Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My family and I are thinking about moving from Portland to Eagle or Meridian or surrounding areas. I have read most of the blogs and gotten some good info. I do have more specific questions and hope you find these questions respectful and tasteful. I am directing these questions more torward the conservatives. I am originally from california and my wife is from all over growing up. Mostly Portland and Alaska. She was familiar with Portland when we moved here 4 years ago and she warned me about the gray skies and rain. I have come to realize that the only people that should live in Portland are fish, but that's another story for another blog. What she didn't do is prepare me for the extreme in-your-face liberal mentality thriving in Portland. I have seen more goings-on here in three years than I ever did in 45 years in ca. The drivers are rude, jumpy and erratic. I have been flipped off more often here than ever in ca. Mostly by pardon the expression over-weight middle aged women with 20 kids in a beat up honda civic holding a cigarette out the window all while texting. Sorry to be so blunt. People here are self absorbed and won't look at you to say hi and won't hold the door open for you even though they know your behind them. The guys are another story. I have not met one friend here other then a neightbor who is awesome. But he's a trucker and not always around. Back home we used to do what I like to call the "What's up" nod. When you pass a guy, you just nod and it says what's up, how are you doing, have a good day. Here I don't know what it is. The guys are either too insecure or dont care about making new friends.
Believe it or not, last year I was driving home from work and at the 205 and 84 transition, in the median, what do I see but a guy that hung himself hanging from a tree. Not covered up by a sheet but just hanging out in plain sight. If my kid saw this I would have written the city and had it out with them. I just couldn't believe it. I thought that was taking tree hugging to the extreme Pretty disturbing stuff. And do you think I could find out what happened in the newspaper or internet. Not! I thought to myself, welcome to Portland kids, watch close and you'll see some pretty tree's and birds and oh yah, as a bonus just for visiting Portland you'll see human beings hangin from those tree's too.
Sorry for the long ranting. I will get to my question. I don't care where someone is from and I don't care about catagorizing poeple either. What I do care about is better weather, more sun, friendlier people, calmer less upity people and family oreiented atmosphere. Like some of the other blogs I don't care what religion you are as long as they treat everybody as equals. Even though I am from CA I don't belittle people and feel as though they are beneath me. If this economy has taught anybody anything, it's to be humble. Nobody is safe in this economy. I have had friends and family members who thought they were safe and found themselves out of work.
In addition to what I said above, which is probably too much for people to handle, I want to live in a place that feels safe. I do not feel safe in Portland. My wife feels the same way. I lock the doors when I get in the car and I look around everytime I am with my kids just to make sure nobody is approaching me. I have sat in the Walmart parking lot by our house, and have witnessed multiple drug deals. Why the police don't hang out at walmart is beyond me. They could make there quota in a day.
Anyway, didn't mean to offend anyone, just need to find out if Boise, Meridian or Eagle is the opposite of what I have discribed above.
My family and I are thinking about moving from Portland to Eagle or Meridian or surrounding areas. I have read most of the blogs and gotten some good info. I do have more specific questions and hope you find these questions respectful and tasteful. I am directing these questions more torward the conservatives. I am originally from california and my wife is from all over growing up. Mostly Portland and Alaska. She was familiar with Portland when we moved here 4 years ago and she warned me about the gray skies and rain. I have come to realize that the only people that should live in Portland are fish, but that's another story for another blog. What she didn't do is prepare me for the extreme in-your-face liberal mentality thriving in Portland. I have seen more goings-on here in three years than I ever did in 45 years in ca. The drivers are rude, jumpy and erratic. I have been flipped off more often here than ever in ca. Mostly by pardon the expression over-weight middle aged women with 20 kids in a beat up honda civic holding a cigarette out the window all while texting. Sorry to be so blunt. People here are self absorbed and won't look at you to say hi and won't hold the door open for you even though they know your behind them. The guys are another story. I have not met one friend here other then a neightbor who is awesome. But he's a trucker and not always around. Back home we used to do what I like to call the "What's up" nod. When you pass a guy, you just nod and it says what's up, how are you doing, have a good day. Here I don't know what it is. The guys are either too insecure or dont care about making new friends.
Believe it or not, last year I was driving home from work and at the 205 and 84 transition, in the median, what do I see but a guy that hung himself hanging from a tree. Not covered up by a sheet but just hanging out in plain sight. If my kid saw this I would have written the city and had it out with them. I just couldn't believe it. I thought that was taking tree hugging to the extreme Pretty disturbing stuff. And do you think I could find out what happened in the newspaper or internet. Not! I thought to myself, welcome to Portland kids, watch close and you'll see some pretty tree's and birds and oh yah, as a bonus just for visiting Portland you'll see human beings hangin from those tree's too.
