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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?
Boise is a great place to live, but will never be like SLC or Denver. Both SLC & Denver are hubs of transportation, commerce, manufacturing and the like. If I want to get to the east coast or midwest I have to fly to SLC or Denver first in order to get to where I want to go. When I need parts or supplies for our business that can't be found locally, chances are it's coming out of SLC. Regional offices for national companies are usually headquartered in SLC or Denver for the mountain west state.
There is LDS influence in Boise, but nothing like in Utah. I don't notice it in my current business, but when I did B2B outside sales to small and medium sized locally owned companies I noticed it. The LDS may only be 15-20% of the Boise population, but it seems like they own over 50% of the local companies. If you are not LDS, it can be a barrier to getting an appointment or making a sale.
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?
Mild climate and outdoor lifestyle are good, but jobs are on the poor side in Boise. And the area is experiencing a high rate of home foreclosures, partly because of job losses, and very little new hiring.
People keep trying to claim there's a tech industry here, and maybe at one time there was a fledgling one, but those days are gone, with some 15,000 or more jobs lost in the past 3 years. Micron threatens to open new plants in Taiwan every year it seems. Ag and timber related stuff has been receding since the late 80s.
There is, of course, the typical government and business jobs that come with a capital city. Those are hard to come by because of the nepotism that exists, the relatively low turnover rate, and people from elsewhere "working down" that bring a ton of experience because they are seeking quality of life and not necessarily a big paycheck (they earned that elsewhere).
Boise in the past 15 years was built on growth, plain and simple. Everything related to the real estate industry - construction, remodel, retrofit, construction related services and trades, lending, realtors, brokers, title companies, credit repair... blah blah. Those jobs have, for the most part, vanished.
It's tough here. It's certainly not impossible, but tough to find jobs that you think you deserve to work. Boise will humble you in that way. Likely you'll be underemployed and underpaid than you would seeking out a career in other cities.
The quality of life is really tough to be, and for many that makes it worthwhile.
Boise reminds me a lot like Tucson, if you have a job with the 2-3 sizable companies in town, work in the medical field or have a job that is government or university related you will do all right. But for the most part the rest of the jobs are with small companies that can't pay you what you are worth in bigger cities. Both of the jobs that I have had with Boise based companies have paid me about $20,000-$30,000 less than what I could get in a similar position in Phoenix, SLC or Denver.
Cost of living in Boise is only 10% less than what it is in Phoenix, but I am earning 30% less than I was in Arizona. But the amenities make up for it, smaller city, slower pace of life, less traffic, access to outdoor activities is worth it for the most part.
Boise *used* to be up and coming 30 years ago. Now, like most of the country, it's stagnating. Still, it's a nice place to live if you can deal with the money/employment issues.
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?
I would go to Denver. We are forced to move to Denver because business opportunites are drying up in our line of work. IMO, the real estate market is worse pretty bad and I think other cities such as Denver may recover quicker.
The LDS do have a very strong presence in the Boise the business community and in many other areas. I won't miss it.
I agree. Boise is a very nice city, but won't ever be comparable in my mind to Denver or Salt Lake City.
No offense, but I don't think anyone would want Boise to be comparable to Salt Lake City. I know people in SLC who wish SLC were more like Boise though. SLC is in a much larger metropolitan area, but Boise is a much nicer city in more ways than one.
Boise, like most of Idaho, has been hit hard by the great recession. However, coming out of it, I think Boise is perfectly positioned to be one of the cities that thrives. It isn't too big, the cost of living isn't crazy, and most find it a desirable place to live. The future seems good for the Treasure Valley, IMO.
(PS, it continues to be a refuge for those tired of the high population, high taxed areas such as CA, OR, and WA).
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