Boise ID vs Spokane WA vs Denver CO

[Trace_Rinaldi]

I would think of the three choices Boise is going to be quite a bit more conservative as far as politics, and laws that come down.. This may be a good thing, depending on your personal preference.

BTW Sage is great at translating and comparing Cali to Idaho locales...

Im also from So. Cal, and LOVE North Idaho.. Boise would be a great place to live too, and would be right behind NID if I was still trying to make a decision.

Good Luck Tracy!!

[kristinl5]

Yep North End with Hyde Park, definitely a good place for the younger crowd!

[boi2socal]

The Boise Area isn't quite as conservative as it once was. According to CNN Ada County voted 52-46 in favor of McCain. I'm sure within Boise City Limits the numbers are even closer. The North End could probably be described as liberal.

[Sage of Sagle]

Yeah, I could see that...but all the folks we know through sports around Meridian and Eagle are about 80/20 conservative...

It's like Sandpoint. Compared to the rest of NID, it's considered "liberal". But it's more libertarian artsy social-liberal than "New England big government" liberal.

What I have seen of folks since moving to Idaho is that those on the left are more "center left" (fiscally fairly conservative but socially liberal) and those on the right cover the full spectrum from center-right (libertarian'ish) to far-right.

[esya]

I just happened on this looking for driving info but I have to say the statement that Boise is safer according to Farmers Insurance has nothing to do with crime, but the fact that wind damage is unpopular as are auto accidents with the insurers. I have lived in central Denver for at least 15 years plus other areas and it is very low crime even compared with the burbs.

That being said, Denver does not have rivers, lakes or any substantial amount of water, nor does it have forests--those are west of denver in the mountains, at least an hour's drive. What it does have is LOTs of young men who LOVE the outdoors activities.

Not sure about job prospects, Denver's cycles are based on oil, gas and mining and tourism with a bit of high tech, banking and other "clean" industries thrown in. Lawyer's work matches the major cycles depending on the practice. Right now there is a boom in auto accident litigation since they were dumb enough/smart enough to do away with no fault insurance and now everybody is suing everybody else.

[kstorts]

Originally Posted by esya

What it does have is LOTs of young men who LOVE the outdoors activities.

hahahahaha, this had me cracking up....sounds like a great place for a womens retreat....bahahahahaha....sorry, couldn't resist!

[MrGrumpy]

Of course you realize the thread is almost a year old.

[DrummerBoy]

How are you going to support yourself if you come here? If you're coming in "cold" without a job lined up, and are planning to find employment once you're here, then Boise is definately NOT the place for you; there are zero jobs available in this city at present. A friend of mine is an out-of-work computer geek with a Master's in Info Tech and recently applied for a part-time job at Barnes & Noble for holiday help at $7.25 an hour! There were 360 applicants for eight jobs!!
The real unemployment rate in Boise--forget the government's fairy tale numbers--is well into double digits. Also, there is a pretty strong anti-California coaliton here, which would make it even harder--if that's possible--for you to land a job. No hiring manager is gonna give a job to a newcomer with so many locals begging for work.
Also, if you're from SoCal you're gonna hate our winters--it gets very bleak and gray here and we get some nasty inversions where low pressure acts like a lid to trap in woodsmoke and car exhaust.
Denver has these inversions too, but I think you would have a far better chance at obtaining employment in Denver. And I hear Spokane's economy has not felt the brunt of the recent Depression like we have.
I'm sorry if I am coming across as negative, but I am just trying to save you some frustration. There are cheerleaders on this site who are gonna tell you to come on in; Boise's a Utopia with four beautiful seasons and everything is peaches and ice cream. Beware: some of those cheerleaders are realtors--thus are pro growth at all costs-- and some don't even live here anymore! They can be a bit out of touch with the man-on-the-streets real deal mentality.
Feel free to email me if you have any other questions; I'll be as honest as I can, but sometimes honesty on this site gets me chastized by the siss-boom-bah types! LOL.

[jwest09]

Originally Posted by DrummerBoy

How are you going to support yourself if you come here? If you're coming in "cold" without a job lined up, and are planning to find employment once you're here, then Boise is definately NOT the place for you; there are zero jobs available in this city at present. A friend of mine is an out-of-work computer geek with a Master's in Info Tech and recently applied for a part-time job at Barnes & Noble for holiday help at $7.25 an hour! There were 360 applicants for eight jobs!!
The real unemployment rate in Boise--forget the government's fairy tale numbers--is well into double digits. Also, there is a pretty strong anti-California coaliton here, which would make it even harder--if that's possible--for you to land a job. No hiring manager is gonna give a job to a newcomer with so many locals begging for work.
Also, if you're from SoCal you're gonna hate our winters--it gets very bleak and gray here and we get some nasty inversions where low pressure acts like a lid to trap in woodsmoke and car exhaust.
Denver has these inversions too, but I think you would have a far better chance at obtaining employment in Denver. And I hear Spokane's economy has not felt the brunt of the recent Depression like we have.
I'm sorry if I am coming across as negative, but I am just trying to save you some frustration. There are cheerleaders on this site who are gonna tell you to come on in; Boise's a Utopia with four beautiful seasons and everything is peaches and ice cream. Beware: some of those cheerleaders are realtors and some don't even live here anymore! They can be a bit out of touch.

Don't know why, but it seems Boise is short on jobs, compared to Salt Lake or Denver.