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Because you can get more house/land for your money. I.e., exactly the same reason you've explained on here several times that you didn't buy a house in the north end. Buying a house boils down to finding the right compromise between price, features/amenities and location, and the right compromise is going to be different for everybody.
Well, I get that.
What I don't get is having a job in or near downtown, and then suffering that commute to Star every day, especially given the increasing congestion on State St., and the inability to ever expand capacity.
Well, my wife and I are kind of minimalists and live beneath our means. I don't need a job that allows an extravagant lifestyle, just one that allows for basic simple needs
Idaho has some of the lowest wages in the nation. The percentage of people making what's considered a living wage in Idaho is low. If you're fine with making maybe half of what you made in L.A. for a higher quality of life, then go ahead and consider it. But the cost of living in Boise, while generally low, will not be half of what it is in L.A. That can catch up to you over time (it did to me). I recommend a decent nest egg if you have no job lined up, and keep in mind that Boise is much more of a "who you know" culture when it comes to job hunting.
What I don't get is having a job in or near downtown, and then suffering that commute to Star every day, especially given the increasing congestion on State St., and the inability to ever expand capacity.
Well if you get that, it shouldn't be too hard for you to imagine reasons why people might live in Star and commute downtown. Like you, I wouldn't personally want to do it, but it certainly makes sense to quite a few people or they wouldn't be doing it. Maybe their job moved but they don't want to make their kids change schools, maybe they want a horse property, maybe they have family in Star and need that support system to help with childcare, etc, etc, etc.
You can do all the homework you want; there are some things you won't know until you experience it first hand.
It doesn't mean you'll end up hating Idaho. It doesn't even mean your homework and research was wrong. It just means you don't know until you experience it, and all the little things you'll never find in a book, online, or talking to other people.
Well of course! But my post was directed at your absolute theory that people moving from one place to another haven't a clue.
Will you be working in the TV, or are you retired?
I'm genuinely curious why people move out to the outer regions of the Treasure Valley if they have to work somewhere in Boise. I hear a lot of people, especially from California, say that their 30 minute commute from Star or Eagle to downtown Boise is nothing compared to where they come from, but that attitude always strikes me as curious, seeing as how State St. is bumper to bumper gridlock from 4:30-6:00, and there is no possibility of improving that commute - it's built out to the max. So it will only get worse. And, of course, there really aren't any jobs in Star or Eagle.
If you don't work, or work from home, different story obviously. Or if you work somewhere in Meridian or on the west end of the TV, same too.
I spent 3+ hours commuting M-F on one of the busiest fwys. in Southern California.
What you see as "bad" here, is a cakewalk in comparison.
That is what many who have relocated from SC are leaving behind, I honestly hope we don't make it like that here!!
Great post. And part of the new experience is learning to live with the aspects you might not like and adjusting to them.
Thanks, adjustment is good, have lots of experience in that area. ;-) So far, am happy to say that the adjusting has been about what I'd expected...but winter is still a bit off! LOL
Idaho has some of the lowest wages in the nation. The percentage of people making what's considered a living wage in Idaho is low. If you're fine with making maybe half of what you made in L.A. for a higher quality of life, then go ahead and consider it. But the cost of living in Boise, while generally low, will not be half of what it is in L.A. That can catch up to you over time (it did to me). I recommend a decent nest egg if you have no job lined up, and keep in mind that Boise is much more of a "who you know" culture when it comes to job hunting.
You will certainly make more living in and around LA. You will also likely spend most of just to keep your chin above water. Factor in the stress of the traffic, lack of parking in most places, crime (wondering if your care will even be there when you return), over crowding, over development and people behaving poorly in general. I have a lot of friends who left for those reasons. None have returned.
I spent 3+ hours commuting M-F on one of the busiest fwys. in Southern California.
What you see as "bad" here, is a cakewalk in comparison.
That is what many who have relocated from SC are leaving behind, I honestly hope we don't make it like that here!!
You can hope all you want. The more people that move here, and that continue to move and live on the peripheries, and you'll get the same congestion that EVERY other large city in the nation has. Only here it will likely be worse, because we don't even have the beginnings of a workable public transit system.
There's nothing, I repeat, NOTHING special about Boise and Idaho that will prevent the things that have happened (or is happening) in California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Colorado, and the SLC metro area, from happening here in due time.
In the next 5-10 years, you'll see the cost of housing start to dramatically outpace the wages. It was happening in 2001-2008 before the recession, and you're starting to see it happen now.
Congestion will outpace construction.
Crime will follow growth.
I'm not saying anyone is a bad person because they're escaping these things and, as a result, bringing it to the places they're moving. It's a phenomenon far larger than any individual. But the attitude some have (not you) that it isn't going to happen here because.... __________? is simply insane.
You will certainly make more living in and around LA. You will also likely spend most of just to keep your chin above water. Factor in the stress of the traffic, lack of parking in most places, crime (wondering if your care will even be there when you return), over crowding, over development and people behaving poorly in general. I have a lot of friends who left for those reasons. None have returned.
Likewise, most of my generation here in Boise subsequently moved from here to the coastal cities in search of decent careers and pay. None have returned.
Idaho loses a number of people each year that move to other states in search of better professional opportunities. You can't eat the scenery and quality of life.
You will certainly make more living in and around LA. You will also likely spend most of just to keep your chin above water. Factor in the stress of the traffic, lack of parking in most places, crime (wondering if your care will even be there when you return), over crowding, over development and people behaving poorly in general. I have a lot of friends who left for those reasons. None have returned.
I have several younger professional friends who have moved to Boise with great career jobs already in tact and most are from California and they always mention how life is just so much easier here, even though they make less than they did in CA, but they make more than a living wage in Boise. Will they all stay as time marches on? Depends on where the journey of life takes them.
Kind of off topic, but I know from personal experience that the wages for jobs in Oregon and Utah are similar to what is offered in Boise based on my type of career. Many people move to Portland for the lifestyle but the situation is somewhat similar to Boise, both are vibrant and beautiful cities, but it can be difficult to land that perfect job unless you already have it secured before moving, or have the "in".
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