What do you love and hate about living in Idaho? (Boise: middle-class, how much)

[corel]

Hi everyone,
Our family of four is looking to relocate from California... we have a list of about half a dozen states that we are trying to narrow down. Can you tell me about your state? I look forward to hearing more about your city, and I would love to see some pictures too (especially of all seasons). Thank you in advance.

[Anchorless]

Uh oh.

This won't end up well.

[corel]

Originally Posted by Anchorless

Uh oh.

This won't end up well.

Hmmm.... could you expand on that for me?

[Sage of Sagle]

Hi Corel,

There are strong views from people who love Idaho and people who hate it. And from people who are pro- and anti-growth. I'll try to keep your thread on track.

Here's my short answer;

Top Likes:
1) Water. Everywhere I go. And it's clean and fresh.
2) The people. Free thinking (libertarian bent mostly here in the north), looking out for their neighbors, and 99.9% honest as the day is long.
3) The seasons. Gorgeous summers on the lake, fall colors, winter snow, spring green growth.
4) The forest that just goes for miles and miles. And the smell of it. You just "breath it in".
5) The business-friendly governments, from state to local. You'd think they actually want you to make money and support your family.

Top Dislikes;
1) Poorly planned growth. Tiny, nearly non-existent infrastructure mandates slow, carefully planned growth.
2) Internet connectivity sucks. Badly.
3) Bugs, especially wasps and bees that get excessive. Other bugs you just deal with easier.
4) Freezing rain. I love snow, I don't mind rain. Just hate the freezing crud. Wrecks the snow, wreaks havoc on things.
5) Newcomers who treat those in the country like they're dumb just because they're less educated. Maybe as a state our numbers don't make us "Harvard alumni" central, but plenty of us have higher education, and we benefit greatly from the wisdom of farmers and ranchers who have us beat on common sense, hands down...

#1 Dislike: People moving here trying to change things. Wanting to increase taxes to pave roads instead of buying appropriate vehicles, wanting to tax businesses for social welfare programs that we don't want, middle class yuppies allowing their spoiled idiot kids to think petty theft is OK since "it's not a big deal" when we're teaching our kids if you see someone drop a dollar on the ground, it's NOT YOURS and you actively seek to get it back to the owner.

[corel]

Sage,
Thank you for your point of view, and some added perspective. Taking that into consideration let me tell you all some things about our family. We're looking for a slower pace of life, a friendly, nature filled palce to live. We enjoy hiking, camping, nearly anything ourdoors, we don't use ATV's to "enjoy" nature, we protect it and keep it clean. We're honest, hard-working, ethical, nature lovers, and respectful of elders.... and we expect (and are teaching) these same values from our children. We want a change from where we are, we certainly do not want to try to make another little California in another state.

[Sage of Sagle]

I think several towns in Idaho would fill the bill for what you're seeking. ATV's are common in NID, just about every garage has either an ATV or a tractor it seems (and snowmobiles are everywhere). It's just in how you use it...

I think you'll find Idaho to your liking...I just hope you like it COLD...I don't think it's gone above about 36 degrees here since about Thanksgiving.

[Anchorless]

In a nutshell....

What do I like?

The space, the weather, the desert, the mountains, the lakes and rivers, and that it's so far removed from things, geographically and culturally. That you become part of your landscape, and it becomes part of you.

Most of the time the people are great (but that's slowly fading).


What do I hate?

The ultra-Republican/conservative ethos, in government and amongst the population, and all that comes with that.

The meth scene has exploded in the past 5 years. Ugh. That its still a white-boy, wink-wink nudge-nudge good ol' boys network bordering on racism at times. And the religious presence (though admittedly it isn't as bad as a lot of places).

Growth - we're growing too fast, too poorly. Because of that our land, water, and resources are being utterly wasted, destroyed, polluted, and consumed, the cost of living is going up, development is everywhere, that slow pace you seek is disappearing faster than fast, and its creating a pro-boom, thoroughly capitalistic mentality amongst the newcomers, many of which come to take advantage of the positives while (consciously or not) at the same time exploiting them for financial gain. Speculation, out-of-state investments/interests, out of staters wanting to capitalize on our cheaper land costs for industry (coal-fired plants, nuclear plants, etc.), and on and on.

