Anchorage vs. Boise vs. Portland vs. Seattle (salary, bigger, life)
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Boise city limits are actually left wing, it's a liberal city ran by Democrats and most precincts are Dem. It falls under the description of a blue city in a red state. The greater metro area is of course to the right, but there are hints of purple beginning to color the suburbs/Meridian.
So many of the fastest growing places in America these days are moderate to liberal cities or counties in Republican controlled states, so Boise fits that profile well. Such places tend to have interesting artistic, recreational and culinary scenes but with a less heavily regulated, more growth friendly policy environment.
I would expect the area to attract an even larger number of transplants from places like Seattle and Portland if the typical compensation levels were equal to the large coastal metro areas. In the context of this thread, Boise is the obvious choice.
The thing is Seattle and Portland offer urban amenities that are on another level compared to the other two, and accordingly they are significantly more expensive. However, with Covid it's really hard to utilize those amenities. Most restaurants and bars are only open for takeout and a lot may need to permanently shut down. The situation with museums, sporting events, etc. all remains pretty shakey.
I'm not saying any of that is a deal-breaker, but it should be a significant consideration. Boise is much cheaper and has just as much access to nature/outdoor activities as Seattle and Portland. So I guess with Covid Boise becomes a more attractive option, especially considering the 70K per year alternative. I'd still prefer Portland or Seattle overall but Covid makes Boise a more viable candidate to me. Anchorage is too isolated and doesn't offer anywhere near enough for how isolated it is. Great place to visit though.
Yeah Anchorage is beautiful but it's a tough sell. One really has to love the outdoors otherwise I'd imagine you'd be bored to tears living there full time. However, if the outdoors are your thing, Alaska has some of the best around. Arguably the best in some ways. There's something about the sheer ruggedness and isolation of Alaska that's very appealing, almost pure and untouched. Maybe it's because I'm introverted but I love taking the path less travelled, especially when I'm hanging out at the beach or on a trail, it's almost annoying when it's chock full of other people. But I do like urban amenities so, I worry that Anchorage wouldn't be enough for year-round. Also Alaskan winters are bit terrifying haha.
Boise seems a better blend but do they have enough is the question.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Superpowers
1. Income Post Taxes: Of the four, Seattle is the one where you can find the highest number of well paying jobs.
2. Walkability: Portland has the best public transit, train system, bikability and walkability of the four.
3. Urban Amenities: Seattle is by far the biggest, so it will have the highest number.
4. Access to nature: Seattle and Portland have a mix of climates, Forests, mountains, deserts, lakes, beaches etc. There are all accessible year round. Anchorage and Boise have their charms, but not the variety of outdoor experiences.
5. COL: Boise takes this in terms of lower COL. Anchorage is in second, but it's expensive to ship to alaska, and heating costs must be astronomical.
6. Cheap easy traveling within the country. Seattle is the largest city, so it will have the largest airport that leads to the most destinations. Anchorage is isolated because those winters are brutal on the road systems.
7.Politics: Portland if you are very left wing, Boise if you are right wing. Seattle and Anchorage are somewhere in the middle. Seattle leans toward portland while Anchorage leans toward Boise.
8.Weather/Climate: Seattle/Portland take it for me. People constantly harp on the constant drizzle in the PNW for 6 months of the year, but that has a benefit. It moderates the temperature, and keeps things green and lush for most of the year. Unlike in Boise, which is sunnier, but is also significantly drier year round and way hotter summers, making the landscape seem brown. Also boise will get much more snow. Anchorage is mild by Alaska standards, but by the lower 48 standards it's super cold. Anchorage will arguably be at winter temps for 6-7 months out of the year which is no fun. It will start snowing in october and won't melt until around the following may. I can deal with rain much better than snow.
For 70K? Portland, for 100k? Seattle. They are very similar, but Seattle is a little bit more cosmopolitan.
Anchorage probably has the best mountain and forest access nearby. But you are right on the variety for others.
As far as traveling goes, most of my travels are to the South so, the opposite corner. Probably a transfer in most situations.
