BOISE vs DENVER for a young couple - 2015 version (Colorado Springs: home, school districts)

[JWEvergreen]

...something tells me you'll get here to Colorado one way or the other some day!

But, good luck to you! Enjoy!

[JohnnyDenver]

Originally Posted by Gleebins

Definitely leaning towards Boise right now - Denverites speak up! Lol. It just seems more livable, somewhere I can build a future instead of renting until I'm 35.

Good choice.

[bluescreen73]

Originally Posted by Gleebins

Definitely leaning towards Boise right now - Denverites speak up! Lol. It just seems more livable, somewhere I can build a future instead of renting until I'm 35.

Either metro will be what you make of it. Denver's larger and has considerably more amenities and a better night life. Summer weather is better in Denver, too. Boise typically has a hot snap every year or two where the temps will be near or above 100 for a couple weeks at a time. During the winter Denver may get more snow than Boise, but it's typically warmer during the day.

I'd choose Denver because it'd be far less of a culture shock for someone coming from a metro area with 9 million people. There's a good chance Boise will feel really cow town-ish to you.

[Hipchik]

Originally Posted by Gleebins

I noticed the lack of a central downtown area like we have in Chicago. It seems much more neighborhood focused. Is this true or did I miss something?

Downtown Denver Partnership
Downtown Denver Business Directory & Map
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Downt...er/21359210842

[SkyDog77]

Originally Posted by Gleebins

I haven't visited Boise, but I've been do Denver. I noticed the lack of a central downtown area like we have in Chicago. It seems much more neighborhood focused. Is this true or did I miss something?

Did you miss downtown? It's kind of hard to miss. If you did, you really haven't been to Denver. Think of it as going to Deerfield and saying you've been to Chicago.

[DenverBound41]

Courtesy of Ryan Dravitz Photography

Denver isn't Chicago but it most certainly has a downtown. :-)

[Hipchik]

Cool video here:
One Day on Earth - One Day in Denver on Vimeo

[anja7]

we moved from chicago to denver in last year. it was a toss-up between boise and denver. our main motivation for moving west was to be closer to the mountains for snowboarding, biking, etc. we went with denver since there seemed to be more job opportunities at the time. in hindsight, we should have picked boise.

the housing market is so tight here, there is no way in hell we can afford to buy the kind of place we want (and this is with 2 incomes/no kids). for now we're stuck renting a small over-priced house (which we were damn lucky to get...there were 9 other people looking at the place along with me). when i'm bored, i'll look at houses for sale in boise and drool over the prices whilst kicking myself.

i've spent a fair amount of time in SE idaho, which has a very large LDS population, and never had any problems with mormons in that area. i personally could care less about someone's religion.

as far as making friends go, our neighbors are very nice, but we haven't formed strong bonds with anyone. funny, but the people we have hung out with so far have all been ex-chicagoans.

music scene? my clubby/go-to shows-every-other-night days are over, but denver does get decent bands coming through. boise? ahhh...no.

but the main reason for my frustrations? I-70. i hate it. i hate it so much. every time i have to sit in a 2-3 hour traffic jam to get up to the mountains, wait in a 30 min lift line only to play human obstacle course/dodge the skiier the entire way down, then sit in a 3-4 hour traffic jam to get back to denver, i die a little inside. it's to the point where i really don't even want to snowboard anymore because it's not worth the headache.

the rest of the highways get backed up at rush hour, but nothing like the traffic jams in chicago. (i still have nightmares about 290 in hillside. ha.) *but* denver drivers are terrible...doing 10 under in the fast lane, refusing to move over, flashing their brights when you pass them, merging into you without looking...i could write a book at this point.

we're now considering moving up to boise either this year or next. in my opinion, those snarky "no vacancy" bumper stickers you see on CO cars are not too far off the mark.

it kind of makes me sad though, because i really had high hopes for denver and thought i would love it. i gave it a chance, but i've had it with the crowds and congestion. and like you, i definitely don't want to rent forever.

good luck with your decision...my vote goes to boise.

[JohnnyDenver]

Originally Posted by anja7

music scene? my clubby/go-to shows-every-other-night days are over, but denver does get decent bands coming through. boise? ahhh...no. NO U2 IN DENVER ON THIS TOUR

the rest of the highways get backed up at rush hour, but nothing like the traffic jams in chicago. (i still have nightmares about 290 in hillside. ha.) *but* denver drivers are terrible...doing 10 under in the fast lane, refusing to move over, flashing their brights when you pass them, merging into you without looking...i could write a book at this point. UNFORTUNATELY, IN DENVER I NOW PLAN YOUR MY COMMUTE AROUND RUSH HOUR. IT SUCKS AND JOHN MORRISEY ON KOA 850 DOING THE TRAFFIC REPORTS WILL MAKE A MINOR 2-CAR ACCIDENT SOUNDS LIKE A 20-CAR PILE-UP WITH AN OVERTURNED TRAFFIC TRAILER.

it kind of makes me sad though, because i really had high hopes for denver and thought i would love it. i gave it a chance, but i've had it with the crowds and congestion. and like you, i definitely don't want to rent forever. AND THE ONES MOVING HERE ALL COMMENT "I MOVING THERE FOR THE QUALITY OF LIFE." LOL!!!

Sorry to hear about your frustrations . . .

[bb777]

All,
My husband and I (mid-twenties) moved to Boise from Denver recently. We LOVE it, and absolutely recommend it over Denver (I spent most of my life in Denver). Of course, there are downfalls of being in a smaller city, but so far it comes down to easy international flights and a larger quantity of top music artists coming through for concerts. BUT the airport in Boise is so convenient and quick that it compensates for a larger amount of layovers. Aside from those, Boise has been so much better. Even with two good incomes in Denver, we couldn't afford a reasonably-sized home in good school districts that wasn't incredibly far from the city. Here in Boise, we found a home super close to downtown, walkable to hiking trails and the river, in great school districts, and a good size to grow into.

Not to mention, the downtown scene is a lot of fun. It's smaller than Denver, but Denver is more spread out with various "pockets" of downtown areas, and Boise's downtown is more dense and feels very lively. The restaurants are great. There is also a reasonable amount of arts & culture here. The Basque block is a lot of fun, and a ton of art galleries do fun events such as free wine on the first Thursday of every month. Everyone is super friendly, too - there is a great sense of community here. I think it's a great place for a lot of people. As a "city" person, I promise you won't feel bored in Boise!