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How's your satisfaction with the job situation NOW in Boise?
We'd love to move up there but the 'right to work' slave wages and the current depression must have had a one/two punch effect on wages and jobs there.
We're only looking for part time work.
Please give some feedback on this.
Thanks
Well, I'm a real estate agent, so I'm self-employed, so it's hard to speak to the part-time job market, BUT, this is my tenth year in the business and so far 2012 is my best year yet. It has been incredible to experience the turnaround in our market. This is after some pretty great years in 2005 and 2006--I've been a "Top Producer" for most of my years in the business so this shift in 2012 is significant for me. From my perspective, I'm seeing Boise back in moderate growth mode, and my guess is that within the next year or two, we're really going to see a higher demand for workers here. We're already seeing that in construction. It is really hard to pin a handyman down for small jobs these days whereas a year or two ago, I had them calling me looking for work. My guess is that with so many baby boomers choosing Boise as a place to retire, we're going to see a lot of growth in service industries, healthcare and construction. There will likely also be a lot of opportunities for small businesses that cater to the specialized needs of aging baby boomers.
I'm recently retired, and my wife is self-employed. We've been on the OR coast for 20 years and are looking at Boise. Read through all 6 pages and seems like a very nice area. And our area is WAY too liberal and un-cultured.
Certainly not a great concern, but the issue of air quality and winter inversions caught my attention. We lived in a strong agricultural area in central WA, where lots of pesticides in the air led to abnormally high cases of leukemia, etc. Is this an issue, since Boise appears to be downwind from large agricultural areas? Again, not a deal breaker. In fact, we are planning a get-to-know trip this spring.
I'm recently retired, and my wife is self-employed. We've been on the OR coast for 20 years and are looking at Boise. Read through all 6 pages and seems like a very nice area. And our area is WAY too liberal and un-cultured.
Certainly not a great concern, but the issue of air quality and winter inversions caught my attention. We lived in a strong agricultural area in central WA, where lots of pesticides in the air led to abnormally high cases of leukemia, etc. Is this an issue, since Boise appears to be downwind from large agricultural areas? Again, not a deal breaker. In fact, we are planning a get-to-know trip this spring.
I appreciate the creation of this thread and the responses/insight.
Overall, the appreciation vs. lack of appreciation for Boise seems to be very polarized.
Like others OTT, I also grew up in California but haven't lived there since 1998. My California roots notwithstanding, I lack the "entitlement personality complex" that is inherent with many Californians and dub my driving style as very "cautious". (But do carefully pick up speed on the road if I need to pass someone driving too slow.)
It's too bad that a state like California had to be destroyed by some really bad political policies. That's obviously the impetus of why so many Californians (since the 1990s) have jumped ship and moved to other Western states. The more liberal Californians tend to relocate to Oregon, Washington or New Mexico, while the more conservative move to Arizona, Colorado and Idaho. (I'm in AZ now.)
Unfortunately for Arizona, the policies of both sides have defiled the state's major metropolitan cities. Among the left, there's this forced political correctness in regards to the illegal immigration issue. Among the right, although the cost to operate a business here is low, they want to save costs by cutting down staff and having the remaining few workers put more in than they get back in their salary.
Due to the Californiazation of Arizona, I've considered moving once again, and Boise (or Idaho) seemed promising, but the "contrary" opinions I'm reading here sound very troubling.
At least you get the 4 cars after red in Phoenix, going 15mph over the speed limit wisely, and other priviledges that Boise would not tolerate, and to have the cops coming after you going a little over posted speed limit in Boise. Worse in Oregon if you ever drive way too fast, the VG2 from the traffic light will come on instantly.
Same here. I have lived here for 17 years and thought I'd be here the rest of my life but low wages and low job availability (topped with discrimination) has forced me to look outside the state. It's very sad as other that that I truly love this place.
And the housing bubble ruined it for me. Luckily I bought my house before the bubble hit, but if I were to try to buy a house now I would have to move to Meridian (yuck) or Star--and even then I would be down-grading not up. When the bubble started there were (I kid you not) Californians who were buying up houses left and right--SIGHT UNSEEN and driving out good people by actually paying more than the asking price. (Did I mention SIGHT UNSEEN?) Very frustrating (no offense to Califs--that just happened to be the case back in 2004). But like I said I already bought my house at a good price! So this factor doesn't weigh on me, personally.