Is Anchorage really more blue than Boise? I have a hard time believing that for some reason.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Syringaloid
Boise city limits are actually left wing, it's a liberal city ran by Democrats and most precincts are Dem. It falls under the description of a blue city in a red state. The greater metro area is of course to the right, but there are hints of purple beginning to color the suburbs/Meridian.
Boise also has easy access to forests, deserts, canyonlands, lakes, the best whitewater on the continent as well as being at the base of where two ecosystems converge. The evergreen forests, visible from the city and valley, begin on the mountains above Boise and extend all of the way into Canada. The largest alpine wilderness (roadless) areas in the Lower 48 are just north of Boise extending into Central Idaho. It's an outdoor lovers paradise, minus the ocean of course.
True, Idaho has the best whitewater. I love whitewater rafting. But Oregon and Washington have good options too, yes? And since Idaho is like 98% park, there are plenty of options to go.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheTimidBlueBars
Probably Seattle where I am now, or Portland if it was a pre/post-COVID world and I was trying to get laid (the salary would make me stand out a little more and get me into a nicer apartment).
I've lived in a sub-1-million metro, never again.
I lived in Tucson which was right at a million which wasn't bad but I'm not sure I could go much lower than that either. Tucson had the benefit of being near Phoenix too for some of the rare but big stuff that comes in.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jas75
So many of the fastest growing places in America these days are moderate to liberal cities or counties in Republican controlled states, so Boise fits that profile well. Such places tend to have interesting artistic, recreational and culinary scenes but with a less heavily regulated, more growth friendly policy environment.
I would expect the area to attract an even larger number of transplants from places like Seattle and Portland if the typical compensation levels were equal to the large coastal metro areas. In the context of this thread, Boise is the obvious choice.
For me personally I think I am a better match for Portland. It's very walkable and urban, even compared to Seattle if not moreso, and extremely progressive like myself. The downsides is that Portland isn't the cheapest. I think on 70k Portland would still be affordable. On the other hand Boise appeals to me for being more affordable and in Idaho (a pretty state too), but seems a lot more suburban and conservative as a whole which is not appealing to me.
Decided to make a new thread on something I haven't seen before for fun. If you could live in any of these locations, which one would you pick and why? Assume the exact same gross income of 70k for all four locations.
Use the following criteria:
- Income post-taxes (would be interesting to see how this plays out)
- Walkability/public transit (or for those that don't really have it yet, a population that is interested and working towards it)
- Urban amenities (fun bars, etc.)
- Access to nature
- COL
- Cheap/easy traveling within country (or in Alaska, going to other parts of Alaska)
- Politics
- Weather/climate
- Any other criteria you feel is important
Now, think of your answer based off of a 70k income. Does your answer change if it's increased to a 100k income, and if yes, why?
Boise. At $70k a year I wouldn't think of Seattle. $135k would be the bare minimum I would take to move there.
I agree. Seattle is a great city despite all the recent publicity, but it's not great on $70k household income. WA state tax policy in general favors high income.
Yeah, I've lived there and its outright beautiful but its not a place for salaries under six figures. $70k will get you a studio or 1 bedroom, not much else...and you'll be scraping by with the rest of your bills as well. I personally want to own a house, that wont happen at $70k unless you want to live by a Volcano ... ... Even $135k will be difficult to be a home owner, but a renter could have a decently enjoyable time at that salary. My ideal salary for Seattle though would be $200k.
Yeah, I've lived there and its outright beautiful but its not a place for salaries under six figures. $70k will get you a studio or 1 bedroom, not much else...and you'll be scraping by with the rest of your bills as well. I personally want to own a house, that wont happen at $70k unless you want to live by a Volcano ... ... Even $135k will be difficult to be a home owner, but a renter could have a decently enjoyable time at that salary. My ideal salary for Seattle though would be $200k.
Yeah I thought if I put ~70k in the poll title it would deter people and I think it mostly has, given the amount of Boise votes, but I thought if anything it would be less Seattle and more Portland votes as a result. While Seattle and Portland are different cities, they do share a lot in common, and Portland is arguably cheaper even if not by a whole lot.
