Boise, not Bend? (Nampa, Caldwell: crime, loan, house)
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Greetings everyone. I'm in relocation meltdown, so I trust you'll be kind.
I'm looking to move from upstate NY, and at first, for personal reasons, it was going to be to Minneapolis. Well, that fell through big time -- and thank God -- so now it's up to me where I want to relocate. (Rochester, NY is not my original home; I've lived in lots of places, east and west coast.)
I'm on the young edge of semi-retired, but still want/need to work in the arts field, i.e. galleries, museums... I want a safe (not gang ruled), beautiful, self-sufficient community. I had my sights set on Bend, OR and loved it when I spent some time there earlier this year, but since then, I've heard some pretty discouraging things about the place imploding... sky-high umemployment and sky-rocketing crime.
I've also looked at the Oregon coast, i.e. Astoria and Newport, but 90" of rain may be at least 70" too much!
I've been researching Boise and have been delighted with what I've discovered, except for two BIG concerns: Although I consider myself a moderate and not a knee-jerk liberal politically, I'm not a hater, and some of the proclamations on this site kind of frighten me. Can I be true to my moderate Dem. beliefs in Boise?
The second concern is the inversion factor. I'm an allergy sufferer -- not so bad that it stops me from going about my life, but I don't want to be a basketcase during the winter months. How bad is the bad air, really?
Any and all thoughts (kind ones, please!) would be welcome. My house here in Rochester may actually sell soon and then I'll have to put my boots on and leave -- but to where? I'm having back spasms I'm so fraught with indecision. thanks.
While being democrat may not be the status quo here in Idaho, they do have more support here in the Boise area and certainly you aren't going to be harassed for being a democrat, as long as you are moderate. You might hear a few jokes cracked about them, but then again you will hear several pointed at the other side. As for the inversion, it varies. Sometimes it can last for several weeks, sometimes just a couple of days but it's not like the inversion is year round or anything. Most of the year you have clear skies and sunshine here.
My recommendation to you is that you look seriously at the North-end community here in Boise (North of state street and between Fort Boise and 36th Street) as it tends to cater to the more artistic liberal crowd, that and the abundance of trees in that area would make it a better fit for someone from the East (this coming from a former Washington D.C. area resident). As for Bend it is a smaller community and I think Boise will have more to offer in the way of museums and art events. That and as you have found out Bend is kind of a depressed community right now.
Greetings everyone. I'm in relocation meltdown, so I trust you'll be kind.
I'm looking to move from upstate NY, and at first, for personal reasons, it was going to be to Minneapolis. Well, that fell through big time -- and thank God -- so now it's up to me where I want to relocate. (Rochester, NY is not my original home; I've lived in lots of places, east and west coast.)
I'm on the young edge of semi-retired, but still want/need to work in the arts field, i.e. galleries, museums... I want a safe (not gang ruled), beautiful, self-sufficient community. I had my sights set on Bend, OR and loved it when I spent some time there earlier this year, but since then, I've heard some pretty discouraging things about the place imploding... sky-high umemployment and sky-rocketing crime.
I've also looked at the Oregon coast, i.e. Astoria and Newport, but 90" of rain may be at least 70" too much!
I've been researching Boise and have been delighted with what I've discovered, except for two BIG concerns: Although I consider myself a moderate and not a knee-jerk liberal politically, I'm not a hater, and some of the proclamations on this site kind of frighten me. Can I be true to my moderate Dem. beliefs in Boise?
The second concern is the inversion factor. I'm an allergy sufferer -- not so bad that it stops me from going about my life, but I don't want to be a basketcase during the winter months. How bad is the bad air, really?
Any and all thoughts (kind ones, please!) would be welcome. My house here in Rochester may actually sell soon and then I'll have to put my boots on and leave -- but to where? I'm having back spasms I'm so fraught with indecision. thanks.
The Boise area may not have sky-high unemployment yet, but is it does have high unemployment. Air quality can get bad on certain days. And allergies can be a headache, because of all the agricultural. Avoid parts of Nampa and Caldwell on the gang issue.
I would also say that it would be wise to avoid Nampa and Caldwell as that is the more agricultural area. Incidentally I thought of a couple of other things. If you live in the north-end you would be a 10-15 minute drive from the Boise Art Museum, The Public Library, Boise History Museum, and Boise State University (with it's art program and related events). Julia Davis (the park where the aforementioned art museum is located) also hosts "art in the park" an annual event which brings people in from all over the northwest with their various different works of arts, crafts, etc.