Also, our governor refused the Medicaid expansion, so my family and I STILL can't afford health insurance (because of said job-issue). This IS a negative for me (and part of why I only voted 80%).
So if politics, housing prices, and low paying jobs are not an issue for you then it really is awesome!!!
I've lived in Boise for more than 15 years now and I can honestly say I can't wait to leave. There are some nice things to do but in the past few years forest fires in the summer and inversions in the winter have really put a hold on things.
Pros:
Nature (Once you get out of Boise to the mountains)
Cheap housing
Skiing close to Boise (When there is snow)
Cons:
Isolated - Closest big city is a 5 hour drive away (Salt Lake City)
Education system is poor (48th out of 50 states)
Summer can be extremely hot (95F+ for weeks at a time)
Winter can be extremely cold (32F and lower as the daily high for weeks/months)
All greenery in Boise is artificial (Without irrigation it would be very yellow)
Gas prices are generally above national average
Small airport makes travel more difficult
No cultural diversity
To sum it up the state of Idaho is great for anyone who is really conservative and wants to live in a state where whites have an overwhelming majority. For anyone who is not interested in those two things you should look elsewhere.
Boise does have that live and let live thing going on and is getting more liberal/accepting thanks to outside influence but also natives who are joining and being activists sometimes a good thing sometimes not depending on point of view. As for tour80s post above mine I agree somewhat despite my intense love for a place I called home for so long and have a strong desire to move back to now that I'm in california. I miss the mountains and the cheap (though less so these days) housing. Isolation sure but not all of us are travelers and you can connect in other cities. I found meridian's school district to be just fine and there are some good private schools also. Summer being 95+ isn't that bad where I am in cali now is easily above 100 and as high as 115 much of the time. And again there are colder places to live also and we don't get much snow compared to many places either. Gas prices are higher but usually just for a week or two before they catch up and fall to national average
Not everyone finds the lack of cultural diversity an issue in fact its one of the things I enjoyed I find california's diversity to be a nightmare likely to come to idaho
I've been here 15 years just west of Boise. It's a place fishing and hunting, of chain-link fences, pit bull terriers, where dogs take a dump on your lawn and where Christmas tree lights never come down. When somebody says there are good schools here, consider the source now. Compared to Mississippi? I know people that hunt bears just to scare them and force them up trees. Entertainment value only. It reaches 100 degrees more than a few days in summer, and below freezing a good deal of winter. That said, it's close to majestic mountains and cold streams and you can get a very decent home just outside Boise for $100k. Especially the newish Edward Scissor Hands track housing (ewwww!) Excellent drinking water. A good many Christians take it to heart to be good, kind folk, don't let the numerous, unusual tattoos and gum-snapping in church fool you. Yes, I'd call it backwards for the US; Medicaid took a nosedive. But if you purchase a moderate-priced home outside the city, you save money for other things, like travel. There's a very decent airport in town. $200 can get you to Seattle, Portland or San Francisco. THAT's why Californian's purchase homes site unseen, it's still a terrific financial bargain to this day compared to most cities in the nation. Foreclosed homes are a bargain. Mini mansions can go for less than 30% what you'd pay most anywhere else. It really hurt Boise in the worst way when mothers suddenly had no option but to leave there toddlers in daycare and work full time. Not long ago a mom had the choice to stay home so their kids weren't latch-key kids and could keep them out of trouble after school. The rise in kid-gangs and kids addicted to video games and food was the result. More kids were involved in sports and did their homework before the Californians discovered the Treasure Valley.
Last edited by Imagineer0; 06-13-2014 at 10:38 PM..
Yea well for me, to buy a decent looking, home with a little bit of acreage, anywhere in Boise, for 200k or under....is simply impossible. For some of us who are retired and don't have huge pensions and are alone, Boise does not have reasonable home prices at all....anymore, from my research.
Last edited by folkguitarist555; 06-14-2014 at 06:53 PM..
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