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We are staying in an extended stay hotel here in Boise, hoping to test the city and see if we can move here from Tampa. We are all loving it here. We've looked at a few houses, but until our FL home sells, we can't make a decision. Any suggestions for free and/or cheap things to do? We've been to the zoo and a bunch of parks, splash pads, libraries and driving around. We'd love to find a good Chinese restaurant, if anyone can suggest any (no chains, please!). TIA!
Assume you've been on the greenbelt already. Check out the state capitol building. Also the old Idaho penitentiary. Yen Ching on 9th Street is a local/independent Chinese food favorite Best Local Chinese | Yen Ching | BOB Dining
Morrison-Knudesen Nature Center is free and delightful. Don't forget the Train Depot
There's always a lot of Arts & humanities stuff happening in Boise. A visit to the library or a phone call can easily give you what happening at the moment. The Humanities Council can, too. The state office is listed in the phone book or can be found on the net.
If live music is your thing, Boise has a lot of it in the saloons, and there are a ton of good musicians who live there who play everything under the sun. A little digging will turn up some kind of music you'll like, especially if you want to enjoy an adult beverage with it.
The Weiser Fiddle Contest is happening right now, about 60 miles west, up the Interstate from Boise. It's the biggest fiddle festival in the west, and there are about 2,000 expert players in town right now, and the only thing that isn't free are the tickets into the night's competition in the high school gym.
It's been going on a week, but the competition just began today, and will go on until next Saturday night.
It's not just fiddle, either. For every fiddler, there's a mandolin, banjo, guitar, bass, accordion, and all other acoustic instruments being played too, right alongside the fiddlers. All at the same time.
If you have never heard a dozen mandolins playing 4 part harmony on a sweet, melancholy bluegrass tune, it will give you the whiskey shivers when you do. Same with everything there, and it goes on non-stop, 24 hours a day.
The gas money is well worth the day trip. One your'e there, you wont want to leave. Just don't expect to hear any song you are familiar with. This music is an alternate musical universe you probably never realized it exists.
Florida is big on bluegrass, but bluegrass at Weiser is only one part of what's happening. You picked a very good time to come indeed.
Have you thought of North Carolina? People from the northeast dream of moving to Florida when they retire, and many do, but many also can't stand the heat and move to NC or Eastern TN instead. They're called "Half Backers" because they left the extreme cold for the extreme heat, and moved halfway back because they couldn't take it :-)
Also, what sort of situation are you looking for? Large city or small town? Maybe a small town within half an hour of a larger "metro" area with decent services?
I added the "" because in this part of the country, 40K people qualifies as a big city.
Any suggestions for free and/or cheap things to do? We've been to the zoo and a bunch of parks, splash pads, libraries and driving around. We'd love to find a good Chinese restaurant, if anyone can suggest any (no chains, please!). TIA!
Not sure how old your two kids are, but
Discovery Center is usually a fun stop for kids
Rent some tubes and float down the Boise River
Go Paddle Boat at Julia Davis Park
Go mountain biking or hiking
drive into the mountains and look for deer/elk etc
I don't think Boise has any really good Chinese restaurants, but we do have a few good Thai and Vietnamese restaurants:
Mai Thai, Boise
Pad Thai, Boise
Dong Khahn Restaurant, Boise
Little Saigon, Nampa
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