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We are planning on leaving AZ soon this summer and looking strongly at the Meridian area of Idaho - a bit small town - a bit close to a the city - can anyone tell me if Boise is alive at night - meaning - theatre, cafes, shopping, people walking around - coffee shooppes, or does everything shut down when the business close at 5-6 pm...
Downtown Boise booms at night and usually defys most people's expectations who are new to Boise or visiting Boise. There are many restaurants (very diverse restaurant selection for a city this size) with sidewalk seating, many coffee shops with musical guests, wine bars, martini clubs, dance clubs, live theatre, movie theatres, art galleries, and the normal bars/clubs for the college crowd. There is also the symphony, ballet, opera at BSU which is in the downtown area. A person might say that downtown Boise is at its busiest after 5 especially during the warm months. There is something for everybody, from the young to the old. There are many, many new projects planned for downtown to add to the mix.
Meridian is even revamping their own downtown and has had some fine restaurants and shops opening recently. But downtown Boise is where the action is and the downtown is surprisingly sophisticated and clean.
I am a new resident to Boise and am very proud of my new home city. I came from a much larger city and Boise is a refreshing change because it offers big city amenities without the big city problems. There are issues here with the fast growth, but the issues people here complain about are nothing like in larger cities.
Starting soon there is the Saturday Market downtown(farmers/crafts/organic fare) which is one of the largest weekly downtown markets in the northwest.
The downtown here is the envy of a lot of even larger cities.
Where did you move in from ?- we are leaving Phoenix for Boise/Meridian soon and I am excited to what you wrote about it there - sounds like heaven -
I know everyplace has its downfalls, and kinks - but Phoenix has no downtown life after 5 nevermind during the day - unless you "club" it
and being originally from Boston and Toronto - just sitting in a cafe listening to a bit of music made life all that better
I moved from Seattle and that is a pretty tough city to stack up to, but Boise has really surprised me. Boise has a really laid back, funky, Northwest feel to it, and people are accepting and seem for the most part to be happy and kind.
There are some downfalls here of course (no place is perfect- but that is a whole other discussion because of the problems that such fast growth creates), but Boise seems to be a lot better off than most other cities.
It almost seems too perfect. I know it sounds strange, but I know a few other people who relocated to Boise to kind of discover who they are again and to embrace and love life because there is a good energy here (or vibe).
Mountain biking is huuuuuuuuge here and so is the love for the outdoors.
Our family just moved up here from Phoenix and really love downtown Boise and Hyde Park in the North End. If you like hiking or trail running Boise is great. Tons of trails with easy access from downtown. I was used to running trails in the various Phoenix mountain parks, but they don't compare at all to what you find in Boise.
How are the schools? is there really good shopping - boutiques, coffee shppes, cafes, restaurants - do you have the subtle trendy areas like you have in tempe with Mill ave near ASU and Scottsdale?
There is a small trendy area in the downtown area, with good parking if you park in the garages and easy to walk around. Nothing like Mill Avenue or Scottsdale, but then again that's why you move here, it's much more laid back. There is more going on in downtown Boise than there is in downtown Phoenix.
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