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We have friends that suggested Woodinville WA, which was not even on our radar. It apparently has a cute little downtown and is nice and more affordable than other areas. hmmm
We have friends that suggested Woodinville WA, which was not even on our radar. It apparently has a cute little downtown and is nice and more affordable than other areas. hmmm
Woodinville is known as a center of wine-tasting and it has some nice restaurants, but the downtown is pretty lackluster and it's not cheap. It's basically an upscale, somewhat rural suburb of Seattle.
What about Walla Walla WA? That's in the middle of wine country and does have a nice downtown and is very affordable.
The summer heat in Boise is easy to tolerate. It typically only lasts a few months, July and August and nights cool down and are comfortable. It isn't anything that should discourage you from looking into the area. Summer days are long too, the summer sun sets between 9:30 and 10:00 which is a great perk for living in an outdoorsy city.
If you think Boulder is too hot, then scratch Boise. Summer temps are very similar between the two cities (with Boise being slightly hotter in July and August), and every couple years Boise seems to have a heat wave with highs between 105 and 110.
Agreed. They also get more consistent cold weather and snow. While I have not spent a lot of time in Boise proper, its suburbs and surrounding bedroom towns are considerably more conservative than Boulder and its local environs. ID is still a very red state overall, even compared to rural CO.
Agreed. They also get more consistent cold weather and snow. While I have not spent a lot of time in Boise proper, its suburbs and surrounding bedroom towns are considerably more conservative than Boulder and its local environs. ID is still a very red state overall, even compared to rural CO.
It's rare for Boise to get a lot of snow during the winter, but there are times there will be a good storm. The snow usually stays up in the mountains. Boise is a blue city, liberal, with more conservative suburbs, but that can make for a nice balance for some people.
Thank you all. I really liked the feel of Boise, but I think it is because it was so much like Boulder. Bend is appealing, nice homes which seem more affordable, but it does seem isolated from a larger city, should you want/need to go into a city for any reason, which is not as appealing. I love *not* gritty, which is why this is so hard. I wish Bellingham had more areas like that, but maybe it's just a matter of time.
I hear ya, but grittiness is kind of a badge of honor in the NW, especially West of the Cascades- from OR to WA to BC. There are plenty of cute little towns, but many of the cities with a personality or history had an industrial past. It sounds like you like the "Dry Side" look better, or maybe it just feels more like what you're used to in Boulder, as you said. Regarding Boise, I actually like it. A blue bubble in a red state is nice in your immediate surroundings- and Idaho is a gorgeous place (though Boise is HOT in the summer), but the state acts very much like it's in the Deep South.
It's rare for Boise to get a lot of snow during the winter, but there are times there will be a good storm. The snow usually stays up in the mountains. Boise is a blue city, liberal, with more conservative suburbs, but that can make for a nice balance for some people.
Its typical of metro areas to lean progressive and it does create a nice balance. Heck, even Colorado Springs has a liberal core, and I constantly hear how its an evangelical hot spot. I'm not surprised that Boise has the same. However, once you get out of Boise, it trends conservative rapidly and in some places aggressively so. Idaho tends to be one of the top states where militia and doomsday preppers gravitate to. For someone moving to Idaho from Boulder which tends to be a far left area), it could be a stark and dramatic contrast when they get outside of the immediate Boise area.
Its typical of metro areas to lean progressive and it does create a nice balance. Heck, even Colorado Springs has a liberal core, and I constantly hear how its an evangelical hot spot. I'm not surprised that Boise has the same. However, once you get out of Boise, it trends conservative rapidly and in some places aggressively so. Idaho tends to be one of the top states where militia and doomsday preppers gravitate to. For someone moving to Idaho from Boulder, it could be a stark and dramatic contrast when they get outside of the immediate Boise area.
I guarantee you the rest of the state isn't as dramatic or extreme as you have assumed. The conservatism outside of liberal Boise is mainly LDS and family values even in the small towns far flung from the city core. Sure, there will be some doomsdayers up in the woods of North Idaho, but you will probably find more people like this in rural Oregon including Bend (even the burbs of Portland) and Washington than the entire state of Idaho. A quick google search even indicates militia movements in Colorado. They exist all over the United States.
Last edited by Syringaloid; 12-14-2020 at 08:05 AM..
This may be better if you're able to expand your options to include cities whose names don't begin with B. J/k
HA! I was actually laughing at that too
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