Boise Pros-Cons (Eagle: relocating, wages, jobs)

[maui08]

Aloha

There is a good chance we will be relocating to the Boise area. I know there are sooo many posts about the same things.....but we really want to know what Boise is like!? -Having never been there and only living in San Diego, CA and Hawaii and New York we have nothing to go on but what people tell us. We may visit if things look like we are going but for now.......

-We would especially like to hear from people who have lived in So Cal and see what they say.

Mahalo

[boi2socal]

I've been living in SoCal for 4 years, living mostly in Orange County....grew up in Boise...

Pros and Cons are relative but here is my perspective...

PROS
*Four distinct seasons. Gives you a little bit of everything.
*Excellent and Nearby Recreation for all four seasons, really everything but ocean activities.
*Convenient and decent shopping for a city its size minus a few high end retailers.
*Small town feel but not really that small.
*Isolated. Although you'll find yourself far from major metros this has made Boise a lot more exciting that most cities its size with decent nightlife, concerts, etc. since there really isn't anywhere else to go. So you get scenery, recreation and city life in one package.
*One of the best small/medium sized downtowns around...great shops, dining and safe, clean atmosphere.
*Great city for bikers and walkers IF you live in an area where goods and services are nearby.
*Low cost of living with reasonable home prices minus a few inflated areas (i.e. Eagle).

CONS
*Four distinct seasons! Summers can be very hot...VERY similar to the Inland Empire area of Los Angeles but not as hot as the deserts. Winters are moderate in comparison to cities at other latitudes and elevation but still cool and every so often very cold.
*Unchecked growth. I'm not against growth itself but against poor planning. Everything in Idaho takes years to plan and as long to build. Often times roadways open up at capacity. Funding is a serious issue due to Idaho's tax laws (which may be a pro to many - no Mello-Roos/extra assessments, etc.). Traffic is obviously not comparable to larger Metros but it is frustrating with only two freeways (really one with a small spur). If you do need to drive across town often it can take a decent amount of time compared to hopping on a freeway in San Diego and driving miles and miles in the time it took to drive 5 miles in Boise.
*So you want to avoid traffic or driving in Boise by taking the bus or train? Sorry. Strange routing, infrequent stops and service that ends early and doesn't even operate on Sundays will keep you in the car.
*Conservative area. Again, a pro to many. I really don't care for wildly liberal areas either but on the red to blue scale Boise is still pretty red IMO. Downtown Boise, North End, and NE Boise are pretty blue friendly.
*Questionable Job Market/Low Wages. The Boise Area is flooded with low wage jobs and often people cite low cost of living, however Boise wages have not kept up with the area's growth and inflation. Layoffs are occurring in the tech sector but there are a lot of new small start up companies that are growing.
*Isolated. If you really crave what a big city offers Boise has some but not all of it. Seattle and Portland are each about an hour away flying. 6-8 hours driving in normal conditions. Salt Lake is 5-6 hours as well but I wouldn't really consider Salt Lake a great example of an urban area.

[maui08]

Appreciate the info. We realize we will be leaving the ocean behind but we will never be able to buy a home here either which is a major factor for us looking to relocate.

-Also, living in San Diego there is no insect issues! -At least for us. My wife hates bugs and is allergic to many stings. Is this much of a problem for people living there....we realize there will be bugs now and again but are they flying all over the place no matter where you go?

-Also, we see that it gets HOT. But with little humidity. Living in Hawaii it can be almost 90 with humidity in the 60%+ range....I would guess Boise is similar to a Palm Springs Hot but that that extreme?

[Katera]

lol nah, very few places are as consistently hot as Palm Springs!

[boi2socal]

I find bugs to be quite a bit worse in Boise compared to SoCal areas. However, from what I've heard it is far worse in the Midwest and East Coast compared to Boise. I don't know if that helps.

No, nothing like Palm Springs heat. That place is consistently well into the 100s this time of year. Think like Riverside or San Bernardino during the summer. Obviously warm for a shorter time period than those cities. Get used to 90s - dry heat, breaking a hundred every so often.

[maui08]

So, the heat in Boise is similiar to Riverside county....? Like Temecula? -What do you compare the winters to? I spent many years in upstate NY and hated the winters! Long, cold, grey for months on end. Don't mind the snow but when the sun doesn't come out for weeks on end it became very depressing. Does Boise have the same winter pattern...?

[micrguy]

I would say that Boise's winters are pretty similar to Albuquerque's winter or Prescott and Sedona in Arizona. The temps and snow are really similar to the cities I listed but probably a little cloudier. Once you get farther north it is gloomier, but for the most part Boise has a classic 4 season high desert climate. We get 2-3 weeks of really cold weather and this year was the first time in 15 years that they closed the local schools for snow.

I don't mind the winters, it is the spring that drives me crazy. It will be a perfect 75-80 degree day for just long enough for you to forget winter and then the next week it will be full of cold rain and snow flurries.

[boi2socal]

Originally Posted by maui08

So, the heat in Boise is similiar to Riverside county....? Like Temecula? -What do you compare the winters to? I spent many years in upstate NY and hated the winters! Long, cold, grey for months on end. Don't mind the snow but when the sun doesn't come out for weeks on end it became very depressing. Does Boise have the same winter pattern...?

Yes, similar to Temecula for summer. If you look at the 10-day forecast for each on weather.com the highs are within a degree or two of each other.

My biggest thumbs down on Boise is what I consider sometimes grey winters. Especially with an inversion pattern. You sometimes really feel like you're going to go crazy from two weeks of fog like condition. I was there this winter for two weeks and its was grey but had precipitation almost everyday which I can handle a little better.

[Syringaloid]

This past winter we enjoyed a more normal weather pattern in the Northwest and Idaho. If there were any grey days, it is because we had clouds and more snow storms than have happened in the past 3 to 5 winters.
I don't recall a major inversion at all last winter. All of the locals here tend to say that the drier the winter the more inversions which makes perfect sense.
I don't know if you believe in global warming, but this has been blamed on inversions in the past because the storms skip over the Northwest thus creating stale air. If the coming winters are normal like this past winter was, then there is no need to really worry about inversions.
Boise usually has a fair mix of cloudy days and sunny days in the winter and the temps are some of the warmest in the state. It is rare we have bitter arctic cold in Boise.
Most of the past winters, I have noticed many sunny days, great for wearing sweaters.

[maui08]

Originally Posted by boi2socal

Yes, similar to Temecula for summer. If you look at the 10-day forecast for each on weather.com the highs are within a degree or two of each other.

My biggest thumbs down on Boise is what I consider sometimes grey winters. Especially with an inversion pattern. You sometimes really feel like you're going to go crazy from two weeks of fog like condition. I was there this winter for two weeks and its was grey but had precipitation almost everyday which I can handle a little better.

When you say grey winters....is it like days on end with no sun or is it spread out during the winter season? As I mentioned earlier, previously living in upstate NY it would seem like weeks of no sun! Does this inversion you speak of affect breathing?