Moving: Compare Boise & Denver (houses, job market, college)

[robjfoley]

My wife and I are considering moving from Denver. Between the two of us, we appreciate the city life...but on a smaller scale than Denver. We like being part of a community that at least feels small(er). Denver has proven to be a bit trendy and crowded...and full of only young people (which sounds funny because we are in our late 20s respectively).

All that to ask if anyone would be able to compare life in Boise to life in Denver? We both love the outdoors and participate in winter and summer activities. We just don't like the crowds that accompany Denver. We like towns with some character/history/culture. How does Boise fare in this department? Is the Boise airport "affordable" comparatively speaking. Does it get much sunshine? Snow?...etc.

What is the general rhythm of the culture in Boise? My wife is soon to be a nurse, and I work at a non-profit. What is the job market like in Boise?

Thanks in advance for taking the time to respond.

[grmi66]

Our family was looking at both places 4 years ago and we ended up picking Boise. Houses were less expensive and we liked the smaller sized metro area. From Boise you are always within 20 minutes of great hiking/mtn biking trails in the Boise Foothills and if you ski Bogus Basin is 45 minutes from downtown.

My take is that the mountains outside of Denver are more impressive but take longer to get to things like hiking trails. Every outdoor activity that you want to do is within an hour of Boise, fishing, kayaking, hiking, climbing, whatever it is all here. Or as one of our friends told me in trying to describe Boise, "It's like Boulder without the granola".

Job-wise it's pretty tough right now. Know many people that are experiencing long term under-employment and unemployment for the first time in their career and most of these guys are college educated and were in professional positions.

[jwest09]

Originally Posted by robjfoley

My wife and I are considering moving from Denver. Between the two of us, we appreciate the city life...but on a smaller scale than Denver. We like being part of a community that at least feels small(er). Denver has proven to be a bit trendy and crowded...and full of only young people (which sounds funny because we are in our late 20s respectively).

All that to ask if anyone would be able to compare life in Boise to life in Denver? We both love the outdoors and participate in winter and summer activities. We just don't like the crowds that accompany Denver. We like towns with some character/history/culture. How does Boise fare in this department? Is the Boise airport "affordable" comparatively speaking. Does it get much sunshine? Snow?...etc.

What is the general rhythm of the culture in Boise? My wife is soon to be a nurse, and I work at a non-profit. What is the job market like in Boise?

Thanks in advance for taking the time to respond.

Boise sits at a much lower elevation than Denver, and on the average, gets less snowfall. In the winter, do not expect Boise to be any warmer, or have more sunshine than Denver. Summers can be a very warm to hot, and it stays day lite longer than Denver in the evening.
Because of an outdated infrastructure, traffic can be just as bad as Denver.
The job market is not very good in Boise, right now, compared to Denver.

[boi2socal]

If you can each find a job it sounds like Boise will suit you well.