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Hi! I'm in the running for a job in Boise. I'm trying to research the area as much as possible before the interview. I currently live in Seattle and have for 11 years, but I grew up in the Omaha area. Reasons I might want to leave Seattle: Cost of living is high, people are cold, cost of living is high, haha.
Politically I am on the "liberal" side of center but I'm not like supporting Bernie Sanders or anything.... and having been in Seattle for 11 years has jaded me somewhat to mindlessly liberal politics (especially when the same people won't help their neighbor or friend with a small thing, or even say hi to you on the street).
I'm into arts and cultural stuff, which abounds in Seattle if you can afford it- which is not very often.
My thoughts about Idaho at first were kind of like "Huh?" But opportunities in my field are rare, and the people who do them are also rare. And having grown up in the Omaha area, I know even if you live in a smaller city in a smaller state, there are lots of cool people and you can usually find people to relate to. And the home prices are amazing compared to Seattle. I have been looking at real estate in Boise and you can buy a nice house for literally half of what they cost in the Seattle neighborhood I live in, which isn't even a "hip" neighborhood. And I don't care about living in a hip neighborhood in Boise either, just a safe, nice one with trees and decent neighbors.
So my quiz for Boise residents:
1) Is there enough of a mix politically that if I am more or less a centrist/liberal, I won't be completely out of place? I don't need people to constantly agree with me, I just need to be in a neutral environment.
2) If there's an ice patch and your car gets stuck on it, and a typical Boise resident sees you in distress, what would the typical Boise resident do?
3) If you are walking down the street in Boise and meet a stranger, do you make eye contact? How about if you meet someone in the hallway at work or school that you don't really know?
4) If you have a dinner party in Boise and invite 10 friends, 8 friends RSVP, how many people show up to the party?
Extra credit if you have extra tips for me, places I might like, neighborhoods I might like, etc based on the very little I have revealed about myself here. My husband and I are not wealthy but it sounds like we will make a little above the average income there. I'm hoping if we do move there we will be able to find a house for 200K +/- , we could probably afford more but I want to start saving money (which we haven't been able to do in Seattle due to the high cost of living).
Answers for Seattle:
1) Everyone just assumes everyone else is wishing they could vote for Bernie Sanders but will settle for Hillary and no one will even admit out loud if they are voting Republican.
2) Abandon your car and go home (not kidding)
3) You don't make eye contact with people in Seattle even if you know them
4) The answer could range anywhere from 0-8 but 0 is definitely a possibility (I once even had a party where people all showed up at different times and left at different times and all thought they were the only couple who came, no joke)
I have lived in Boise 24 years now, and will attempt to answer some of your questions, but with all due respect they (your questions) are a bit "out there." There's no such thing as "typical Boise resident" - they are as varied as snowflakes, the same as they are where you live. There is, however, no short supply of gun-totin' redneck hicks.
1) The downtown core, and about a three-mile radius around it, is where most of the liberals can be found. This is an über conservative state, and you (like me) will feel like a fish out of water in this politically backassward state. There's no "neutral environment here," it is predominately conservative and reinforced by the predominate Mormon population/state legislature. I find that as a liberal it is best to keep my mouth shut. Very frustrating.
2) Repeat…there's no typical Boise resident. I'm not sure I can answer such a subjective question objectively, but I think someone would stop to help you in the ice.
3) Strangers make eye contact here just like they do in the greater Seattle area. I lived in the Puget Sound area for 20+ years, and don't remember any issue with eye contact - it's no different here.
4) People in Boise don't have "dinner parties" - instead they invite people over for dinner, and they know before the event who is coming and who isn't. Boise is a provincial outpost; it's not Seattle, Portland or San Francisco. Cultural activities are available, but on a significantly smaller scale than where you live.
Downtown Boise is gorgeous - a truly beautiful city with a river that runs right through it - and the jewel in Boise's crown is the greenbelt that runs along that river. Downtown Boise is eye candy. HOWEVER, it's a mixed bag beyond a 3-mile radius - you'll find just about anything.
