cat friendly bike friendly (Boise, Meridian: apartments, to rent, houses)

[sedgemouse]

Hi, I may be moving to Boise and I was wondering how hard is to find places to rent that allow cats and how bike friendly is Boise? What's a realistic rent range for a 1-2 bedroom in a neighborhood where you would want a loved one to be living? thanks.

[boiseguy]

anywhere from 500-800 dollars per month.. just depends on where it is and what the amenities are.. there's many properties close to the 500 dollar range that are in the north and east end of town.. but they tend to be smaller.. large complex's in and around downtown are anywhere around 600-750 depending on bedrooms and bathrooms...
hope that helps.. downtown is by far the best area to live..if you're a one-two person household...

[sedgemouse]

Thanks that does help. Why is downtown better if you are in a two person household?

[Lacerta]

Ooh, I couldn't stand to live downtown, and I'm in a 2 person household. I live out in West Boise, on the "Bench". I love it out here. The only reason I could see wanting to live downtown would be to be closer to the club scene, or to the 8th street events.

My office doesn't have any vacancies right now, but our two bedroom units around town rent for $600 - $750 for houses, duplexes and triplexes.

Cats aren't usually too much of a problem, but most places do require them to be declawed, which I won't do. Also, many places won't allow kittens my old apartment required all cats to be at least 2 years old.

[jufrbo]

I agree about the Bench, much cheaper and not far at all from downtown. I think the thing about Boise's downtown, although nice, doesn't offer enough to make it worth it to live there. It is more expensive to live there, plus I think, could be wrong, but think that you would find yourself leaving downtown too much to be able to do it car free, or make it economical.

[boiseguy]

well I only mention downtown because it is close proximity to the greenbelt, and downtown is very bike friendly.. all the parks are downtown, and venues.. there is more to downtown than nightclubs.. that's only after 10pm... the early evening hours are wonderful downtown... the bench is full of strip malls and boring typical surroundings.... thats just my opinion

[Syringaloid]

Most of Boise is nice, but nothing compares to downtown especially the West Bench which is full of crowded roads and mini vans.
I wouldn't even consider living anywhere else in Boise but the downtown area which includes the North and East ends, the BSU area and of course the main downtown district. Downtown is more expensive than the rest of the city, the shops are more upscale, the restaurants are more upscale but many are in line with prices you see at chain restaurants. If you like to bike the best place in Boise is pretty much everyplace below the bench and between the foothills. Boise has been called one of the best mountain biking cities so you will like it here.
If you want to experience Boise and the Boise lifestyle, then the downtown area is the place to be.
There are more shops opening and more of the typical service type shops downtown than ever before, so if you have to leave downtown once in a while to go to Boise Towne Square Mall then so be it. The mall is only about a 5 minute drive from downtown on the Connector. On the way out and back into downtown you can see all of the houses and apartments on the bench and say "I am so glad I live downtown"
(I try to do as much shopping as possible downtown and then go to West Boise only if I must. Federal Way in East Boise is adding more big box type stores and I prefer Federal Way to West Boise.)

But as I said most of Boise is nice and attractive. I am just partial to the downtown area.

[ds495]

Is the bench the mtns to the NE of the city?

[Syringaloid]

Originally Posted by ds495

Is the bench the mtns to the NE of the city?

No, those are the Foothills and the Boise Mountain Range.
The bench is south of downtown. It is the steep hill that sits above the downtown parks and above Chinden Boulevard. Federal Way is on the edge of the Bench which runs from the dam into Meridian.
I believe it is called The Bench because it is/was the old Boise River bench back when the river was wild and meandered between the Bench and the Foothills. I know an antique store owner in Garden City who is in his 80's and said he remembers when Chinden Boulevard didn't exist and that the river had side channels all through Garden City to base of the Bench and was a softwood forest.
Kind of interesting!

[jufrbo]

The Bench doesn't run to Meridian. It stops around Cole Road. West of that is West Boise. I took a walk with my dog along the canal bank on the bench around my neighborhood and really thought that there isn't a place like it in Boise. While it isn't urban, it definately is suburban the way Meridian or Eagle is. I think I'll take some pictures in the next few days of what the bench really is. There are some boring neighborhoods, but for the most part it is a really neat area, obviously not directly on Franklin and Overland roads.