HELP!! Where to live near Caldwell? (Boise, Nampa: apartments, rental, house)

[fumbelinabumpkin]

Hi Everyone,
My husband is going to be attending school in the Boisie area, and we need to know where to live.
We will be looking for a NICE, clean apartment near Caldwell and would like some input from folks in the area.
We have a 4 year old boy and want to live in a nice, safe neighborhood that is still relatively affordable.
We know nothing of the area and could use a few pointers on where to look for something nice and affordable (not cheap).
I've actually heard that there is gang activity in the area??? and would definitely like to stay well clear of that. We are from Montana and thought Idaho was pretty much the same, but we could be wrong. The only gang activity in Montana, really, is gang-banger high school kids playing like they're tough....Yarg.
Any help is appreciated.
Thank you

[markpemble]

I don't know if you had your heart set on an apartment, but I'm sure that
you could rent a very nice house in Caldwell for the price of a very nice apartment.

There are a quite a few very nice apartment residences in West Nampa. Orchard Place is one that comes to mind. I visited some friends there once and was really impressed it's elegance and cleanliness.

And yeah, like any city in Montana, there are
"gang banger high school kids playing like they're tough" in Idaho.

[fumbelinabumpkin]

Thanks for the post.
My husband is a student, I'm a stay at home mom. Sooo....needless to say we don't have a lot of money.
Currently we pay 550/mo for a nice, clean (yet small) 2 bedroom apartment. We need to stay in this price range. Maybe going up to 650/mo if we need to.
There aren't really any bad "scary" neighborhoods in Helena, Montana, so we don't need to worry about crime, gangs, etc. because it is such a small town. Moving to a larger area, I'm a little nervous about finding something so inexpensive yet nice in a "not scary" neighborhood. It's not that I have my heart set on an apartment but a house would probably be out of the question in our price range. We are just hoping to get something clean and safe in a decent neighborhood. I've heard of Orchard Place...going to check that out.
Thanks for the input, though. And thanks for the city info link for Nampa.

[jufrbo]

There are neighborhoods to avoid in Caldwell, I'm not sure where they are, while it isn't LA it isn't as quaint as people would like you to believe. There is gang activity in Caldwell beyond punk highschool kids.

[Anchorless]

If your husband is attending school in the Boise area you should probably look to find a place in the Boise area.

There are apartments to be found in the 500-700 range, and you'd save yourself a heck of a commute to and from class.

[fumbelinabumpkin]

Thanks for the response
The school is actually in Caldwell, so if we live in Caldwell, there won't be a commute. Nampa and Meridian are also options. If we lived in Boise we would have a commute.
Any good neighborhoods in Caldwell that are inexpensive yet not scary?

[jufrbo]

If you visit, you will be able to tell if it is a bad neighborhood or not.

[markpemble]

Oh, actually, there is a nice apartment building next to Fairview Golf Club in central Caldwell. Yeah, that's a definite place to check out.

[boi2socal]

Well, I think you'll probably enjoy the Boise Area and its opportunities but don't come in thinking it is the same as Montana. I worked with a family that moved from Bozeman to Boise (Eagle, specifcally) and they were gone in six months. They simply found the area to be too busy for their tastes. However, if you stay in West Valley (live and work) you're experience will probably be a little bit more on the lines of Montana.

[Sooz71]

My Parents have a rental that just became available. It is in Caldwell by the hospital and the Fairview Golf Course. It is a 3 (possible 4) bedroom house with 1 bath.