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So we will be moving to the Boise next summer for my husband's work. We'll be visiting the area for a week in March. We're coming from CA, but I promise we aren't high maintenance or uptight Based on what I have read about the area, we are SUPER excited to make the move!
We are a young family with one in Kinder and another in 1st grade. We'd like to move to somewhere safe with a lot of young families and good schools. Initially we'll rent, but ultimately will buy; and I'd rather not have to transfer my kids between schools at that time...so we'd like to make a smart choice in where to rent as we'll likely buy somewhere nearby in the next couple years. It seems like certain parts of Boise, Eagle, and Meridian would fit the bill for us. Any suggestions are appreciated!
Eagle can be expensive but is very nice. meridian is middle class all around great place to raise a family I've always lived in boise so I'm biased I like being downtown etc. parts of boise are great tell us some more about yourselves and I can help more. I've personally lived in-northend, collister, and on the bench in the west boise area.
Thanks Joshdollins for your response. I think more than anything, we are looking forward to being surrounded by friendly, genuine people and establishing a life that slows down a bit from what we are used to out here; and then of course having real seasons will be wonderful We do like to snowboard, and my kids are active in sports (gymnastics for my daughter, and soccer for my son) and music (piano) so we'd like to be nearby those types of extra curriculars.
Both my kids are good students, though my son in particular is an especially high achiever. We'd like to have them at a school with a challenging, hands on curriculum and with a solid & supportive team of teachers/admin. We'd rather not send them to private school, though would be open to charter school if needs be.
We'd like to live in a neighborhood that's a little more spread out than what you'd find in the middle of the city (my husband would rather be tucked away in the mountains somewhere but that's not going to happen) but still in an established neighborhood so that we/our kids can make friends we the neighbors. And obviously we want to be somewhere safe, but it seems in comparison to many areas here in CA (the gangs here and racism is ridiculous) you can't go wrong in ID. It sounds like certain aresa (Caldwell, Nampa maybe?) are a bit less desired though.
Lastly for as silly as this might sound, I would like to be within a short driving distance of a store that sells gluten free foods (we have to for my son who is gluten intolerant). I know you guys just got a Whole Foods, which is awesome, but I can't imagine that's the only store in the Boise area that sells gluten free foods. Either way, I just don't want to have to make a 45 min trek each week to get groceries.
Thanks for you help!!!
Last edited by EWarne; 12-18-2012 at 06:38 AM..
Reason: wording, additonal info
I dont currently live in Boise but my in laws live in Meridian we will be moving there this spring, My son will be starting kindergarten and I have a 2 year old boy. Meridian seems like a nice area to raise kids. I would say no to caldwell and nampa because of what I hear about it. I know they say there are some areas that are ok in Nampa but I would just avoid it cause who knows where the nice areas really are. If you want more space I am not sure where the best place would be. I understand how you feel about not wanting to switch them around in schools. Thats why we are hoping to move this spring and stay with my MIL and FIL til we buy a home which hopefully wont take too long. Good luck with everything
We are in the process of moving from MA to Boise, closing on a house in 3 weeks.
I am not an insider but when I visited a few months ago I did a lot of driving around getting to know the area, since I only had 5 days to find the perfect house and make an offer
From what you are saying Hidden Springs might be the place to check out for you.
It feels isolated from the town but is really not far from it, probably good 20 minute drive and it is beautiful.
We wanted to be closer to town and good schools (which from what I understand most of them are). So now if we decide we can have our son literally walk to one of the best private schools in the country A Private, Community Based, Baccalaureate Accredited, Independent, Institution in Boise, Idaho USA | Riverstone International School or have a public school pick him up from home (Adams School).
We decided on Harris Ranch because of it's close proximity to downtown and modern feel to the area
Good luck in your search, Boise really seems like a great place to live!
Hi EWarne - Boise is an amazing place to live and raise a family, in fact Forbes just ranked it 2nd in the nation for best places to raise a family. I have lived here my entire life, I grew up in west Boise and moved to the North End when I married my wife. We now live in Meridian where we are raising our family. We have a kinder, 4th, and toddler. When our first started school we looked at all of the options and actually ended up at a Boise magnet school that teaches with the classical education curriculum. We carpool with a couple of other families in our neighborhood so it makes the commute less of a pain. The choices for schools really is great though, you can do private, charter, public magnet and just plain old public. Where we live in Meridian we are less than a mile away from 5 different schools (2 elementary 2 middle and a High School) all of which are excellent.
There are actually several stores both in Boise and Meridian that sell Gluten Free so I wouldn't worry about having to drive to Whole Foods, although it's nice to finally have one. I have an aunt and a nephew that have celiacs disease so we have them all staked out for when they come to town.
You have a wide variety of options when it comes to housing whether you rent or buy something. Both the rental market and sales have really strengthened in 2012. It just so happens that I am a real estate broker and property manager here (3rd Generation) so if you need any help on that let me know. In fact if you would like I can give you my Grand Tour I give to all of my relocation clients when you come in the spring. Let me know if your interested or if you have any more specific questions about the area. Good Luck, you'll love it here, I know I do.
You really can't go wrong anywhere in the Boise area. I would avoid moving to Nampa or Caldwell right off the bat as those areas are generally lower income and a little run down with higher crime. Eagle is upscale but kind of boring...not much there. Meridian is only minutes from Eagle and has tons of neighborhoods and stores galore making it a comfortable place to live. Good luck
Idaho City is a small mountain community about an hour or so from Boise. It's pretty and a fun place to stop for lunch and do some cross-country skiing. The reputation of the area isn't great. Not a great school, drug issues in the community, sometimes they have a mandatory water boil requirement because of bacteria in the water. BUT, that's mostly stuff I've heard and not experienced myself--but that's also what people think of when they think of Idaho City. If you want a little land and want to keep to yourself, there are some good buys there and it is pretty.
The Wilderness Ranch subdivision is it's own area between Boise and Idaho City. It's a nice subdivision with acre+ properties that have a mountain feel but are much closer to town. Most of the home sales in that area (like, verging on 100%) have been foreclosures so the prices there are really down. This could be a red flag as a buyer, or could be a huge opportunity. If you wanted to be assured of having a property maintain it's value, I think it would be risky. On the other hand, I've known people who have lived in Wilderness Ranch and have LOVED it. Felt like going on vacation during the 30 minute commute home. We house-sitted for friends once who had a horse and couldn't leave the property and it was like a little mini-vacation to be up there for the weekend. It was summer time so we didn't have to deal with the extra snow and hilly roads.
Garden City is not really a separate town. It's basically surrounded by Boise and is mostly commercial and warehouse space with mobile home parks except the easternmost and westernmost ends of the "city" which have high-end riverfront residential development.
Emmett is a pretty little community and you'll find some other nice posts in this forum if you search it out specifically. They are known for their orchards and annual cherry festival. Other than a name on the map, I know nothing at all about Placerville.
Garden City is not really a separate town. It's basically surrounded by Boise and is mostly commercial and warehouse space with mobile home parks except the easternmost and westernmost ends of the "city" which have high-end riverfront residential development.
You descriptions are quite accurate except that Garden city is a city. "Garden City is nearly surrounded by Boise but retains a separate municipal government."
Last edited by zoso1979; 01-18-2013 at 02:39 PM..
Reason: (I removed the Wiki link.)
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Based on what I have read about the area, we are SUPER excited to make the move! 
. I have an aunt and a nephew that have celiacs disease so we have them all staked out for when they come to town. 
Tons of choices
