Considering Boise (real estate market, broker, house)

[bharris214]

My wife, two sons (7 & 4 yrs), and I are looking to move from Dallas. I have been here since 1989 and I am just ready for a change of scenery. Dallas is a very livable city and quality of life is actually excellent, but I am tired of the terrain, the traffic, the urban sprawl. I am looking for more natural beauty in a smaller and less-congested town out West.

I am a retail commercial real estate broker and my wife works in an art gallery. I need to continue working in the same field, and would consider augmenting my niche with ranch and/or residential sales. We are looking for relatively mild climate, great natural beauty and opportunity for outdoor recreation, preferably a quaint and historic downtown with some history, reasonable housing price and cost of living, some retail shopping center growth (which means reasonable population growth), decent private schools, less urban sprawl (where I can be out of town quicker on the motorcycle or on a quick trip through a forest or up a mountain on a hike or fishing), and overall pleasant quality of life and a little slower pace and less pretentious than Dallas.

I am seriously considering Boise. How is life there? Is it growing at a nice pace, or has it already been over-run? Is traffic bad? How is the weather? Super cold or wet? Are there nice neighborhoods where one can buy a 4 bedroom house for less than $500K? Does anyone have any insight on shopping center development, urban renewal, or other commercial real estate activity? Any colleges? Is the vibe more west coast liberal, Republican, or live-and-let-live libertarian? How are the teenagers in town? Are they well-adjusted sports-loving kids from strong families or bored strung out punks?

If I am way off base and Boise isn't what it appears, does someone have other better ideas for a great medium sized town with commercial real estate opportunity and excellent quality of life for raising two boys.

Any info that anyone has would be much appreciated.

[boi2socal]

Well, with a few searches of the forum you'll find many of your answers...

Some people have compared Boise to a smaller version of Austin or Austin 20 years ago or something like that. I've heard the comparsion a few times specifically from folks who lived in Austin. I saw your other post and Boise and Colorado Springs are of similar size and the other cities are quite a bit smaller. So work opportunities would likely be better in these cities although I belive Boise is growing faster than Colorado Springs. You also subsequently mentioned Phoenix and Denver. I think Phoenix would be a pretty lateral move. It is huge, sprawling and has traffic...all things you are moving from.

As far as real estate I would really consider finding an expert in the area, specifically someone who specializes in commerical real estate to give you the facts...not rumors. I'm sure you have some resources available to you. Not sure who you work for, if anyone, but many of the big commercial groups are in Boise such as Colliers.

But I get a feeling that Boise may be a good fit for you for what you're looking for.

[ryansdad]

We have lots of friends and clients who were pretty successful in the real estate industry. It seems the real estate market here was tied to the real estate market elsewhere (like S. California, where we're from).

Most of these folks are seeking work elsewhere, or selling cars (new & used) to be able to pay their mortgage.

Construction industry seems to be hit similarly.

Boise is a great place to live though. Good for families.