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I just spent a week visiting Boise. We stayed in the North End and made of point of looking around.
The good:
The North End is very walkable. It is close to downtown Boise, which is fantastic these days. Great restaurants and a clean friendly vibe. The 13th street area in the North End has some good restaurants and cute shops too. There are many nicely re-done homes and cottages in the north end, and the trees are fantastic.
Not so good:
Real estate in the north end is very expensive. Perhaps not San Francisco expensive, but by almost any other measure, it is pricey. There are still many properties that have not been renovated, and are not particularly well kept. There are also many multi-family units and converted older homes that appear to likely have high turnover of renters, and certainly have many cars associated with them. We also drove up and down some alleys and saw a fair amount of trashy scenes. (dumped old furniture sitting out in the rain/snow and assorted other junk, rotted fencing, and plenty of "project" vehicles sitting around.) I suspect there is a lot of unpermitted conversions in the north end too. It made us wonder whether there is any code compliance done by the city. In many instances it was well beyond just the quirky nature of the area. Boise city could do a better job on this, I think.
Regarding politics, we never had a negative interaction of any kind, with anyone, anywhere, in Boise. The north end does have a very noticeable leftward tilt. There was a lot of virtue signaling in the form of cardboard yard signs proclaiming "no human is illegal", and many rainbow flags on homes. On some streets, the rainbow flags clearly outnumbered the American flags. The customers in the Co-op in the north end were noticeably more 'hippy' than say the customers at the Whole Food on the east side of downtown or other stores. But we had good shopping experiences at both stores.
All in all, I could enjoy living in the North End (or east side) due to its walkability and proximity to downtown (we are over the suburb scene -- although Eagle is nice for that), but I would have to closely examine the street/neighbors. It'd truly be a street by street decision. Many of the homes have also not been renovated, or have been p0orly renovated over the years, so it is a given that a good inspection would be very important.
My 2 cents. Good luck.
I live in the North End, and think this is pretty accurate. Weird time of transition now for the neighborhood - new people/money/equity flooding in, mixing with a very old and historic neighborhood. I have never seen so much residential construction/renovation going on, it is amazing. There are many properties that are in dire need of renovation and, in many cases, a complete demo and rebuild. As a property owner, this is fine by me as it bolsters value and general upkeep of the neighborhood. The proximity to downtown is great. We rented several places in the NE before we bought, and all had what I refer to as, "North End funk". Old houses with minimal or poorly-executed DIY "renovations" make interesting rentals. The virtue signaling in the NE is a solid 8/10, it's sort of over-the-top nauseating IMO.
The virtue signaling in the NE is a solid 8/10, it's sort of over-the-top nauseating IMO.
Thank heavens a North Ender said it.
I love going to Goodies and the toy store. The historic homes are just lovely. But the North End page is full of self sanctimony that I think I'm becoming bulimic from eating before reading.
I love going to Goodies and the toy store. The historic homes are just lovely. But the North End page is full of self sanctimony that I think I'm becoming bulimic from eating before reading.
I just have to ask then, why go?
This whole thread baffles me???
The state of Idaho has five places that qualify as "liberal" or "somewhat liberal" --- just five! That's it.
1.) Boise's North End
2.) Downtown Coeur d'Alene between I-90 and the lake
3.) Sun Valley / Hailey / Ketchum
4.) Moscow by the university
5.) Sandpoint at the very center of town
Outside of these four lightly blue-ish small areas, the state is crimson red!
The state of Idaho has five places that qualify as "liberal" or "somewhat liberal" --- just five! That's it.
1.) Boise's North End
2.) Downtown Coeur d'Alene between I-90 and the lake
3.) Sun Valley / Hailey / Ketchum
4.) Moscow by the university
5.) Sandpoint at the very center of town
Outside of these four lightly blue-ish small areas, the state is crimson red!
I don't anymore.
I don't mind liberal. In fact, I have liberal ideology within my own political realm. The North End, however, is a breed unto their own. And they are very intolerant of any belief system that steps outside their lines.
The same can said of some of the weirdos up north. I don't go to their page either.
It's funny how they are two sides of the same coin. Neither side sees it.
The state of Idaho has five places that qualify as "liberal" or "somewhat liberal" --- just five! That's it.
1.) Boise's North End
2.) Downtown Coeur d'Alene between I-90 and the lake
3.) Sun Valley / Hailey / Ketchum
4.) Moscow by the university
5.) Sandpoint at the very center of town
Outside of these four lightly blue-ish small areas, the state is crimson red!
Pocatello has some liberal vibes because of the University.
Atlanta at the base of the Sawtooths is also liberal as it's a hippie and artist community.
The Northend, Eastend, Downtown and the University area are the most extreme liberal areas of Boise, but most of Boise city limits is Democratic and liberal except for the far flung city areas near Kuna and bordering Meridian.
Ada County is changing too. The last election shows an impressive narrowing gap between both party sides.
I don't mind liberal. In fact, I have liberal ideology within my own political realm. The North End, however, is a breed unto their own. And they are very intolerant of any belief system that steps outside their lines.
The same can said of some of the weirdos up north. I don't go to their page either.
It's funny how they are two sides of the same coin. Neither side sees it.
That my friend is a trait the far right and conservatives embrace. It happens on both sides because our nation is so divided and there's division within our state.
The state of Idaho has five places that qualify as "liberal" or "somewhat liberal" --- just five! That's it.
1.) Boise's North End
2.) Downtown Coeur d'Alene between I-90 and the lake
3.) Sun Valley / Hailey / Ketchum
4.) Moscow by the university
5.) Sandpoint at the very center of town
Outside of these four lightly blue-ish small areas, the state is crimson red!
You can add Teton County to the list. They went blue this past election.
I don't mind liberal. In fact, I have liberal ideology within my own political realm. The North End, however, is a breed unto their own. And they are very intolerant of any belief system that steps outside their lines.
The same can said of some of the weirdos up north. I don't go to their page either.
It's funny how they are two sides of the same coin. Neither side sees it.
I can tell you from experience you can find almost as much political ideology from nearby neighborhoods like the Highlands and Garden City pockets. It's not exclusive to the North End although it's very concentrated there.
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