Garden City in Boise area (Nampa, Caldwell: real estate, city hall, houses)
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Yeah, I did. The story portrays exactly what I think of Garden City. I'm sure many others would think the same. In all honesty, it would be nice if the urban renewal progress was much more aggresive. Bulldoze all the trailers along Adams St. as far as I'm concerned.
Quote:
Originally Posted by grmi66
Did you see what day the story came out? Boise Weekly always does an April Fool's story.
Once real estate bounces back I can see Garden City being kind of a hip place to live. You're close to the river, minutes from downtown and there are cool businesses popping up in Garden City like microbreweries, climbing gyms, etc..
I'm sure that the people that own the land that the trailer parks are on are just waiting for the right moment to sell.
If you want to be an urban pioneer there are some interesting pockets of Garden City that I would not mind trying to homestead at some point.
Garden city does have some problems, but also about as much potential. I do agree that most of the troubled crappy parts of GC are trailer-hoods, but those people are going to end up somewhere and wherever they land that city isn't going to want them either.
Garden City reminds me of Nampa/Caldwell. And I have long thought that the problem with canyon county is that there is no real culture. There is a lot of sub culture and minority culture, but not really a whole lot to do other than blow money at establishments. I think a huge part of Boise that makes it what it is is all the cool FREE stuff that people come from all around to see. The local artwork is a good example, all those pictures in freak alley, the murals, sculptures and so on. And this is just an example.
If you want GC to thrive I think there needs to be something for people to DO other than live there, buy stuff and smoke meth. The lifeline of any city depends largely on people coming from outside the city limits.
Garden City just seems boring.. But it looks clean, quiet and safe to me.. But then this is coming from someone who lived in Portland most of his life. I hear Caldwell is where Idaho's real ghetto lies.
I agree with cleatis.. That Garden City lacks culture. Well, IMO, most of the Boise metro seems to lack it. It really is laid out like one giant suburb. Then again, Southern Idaho has big Christian culture which is a strong part of people's lives here. Unfortunately, I am not part of it, so I really don't know much about that part of Boise's culture. For those outside of the Christian/Mormon communities, it seems the downtown/North End areas are really the only cultural/social outlets in the area. However, I find downtown/North End to have a bit of the cultural flare. The rest of it just seems rather whitebread America, mini mall heaven.
I've driven all over Garden City at night and for being a ghetto, I'd like to know where all the gangsters, homeless, hookers, drug addicts and thugs are? The place looks deserted, sleepy and peaceful.
Another good point is that being near the river gives Garden City a lot of potential. Eagle seems to be a nice area and I think it may eventually merge with parts of Garden City and become a gentrified area if Boise ever has another major growth spurt.
I'm in Garden City a lot and really have never seen hookers or the gangsters. Seems like I always see Hispanic families walking their kids to the bus stop. Don't know what you call them, but the other group I see are the stupid looking guys with sideways ball caps and baggy jeans walking next to their very heavy set girlfriend. Both have a collection of bad tattoos and a usually a scruffy looking kid or two trailing behind.
Only thing keeping a lot of Garden City from developing may be all that industrial land could be contaminated with something.
Don't forget the Waterfront District, a very cool, hip development in the eastern most part of Garden City across the river from the new Esther Simplot park and adjacent to the new whitewater park. Construction is booming in this little area--take Orchard north across Chinden, travel through some scruffiness, and you'll be in this awesome little development.
The western most part of Garden City has some terrific riverfront neighborhoods, too, with a great City Hall and library. It's the "middle" part of Garden City that is a little rough, but if you look at the city's website you'll see the really lovely long-range plan.
Last year we volunteered on a paint the town team and painted a sweet lady's trailer home in Garden City. Her entire area was filled fixed-income seniors. Just because people live in trailers doesn't make the area bad. Those trailers will all be gone soon and the area developed like the rest of our riverfront property. Until then, there are a lot of folks who are glad for the affordable housing.
As for culture in Garden City, check out the Visual Arts Collective on Osage not far from the Waterfront District. They are an art gallery and bar with theater and music events weekly. Great place. Also, Women of Steel Gallery is a cool spot in Garden City (also on the east end).
Garden City just seems boring.. But it looks clean, quiet and safe to me.. But then this is coming from someone who lived in Portland most of his life. I hear Caldwell is where Idaho's real ghetto lies.
I agree with cleatis.. That Garden City lacks culture. Well, IMO, most of the Boise metro seems to lack it. It really is laid out like one giant suburb. Then again, Southern Idaho has big Christian culture which is a strong part of people's lives here. Unfortunately, I am not part of it, so I really don't know much about that part of Boise's culture. For those outside of the Christian/Mormon communities, it seems the downtown/North End areas are really the only cultural/social outlets in the area. However, I find downtown/North End to have a bit of the cultural flare. The rest of it just seems rather whitebread America, mini mall heaven.
I've driven all over Garden City at night and for being a ghetto, I'd like to know where all the gangsters, homeless, hookers, drug addicts and thugs are? The place looks deserted, sleepy and peaceful.
Another good point is that being near the river gives Garden City a lot of potential. Eagle seems to be a nice area and I think it may eventually merge with parts of Garden City and become a gentrified area if Boise ever has another major growth spurt.
I think what you are pointing out here is that the stereotype of this kind of element doesn't exist. I have spent a fair amount of time in the adams and 43rd area of GC and I can say for sure that there are definitely plenty of meth users in the area, but this is where the stereotype part comes in. they aren't in your face, shooting up in the gutter and stealing your car stereo, but they are there getting high at all hours of the night and thumping music at 3 am nonetheless.
I guess I missed them.. That's what I get for living in Portland and Eugene, OR for so many years where you see tweekers everywhere and skinny, toothless old guys or ladies pushing shopping carts around town.
Of course, I am sure there are drug addicts everywhere. It is just that Garden City doesn't have many from my perspective. Even the better neighborhoods of Portland seemed to have more of a drug presence then anywhere I have seen in Idaho yet. It could be Idaho's strict police presence keeps the paranoid tweekers hiding in their houses more than in Oregon, which maybe could be one factor as why they are not seen as much. Another common site in West Eugene and SE 82 in Portland was meth bunkers in the back of people's houses. I've yet to see any houses that look like they are hosting the bunkers. One thing I remember about Oregon is they tend to look the other way to drugs more. Another thing I saw a lot of in Oregon was heroine addicts. Eugene was the heroine mecca, where it wasn't uncommon to find piles of syringes in certain remote areas of parks, like Skinners Butte (aka Needles Butte), for example.
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