Sorry for the long ranting. I will get to my question. I don't care where someone is from and I don't care about catagorizing poeple either. What I do care about is better weather, more sun, friendlier people, calmer less upity people and family oreiented atmosphere. Like some of the other blogs I don't care what religion you are as long as they treat everybody as equals. Even though I am from CA I don't belittle people and feel as though they are beneath me. If this economy has taught anybody anything, it's to be humble. Nobody is safe in this economy. I have had friends and family members who thought they were safe and found themselves out of work.
In addition to what I said above, which is probably too much for people to handle, I want to live in a place that feels safe. I do not feel safe in Portland. My wife feels the same way. I lock the doors when I get in the car and I look around everytime I am with my kids just to make sure nobody is approaching me. I have sat in the Walmart parking lot by our house, and have witnessed multiple drug deals. Why the police don't hang out at walmart is beyond me. They could make there quota in a day.
Anyway, didn't mean to offend anyone, just need to find out if Boise, Meridian or Eagle is the opposite of what I have discribed above.
Well I see that nobody has responded to your email and thought it deserved a response. I found it quite humorous in parts and quite accurate. I live in Portland as well. And are desperately trying to get out while I still have goodness in my heart. I am from ca as well and unfortunately I have to agree that the majority of people here are either unaware or ignorant to the fact that they are unfriendly and/or disconnected from the world around them. I have heard SO MANY negative comments about Californians from Oregonians that it has made my stomach sour. If Californians made that many comments about Oregonians there would most definately be another civil war. Arrogance goes both ways. Yes, CA has found new money, and a lot of it, and people were living way beyond there means, but remember they have been humbled just as we have. My other point is this. Most of the people I have been in contact with here in Portland are not from CA, but from other states. Oregonians are categorizing everybody into californians. Well if they research a little further they will find that it's a mixture
Also keep in mind that California has moved on from the 60's and I think Oregon needs to as well. CA has a ton of negative aspects and I will not defend them, but I will say that the energy level in CA is much greater than here in Oregon. Oregonians need to stop focussing all there attention on "going green" and start focussing on being friendlier.Say hi to people on the street. Open doors for people. Stop driving erratically. Make eye contact. Stop holding gas cans and begging for money on the street. Stop worshiping the ground and start "Looking Up" to the One that really matters. If you just look up and focus on Him, everything else will be taken care of. And have faith!!!
man you guys are making me not want to move to portland!!! I guess i will experience it when i visit in july...how about seattle? not the city/size but the people. are they comparable to portland or are they more kind?
As far as i can tell, people in Idaho are ridiculously friendly i was literally in shock haha
man you guys are making me not want to move to portland!!! I guess i will experience it when i visit in july...how about seattle? not the city/size but the people. are they comparable to portland or are they more kind?
As far as i can tell, people in Idaho are ridiculously friendly i was literally in shock haha
I have been to Seattle a handful of times and people seem to be similiar. My wife's sister lives in Seattle, Bellevue to be exact. A totally different class of people. I have never seen her in tennis shoes. Being that she is a kit./bath designer she is always in high heals and dressed to the tee. Even when we went to the zoo in Portland she was in 3 inch spikes shoes and complained the whole time about too much walking Still city people with city people mentality IMO. However, they seem to be more current in fashion and attitude. Also much more expensive than Portland.
It's a very different environment in the Boise area. It's definitely more conservative and family oriented. Not saying you won't find any rude people over here but the frequency will be significantly less. When walking it is not uncommon for people to say hello as they pass by you. Meridian and Eagle are probably the two most conservative communities in Ada county, so it all depends on how conservative that you want to go. If you are looking specifically in those two communities I would opt for Meridian since in my opinion Eagle is a crappy location (in terms of getting to things like I-84, the airport, shopping, etc.). The only two major routes from Eagle are State Street and Eagle road, both of which are congested and show no signs of improving.
We recently moved from TX to Eagle Id. I am from a multicultural background (european) and my husband is from the midwest. We have two children under 4. We have lived in a variety of states so have experienced the diverse nature of American hospitality to newcomers (7 years NYC, 3 years TX). We were very concerned with our move here b/c of the LDS influence since we are non-LDS. Although we got off to a rocky start in our first week (one of our neighbors turned out to be awful and is by coincidence LDS... I don't think their faith had anything to do with their behavior). We are slowly adjusting to life here.
