Boise v. Fort Collins (McCall, Star: ski resort, apartments, insurance)

[Deselminator]

My wife and I are considering moving out west from Iowa sometime in the next couple of years and I am currently torn between Fort Collins and Boise so I'm looking for some feedback. Here are the things we're looking for:

1. Better weather - Iowa winters suck...they're long & cold, the summers are hot and humid, and not dry and sunny enough for my standards.
2. We do want all 4 seasons and from what I understand both places offer that.
3. Snow - While my wife enjoys some snow, I could care less either way, but I don't want to be buried in snow. I'm a bit concerned about the amount of snow Ft. Collins gets in the winter. We've had over 50 inches here this winter and I'm sick of it From what I hear the snow tends to melt more quickly in Ft. Collins which would be nice, but does it really snow in May there? According to the climate graphs it does!
4. Mountains - Obviously both are close to the mountains, but which offers better access to them as far as hiking, biking, camping, etc? Also, I'd like to see snow-capped peaks in the winter. Not that brown crap you see in NV or AZ.
5. Sunshine - One of the main reasons I want to move out west is for the sunshine. I know that CO gets year-round sunny weather, but I like the idea of the long, really sunny summer days that Boise offers. I don't mind a cloudy winter as long as it doesn't last forever and it isn't too cold. I guess that's my biggest hang-up as far as winters are concerned...I can handle the snow or clouds as long as it's not horribly cold. How do these places measure up for sunshine and winter weather?
6. Cost of living/housing - I don't want to spend a fortune to live somewhere, especially to buy a nice house/condo. I realize Iowa is cheap by most standards, but I live in one of the most expensive areas in Iowa and it's still fairly affordable. I know both Ft. Collins and Boise will be somewhat more expensive than Iowa, but how affordable is decent housing, both on a national and regional scale? I don't want to spend $300k + to get a nice home.
7. Downtown scene - How vibrant is the downtown scene in both cities? I've briefly been to downtown Ft. Collins and I loved it. It reminds me a lot of downtown Iowa City actually. I want a clean, safe, downtown where people actually hang out. And one that doesn't shut down at 9 p.m. either. Also are there affordable, nice condos or apartments downtown?
8. Jobs/wages - I currently work in both banking as well as the hotel business, and my wife works in the insurance business. We don't absolutely have to stay in those lines of work, but what types of jobs do Boise and Ft. Collins offer in these areas? Or what types of jobs do they offer in general? How are the wages? And could anyone compare the wages to the Iowa City area wages?
9. Location - I like the proximity of Ft. Collins to Denver, as I enjoy the big city amenities from time to time, and Denver being only 1 hour away is a big plus. Besides Denver, however, there is really no other cities worth taking a day or weekend trip to near Ft. Collins in my opinion. Boise, on the other hand, isn't overly close to any other cities, but there are several places...Portland, Seattle, SLC, that are good candidates for a weekend road trip.
10. Air service - We enjoy traveling, and while I don't think Ft. Collins has much to offer for an airport (correct me if I'm wrong), Denver is only an hour away. I'm a bit concerned about the Boise airport's size, and the fact that it would be 5 or more hours to a major airport from there. I want somewhere where I don't have to spend $400 - $500 + to get a flight on average. Generally, it seems, the larger airports tend to be cheaper, but maybe that is not the case with the Boise airport. And I would like many flight options too.

Well I think that's all I can think of for now. I would appreciate any feedback you all can provide. Thanks in advance!

[LPerkins33]

I'm moving to Boise in July from Iowa City. I choose it over Ft. Collins and other Colorado cities mainly b/c I just like the lifestyle in Boise better. Since my family lives in Iowa City I will be flying back several times a year and have found ticket prices to be around $300-$350 round trip. Not great but not horrible either.

Boise is warmer than Iowa in the winters, hot and dry in the summers rather than our sauna. You'll see snow capped mountains, and people make a huge deal out of the inversions in Boise but they are blown out of proportion unless you have respiratory issues.

