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I agree pw72, although most states especially in the west have been hit hard by the recession, several hit harder than Idaho.
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Originally Posted by Z3N1TH 0N3
I've traveled to some places in the mountain west such as Denver, and notice that it is growing quickly, primarily because of better job opportunities, great weather, and lots of activities to partake in. I've heard a lot of good things about Boise as well, including a lot jobs popping up in that region. Boise also has a fairly mild climate, similar to that of Denver it appears. So with the jobs, mild climate, outdoor lifestyle, do you guys think Boise is an up and coming city in the Rocky Mountain region? Or does the LDS church have a stronghold similar to that in SLC creating a sort of barrier to entry? Is the night life pretty exciting?
Here is my opinion, coming from a guy in his early 30's with a stable professional job in banking & finance which is a growing industry in Boise, in fact several jobs are opening in Boise each month in this field. I own a home, spend a great amount of time outdoors in town, and have a good idea about the pulse of Boise. I have traveled to a few other Rocky Mountain cities for training including SLC.
Boise has been hit hard with this recession (so has Portland and Seattle and SLC) because a few extremely large employers laid off thousands of employees at once, too many greedy investors from CA were buying homes here without even visiting the city and making a $$ until the nations housing market crashed. There are some bright spots already in Boise as the economy starts to improve again, Micron has announced a new building and new jobs, a few solar companies have set up shop, although they have not hired a lot of people yet, and the medical field is growing here. It seems like each day there is another announcement of another national retailer putting a store in Boise. There are still dozens of smaller high tech companies who thrive here and are doing well, some didn't do very well when the recession hit. As I said banking is really big in Boise, with several regional headquarters and centers employing hundreds of people. There are some headquarters here for national and world wide companies, not as many as there were in the past, but we still have some, more than other larger cities can say. HP and Micron each still employ thousands.
I am very familier with the LDS faith and the LDS church does not have a huge stronghold on Boise, there are many members here but it isn't like Utah. Boise has a really diverse religious make up. I think there is an anti LDS sentiment in Boise and it has been known about for some time. I see in previous posts some people have a problem with LDS members, but all I can say about that is become open minded. I have several friends who live and work in Salt Lake and they always love visiting Boise because we have a night life they don't have. Downtown Boise is like a small Portland, tight blocks, vibrant, sidewalk cafes, galleries, etc. Downtown SLC is 6 lane streets, clubs spread out over huge blocks with no cohesiveness, and has a few big malls which really take away from the rest of their downtown. Boise is the exact opposite of SLC when considering the points in this paragraph. In fact I know LDS members in Meridian who will not let their teenage children go to downtown Boise at night because of temptation to sin
I think Boise is an up and coming city. Reading some posts on this forum I have determined that some people move here thinking Boise is much larger than it is and end up comparing it to other cities like Denver which are much larger, so the comparison really isn't fair and pointless. The job market in Boise is not going to be like Denver simply because of size. A lot of people want to live in Boise which creates a really tight job market, so tight it can hurt. This city has a lot of great paying professional jobs, they are all just claimed by someone else. This is an easy city to fall in love with imo. It's beautiful, near world class scenery, and has a river running through it that other cities would love to claim. The outdoor scene is amazing.
Boise has been an up and coming city for years and will continue to be in the future. We are not huge, but have made great strides with the building of the new airport which is one if the nicest around, positioning us for the future. Boise isn't large enough yet for light rail, but regional planners have been looking at options so that we can be prepared before the valley becomes too populated. There is a progressive attitude here, green industry is really taking off too. There is a strong pioneering attitude here, has been throughout the entire history of Boise, so yeah, Boise is up and coming, watch out.
Last edited by TohobitPeak; 01-29-2011 at 09:03 PM..
If it means another wave of speculators, greedy investors, equity rich parasites, and endless development you can have it.
I wonder about the future of Boise, however. I think for the most part Boise proper has taken some great steps in downtown development, but the political climate is fastly going to kill that off, as every year bills trying to handicap or kill urban renewal are introduced. Lobbyist friends tell me 15 bills on UR have been introduced already, and some will almost certainly pass.
That really puts a cramp in projects like the 30th Street project, JUMP, and other sort of necessary urban renewal.
I guess we'll just keep building out out out out out. Be more like Phoenix (minus the weather) every day.