Having come from King and Snohomish counties myself before moving here 24 years ago, I am qualified to tell you what you will notice most - you better like what you see when you get here, because there's nothing else. Sunday drive?….forget it….there's nowhere to drive to. From Seattle, Edmonds, Everett, Marysville you can take a ferry ride to one of the islands, drive to LaConner or Deception Pass, or myriad other places within easy reach for entertainment. There is nothing like that here. NOTHING. You better like Boise (and more likely Meridian where most folks can afford housing), because that's it.
I rarely if ever leave the city limits, and when I do it's usually on a plane.
Last edited by ToeKnee-Baloney; 06-21-2015 at 08:59 AM..
Reason: typo
@ ToeKnee - In the three posts you have under this "new" name, you have come across as a very bitter & unhappy resident! I would suggest that you move, or find an outlet...
@ Cecilia -
1) Idaho is a very Center/Right state, Boise more Center, with pockets of Center/Left. If you looked in the north end you would find more like-minded individuals. The issue in this area might be the price of housing... I'm not going to sugar coat it though, most in Boise will tend to lean more Right.
2) My experiences in Boise lead me to believe that soon after you became stuck more than one person would stop and help you move the vehicle out of the road and make sure you were okay. That's what I would do, as well.
3) I say most people will make eye contact. But you will find that many people, while very friendly, are harder to get close to. People do tend to keep to themselves and their group of friends/family. IMHO, YMMV...
4) Don't have an answer here...
Boise is a beautiful area! I love it! There are flaws, every place has them. Inversions can be ugly, but they are temporary. There are forest fires, and the smoke can be a pain, but it is temporary. It can get hot, but the humidity is low and the hottest days are minimal. All of these things are just part of the choice that has to be made to live here, and regardless of what some of the LOUD naysayers spew, they do not completely ruin the beauty that Boise/Idaho has to offer.
Everywhere north is mountains and to the south becomes more desert. There are a number of rivers close by. For me, it has everything I want, I guess I could want for the ocean to be a little closer, rather than 8 hrs or so...
I am getting away from your questions, which I am sure others will expend on.
P.S. - there's NOTHING remotely "center" about this state. It's the third reddest state in the union, and if one turned any more to the "right" in this state, they'd fall off the earth they consider to be flat.
I'm a 3rd generation Idaho native, and have lived in Boise pretty much my whole 37 years. I'm also a liberal atheist.
In my experience, the downtown/North end area is considerably more liberal than the rest of the city, and the city is less conservative in general than the rest of the state. The further West you get in the valley, the more conservative it gets. Meridian is quite conservative. But the more liberal areas are also the most expensive housing, in general.
People are friendly here, in general. I'm friends with lots of conservative people, and the matron of honor at my completely secular wedding was Mormon. My best friends as a child were all Mormon. You definitely will have a higher percentage of people here that you don't agree with their political opinions, but people don't talk about that all that much here. If you bring up the topic, expect for some hearty debate, but if you don't, you shouldn't have a problem. I have friends that know my political and religious stances on things, and we just agree to disagree and go on being friends.
I'm a big believer that you get from life what you expect to get, in a real way. If you expect everyone to hate you because of your beliefs, they probably will. If you expect to get along with most people, despite your differences, you probably will. Most people in Boise are in the latter category.
Now, be aware that the vast majority of people here do not drink, most do not smoke, and a very large percentage do not enjoy going to bars. Even those, like me, who are very liberal. So if that is the sort of friends you want to have, you will have a more difficult time here.
As for your other questions, the majority of people would stop and help you if your car was stuck. My office is on a busy street, and I see people all the time get out of their car to help push someone's car out of the road, or people with jumper cables stopping to help someone whose battery has died. People are friendly here.
See above when it comes to eye contact. People are more friendly here than Seattle. I noticed this when I was in Seattle last year. Very different environment here. I can't imagine living somewhere where no one ever met anyone's eyes. Not only that, most people smile and say hello, or good morning, or whatever, as well. I was at the grocery store this morning, and no less than 5 people (some employees, some other shoppers) said good morning to me.
If you have dinner plans with someone, and they don't show up, that is considered very rude here. Same with bringing uninvited guests. If I had 8 RSVPs, I'd expect 8 people to show up. I don't know anyone who has "dinner parties" though.
