Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Hi, I am considering a move to Boise. Can you fair forum-ers let me know what the more walkable neighborhoods/areas of Boise are? I don't need it to be "HIP" or anything, just walkable to where you can get basic necessities without having to drive all over. Basic necessities include:
A few groceries
Beer
Coffee
Maybe a decent hamburger or something
Fun shops, restaurants or a library would be a bonus, but not required.
Of course, you can "walk" in any neighborhood in the city, and you might come across a gas station, grocery store, restaurant, or something. But the only true walkable areas in the city, in terms of having access to most or all of things you're asking about, are the North End and East End, and very, very limited parts of SE Boise and the Bench.
Of course, you can "walk" in any neighborhood in the city, and you might come across a gas station, grocery store, restaurant, or something. But the only true walkable areas in the city, in terms of having access to most or all of things you're asking about, are the North End and East End, and very, very limited parts of SE Boise and the Bench.
I don't know that I agree with that. She wants to be able to walk from a house to a grocery store, somplace with beer, a coffee shop and a burger or other casual restaurant. You can accomplish that quite a few places. Simply find a grocery store with some associated retail/amenities in the same general area and then look at the surrounding neighborhoods within walking distance. You might be walking from a subdivision to a strip mall, but you certainly don't have to be downtown to do what she's asking about.
OP, just get on Google Maps and start doing some searches for Fred Meyer, Albertsons, Roseauers, etc., and see what you come up with. Then cross check on Zillow to get an idea on the style of housing in any particular area and pricing. If you truly walkable, the interior north end, close in off Parkcenter, and the Bench (careful with neighborhoods here) may be best bets. Maybe near Bown Crossing as well. But if you're just wanting to be able to run out for a frozen yogurt and a few groceries without getting in a car, there are quite a few options. Just be aware that really anywhere in the valley (including the north end and close-in areas), you're going to be largely car dependent.
One thing I would give a lot of thought to if I were you is where your job will be located. Once you have that information and an idea on what sort of commute you'd like, you can start to narrow down your target areas.
You *could* walk anywhere; to be truly walkable, you need to be in the areas both of us articulated.
Most of the grocery stores, whether you're talking about FM, Albertsons, or Winco, are locating on or among some pretty heavy traffic, poor walking streets (Federal Way, Franklin, Fairview, Chinden, State, etc.). You could walk there, but it's probably going to be a crappy experience, especially with children or pets.
Actually downtown Eagle has what you're looking for. I'm using the most popular coffee shop as a starting point to locate on google maps and expand out to see what all is there. You can click on the below link and see that there is all kinds of different housing options close to everything that you mentioned in your post. Plus cross over Hwy 44 at Eagle Rd and you can also access the river/river trail.
What I meant was more like a residential neighborhood than a downtown would be, but still with some form of urban organization, like smaller blocks with businesses on them, rather than large strip malls floating in parking lots. Right now I live in Seattle and I don't live in a hip area, but I have all those things within walking distance and I like not having to use the car for everything. My husband and I share a car right now and part of why we would consider Boise is the lower cost of living, but if we have to buy another car it might cut into that a lot haha.
Hubby works from home though so he doesn't have a commute. I am interviewing for a job that's downtown, but I might be working from home some/quite a bit of the time. I definitely do want to be able to commute to downtown reasonably well, and from the research I have been doing, the areas closer to downtown fit more what I would be looking for anyway.
The areas of North and East End keep coming up over and over, so I have been looking at listings there and I think the lower end price-wise of them are probably in my comfort zone. I did find some blog that said the Bench was an "up and coming" area.... Is it more up? or more coming? possibly coming sometime in the distant future? There seem to be a variety of opinions on the Bench. Also when I look at Zillow, there are two areas: Depot Bench and Central Bench. Any thoughts on that?
If anyone lives in these areas and would like to be a neighborhood booster, tell me about your favorite streets/businesses there.