Boise has a great location for trips which is another reason I chose it. Oregon/Washington coast is only 8 hours, Arizona about 13, Denver is 12 hours, parts of California are 8-15. All of that is easy driving(except in winter, some parts of Idaho have dust storms in the summer though).

And frankly, I just don't like the people of Colorado that much, its like they hate people who visit their state on vacation. How can you hate someone for pumping cold hard cash into the economy?

Did I mention Spring for the most part has arrived in Boise already? Its still cold as balls in Iowa City.

[boi2socal]

Boise airfares seem to be pretty fare. I wouldn't be too concerned about that.

[Torrie]

Let's see if I can answer all of your questions,

1. Boise has great weather. Humidity is rarely a factor and even in cold weather, the dry air is much more bearable as opposed to damp. The sunsets can be absolutely beautiful, especially Spring-Fall. I've seen our average days of sunshine to hover around 232 to 234 days out of the year. Starting in late Spring the days will be extremely long- light till almost 10:30pm; I'd say that lasts till about mid-Summer and then the days begin to slowly shorten.

2. Yes we have all four seasons as you know. Fall is wonderful here as it just seems like an extension of the Summer only a bit cooler.

3. Average snowfall is 21.4 inches though this year we had 31, which has not been typical in recent winters past. It was beautiful as it's kept our mountains snowcapped all winter long. Snowfall seems to be 2 inches here 4 inches there, maybe another 2 inches, etc. As of late we don't seem to get huge dumps of snow that shut everything down. There might be a day of dicey driving, but the roads are well kept. Snow seems to melt quickly in Boise, but this past winter it seemed to hang around longer; not necessarily on the roads, but the landscape. From what I gather this years winter weather is out of the norm, though some say it's what it use to be like way back when. Compared to other places that experience snow, Boise is a breeze.

4. Mountains are very close in proximity. There are lots of bike trails. A few years back Boise was voted best biking trails in the country so I'm confident that niche will be covered for you. And of course due to our proximity to lots of outdoor recreation, camping and hiking are readily available. You will have to book in advance for campsites during the popular holiday times, or show up extremely early for the first come first serve sights, otherwise you might be out of luck.

You mentioned wanting to see snow capped mountains....you will see that here in the winter, but it's not always everywhere the eye can see. IMO it's definitely better than what NV and AZ have to offer. This year was exceptional and absolutely beautiful because of the excess snow, but that might be something Fort Collins can boast about more than Boise.

5. I kind of answered this one all ready. As far as sunshine goes, Boise typically gets it's fair share in the winter. It might be cold, but the sun will be out. However, this year was different, we fell into a snowy pattern and for quite sometime, so to me it seemed like we didn't get as much sun this winter as we typically have in the past. That being said, Spring is on it's way here- and there was a noticeable change in the weather pattern as we headed into mid February. Now the bulbs are starting to pop up, the trees are budding, so.........we might be done with the snow, at least the heavy stuff.

6. Cost of housing will be very affordable for you- at least for now it is. Two years from now, I couldn't say, as that seems to be when you're thinking of relocating. Condos are readily available and you should have no trouble finding what you're looking for. As of late it seems like they can't give them away, but some of that is due to housing being so affordable, so people choose the house over the condo. They will become more expensive as you get closer to downtown, but that's a given for obvious reasons.

7.Boise has a nice downtown with lots of shops and restaurants where you can sit outside and eat in the summer. The city is very clean, and often I hear people comment about that when checking out the downtown scene. It's very safe to hang out there; I'm sure at times there have been some "incidents", but the Boise Police Dept is on it and they seem to quickly squelch the problem and things go back to normal. I think you will find yourself quite comfortable while down there.

Some clubs are open quite late; I couldn't tell you much on that one, maybe someone else can pipe in more about the nightlife. I wouldn't say everything is open past 9PM, but there is definitely activity going on.