We have been here about 8 months and I have to say the hospitality of the neighborhood is amazing. On my street we have a couple from Oregon, a bachelor from Poland by way of San Fransisco, a Iranian family and a family with italian heritage. I have at least two neighbors who i already feel comfortable calling in a time of crisis (i.e. we have moved beyond the civility of the casual 'hi, how are you? how's the weather?' conversation into a deeper relationship). For example, we bring eachother bread or other goodies, or call from the store to ask if we can pick anything up or go for walks around the neighborhood together. I have met wonderful families in here that we have become close with but yes, on the other hand I have also met several folks that it will be impossible to deepen a relationship with. It really all depends on the person. That is just the way of the world... you won't get along or be friends with everyone.
Is everyone polite? Yes (except our neighbor LOL!). Does it feel safe? Yes, absolutely. Are there good Christian churches/sources of support? Yes! I have found several wonderful churches all with contemporary services and great youth programs (Eagle Christian Church is AMAZING and I also like Foothills Christian Church both non-denom). There is a MOPS group here for stay at home moms, a libary with cools things for kids to do, an old school ice cream parlor, a pizza parlor, a diner (Dougs') along with many more higher end cuisines (the is malaysian, italian, mexican to name a few) and the best local coffee shop ever (Rembrandts!). The Farmer's Market is wonderful. The staff at several businesses here have gone above and beyond to accomodate me (specifically Todd Stewart Salon and Eagle Day Spa). All in all Eagle has impressed me beyond my expectations. Yes, there are LDS here. Yes, it will at some point be a more predominant aspect of your life than if you lived somewhere else but there are educational alternatives too (the Ambrose Christian School is always an option). So Eagle should not be ruled out just b/c you can't get to the highway in ten seconds. It is a BEAUTIFUL location, along the river with a true authentic american main street. You can't beat Eagle Country Christmas and all the other events and activities throughout the year (the Rib Fest, Food Festival and now even music on the river!). It is only 15 mins to downtown (depending on where you live ofcourse) and 15 mins to the mall but the location is so peaceful and serence. You can connect to the greenbelt and bike as far as you like for miles and miles along the river.
The congestion really isn't as bad as people say here. It is all relative. If you have lived in CA the traffic here will be nothing. YOu won't even finish your coffee before you get to work!
Oh and as for Meridian ... if you like mile and miles of subdivision upon subdivision then that is what that is like. Plus you are further away from the river. If you like eating at restaurants in strip malls along busy roads then Meridian is ok I guess. I just like that Eagle has character. Meridian has a farmers market that operates out of a parking lot along Eagle Road (basically a highway) ... not much character there. Eagle has a farmers market that operates in a beautiful park, with a fountain for kids to play in and a bandstand with live music. Quite a contrast. You can however get much better deal on a house in Meridian in newer construction. Eagle is closer to the foothills so you get a bit more of a hillier feel here, Meridian used to be mostly farmland so it is very flat in places. Both have quite pastoral spaces too if you like farmland. Horses and cows are seen in both. I know Meridian does have a main street/downtown area and i have driven through it once.
Hope some of this helps! I added the church stuff as I saw you had a seperate thread asking about that.
We recently moved from TX to Eagle Id. I am from a multicultural background (european) and my husband is from the midwest. We have two children under 4. We have lived in a variety of states so have experienced the diverse nature of American hospitality to newcomers (7 years NYC, 3 years TX). We were very concerned with our move here b/c of the LDS influence since we are non-LDS. Although we got off to a rocky start in our first week (one of our neighbors turned out to be awful and is by coincidence LDS... I don't think their faith had anything to do with their behavior). We are slowly adjusting to life here.
We have been here about 8 months and I have to say the hospitality of the neighborhood is amazing. On my street we have a couple from Oregon, a bachelor from Poland by way of San Fransisco, a Iranian family and a family with italian heritage. I have at least two neighbors who i already feel comfortable calling in a time of crisis (i.e. we have moved beyond the civility of the casual 'hi, how are you? how's the weather?' conversation into a deeper relationship). For example, we bring eachother bread or other goodies, or call from the store to ask if we can pick anything up or go for walks around the neighborhood together. I have met wonderful families in here that we have become close with but yes, on the other hand I have also met several folks that it will be impossible to deepen a relationship with. It really all depends on the person. That is just the way of the world... you won't get along or be friends with everyone.