[Torrie]

I live in Boise and love it. The people here are very friendly and the community is extremely safe. I love the change of seasons. The winters aren't bad here at all- we get a little snow here and there-makes the moutain skyline beautiful-, but not to the point where everything shuts down. Spring and Summer are wonderful- I love the longer days. Come May through June it is not unlikely for it to stay light out until 10pm-our days are longer here than most places because of Mountain Time. And the Fall is amazing- beautiful colors and sometimes suprisingly warm evening temperatures- like a comfortable 70-75 range. It's like an extention of the Summer.

I love the access to all the forestry land, endless hiking trails, and hidden hot springs. Even better, most places are no more than a 2.5 hour drive- so you can quickly get away to many beautiful locations within a short time period from Boise.

Another bonus to living here is the airport access. Our airport is very easy to fly in and out of. We're not so remote that you can't go anywhere and rarely if at all is the airport closed due to extreme weather. You have quick access to CA, OR, WA, UT, & NV just to name a few if you want to explore nearby areas. Southwest Airlines is great, one of the best on-time records that can get you there. Or take a sweet non-stop flight from Boise to Ontario, CA or San Diego with Express Jet for a very reasonable price (at least for now it is). What I'm saying is, when I lived in CA, the state was so big that it could take you a day sometimes to get to other places outside the state. Living in Boise, you have better access to different areas should you chose to explore somewhere else.

For a metro area of it's size, Boise seems to have a great sense of community. Often on the news you will see different people organizing events in order to benefit others. I can tell you in our neighborhood the people have been exceptional. We get together in the summer for barbeques and bonfires and everyone looks out for one another. If you run out of ketchup in the middle of a recipe, you can run next door and ask your neighbor to spot you till you get to the store. Reminds me of what it was like growing up when I was a little girl. Of course I can't predict that type of neighborhood for everybody, but it does exist.

I really don't have anything bad to say about Boise- If I had to dig hard, I would say the two weeks we get of really hot weather-typically end up July to first part of August- can sometimes be tough, but it's a dry heat with little or no humidty so it's bearable.

To sum it up, the quality of life here is exceptional compared to other places I lived. It's a combination of all the wonderful things that makes Boise so great to live and work in. Oh, one more thing- internet service is great here.

[Aratay]

Not to dissuade you from choosing Idaho, because it really is a wonderful place, but if you do choose to move here, just be prepared for the anti-California sentiment...which I'm guessing is what Anchorless was alluding to.

Idaho has grown A LOT in the past twenty years and some locals are a bit bitter about it and blame the newcomers....especially Californians. Californians (and people from other places) started buying up Idaho property as income houses about 5 years ago and drove home prices way way up, but our incomes didn't go up at the same time. The changes (over the past 20 years) have just made a big difference to our way of life and some, although far from all people resent that.

Just be prepared, if you do decide, to get comments (whether jokingly or real) about where you're from. That being said, you should consider visiting to see how you like it. It really is a beautiful place with wonderful people (for the most part...just like anywhere). Good luck!

[Niners fan]

Originally Posted by Aratay

Not to dissuade you from choosing Idaho, because it really is a wonderful place, but if you do choose to move here, just be prepared for the anti-California sentiment...which I'm guessing is what Anchorless was alluding to.

Idaho has grown A LOT in the past twenty years and some locals are a bit bitter about it and blame the newcomers....especially Californians. Californians (and people from other places) started buying up Idaho property as income houses about 5 years ago and drove home prices way way up, but our incomes didn't go up at the same time. The changes (over the past 20 years) have just made a big difference to our way of life and some, although far from all people resent that.

I know this is not a political forum so I will try to keep this on-topic...

I totally empathize with that attitude. I live in Southern California and will likely end up in Boise in a couple of years. I don't want to change Boise. In fact, I am upset when I hear of Californians moving up there and then trying to change it.

That being said, at least your newcomers are mostly legal Americans. Most of the things that people are leaving CA for can be traced back to illegal immigration - overcrowding (on the roads, schools, hospitals), hearing foreign languages very frequently when out in public, seeing foreign language billboards, seeing foreign flags flying (and the attitude of allegiance to the country of citizenship first), and even high property values (many immigrants live in multi-family households where they can afford houses the middle-class Americans can't afford). Couple that with a state government that rolls out the welcome mat and then tells us that there isn't enough money for police and infrastructure then you can begin to see why so many Americans are anxious to leave CA, often reluctantly because of family and upbringing. I think if people in others states that complain about the influx of Californians into their areas realized how much illegal immigration was to blame they would hold their congressmen more accountable on the issue.

I consider Idaho representative of the values and attitudes that have made this country great. I hope that those of us that move there will add to that more than change it.