I would not say boise is predominantly republican... I would say the opposite... the city of boise is democrat... ada county is about 50/50 voting patterns... Idaho... red.. boise.. blue..
Hello Alice Springs~
My family and I only moved to Boise a week ago from Oregon, so I can't tell you much about Boise (other than the people in the north-end are unusually friendly, and the library system seems a good one.) But I can say a word or two about Bend. Bend's a lovely place to live (if you have money), and I wouldn't worry about gangs or crime ~ it's nothing compared to Syracuse, Buffalo or Rochester, and the recent spike in crime is all economy-driven. When the economy changes, so will this blip in crime. Deschutes county officially has 15% unemployment, but unofficially I'e heard 35% ("unofficial" is people out of the 'looking for job' loop, being too discouraged to look, or working off the books.) Yet Bend is a vibrant, lovely community with quick access to mountains and city-lights. (..A lot like Boise.) And because of the significant growth in Bend the last few years, it's a good place to meet new people, as almost everyone in Bend is a transplant. (When I was growing up in Eastern Oregon 35 years ago Bend was a sleepy town of 10,000. Wow growth hit hard!) So don't rule out Bend, but if (a) you're looking for work, don't go, and (b) anticipate less gov't support than you might be used to in New York (Oregon's network of Social Services, Human welfare, Library, road support etc. are all strapped and running on empty. I don't know how Idaho is doing.)
So far, (speaking as a brand-spanking new Boisian ~ we moved here because we found a job with great health benefits) ~ I like this place. The people are nicer than I'm used too, and the amenities close-by. We're in the North End of Boise, which seems to fit our liberal beliefs (community, know thy neighbor, help those in need, a strong belief in education). I don't know the rest of the state, but this area of Boise is as liberal as the bluest spot in Oregon (NE Portland, where I came from).
My wife (coincidentally a Rochester NY girl who has been working in Bend recently) just read this over my shoulder, and suggested I include an additional comment: "Boise is for married folks, and Bend more for meeting new people." She knows both communities better than I, so, well, good luck!
Wow, what a thoughtful, helpful post, AnRyBr. Thank you so much. It's interesting that you mention the library system (as did MrGrumpy). I'm a real library girl, daughter and granddaughter of librarians, so they mean a lot to me. And, yikes, I've heard that the Deschutes County system has closed or is on the verge of it --day to day. Do you (AnRyBr) or your wife know anything about that? No library system, believe it or not, would be a deal breaker for me. thanks again for the great responses.
I don't know much about the Bend library system - Bend isn't the type of place you go to read books (~think rainy Oregon coast for that, or Portland, Seattle.) I assume Deschutes county has an attractive, architecturally certified/green library building, but the Bend-attitude doesn't strike me as bookcentric. It's more "raft the Deschutes, climb the Sisters (local mountains) or ski Bachelor's black diamond run." It's a place for outdoor pursuits, (and in the evening, social mingling at the local wine bars and brew pubs.)
I've heard nothing about closing Bend libraries (which was recently done in Jackson County Oregon) and for reasons that wouldn't much interest you I very much doubt they'd do this. Out of curiosity I just went and read thru their website - they've got a lovely (and as I guessed, green and architecturally significant) new facility in Bend, and more importantly, interlibrary loan. Acht! You could be happy as a book-clam there!
Re: Boise. I'm so far impressed with the Boise library system. Not the fanciest digs, but a good book collection, nice librarians, well-used (...it looks like a very well-loved library, with both the blessings and troubles this brings.)
~I'm less than a week in Boise, so if any locals read this, any good used bookstores in Boise to recommend? I found the bookstore in Hyde Park, and liked the owner (?) prices and general dustiness - not an expansive collection, but a good neighborhood bookstore. Any suggestions of other used bookstores to seek out in Boise?
I've been researching Boise and have been delighted with what I've discovered, except for two BIG concerns: Although I consider myself a moderate and not a knee-jerk liberal politically, I'm not a hater, and some of the proclamations on this site kind of frighten me. Can I be true to my moderate Dem. beliefs in Boise?
Twelve of the fifteen state legislators from Boise are Democrat. The mayor is a democrat. You can be the judge.
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