I think people are reading it thinking "Seattle is the best" and not factoring in that income would be the same in all four cities. It does make Portland and Boise stronger candidates in my mind. While I did start this thread "for fun" it may be potentially a realistic scenario for me if all goes well.
The 70k would be for a debt free singleton. Yeah if it's a whole household I would agree arguably any of the four would be difficult with this for more than one person. I feel like most households, dual income, are at least doing 100k these days.
Also which volcano? I'm into it, I imagine it reduces my utility bills.
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Edit: I'm surprised at how little rain Boise gets. About two inches more than Phoenix. I'm curious as to how liberal Boise really is. Idaho, like it's southern neighbor, is pretty conservative. Is even the city proper of Boise even close to Portland politically? Or Seattle? I heard Boise might be building a streetcar which is a good sign, but what else is the city working on?
Last edited by Prickly Pear; 08-22-2020 at 10:13 PM..
Yeah I thought if I put ~70k in the poll title it would deter people and I think it mostly has, given the amount of Boise votes, but I thought if anything it would be less Seattle and more Portland votes as a result. While Seattle and Portland are different cities, they do share a lot in common, and Portland is arguably cheaper even if not by a whole lot.
I think people are reading it thinking "Seattle is the best" and not factoring in that income would be the same in all four cities. It does make Portland and Boise stronger candidates in my mind. While I did start this thread "for fun" it may be potentially a realistic scenario for me if all goes well.
The 70k would be for a debt free singleton. Yeah if it's a whole household I would agree arguably any of the four would be difficult with this for more than one person. I feel like most households, dual income, are at least doing 100k these days.
Also which volcano? I'm into it, I imagine it reduces my utility bills.
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Edit: I'm surprised at how little rain Boise gets. About two inches more than Phoenix. I'm curious as to how liberal Boise really is. Idaho, like it's southern neighbor, is pretty conservative. Is even the city proper of Boise even close to Portland politically? Or Seattle? I heard Boise might be building a streetcar which is a good sign, but what else is the city working on?
I've been mildly following Boise and from the sum of it, it very mildly reminds me of Austin without all the tech and for a slightly more mature crowd with better mountains as well. It is heavily dedicated to nature, bike trails, ect, has a fair downtown for a city its size. When I first passed through Boise on my way to Seattle I was kind of shocked by its size. It was larger than I was expecting. From what I gather it is becoming one of the secondary Pacific cities to retreat to from the high CoL of San Fran, Seattle, ect. Boise in its own right however is also becoming pricier. I've read that the avg cost of a home there is $300k. Boise is east of the mountains so its kind of in a 'cold desert' so to speak much like Eastern WA and Eastern OR.
Average Household dual income in the U.S. sits right at $60k. In Seattle its alittle over $90k...but Seattle like San Francisco is very known for $300k + household incomes settling there. As for the Volcano? Mnt Raineer, its near Puyallup, Sumner, and Auburn - those places will be erased if it ever goes off and produces lahars traveling west.
Average Household dual income in the U.S. sits right at $60k. In Seattle its alittle over $90k...but Seattle like San Francisco is very known for $300k + household incomes settling there. As for the Volcano? Mnt Raineer, its near Puyallup, Sumner, and Auburn - those places will be erased if it ever goes off and produces lahars traveling west.
Seattle has Mt Rainier, which would give plenty of warning before eruption and largely affect only immediate areas
Boise has Yellowstone-like Supervolcanoes
Boise. We are a family of four so it's the only place we can afford assuming the same income number applies, but honestly it sounds pretty good.
If I were single then Portland or Seattle...I think I'd lean toward Seattle there. It's a close one, but I think Seattle suits me better and I would enjoy the city just a little bit more. According to SmartAsset I'd be paying 7.5% effective tax rate on my state income tax in OR, vs 0% in Washington so that evens out the COL difference also.
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... ... Even $135k will be difficult to be a home owner, but a renter could have a decently enjoyable time at that salary. My ideal salary for Seattle though would be $200k.
