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I am doing research on the growth and change of ameirca. I noted that Boise's population has broken two hundred thousand. Is it the next western hotspot like Phoenix and Vegas was?
Boise has kind of been a hot spot on a smaller scale for the past decade meaning that the city has started to be discovered and has received a lot of media attention for various reasons ranging from business, quality of life, the outdoors and the mountain biking culture here among other things.
I really hope we never get as large as Phoenix or Vegas and do not think we ever will. A lot of people think that when the economy turns around that Boise along with other smaller western cities like Salt Lake will become the "en vogue" cities.
Besides, Boise already has a much more intact, pedestrian friendly, and dense downtown than either of the two cities you mentioned.
Boise is indeed on the fast track to become another example of once-nice towns becoming ruined by a huge influx of Californians, as evidenced by the fact that we've been continually listed in may publications' "Top 10 Fastest Growing Cities" for the past 10 years or so. But the recent economic Depression (I refuse to euphemistically call it a mere recession) has tempered this unbridled sprawl somewhat, and indeed is in my opinion one of the two good things that the depression has spawned--the other being a slight down-tick in home prices, which were absurdly inflated do to the aforementioned growth period.
But Boise is still a pretty nice place to live, though much of its initial charm has been homogenized to the point where it could easily pass as any ol' Northern California town. (Boise, Idafornia?) The air quality, traffic, driving behavior, property taxes, and social politeness have all worsened, but despite these facts I doubt we will ever reach the Armageddon-like proportions of Vegas, Phoenix, or Denver. Geographic boundaries, if nothing else, will help us avoid that, thank God. Too, I believe the major migration trend in the country will always pretty much be a "to the south & west" pattern.
Last edited by DrummerBoy; 10-03-2009 at 01:05 PM..
Boise has a loooooooong way to go before it is in the same sentence with Vegas or Phoenix. The kind of job losses that Boise experienced are the kinds of jobs that grow communities. I have no idea how/when we'll get them back. There are a lot of *empty* stores and homes all over this town.
[quote=Jarndyce;11043912]Boise has a loooooooong way to go before it is in the same sentence with Vegas or Phoenix. The kind of job losses that Boise experienced are the kinds of jobs that grow communities. I have no idea how/when we'll get them back. There are a lot of *empty* stores and homes all over this town.[/QUOTE]
There is a lot of what I bolded in almost any city in any state considering the crummy national economy.
Boise has a loooooooong way to go before it is in the same sentence with Vegas or Phoenix. The kind of job losses that Boise experienced are the kinds of jobs that grow communities. I have no idea how/when we'll get them back. There are a lot of *empty* stores and homes all over this town.[/QUOTE]
There is a lot of what I bolded in almost any city in any state considering the crummy national economy.
Boise has kind of been a hot spot on a smaller scale for the past decade meaning that the city has started to be discovered and has received a lot of media attention for various reasons ranging from business, quality of life, the outdoors and the mountain biking culture here among other things.
That's amazing! You could almost have also been describing my home, Greenville, SC... Believe it or not. I've heard some folks say that Greenville is like a Souteastern, Appalachian version of Boise... Nearly everything you said about Boise can also apply to Greenville (except we've become more a center of "classic" cycling, hosting the USA Cycling Professional Championship the past few years). I MUST visit soon!
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