There is a lot to explore and places to drive to from Boise in SW and Central Idaho. There is so much beauty and various landscapes around us and small mountain towns~resorts to go to.
An example close by is the Wildlife Canyon Scenic Byway and Ponderosa Scenic Byway which is beautiful and an easy drive from Boise.
You definitely will have a higher percentage of people here that you don't agree with their political opinions, but people don't talk about that all that much here. If you bring up the topic, expect for some hearty debate, but if you don't, you shouldn't have a problem. I have friends that know my political and religious stances on things, and we just agree to disagree and go on being friends.
That type of situation would be fine. I don't need to go around grandstanding about anything. As long as people aren't overtly political in a right wing way towards me, to the point of creating a hostile workplace or whatever, then I should get along fine. I grew up in the Midwest where it's more conservative and more religious so that's an environment I am used to being a part of. And frankly being in a liberal bubble sounds good (if you are a liberal) until you get to Seattle and realize a liberal bubble doesn't necessarily mean people are taken care of any better, and sometimes it's worse!
ToeKnee- I appreciate your honest responses. It is interesting to hear from someone who has lived both places. It sounds like you liked Seattle better? Where are you from originally? I'm glad you had a different experience in Seattle; it's a great city in a lot of ways. But as I get older and want to settle down more I am not sure it's giving me what I need.
About dinner parties- I don't really have formal dinner parties either haha. I just meant having people over for dinner. I have had situations in Seattle where you plan, get a bunch of food, etc and then no one shows up, people all show up at different times or whenever, etc. I used to think it was just me and I was having trouble meeting good friends, but I heard eventually from other people that it's happened to them too. One girl had planned a nice dinner for her husband's co-workers, so she planned it all out, got special groceries and everything, and everyone cancelled an hour before the event! I think that's rude. In Omaha that would never happen, in fact everyone would come and bring food and stay all night and help you clean up. That's more what I am used to.
About bars/clubs, drinking/smoking, partying etc. My husband and I are in our 40s. We used to do that stuff but now we are satisfied with a good dinner and maybe a craft beer, maybe an outdoor concert in the summer or whatever. I took a look at Yelp and it does seem that Boise has plenty enough for us in the way of restaurants, etc. And with cultural things, whatever Boise doesn't have, the internet has. So I am not overly concerned about that. I kind of miss the small city vibe that we had in Omaha when it came to arts and culture. And part of why I am considering a move is to save money and build toward retirement which is something we haven't been able to do in Seattle with the high cost of living.
I am curious if there's anyone reading this who has lived in both Omaha and Boise and can compare the two? Size and demographic wise they seem similar. The weather and scenery is much nicer looking in Boise.
Last edited by Cecilia M; 06-21-2015 at 01:57 PM..
P.S. - there's NOTHING remotely "center" about this state. It's the third reddest state in the union, and if one turned any more to the "right" in this state, they'd fall off the earth they consider to be flat.
Center/Right … what a joke.
Hi ToeKnee,
My understanding from reading a ton of forums and different articles and such is that Idaho as a state is very "red" but there are parts of Boise that are more center or even liberal (North End is mentioned a lot and I would assume there are some liberals near the university as well?) Is that not true?
Again I don't need to be around all people that agree with me, just want to be able to go about my everyday life having rights and whatnot, lol. And not work in a hostile environment to women or liberals.
You may want to look at how people vote at the precinct level in Ada county. I looked up the presidential results at the precinct level for 2012 and Obama won most of the precincts from 1600 to 1920.
https://adacounty.id.gov/elections/pdf/Commissioner-Districts.pdf
2) My experiences in Boise lead me to believe that soon after you became stuck more than one person would stop and help you move the vehicle out of the road and make sure you were okay.
How much of a common occurrence is it to get stuck in the ice/snow in the wintertime?
How do you avoid that in a non-4wd 4 door sedan (with front wheel drive)?
Aside from "driving slower than the posted speed limit", how do you stay safe (besides giving the guy ahead of you a bigger buffer than you would in dry weather) when driving in snow or ice?
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