Boise vs. Idaho Falls (Rexburg, Teton: new house, good schools, living)

[wamommy]

HI.

I posted a thread eariler about Idaho Falls, and all of that info was very helpful!

On that note,
My husband has 2 job prospects in both cities. We both liked Idaho Falls when we were there a month ago. ( stayed a week) We desperately want to leave Seattle and leave all that "Hustle and Bussle" behind. We no longer want to live in an area where a 500k house is a good deal, 1.5 hrs commuting,crime, etc...

We really want a slower pace of life, but a place to do outdoor activities. We don't care whether the place is liberal or conservative. We're pretty middle of the road.

We drove through Boise, looked real nice.

Any thoughts from people who live in both citites? Thanks again!

[cleosmom]

I've only lived on the SE side of the state, but I know if you do a search you should find a ton of posts/threads regarding Boise and the surrounding areas.

[Snowbird]

I lived in Idaho Falls for 8 years and if I had a choice (especially coming from Seattle) I would pick Boise without hesitation.

[wamommy]

Thanks Cleo's Mom, I have been looking at them I;ve appreciated all of your info.

Snowbird..
without hestitation? can you elaborate?

[davekn]

I have never lived in Idaho Falls, but I have been in the Boise area for about 30 years. I would live nowhere else. We have access to just about any type of outdoor activity we want, from this area. I love to hunt, and this is the ideal spot to start from. I also love activities that include the desert, (rock hunting, bird hunting, etc.), and we have a lot of that also.
We have also found that Boise was a good place to raise a family. Good schools, etc. The cost of living is ok, and jobs are fairly plentifull, but not the highest paying.
Let me know if I can help on anything else.

[Snowbird]

Originally Posted by wamommy

Thanks Cleo's Mom, I have been looking at them I;ve appreciated all of your info.

Snowbird..
without hestitation? can you elaborate?

Hi wamommy,

I have heard many people, including two of my best friends who still live in Idaho Falls say that Boise is a great place to live and they are trying to find a way to get out of IF and move to Boise. Idaho Falls is a different kind of place. For the size of town there isn't much going on in the way of culture, there is a very strong Mormon presence (see the Utah thread for elaboration on that), it is at least an hour drive to any outdoor recreation to speak of, there aren't really any good trails or areas near town for biking or hiking, there are no really good restaurants (mainly chains except for a couple) that make going out interesting, the local farmers have a tradition of burning all of the stubble in the fields which makes the air pretty toxic for a month or two and then there is the wind. The wind blows constantly. As Outside magazine said when reviewing the town (which did make its best places to live list by the way), "The near ceaseless winter winds add to the despair of those who picked wrong." The winters are very, very, cold, dark, icy and windy and they don't sand the roads at all (because it is really too cold for the salt to successfully melt the ice I think). I'm a winter loving person too. I love to ski and sled and everything that goes with it, but I just found the winters in Eastern Idaho to be more than I wanted to deal with. Finally, and please forgive me those that live in Idaho Falls, the town is not very nice to look at. Coming into town from almost any direction it feels like a dying cow town with junk, old trucks, closed up buildings and sleezy little bars dotted here and there. The vast tracks of new houses that are going up have the feel of government housing, little beige boxes with minimal character. Having said all of that though, I still have many friends who live in IF and are planning to stay for a while. The INEEL provides high paying jobs and the cost of living is pretty low so they think they can't get a better gig anywhere else. I know there are plenty of people who make a good life there, but I know that if I had a choice, Idaho Falls would not make my list.

[wamommy]

WOW.
My husband likes IF, and I like Boise.
Thank you for your honest opinion. I will take all of that information as we way our options.

Thanks

[RodFarlee]

Originally Posted by wamommy

We really want a slower pace of life, but a place to do outdoor activities.

If those are your priorities, Idaho Falls has it over Boise, hands down.

I once lived in Boise, and just wish to provide some balance to the comments posted above (not that all opinions aren't valid, but mine certainly differ!). Boise is plunging headlong into becoming a "Reno North" of congestion and sprawl.

Idaho Falls is a far better "base of operations" for one who loves the outdoors. The Tetons, Wind Rivers, Pioneers and White Clouds are within reach for weekend trips, as are the many cultural opportunities of Salt Lake City. Biking, hiking, skiing, fishing, and hunting opportunities are far better, and more accessible.

I'm surprised to read the comment that IF has a "very strong" Mormon presence. Yes, it has a temple, but it sure isn't Rexburg or Brigham City! I've always found IF diverse, with no one religion dominating the culture or politics. This has long been the case because INEEL has drawn in thousands from all over the country.

Climate in the two cities is not all that different. Idaho Falls is at a slightly higher elevation, so is a couple degrees cooler and slightly less humid, both summer and winter. It about balances out, but if you've spent a summer in Boise, cooler summer nights are certainly welcome.

[wamommy]

We loved Yellowstone being so close. My hubsband works on average 65+ hrs a week so we have no time for recreational activities which we love. Our LDS friends who live in IF say it feels less Mormon then Phoenix ( Gilbert) did, and I feel they'd be straight with us. On the whole, I could care less about what religion people are as long as they're good people.

We don't mind winters, as long as we know we'll have a good summer, and what I mean by that is not a typical " Seattle Summer, or june gloom". I need a summer that is more than 1.5 months.

I liked the fact that IF was slower paced. I do have a concern about Boise (seems really nice though) becoming the next "Phoenix", and you touched on that. When we moved to AZ years ago it was laid back slower, now it's L.A.

Are the houses going up like hotcakes?

I think we're going to give Idaho a try, and we're leaning on IF, but we do have to way our options.

Thanks

[cleosmom]

I have jump in and say that yes IF does sand the roads, pretty well in the city limits and they hit the intersections out in the county. As far as going out to eat, there is a good variety of both chains and locally owned, but nothing beats home cookin'

There are Mormons here, possibly a stronger influence than in Boise and that's not all a bad thing, they have quite strong family values and morals and hey nothing wrong with trying to raise kids up decently. We're not LDS, but we have friends who are and well it's to each his/her own.

Boise is Idaho's Seattle as far as being the largest city in the state.