Is everyone polite? Yes (except our neighbor LOL!). Does it feel safe? Yes, absolutely. Are there good Christian churches/sources of support? Yes! I have found several wonderful churches all with contemporary services and great youth programs (Eagle Christian Church is AMAZING and I also like Foothills Christian Church both non-denom). There is a MOPS group here for stay at home moms, a libary with cools things for kids to do, an old school ice cream parlor, a pizza parlor, a diner (Dougs') along with many more higher end cuisines (the is malaysian, italian, mexican to name a few) and the best local coffee shop ever (Rembrandts!). The Farmer's Market is wonderful. The staff at several businesses here have gone above and beyond to accomodate me (specifically Todd Stewart Salon and Eagle Day Spa). All in all Eagle has impressed me beyond my expectations. Yes, there are LDS here. Yes, it will at some point be a more predominant aspect of your life than if you lived somewhere else but there are educational alternatives too (the Ambrose Christian School is always an option). So Eagle should not be ruled out just b/c you can't get to the highway in ten seconds. It is a BEAUTIFUL location, along the river with a true authentic american main street. You can't beat Eagle Country Christmas and all the other events and activities throughout the year (the Rib Fest, Food Festival and now even music on the river!). It is only 15 mins to downtown (depending on where you live ofcourse) and 15 mins to the mall but the location is so peaceful and serence. You can connect to the greenbelt and bike as far as you like for miles and miles along the river.
The congestion really isn't as bad as people say here. It is all relative. If you have lived in CA the traffic here will be nothing. YOu won't even finish your coffee before you get to work!
Oh and as for Meridian ... if you like mile and miles of subdivision upon subdivision then that is what that is like. Plus you are further away from the river. If you like eating at restaurants in strip malls along busy roads then Meridian is ok I guess. I just like that Eagle has character. Meridian has a farmers market that operates out of a parking lot along Eagle Road (basically a highway) ... not much character there. Eagle has a farmers market that operates in a beautiful park, with a fountain for kids to play in and a bandstand with live music. Quite a contrast. You can however get much better deal on a house in Meridian in newer construction. Eagle is closer to the foothills so you get a bit more of a hillier feel here, Meridian used to be mostly farmland so it is very flat in places. Both have quite pastoral spaces too if you like farmland. Horses and cows are seen in both. I know Meridian does have a main street/downtown area and i have driven through it once.
Hope some of this helps! I added the church stuff as I saw you had a seperate thread asking about that.
That absolutely helps. I appreciate that so much. Can you keep me posted on further information as you get it. I am planning a trip to Boise in two weeks and would love to here more. If you can elaborate on the weather some that would awesome. The Portland gray skies are killing me. However today was absolutely gorgeous.
Hmmmm since i have only experienced Idaho weather from June 2009 till now I can only elaborate on one year's worth of seasons. When we arrived in June it was surprisingly cooler than I expected. Supposedly last year was a wet cool spring. But by July 4th it was toasty! It is dry here which I LOVE! No nasty northeastern humidity! But it does get up there into the 90s and sometimes 100s for several days in a row. The weather in September was still beautiful, gorgeous blue skies and sunny! Fall was also stunning ...all the brilliant colors of autumn splashed within a bright blue sky! It doesnt' get better than that! But then winter set in. We had a cold start with a couple of nice snow storms that dissappear within a day or two but then inversions set in and i swear I spent two months back in the UK again! It was sooo dreary. Lots of rain and overcast days. Sometimes it was just gray for no reason. There was an article in the Statesman about the unusual lack of sunny days in January. It did get better though and it has been a lovely spring so far.
I just moved here from California in September and live in Eagle. The kids here are not friendly at all and yes they do shun you if you are not LDS. We are Christian and my kids are very outgoing and had lots of friends until we moved here. They hate it here and I feel terrible for them. A teacher at Eagle high told me it is a real problem and her own son who is a 10th grader has very frew friends because of the LDS shunning as well. Another post stated that the population here is only 15% mormon, well from what I have seen it is much higher then that, alot higher. There is a LDS church on campus in the parking lot of Eagle high which they say is actually on private property so it is allowed so obviously the LDS are catered to. I was told by numerous people here that the mormons are no big deal, well when alot of the population is LDS and they are so rude to your kids and shun then then it is a big deal. I was very excited to live here and now I wonder if I made the right move? You say Meridian is like that well Eagle is too. We were told that Eagle Nazarene Church was really good so we decided to try it, it was very small and not one kid there was from Eagle which was weird. We also heard that Eagle Christian is very good are we are going to try it. We are hoping the kids groups will help our kids adapt and make some friends, they have a very good website, look it up and check it out.
Best tip I got on the weather in Boise is that you get about 3-4 weeks of really cold weather, 3-4 weeks of really hot weather and the rest of the year is tolerable. Spring drives me crazy because it can be in the 80's one day and later in the week it is snowing. According to most of the local gardeners that I have talked to, Mothers Day weekend is the end of the possiblility of frost.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Pretty disturbing stuff. And do you think I could find out what happened in the newspaper or internet. Not! I thought to myself, welcome to Portland kids, watch close and you'll see some pretty tree's and birds and oh yah, as a bonus just for visiting Portland you'll see human beings hangin from those tree's too.
Portland
Still city people with city people mentality IMO. However, they seem to be more current in fashion and attitude. Also much more expensive than Portland.
