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Salt Lake is pretty isolated too, 6 hours to Boise, 7 hours to Denver, 6 hours to Las Vegas.
But Salt Lake is much bigger. So it is a different kind of isolated. I like the isolation though. It gives people incentive to take care of and put money into the town, rather than drive 50 miles to a huge city and do stuff there.
But Salt Lake is much bigger. So it is a different kind of isolated. I like the isolation though. It gives people incentive to take care of and put money into the town, rather than drive 50 miles to a huge city and do stuff there.
Isolation is nice. Salt Lake is bigger but there really isn't "any more" there than here so I consider SLC just as isolated, so do many people I know who reside there. Boise has a lot of beautiful country around the city, the desert, the mountains, the wilderness and forest.
I didn't mean to make a digression into the isolation of Boise, really.
But yeah, it is isolated from other large cultural/population centers. It is very much surrounded by desert, wilderness, mountains, rivers, farmland, and smaller communities. A lot of people like this and hardly notice it, while others (mostly from other countries, or larger population centers, back east, etc.) it might really be significant and overbearing.
(Not that Boise isn't large enough to have everything someone would want anyway)
I tend to agree with Justin more than Syringaloid re: SLC. Yes, SLC is also rather isolated, but it is much more of a self-contained metropolitan area than Boise. Likewise Denver is rather isolated as well, but I don't think it's as noticeable in Denver or SLC than in Boise.
But the SLC metro area from Ogden to Provo is a little more than 2 million people, compared to something like 650,000 for the Boise metro area (including Ada, Boise, Canyon, Gem, and Owyhee Counties). So you're talking about a place with 3 times the population that we have.
At any rate, all of this is really just a minor quibble, and none-too-serious or important of a discussion.
I didn't mean to make a digression into the isolation of Boise, really.
But yeah, it is isolated from other large cultural/population centers. It is very much surrounded by desert, wilderness, mountains, rivers, farmland, and smaller communities. A lot of people like this and hardly notice it, while others (mostly from other countries, or larger population centers, back east, etc.) it might really be significant and overbearing.
(Not that Boise isn't large enough to have everything someone would want anyway)
I tend to agree with Justin more than Syringaloid re: SLC. Yes, SLC is also rather isolated, but it is much more of a self-contained metropolitan area than Boise. Likewise Denver is rather isolated as well, but I don't think it's as noticeable in Denver or SLC than in Boise.
But the SLC metro area from Ogden to Provo is a little more than 2 million people, compared to something like 650,000 for the Boise metro area (including Ada, Boise, Canyon, Gem, and Owyhee Counties). So you're talking about a place with 3 times the population that we have.
At any rate, all of this is really just a minor quibble, and none-too-serious or important of a discussion.
It is all good Anchorless. It is pretty much a given that you are going to debate any of us who have positive or generally good opinions to say about Boise and try and convince everybody that your opinion is the way it is.
It is a forum, right? Forums allow debates. Anchorless is just offering a different view. People are here to get different views. Not just the positive.
It is all good Anchorless. It is pretty much a given that you are going to debate any of us who have positive or generally good opinions to say about Boise and try and convince everybody that your opinion is the way it is.
I looked for a laughing smiley, but we don't really have one that apt, so this will have to suffice:
As for your comment, yes I do present my opinion and perspective aggressively and with conviction. But one thing I do not do is misrepresent myself or others, for any reason (personal or otherwise). I trust people have the faculty to read the opinions presented here and judge accordingly. I've gone over this before, and have found much support amongst the regulars. There are a minor few that seem to have a significant problem with me or my style, and they tend to be those whose posts I challenge. And if you have a problem with what I say or how I say it, by all means question or challenge me on it.
In any case, I don't see how this particular topic is grounds for such seriousness, from either you or I. But I suppose this is something that has been festering...
When I first moved to Boise in 1971, there were 3 downtown theaters, 5 department stores (Bon, Sears, The Mode, Cash Bazaar and Falk's ID), several drug stores (Skaggs, Ballou-Latimer's, Whiteheads, Ford's), restaurants (most notably missing now The Royal), 5/10 (Kress), car dealerships (Peterson's, Capitol Buick) as well as shoe stores, dress stores (Carroll's, Sweetbriar Shop, Buckwalter's & Brookover's), a classic music store (Holsinger's) and a neighborhood market (5th & Main) and it was quite classy. And there were only 55,000 people at that time. Now, downtown is a relic of what it once was - one shabby department store and numerous what I would call specialty boutiques. There are a number of good restaurants, however, which is probably better now than back then. The Convention Center and the Arena at The Grove Hotel have brought vitality and a nightlife back to the downtown core, but shopping truly sucks.
When I first moved to Boise in 1971, there were 3 downtown theaters, 5 department stores (Bon, Sears, The Mode, Cash Bazaar and Falk's ID), several drug stores (Skaggs, Ballou-Latimer's, Whiteheads, Ford's), restaurants (most notably missing now The Royal), 5/10 (Kress), car dealerships (Peterson's, Capitol Buick) as well as shoe stores, dress stores (Carroll's, Sweetbriar Shop, Buckwalter's & Brookover's), a classic music store (Holsinger's) and a neighborhood market (5th & Main) and it was quite classy. And there were only 55,000 people at that time. Now, downtown is a relic of what it once was - one shabby department store and numerous what I would call specialty boutiques. There are a number of good restaurants, however, which is probably better now than back then. The Convention Center and the Arena at The Grove Hotel have brought vitality and a nightlife back to the downtown core, but shopping truly sucks.
Very interesting perspective since I'm guessing most didn't live in Boise at this time. My family arrived in the late 80s when Downtown Boise was truely depressed. So I guess many have arrived at that time or later only to see improvement. Hopefully, Downtown will continue to improve with shopping, condos, apartments, etc. Making it more liveable. The area still needs some local groceries, services, etc.
Is it something other than Whole Foods? Don't get me wrong...nice place...but sooo expensive.
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Downtown a disappointment
