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Old 12-05-2016, 08:53 PM
 
Location: PHX -> ATL
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Wyoming is the smallest (population) state in the union. Montana and Idaho aren't too far ahead. Yet, all three are very large states. They have amazing wildlife, clean air, skiing, etc.

While Boise is a growing city, it always intrigued me that Wyoming, Montana or Idaho did not boom any earlier (or still not booming). They are beautiful States with a ton to offer in my opinion. Montana especially. Maybe I view the three with rosy glasses so to speak but what is so undesirable about them that they didn't boom? Or choose not to boom?
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Old 12-05-2016, 10:22 PM
 
Location: Louisiana to Houston to Denver to NOVA
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Most of the cities were railroad towns and were never major ports or manufacturing/industrial cities.
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Old 12-06-2016, 07:42 AM
 
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What do they have to offer in your opinion?
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Old 12-06-2016, 07:51 AM
 
Location: Sugarmill Woods , FL
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Not enough Starbucks!
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Old 12-06-2016, 08:27 AM
 
Location: Terramaria
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They also are subject to long, cold winters. Why live there when Utah/Colorado still offer great mountain scenery and much more manageable winters with occasional mild days (and sunnier as well)? That said, these states are far from major economic centers and as a result, remain the quietest part of the country.
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Old 12-06-2016, 08:51 AM
 
Location: Aurora, CO
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Quote:
Originally Posted by annie_himself View Post
Most of the cities were railroad towns and were never major ports or manufacturing/industrial cities.
^^^This.

Here's an image search for railroad maps c. 1900. Look at the big cluster of rail lines in Colorado. Now look at the states you've mentioned. Nearly all the lines in those states were purpose-built to service mining.
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Old 12-06-2016, 09:14 AM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by froglipz View Post
Not enough Starbucks!
There are nearly 20 in Boise, that is enough of them. The local roasters are much better.




Quote:
Originally Posted by Prickly Pear View Post
Wyoming is the smallest (population) state in the union. Montana and Idaho aren't too far ahead. Yet, all three are very large states. They have amazing wildlife, clean air, skiing, etc.

While Boise is a growing city, it always intrigued me that Wyoming, Montana or Idaho did not boom any earlier (or still not booming). They are beautiful States with a ton to offer in my opinion. Montana especially. Maybe I view the three with rosy glasses so to speak but what is so undesirable about them that they didn't boom? Or choose not to boom?
Idaho has over one million people more than Wyoming, (for comparison Utah has over one million more than Idaho). Idaho has nearly 620,000 more people than Montana. This is quite a big difference when comparing the three states. There are more people in the Boise Metropolitan Area than the entire state of Wyoming. The extended trade area population of Boise is near 756,000, the population of the state of Montana is just over one million.
https://www.census.gov/popest/data/m...015/index.html

Up in North Idaho, Coeur d'Alene and Spokane, Washington combine to form a large Metropolitan Area of over nearly 680,000 people. Idaho has metropolitan areas which makes it a lot different compared to Wyoming or Montana.


Quote:
Originally Posted by annie_himself View Post
Most of the cities were railroad towns and were never major ports or manufacturing/industrial cities.
True. At one time, Pocatello was the largest rail center in the west, but then the crossroads were moved a little south to SLC.

Idaho City in the Boise Basin near Boise at one time was the largest city in the Northwest until history changed. The Boise Basin was also the site of one of the richest gold rushes in the Lower 48 which in turn assisted in Boise's early growth.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Borntoolate85 View Post
They also are subject to long, cold winters. Why live there when Utah/Colorado still offer great mountain scenery and much more manageable winters with occasional mild days (and sunnier as well)? That said, these states are far from major economic centers and as a result, remain the quietest part of the country.
The long cold winters can be an issue, but more so for Wyoming and Montana, much of Southern Idaho is similar to the winters in Utah/Colorado, but really all five states are somewhat similar concerning winter.

Boise is a major economic center in the region and is headquarters to many large corporations, some with worldwide reach.

Idaho, despite being a mountain state, is a major industry leader in agriculture and helps feed the world as it is a major exporter of grains and other crops including potatoes, trout, dairy, mint, fruit, onions, etc. The largest hop farm in America is in North Idaho.

Concerning Idaho, much of the state is a huge swath of mountains and canyons, forests and wilderness (the most in the lower 48), the most miles of whitewater rivers in the nation, some of the west's largest lakes, and one of the most extensive extinct lava flows on earth, so a lot of the state is uninhabitable, too wild for humans.
Idaho, especially Boise is growing quickly as people are leaving the west coast. Boise punches above its weight and as I stated earlier is a major economic center in the west.
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Old 12-06-2016, 10:23 AM
 
Location: Scottsdale, AZ
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I just think it comes down to the winters. They're very brutal, especially in parts of WY and MT. Living in AZ, I get to chat with the snowbirds who hail from those regions. Most start arriving in AZ in early October because theyre already frozen. They arrive more than a month earlier than the Midwesterners/Canadians/Northeasterners do.
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Old 12-06-2016, 10:42 AM
 
Location: PHX -> ATL
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Threestep View Post
What do they have to offer in your opinion?
Good summers, beautiful scenery, lots of nature... it's just baffling we have areas like Denver who are booming with tech because people want to live there for the mountains when there's other cities/towns with even better mountain access. Not saying Colorado doesn't have great mountains but, it's not like they own a monopoly on that either. Idaho has some of the best whitewater rafting in the country, Montana also has a ton of rivers to do this. Granted because they are so unpopulated, city amenities are lacking.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Borntoolate85 View Post
They also are subject to long, cold winters. Why live there when Utah/Colorado still offer great mountain scenery and much more manageable winters with occasional mild days (and sunnier as well)? That said, these states are far from major economic centers and as a result, remain the quietest part of the country.
Why pay insane premiums to live in Denver or Salt Lake City when you can live in Boise or Missoula? Denver is not cheap, and Salt Lake City is sort of a mixed bag on price from what I've seen... I can get Windyoming to an extent because it's closer to Colorado and windy, very windy, but the other two not so much.

