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Hello! My husband was just transferred to Boise, Idaho, and we will be moving there in May. Neither of us have ever been to Boise but we are so excited. We have read such amazing things about the city and feel it will fit our family so well. It seems similar to Cincinnati with low cost of living, good schools (private and public) and welcoming people.
I am coming to you all today because we are CLUELESS about a place to live. He will be working in hospitals around the Boise area so I think we are pretty flexible on where to live.
We have 2 young daughters (3 and 1) and we will be enrolling our 3 year old in a Montessori School. We are considering Parkcenter and Eagle Montessori as well as Northview Montessori. Does anyone have any history or thoughts on those particular schools??
We plan to rent at first before buying a house so we can really explore the different neighborhoods. We are looking for a HOUSE, not an apartment, to rent with at least 3 bedrooms. We are trying to stay under $1200. Do you think that is a sufficient amount to spend? From what I've read and seen, it looks like the North End and Eagle would be nice but I am sure I'm missing some great areas that aren't as prominent on maps. We would love an area that is super family friendly, close to shops/restaurants/parks/libraries and maybe an area that has a good Mom's group as I will be staying home.
If your budget is $1200 for a 3 bedroom, you're best looking in Meridian, west Boise, and south Boise. You won't be able to find much, if anything, in the Northend, East Boise, or Eagle... and probably not much in Southeast Boise either.
Personally, I see less value living in the Boise Area if you're outside of Boise. Particularly outside of SE Boise, NE Boise, North End, etc. Just my opinion. Greenbelt, Downtown, and the charm exists in these places. Get outside of these areas and it is just suburban. Especially, if you're coming from a larger city. Your budget may make that a bit more difficult. This will probably depend on your standard of living (i.e. new house vs old house, large lot vs small lot, etc.). Good luck with your move.
Thank you so much for your replies. We are trying to rent for as low as possible to save money to buy a house once we find an area that we like. How would you rank Meridian, West Boise, and South Boise in terms of safety, family friendly and things to do?
Also - we have mostly been looking on Zillow for rentals. Are there other avenues that we should attempt to look at for rentals? I'm crossing my fingers that we get lucky and find a place in North End, East Boise or Eagle!!
Thank you so much for your replies. We are trying to rent for as low as possible to save money to buy a house once we find an area that we like. How would you rank Meridian, West Boise, and South Boise in terms of safety, family friendly and things to do?
Parts of west Boise and south Boise can be a little spotty but there are nice areas as well. The southwest Boise area is going through an annexation currently. Meridian is probably a little more uniformly middle to upper middle class and is very safe and family friendly. West Boise, Meridian and Eagle are all in the West Ada school district.
You ought to check out Craigslist, and then when you find a specific address, plug it into the state sex offender registry to see who your neighbors are. It isn't a perfect gauge by any means but at least you'll know what you're dealing with in each specific area you're considering.
I would concur with the notion that a $1200 rental budget is going to be tight in many places. But maybe find something with a shorter term lease and then you can learn what parts of town you enjoy and then you can buy a few months down the road.
Generally speaking anywhere in the Treasure Valley is going to be a big upgrade over Cincinnati...just my opinion.
If you are willing to share a wall and be in a duplex or joined townhouse, $1200 is more than adequate for a 3 bedroom. If not, and you want a freestanding house, $1200 is possible, but getting more and more difficult every day for a 3 bedroom freestanding house. It will be a smaller house, under 1800 square feet, most likely.
I'm advertising two 3 bedroom houses right now that are larger, and one is at $1425 and one is $1450. But we also have a house that we are advertising right now on Craigslist at $1150 that is a 3 (bed)/2.5 (bath)/2 (garage) and around 1600 square feet. We aren't yet advertising the 3/1/1 that is very small (under 1000sqft), and older (1950s), that we have coming up, but it will likely be only around $875. Anything under $1200 goes pretty fast though, so you have to check Craigslist at least once a day, be available to look at the property and get paperwork in quickly. If you are still out of town, that is difficult.
Many landlords, us included, will not commit to someone who hasn't looked at the property first. Does your husband have a coworker (you said he is getting transferred), boss, etc, who would be able to look at the property for him for a 3rd party opinion. Some landlords, us included, will accept your having someone look at it for you, since then it isn't us misrepresenting something, or having misleading photos or anything like that.
The last 2 bedroom we rented out was at around $1000, and that was a townhouse with a shared wall. Prices are rising pretty quickly.
Hi
If you are working in the downtown Boise St. Lukes hospital or St Als living in Hidden Springs is an easy commute. (Easy thirty minutes) Great community daycare and little elementary school. Go check it out you will be amazed.
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