Of course, you can "walk" in any neighborhood in the city, and you might come across a gas station, grocery store, restaurant, or something. But the only true walkable areas in the city, in terms of having access to most or all of things you're asking about, are the North End and East End, and very, very limited parts of SE Boise and the Bench.
SE Boise is LOADED with great places to walk, grab a burger, beer, coffee, yogurt, pizza, or just about anything, including groceries.
ParkCenter has Barbacoa restaurant, Red Robin and a great Mexican restaurant, La Tapatia. A couple blocks further south near Mallard there is Smokey Mountain Pizza and several other restaurants, sandwich shops, coffee spots and a bar.
A half mile further down ParkCenter at Apple is Albertsons that’s surround by frozen yogurt, Pizza Hut, Zeppole’s bakery/lunch counter (fabulous), a liquor store, another coffee shop, Gordman’s department store, two pharmacies, a Thai restaurant, Dairy Queen, Blimpies, Starbucks, McDonalds wine shop, West Side Drive-In and more … all just a few minutes from the greenbelt.
Continue south on ParkCenter less than two miles and there is “Bown Crossing.” A library branch is scheduled to begin construction there next year, right near Bier Thirty Bistro, Boise Fry Company, The Tavern at Bown Crossing, Flatbread Pizza, Locavore restaurant and Powell’s Sweet Shoppe (a “fun shop”).
SE Boise is a neighborhood walker’s dream come true. When you get tired of strolling through the River Run area or down ParkCenter Blvd., pop over to the greenbelt for a while.
SE Boise is LOADED with great places to walk, grab a burger, beer, coffee, yogurt, pizza, or just about anything, including groceries.
Thanks, I will look into those areas. Sounds very much like what I would be interested in. People keep mentioning the North End, which looks like a beautiful neighborhood, but it looks somewhat expensive. But I don't want to go completely suburban either.
You really grabbed my attention when you mentioned Gordman's.... Gordman's came out of a department store company called Richman Gordman that was based in the Omaha area and I worked there in high school! (late 80's, early 90s). I cannot believe they have one in Idaho!! Wild. They have had a few iterations and it looks like Gordman's is the most successful.
I did find some blog that said the Bench was an "up and coming" area.... Is it more up? or more coming? possibly coming sometime in the distant future? There seem to be a variety of opinions on the Bench. Also when I look at Zillow, there are two areas: Depot Bench and Central Bench. Any thoughts on that?
Technically/geographically speaking, Boise has three benches, all remnants of ancient river shorelines. However, MLS/real estate-wise, “the bench” area is within the triangular area of the screen shot (see the attachment) I snapped right off the MLS website. The little house-shapes with numbers are active properties for sale on “the bench.” You can always find new construction just about anywhere, but “up and coming” is not what I’d call the bench area. There are lots of older homes in this area. Eagle and Meridian are up and coming, not the bench … maybe an enclave here or there, but I've lived her 25 years and don't know of any.
(don't know why I can't get a link there, so just copy/paste)
Use the “advance search,” then select MLS areas and “search.” This will give you a list of homes for sale, then click on the map icon and it will show you exactly where the area is – Boise Bench, SE, NW, East, etc.
You can always find new construction just about anywhere, but “up and coming” is not what I’d call the bench area. There are lots of older homes in this area. Eagle and Meridian are up and coming, not the bench … maybe an enclave here or there, but I've lived her 25 years and don't know of any.
OK, thanks. I think the blog I read it on was a real estate agent's blog. Maybe she had some homes to sell in that area haha. I don't personally even care if a neighborhood is "up and coming." I'd rather live in an established area... with trees and somewhere I can walk to for my few necessities every now and then.
I realized though that in Boise you probably don't have the parking problems we have in Seattle and it also might be easier to ride my bike around- We have tons of bike lanes etc in Seattle but there is so much density, traffic and parking issues that still make bicycling for errands kind of intimidating for me.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
There seem to be a variety of opinions on the Bench. Also when I look at Zillow, there are two areas: Depot Bench and Central Bench. Any thoughts on that?