In my mind an up and coming city means that it is a hub of business and commerce without being dependent on other cities for support. SLC, Denver and Phoenix are all primary hubs of transportation, industry, regional headquarters, sales people(who drive growth by introducing new products and service), warehouses and manufacturing. These three cities will be the up and coming centers of job creation in the mountain west for the foreseeable future.
Boise will be like Tucson, Albuquerque, Colorado Springs, nice secondary cities to live in if you can find a good job.
In my sales career I have worked for 3 national companies, one a Fortune 500, one a Fortune 1000 and the last on the top 500 list of privately owned companies. Only one of these companies has ever had a sales rep based in Boise (which was me) and then eliminated that position within 18 months because there is just not enough business here. These are all companies with over 400 sales people spread across the country and only one was tempted to try putting a sale person in Boise.
Not trying to be negative, I like living in Boise but the reality is that we will always be a nice secondary city to live in.
The job market in Boise is not going to be like Denver simply because of size. A lot of people want to live in Boise which creates a really tight job market, so tight it can hurt.
I did a temporary job project opening up a new retail store in Boise. I worked with 2 laid-off production supervisors from Micron. These persons were highly educated intelligent hard workers, who could easily be permanently employed making a good salary in Denver or SLC. But they were willing to work in Boise, at minimum wage, doing temporary work. This shows how people can have strong feelings about living in Boise.
Needless to say, the assignment ended, and they were back unemployed.
[quote=But they were willing to work in Boise, at minimum wage, doing temporary work. This shows how people can have strong feelings about living in Boise.
Needless to say, the assignment ended, and they were back unemployed.[/quote]
Or they feel trapped and nervous about starting over in a new city. We've had to do this frequently to stay employed. The affordibility of the homes in Boise is what kept us here for so long.
Or they feel trapped and nervous about starting over in a new city. We've had to do this frequently to stay employed. The affordibility of the homes in Boise is what kept us here for so long.
My step-dad was facing a lay off at Micron which thankfully never happened and hopefully will not but he had a job offer at another company out of Boise and my parents refused it. They much rather risk staying in Boise and losing everything than moving somewhere else that may cost more but also pays considerably more.
I did a temporary job project opening up a new retail store in Boise. I worked with 2 laid-off production supervisors from Micron. These persons were highly educated intelligent hard workers, who could easily be permanently employed making a good salary in Denver or SLC. But they were willing to work in Boise, at minimum wage, doing temporary work. This shows how people can have strong feelings about living in Boise.
Needless to say, the assignment ended, and they were back unemployed.
Actually, they might end up doing the same thing in Denver. The economy here (Denver) is not in great shape, no matter what it looks like on the outside looking in. These guys may be staying in Boise b/c at least they have a home there.
A few of you have quoted me when I didn't leave those remarks
For all it's worth, I know a few people who live in one of the other cities mentioned in this thread, Salt Lake, they lost their jobs in high tech last year and with all of their experience, and schooling, have not had any luck finding anything else and living on unemployment and one is facing foreclosure on her house. The housing market down there is suffering greatly too.
A family member says she has friends who have college degrees and cannot find a job in the Salt Lake valley, and retail jobs get hundreds of applications.
I think it boils down to being lucky to still have a job, or find a new job anywhere in the USA in this crappy economy, no matter where you live.
The grass is not always greener elsewhere just because elsewhere is larger.
A few of you have quoted me when I didn't leave those remarks
For all it's worth, I know a few people who live in one of the other cities mentioned in this thread, Salt Lake, they lost their jobs in high tech last year and with all of their experience, and schooling, have not had any luck finding anything else and living on unemployment and one is facing foreclosure on her house. The housing market down there is suffering greatly too.
A family member says she has friends who have college degrees and cannot find a job in the Salt Lake valley, and retail jobs get hundreds of applications.
I think it boils down to being lucky to still have a job, or find a new job anywhere in the USA in this crappy economy, no matter where you live.
The grass is not always greener elsewhere just because elsewhere is larger.
My apologies. I knew something didn't look quite right with my post, but I couldn't figure it out.
I agree with your conclusion. There are plenty of unemployed IT people in Denver as well. I sure as h*** wouldn't move here w/o a job and no savings.
Do you deny that opportunities are much greater for a career - in terms of finding a career, working at a level you belong, and for better pay - in bigger cities than in Boise?
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But they were willing to work in Boise, at minimum wage, doing temporary work. This shows how people can have strong feelings about living in Boise.