8. Wages, I couldn't tell you how they compare to your location. People complain that they're low here, but I guess it depends on what line of work you're in. I've posted a link where you can actually look at the wage scale for the whole state of Idaho. It's on the Idaho Department of Labor's website. I can't repost the link per forum rules. It's called the Occupational Employment & Wage Report. Scroll through it till you get to page 63, which is the Boise area and you can see what the real wages are instead of people here trying to give you a guesstimate. I'll see if I can get Sage, our fearless moderator to post it in the thread at the top of Boise section called "Info on Boise-Metro Area/A One stop shop for your convenience". So check back on that thread and to see if it's in there. If I can, I'll try to have him put it in the very first post so you don't have to search around for it. I'm sure it will answer a lot of your questions as to what type of jobs/salaries are in this area.

9. Location- one of things I like about Boise compared to other places I've lived, is it's close proximity to different areas that are within a days drive. I've mentioned this several times in other posts as I see it as a bonus to living here. Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, Utah, Arizona, California, even Canada are a days drive away or closer. Even closer is our own, Tamarack Resort, McCall, Stanley, and Sun Valley just to name a few. Yellowstone National Park is a 7.5 hour drive away and a definite "must see" if you live here.

10. Boise's airport is dynamite! So easy to get in and out of, and a quick drive from many locations of the Boise-Metro. The air service is good, but you can't compare it to a major city as we don't have the population base to support the needed flights a larger city might offer. If you book your flight far enough in advance you can get some good deals- Southwest for instance occasionally offers their $49 flight each-way to places such as Seattle, Spokane and Portland. ExpressJet just began servicing Boise; I picked up a one way ticket to San Diego for $79, nonstop, and returned via Ontario airport $69 nonstop! Seems darn affordable to me. In hindsight, air travel no matter where you live is going to continually become more expensive as the fuel prices show no signs of decreasing.

Another bonus- in the wintertime, the airport rarely shuts down if at all. I don't think you can say that about Denver. I can't imagine driving an hour to the airport during the winter weather season- what a headache; only to find out you're not going to grandma's for Christmas because the flights been canceled.

Ok, well I hope that answers some of your questions......

That'll be $50 dollars! I take cash, check, credit,.......LOL! Of course I'm just kidding

[Deselminator]

Originally Posted by LPerkins33

And frankly, I just don't like the people of Colorado that much, its like they hate people who visit their state on vacation. How can you hate someone for pumping cold hard cash into the economy?

I have visited several parts of Colorado this last summer...Denver, Ft. Collins, the Fraser Valley, and did not find that to be true at all. In fact, I found the people of CO to be very friendly, and they reminded me a lot of people back in Iowa. I even met quite a few people from Iowa when I was there. I have not been to Boise yet, but I will be visiting briefly this July, so I will have to wait until then to see the difference.

The weather in Boise does seem very inviting, in fact, that is the reason I looked at Boise as a potential relocation spot in the first place. I'm just somewhat afraid that I will feel a bit isolated there, and that there will not be as much to do as I would like. What all is there to do in the Boise area? (besides outdoor recreation, which I know I would be pleased with)

[Deselminator]

Torrie, thanks for all your help. Anyone else have advice or opinions on this topic? Again, I think my main hang-ups regarding Boise are concerning the airport, the nightlife, and the fact that the nearest "big" city is at least 5-6 hours away. These are the things that make Ft. Collins seem more attractive as a place to live IMO.

[Anchorless]

Originally Posted by Deselminator

Torrie, thanks for all your help. Anyone else have advice or opinions on this topic? Again, I think my main hang-ups regarding Boise are concerning the airport, the nightlife, and the fact that the nearest "big" city is at least 5-6 hours away. These are the things that make Ft. Collins seem more attractive as a place to live IMO.

