, restaurants, places to wander around) Yup.
-Not too crowded or sprawling, but not tinytown USA Yup.
-"Livable" (easy to walk/bike places, plenty of amenities, low COL) Yup
-Pet friendly Yup.
-Plenty of young, college educated people Yup.
Any thoughts from people who have lived or visited? Thanks!
I work online and I'm looking to get out of the midwest for a change of pace.
I'm looking at a number of cities, and I'm wondering if Boise is a good fit. Here are my criteria:
-Affordable rent (under $1000 for 1 or 2 BR)
-Nice weather (sunny, mild winters, not too humid)
-Easy to make friends (especially the nerdy, board game playing kind)
-Low taxes (property, income, corporate)
-Scenic (Mountains, lakes, clean, not too many homeless)
-Good outdoor rec (especially hiking and biking, skiing is a plus too)
-Not extremely conservative or liberal (I'm a libertarian, I get along best with other libertarians, moderates, and independents)
-Good music scene
-Plenty of things to do in the city (bars, nightlife, cultural spots, parks, restaurants, places to wander around)
-Not too crowded or sprawling, but not tinytown USA
-"Livable" (easy to walk/bike places, plenty of amenities, low COL)
-Pet friendly
-Plenty of young, college educated people
Any thoughts from people who have lived or visited? Thanks!
Do you do SEO? I own a small SEO firm, looking to move for exact same reasons you listed above.
Does Boise have a "country culture" to it (redneck)? Here in California we have the "beach culture".
eg: I was looking at moving to New Hampshire earlier this year (that fell through) and someone told me that (generally speaking) people from that area can seem a tad bit "cold" and not friendly.
Are most Boise people openly friendly, as in you feel that you can approach to start a conversation?
I currently live in Newport Beach and again, "generally speaking", it seems as if it can be challenging at times because people out here can be stuck up.
I realize there are good and ****ty people no matter where you go...
Friendly but reserved. Put another way, people will be nice and courteous, but good luck making friends. People here keep to their groups, they are a bit aloof, and really have no interest in branching out.
Some might dispute it, and that's fine - that's their experience - but it is a common enough thing that you can find it elsewhere on the internet, and not here where people are selling you to come here.
People in Boise and the vast majority of Idaho are very friendly and nice. The culture is mostly clean cut, professional, church going, family oriented, conservatives, yet also outdoorsy for athleticism, recreation and health. You can find all kinds of sub-cultures there though but boisefan88 is right in that people tend to stick to their own. You have to join one of their organizations to get an in with them which can be fun in it's own right. I'm sure you'll find your people there if you seek them and get involved.
My wife and I moved here at 21 as recent college graduates and had no trouble making friends, who we still have to this day. Plus a lot of college friends we've stayed in close contact with who also moved to Boise after graduating, and a lot of other people we've since met through our kids or subsequent jobs. And neighbors too.
I dunno. I guess people anywhere can sometimes be a little standoffish at times, but I can only relay our experience and we've never had trouble making good friends and building up a network of contacts here. I think a lot of times the way people respond to you is a reflection of the way you're responding to them.
Does Boise have a "country culture" to it (redneck)? Here in California we have the "beach culture".
eg: I was looking at moving to New Hampshire earlier this year (that fell through) and someone told me that (generally speaking) people from that area can seem a tad bit "cold" and not friendly.
Are most Boise people openly friendly, as in you feel that you can approach to start a conversation?
I currently live in Newport Beach and again, "generally speaking", it seems as if it can be challenging at times because people out here can be stuck up.
I realize there are good and ****ty people no matter where you go...
No not country, I think it is more a mix of Northface, spandex, Tevas, Urban Outfitters, summer dresses for the ladies during the warm months, it's casual and northwest. Boise is very outdoorsy and seeing someone in a cowboy hat or wranglers is kind of rare unless you are out in the country/farm towns.
I'm just going to hit the negatives and the question marks. Anything I ignore, you can assume I'm saying "Yes, Boise fits what you're looking for". That pares your list down to:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Doubting_Thomas
-Low taxes (property, income, corporate)
-Good music scene
-Plenty of things to do in the city (bars, nightlife, cultural spots, parks, restaurants, places to wander around)
-Not too crowded or sprawling, but not tinytown USA
Now alot of these depend on where you're living now and what your definitions are. You said you're in the midwest but everyone from North Dakota to Ohio considers themselves to be in the midwest. If you're in Chicago, you idea of low taxes are going to be different than if you're in small town Nebraska. That said, the taxes in Boise and the surrounding areas tend to be below the national average.
The music scene also depends on what you're used to and what you require. If you're coming from Detroit or Kansas City or Chicago or anywhere else known for their music scene, you'll find Boise disappointing. What's here is good but there's not much here. You'll find most of the bigger genres covered (indie rock, classic rock, country, EDM, etc.), but if you like being able to go experience more niche genres, good luck finding them here.
I also left the "plenty of things to do" in there just to comment on the nightlife.... alot of the bars here close at midnight (a few even earlier) and last call is 2am at the few places that remain open. If you're from an area where you don't even leave for a night out until 11:00 (like I originally am), you're going to find the nightlife here frustrating. It's pretty much my only actual complaint about Boise (oh, that and the public transit system blows).
As for the last one, it again depends on your definitions of crowded and sprawling. It's a western city so there's going to be some sprawl, because every city out here is sprawling, but we're definitely not tinytown. Depending on which part of the midwest you're from, think South Bend or think Omaha. We're remarkably similar in size and sprawl to both.
Hope some of this helped. Boise is a great city, but it's not perfect and it's definitely not for everyone.
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