But yes, these states are far from major economic centers. That's why I question why there wasn't one that ever developed (until more recently in my opinion with Boise). I guess Boise is the economic center. But it's sort of on the SW corner of the entire region.

Quote:
Originally Posted by bluescreen73 View Post
^^^This.

Here's an image search for railroad maps c. 1900. Look at the big cluster of rail lines in Colorado. Now look at the states you've mentioned. Nearly all the lines in those states were purpose-built to service mining.
Back at the turn of the 20th century Tucson was the largest city in Arizona, and was mostly a logistics center for Arizona's large mining operations (similar to Idaho, Wyoming and Montana I guess here). That didn't stop Phoenix from coming out of no where (Phoenix didn't really exist at any importance at the time of those maps) and stealing not only Tucson's logistics business but getting other business while still being no where near any resource extraction (like Tucson still is). Point is is we have Phoenix in a harsh climate (summers are harsh here let's just accept that) that was able to develop into it's behemoth of a size for who knows why. The valley Phoenix sits in used to be an agricultural valley due to the rivers that flow through there. Quite a few dry river beds up there to prove it. But it's agriculture-oriented economy still wasn't anywhere near the numbers that Tucson was punching in logistics and mining back in the day.

The very same thing could have happened up there so to speak. The question is why.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Syringaloid View Post
Idaho has over one million people more than Wyoming, (for comparison Utah has over one million more than Idaho). Idaho has nearly 620,000 more people than Montana. This is quite a big difference when comparing the three states. There are more people in the Boise Metropolitan Area than the entire state of Wyoming. The extended trade area population of Boise is near 756,000, the population of the state of Montana is just over one million.
https://www.census.gov/popest/data/m...015/index.html

Up in North Idaho, Coeur d'Alene and Spokane, Washington combine to form a large Metropolitan Area of over nearly 680,000 people. Idaho has metropolitan areas which makes it a lot different compared to Wyoming or Montana.

True. At one time, Pocatello was the largest rail center in the west, but then the crossroads were moved a little south to SLC.

Idaho City in the Boise Basin near Boise at one time was the largest city in the Northwest until history changed. The Boise Basin was also the site of one of the richest gold rushes in the Lower 48 which in turn assisted in Boise's early growth.

The long cold winters can be an issue, but more so for Wyoming and Montana, much of Southern Idaho is similar to the winters in Utah/Colorado, but really all five states are somewhat similar concerning winter.

Boise is a major economic center in the region and is headquarters to many large corporations, some with worldwide reach.

Idaho, despite being a mountain state, is a major industry leader in agriculture and helps feed the world as it is a major exporter of grains and other crops including potatoes, trout, dairy, mint, fruit, onions, etc. The largest hop farm in America is in North Idaho.

Concerning Idaho, much of the state is a huge swath of mountains and canyons, forests and wilderness (the most in the lower 48), the most miles of whitewater rivers in the nation, some of the west's largest lakes, and one of the most extensive extinct lava flows on earth, so a lot of the state is uninhabitable, too wild for humans.
Idaho, especially Boise is growing quickly as people are leaving the west coast. Boise punches above its weight and as I stated earlier is a major economic center in the west.
Still in comparison to the rest of the country Idaho and Montana are still pretty unpopulated especially given their size. Wyoming is just... the most extreme.

Like I said I do believe all three are great in their own merits. Windyoming probably the least so (see wind). To me the fact that the states offer so much undevelopable wilderness is a pro, I don't want to be somewhere like out East where there are a constant string of towns and cities wherever you go.

Given the fact that Idaho offers all that, and Montana and Wyoming also punch above their weight on outdoor recreation (which a lot of people prioritize, see Denver's boom) it's baffling they have managed to remain so small as we have moved toward a service-oriented economy which, for the most part, can be located anywhere. Maybe it is the winter thing.
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Old 12-06-2016, 10:56 AM
 
3,338 posts, read 6,849,315 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Prickly Pear View Post
Still in comparison to the rest of the country Idaho and Montana are still pretty unpopulated especially given their size. Wyoming is just... the most extreme.
I get what you are saying, but on the other hand, Idaho ranks 39th in population amongst the states, so there are 11 other states with less souls than Idaho.

This is from my first post:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Syringaloid View Post
Concerning Idaho, much of the state is a huge swath of mountains and canyons, forests and wilderness (the most in the lower 48), the most miles of whitewater rivers in the nation, some of the west's largest lakes, and one of the most extensive extinct lava flows on earth, so a lot of the state is uninhabitable, too wild for humans.
To put this into perspective, there is only one paved highway that connects North Idaho to South Idaho because the state is so mountainous and wild wilderness. This isn't flat prairie either, but a sea of mountains.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Prickly Pear View Post
Why pay insane premiums to live in Denver or Salt Lake City when you can live in Boise or Missoula? Denver is not cheap, and Salt Lake City is sort of a mixed bag on price from what I've seen... I can get Windyoming to an extent because it's closer to Colorado and windy, very windy, but the other two not so much.

But yes, these states are far from major economic centers. That's why I question why there wasn't one that ever developed (until more recently in my opinion with Boise). I guess Boise is the economic center. But it's sort of on the SW corner of the entire region.
Boise and SLC are similar regarding cost of living. SLC is considered an Intermountain West city, Boise a Northwest city.

Last edited by Syringaloid; 12-06-2016 at 11:05 AM..
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