I think Boise has a far superior airport than almost anywhere. While it might be problematic to find direct and/or cheap flights to different places, we do have cheap flights to the hubs, and the ease and convenience here can't be beat.

Fort Collins has Boise beat recreationally, in my opinion, as well as access to a big city (and with it, cultural and nightlife opportunities).

Fort Collins (and Front Range) winters, while a bit longer, colder, and with more snow, has far more sun than Boise, and far less SAD. Despite what was mentioned earlier, Boise generally has a fairly gray and gloomy winter season, sometimes with inversions, other times without. This winter has been closer to normal than we've experienced in the past 10 years, with a bit more snow and sun and less rain and clouds, however. But the effect of the sun in the winter pales to what you'll find on the Front Range cities.

But Fort Collins is also a college town, of sorts, and doesn't have the downtown that Boise does. Outside of downtown Boise the towns become fairly similar - sprawled and nondescript.

[Deselminator]

Originally Posted by Anchorless

I think Boise has a far superior airport than almost anywhere. While it might be problematic to find direct and/or cheap flights to different places, we do have cheap flights to the hubs, and the ease and convenience here can't be beat.

Yeah it would be nice to have a nice, convenient airport nearby where I live. Currently, the nearest airport to me is the Eastern Iowa Airport in Cedar Rapids, and while it is nice, it is also very small and thus expensive. When I have looked on average, it costs around $150 more for a round trip flight there than it does at larger airports. Even with the convenience, I can't afford that. So as it stands now, I usually drive a few hours to Des Moines, Chicago, or Omaha to catch a flight, and that is a HUGE inconvenience for us.

Originally Posted by Anchorless

Fort Collins (and Front Range) winters, while a bit longer, colder, and with more snow, has far more sun than Boise, and far less SAD.

I can deal with the lack of sunshine in the winter I think, as long as it's not so damned cold! The winters here are terrible IMO, but then again I absolutely hate being cold! And while the thought of sunny winters, such as the winters in Ft. Collins is nice, I almost think I'd rather have a cloudier but warmer winter with less snow. So I think Boise might win in this area.

[boi2socal]

I won't argue since I haven't been to Fort Collins but I do know Boise seems to have endless and convenient recreation...minus the ocean, which Fort Collins doesn't have either. Gentle river floating, canoeing and fishing can be done IN Boise with biking and walking trails lining the river. True river rapids are less than an hour north and week river excursions begin a few hours north as well. Lucky Peak Resevoir is 20 minutes (more or less depending where you live) and has boating opportunities. Just drive a few minutes in just about any direction and you can bike, hike, camp, atv, etc. In winter skiing, sledding, snow-shoeing, etc is also only minutes away. You can see the ski resort from the city! Just a 45 min drive depending on weather. I can't really think of many places like that. I love the outdoors but it isn't a huge priority for me at this moment...if it were...I'd be living in Boise right now. I definitely consider it a top recreation hot spot.

And many people think a big airport equals cheap fares. Not always. Working for an airline for several years I know that isn't always the case. Especially in "fortress" hubs. Delta at Salt Lake and United at Denver, although both those airports like Boise now have Southwest which alleviates fares a bit. Denver's airport is also nearly in Kansas. lol. Also consider parking costs which are always high at large airports. Boise is so convenient you can probably fairly have a friend drop you off. Boise flights aren't too bad anyways...major non stops include Atlanta (summer), Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles/Ontario, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Reno, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco/San Jose/Oakland and Seattle plus some other smaller cities. All those flights except Atlanta and Chicago are at or under two hours.

Furthermore, Downtown Boise although not comparable to Downtown Denver is much more convenient and may satisfy your need for arts and entertainment till you take a weekend trip somewhere.

[Deselminator]

Thanks boi2socal! That makes me feel a bit better about Boise as far as the airport is concerned. It would definitely be convenient to have an airport right there in the city. I assume you have lived in Boise then? How long did you live there and what did you think of it? What did you like and dislike about it?