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Hello,
Considering relocating to Boise to live and work but wondered what the locals were like.
Are the (genuinely) nice or are they nice on surface but fake (like some places I've lived). Are they close-minded, too set in their ways or more progressive? I'm middle aged and seek like minded folks to socialize, discuss, get out and about with.
It's not a dealbreaker just want to get a sense of the locals and community. Your experience? Thank you in advance!
There area already a few threads about this topic.
Really, it all boils down to the person and if you are looking for answers to this on the internet you will have to try several different websites/forums to get various answers and opinions as there are only a few regulars here at city-data.
Hello,
Considering relocating to Boise to live and work but wondered what the locals were like.
Are the (genuinely) nice or are they nice on surface but fake (like some places I've lived). Are they close-minded, too set in their ways or more progressive? I'm middle aged and seek like minded folks to socialize, discuss, get out and about with.
It's not a dealbreaker just want to get a sense of the locals and community. Your experience? Thank you in advance!
I work in a real estate/property management office, and at least once a week I hear "people are so nice/friendly here". It is one of our defining characteristics. I don't think people are fake, but they are somewhat clique-ish. They really are friendly, but they don't necessarily want to be your friend, if that makes sense. It can be difficult to break into formed circles of friends. It helps if have a hobby or religion that will put you around people who you share an interest with. Unless you can break into a clique, you'll still have everyone on the street making eye contact and saying good morning, everyone at the grocery store asking how you're doing, but they are just being friendly. Maybe that is how you define fake, but I define it as nice, polite and friendly.
People in downtown Boise and the North end tend to be more progressive and people in Meridian tend to be more conservative, as a general rule. But even most of the conservatives in Boise are pretty open-minded, relatively speaking (I say this as a liberal atheist).
It appears to me that with the world being so digitally connected, we are becoming less personally connected. People would rather email or text a friend than pick up the phone and call them. Millennials were surveyed and the least used function on their smart phone was the "phone". That is why many of them call it their "device".
That being said, people in Idaho are known for their kindness and pleasant demeanor. It isn't like the southern hospitality of Georgia (you won't get smothered in Please / Thank You / Yes Sir / Yes Mam, etc.).
As the area grows, people seem to get less patient though. Impatient drivers count on the fact others will be polite and let them cut in, etc. However, there still is a serious lack of people honking and being obnoxious on the roads.
When you walk on the Boise Greenbelt or hike the trails, people still you you in the eyes and say Hello. I love it here and have lived in many different countries and across the USA.
@lacerta and Jim @idahobroker thanks for the great info - could you tell me the best area to rent for a mature professional with 1 cat? I've been looking online and most apts seem to be geared toward the university. Thanks in advance!
Everyone seemed friendly to me, we are from Southern California so everything is relative to what we are accustomed too. When we were driving in Meridian pulling flyers from homes listed on the market a neighbor saw our California plates came out and told us all about the area, homes, school etc etc. That is an example of the people in the area, super super nice, people waving to you when you drive by in the neighborhoods etc.
... could you tell me the best area to rent for a mature professional with 1 cat? I've been looking online and most apts seem to be geared toward the university. Thanks in advance!
You are welcome! Lacerta probably has a much better feel on the rental market than I do since I don't do property management. However, I recently closed four separate four plex units for an investor (3 in Meridian and one in Kuna). Each would accept a cat with a pet deposit. The units in Meridian were in the Sagecrest complex at Overland Rd just west of Eagle Road so they have excellent interstate access and are very convenient to almost everything. I like the unit in Kuna since it was a "pinwheel" design so each of the four tenants has their entrance on a different side of the building making it feel like less of an apartment building and it was in a small complex. The benefit of the larger complex is the pool and clubhouse for people that like those amenities.
I don't deal with apartments at all. Everything we manage are houses or duplexes. As such, they are scattered all over Boise and Meridian. So the "where" question should be "whereever is convenient for your daily life. I wouldn't tell you to live in Kuna if you were going to work off Bogus Basin road every day, for example. I wouldn't tell you to live by the university if you are going to work in the Village out in Meridian.
Most landlords would accept a cat with a pet deposit, from what I've seen. Less so on apartments, but still some would.
The best place to look, unfortunately, is craigslist. Just be wary of scams.
Treat others the way you want to be treated is the bottom line, most Idahoans are conservative and in general pretty good people. If you mind your own business and are respectful of others you should be just fine.
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