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Our family loves it, we have been here 18 months and live right on the border of Boise and Meridian over by HP.
What we like: decent schools, very clean, small enough to get anywhere in town within 30 minutes but big enough to have most of the stores that we were used to shopping at in Phoenix. The weather is good, similar to many cities in northern Arizona, lots of easy access to outdoor activities.
What we don't like: The Boise drivers take some getting used to, they still have not figured out that the left lane of traffic is for faster drivers and they will pull out in front of you despite there being no traffic behind you for a mile. The only other thing that we have noticed is that the natives are very nice, but stand off-ish. A lot of people picked their social circle in high school or college and it's tough to break in, or they are LDS. Not so much of an issue from what I have seen in my neighborhood, almost everyone on my block is from somewhere other than Boise.
I've lived all over the country and by far Boise is the best place that I have lived in. Just be aware that it is very conservative, family oriented and most of the people that live here do not want to change that.
Unless you go up into the mountains, Boise is the city with the most trees in the area.
Also, Boise is on Google's Streetview, so if you are looking up houses you can go to Google and see what the house looks like from the street. You can then go up and down the street to see what the rest of the neighborhood looks like.
What we don't like: The Boise drivers take some getting used to, they still have not figured out that the left lane of traffic is for faster drivers and they will pull out in front of you despite there being no traffic behind you for a mile.
I thought I was the only one who noticed this until I started asking around. Don't forget the second part of Idaho driving etiquette: Drive slowly in the left lane until someone finally decides to go around you on the right, then speed up and glare.
It's amazing how this happens right as you cross the border into Idaho.
There have been many arguments regarding this...but I agree Boise drivers are pretty bad and I think can be quite rude. Just my opinion. My step dad is a horrible driver...aggressive and doesn't pay attention. He was raised in Boise btw. lol
I've lived in Boise 7 years. In those 7 years the city has had a tremendous explosion in growth. Meridian, once a sleepy little town now is a mass of subdivisions, strip malls, and TRAFFIC! Boise's downtown is absolutely wonderful, great shops, restaurants, cultural scene, but is in danger of having it's somewhat thriving retail shops being shoved out by big business/banking companies buying up the buildings for corporate offices.
Mass transit is an abysmmal failure. The city is in denial I think that it needs it, and no one can agree on what it should be. Meridian, which is threatening to engulf all of the Treasure Valley is the purest definiation of urban sprawl.
It has taken me 7 years to actually like Boise. I cannot warm up to Meridian at all. The downside of Idaho is the intense ultra conservatism, Republican majority, and a pretty heavy duty right wing Christian mind set. However, Boise is the libral containment zone of Idaho (you can't really count Sun valley because most of the libral residents actually live in Hollywood most of the year). The rally for Obama was huge here...we have a lively gay population, and there are a lot of people from elsewhere here. Meridian really tends toward the family friendly/working hard/keep up with the neighbors/SUV/soccer mom kind of area.
If you're moving here, defining yourself will direct you where to move. Are you a libral? Are you a heavy duty church goer, are you a member of the LDS faith? Are you gay? Got a family? Have an SUV? Drive a Hybrid? Enjoy cultural things? Like to shoot animals or would you rather grow a garden? Into the whole outdoor thing or would you rather spend your day vegged out at Barnes and Noble? Like pro sports, like to drive 5-8 hours to actually SEE pro sports? Skier? Kayaker? Drinker?
You can find niches for all of the above here in Boise. All in all, it's not bad once you get used to it. In summer Boise/meridian has two temperatures, hot and hell. Winters can be mild. Brown is the color you see most on the "foothills". The skies are blue and the sunsets are amazing! Cost of living is high if you have most of the jobs here, it's low if you scored one of the few well paying jobs here. People pay crap here be advised, and it isn't any cheaper to live here than many other parts of the west. It's a great place to raise a family...and I'd say Boise, over Meridian...Meridian is just SO suburbia.
I love living in Boise. Been here for over 5 years and have been very happy with our move. I have to concur with most of what Micrguy says.
Things I like about Boise -very family oriented, easy to get around, very safe, several ammenities, close to outdoor activities, change of seasons(including loooooong summer days), dynamite sunsets and just good old fashioned nice people. Pretty much the same experience throughout much of the metro area. Come check it out!
Location: By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea
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Growing up in the NYC metro area I'm having a hard time picturing how other than in voting, living in a very conservative area affects daily life. Are you likely to be stoned if you wear the wrong clothes, drive the wrong car, etc? Will you be shunned if word gets out you've attended Grateful Dead concerts? Will mothers hide their children if you're walking down the street?
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Boise Meridian Love it or Hate it
Will you be shunned if word gets out you've attended Grateful Dead concerts? 
Will mothers hide their children if you're walking down the street? 
