Would I Like Idaho? (Boise, Idaho Falls: appointed, best cities, condo)

[LiveinPA]

I'm currently in PA and looking at Idaho, specifically Idaho Falls area at this point.

Here are some reasons we are looking to leave PA.

-Total lack of sunshine: Contrary to popular belief, it is Pittsburgh not Seattle that suffers from the most cloudy days per year. We get only appx. 55 sunny days per year and a ton of rain. Winters are awful as well, not because of the cold and snow but the fact that weeks can go by without seeing a hint of the sun.

-Property taxes/taxes: The property taxes here are some of the worst in the entire nation. In fact, Pittsburgh has been voted "worst place to retire" numerous times because property taxes will chew up your savings even if you own your home. The city has also recently added more and new taxes as well as city income taxes AND they just opened new casinos that will just serve to bring more crime and drugs to an already suffering area. (I'm not opposed to casinos on principal, but the city did not need them at this point...and of course they are state owned)

-Massive elderly population: Outside of one county in Florida, Allegheny county (where it Pittsburgh is) has the highest elderly population in the entire USA. They control the politics and that means vote vote vote for higher taxes to help the seniors! Of course, they don't work any longer so it never affects retired income.

-No young people. My wife and I are in our late 20s. There is almost no one here our age (see above). In fact there are actually public service announcements on TV asking young people not to leave and to have babies! I'm not making this up, Pittsburgh is dying and the population is shrinking.

-Nothing to do: Largely due to the points mentioned above there is nothing to do here. No social outlets, no nice restaurants or bars locally. We would sometimes hang out at our local Starbucks because they were open until midnight. They just changed their hours and close at 10pm because of lack of business.

-Loss of freedoms: There are DUI and "safety" checkpoints all over almost every day stopping people. The police are corrupt and out of control. Gun ownership laws are getting tighter and tighter and more innocent people are getting swept up in them. Alcohol is only available from state stores, and is insanely taxed/overpriced. Pennsylvania prohibits homeschooling your child unless you have a 4-year teachers degree and submit your home to review by a state agent for random searches, etc. etc.- the worst in the USA. PA just banned smoking in public in the city. The list goes on and on...feels more prison-like everyday.

Essentially, it feels like my home is dying and it's time to get out. I've traveled throughout the West and enjoyed it. Idaho seemed nice.

I've seen most places in AZ and UT just become mini-CA refugee camps and I don't want to live in those places. ID has nice scenery and the cold winters hopefully keep at least some of the CA refugees in the warmer locals. We're both from blue-collar families and the California attitudes found all over the Southwest are not what we enjoy. These people would tell me just visiting there how much better CA was...and they left and try to make their new home like it! Morons.

I'm self-employed and can live anywhere that has high-speed internet.

So...what do you Idaho folks think? Might we like it there?

[Steve-o]

55 days of sun per year? Doesnt seem possible seeing that Chicago averages 180-200 sunny days per year. Im sure you average alot more sun than that!

Anyways, Idaho is nice, but its a complete different lifestlye than big-city Pittsburgh.

[LiveinPA]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

55 days of sun per year? Doesnt seem possible seeing that Chicago averages 180-200 sunny days per year. Im sure you average alot more sun than that!

Anyways, Idaho is nice, but its a complete different lifestlye than big-city Pittsburgh.

CNNMoney says 59 per year: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/money...PL4261000.html

I've seen everything from 50-62 stated. But ya, it's pretty depressing here sometimes.

[pinkpalace]

Idaho Falls is a nice place to live. You do get lots of sun, low taxes, and the quality of life there is really good. I don't like the cold, windy weather in IF, but I've never been to Pittsburg, so I can't compare IF winters to Pittsburg. I bet you'd see less snow in IF than you would in Pittsburg. No lake effect snow in IF!

My only caution would be the "nothing to do". If you like spending time outdoors, then you'll be really, really happy in IF. Camping, hunting, skiing, and other good outdoors sports are easy to get to in IF. However, if you want a variety of shopping or places to go downtown, you will probably be disappointed. Just depends on what you're looking for.

Boise is a good place to go too. You get a lot of the same outdoors activity access, with better access to a downtown life and shopping. Weather in Boise is nicer than IF weather too.

[CuzzyBro]

IF is a nice town, I've allways quite liked it, but it is defidently different from the east coast. You will find it a very suburban area, the night life is not really happening here, but it is a nice place to raise kids and taxes are low. We try to keep the CA crowd from changing things too much, (thought I must admit that my wife is from CA) but things always seem to move that way.

[manybees]

Originally Posted by pinkpalace

Boise is a good place to go too. You get a lot of the same outdoors activity access, with better access to a downtown life and shopping. Weather in Boise is nicer than IF weather too.

I guess that depends on your definition of good. It won't be long now til the masses start trying to get out of Boise too(Metro pop. over 500,000). And the weather... well you had better like lots of 100+ days.

[LiveinPA]

Originally Posted by CuzzyBro

IF is a nice town, I've allways quite liked it, but it is defidently different from the east coast. You will find it a very suburban area, the night life is not really happening here, but it is a nice place to raise kids and taxes are low. We try to keep the CA crowd from changing things too much, (thought I must admit that my wife is from CA) but things always seem to move that way.

I don't really need a lot of nightlife....just SOMETHING is really nice besides your standard chain restaurants.

The one thing I notice about East versus West- the Eastern cities definitely seem to have a "style" or "flavor" to them while the West just seems to become more homogenized...that whole CA / strip mall thing going on.

I lived in Arizona for a time and hated it, couldn't make me go back. No one there was from AZ, they were all from somewhere else like me...it's a little weird. But I guess you never have to worry about fitting in...

[violet57]

Not being a sun worshipper, I left Boise after 30 years because it has the opposite "problem" than Pittsburgh. It is too "sunny" and hot in the summer. I lived in Pittsburgh for two years (1995-1997) and loved the weather (including the heavy snowstorms), the neighborhoods (German, Jewish, Slovak, Polish, etc.) that made Pgh. so colorful, and I actually found the people to be more friendly, certainly more tolerant, than in Boise. Pittsburgh also has colorful and interesting attractions. Boise, simply said, looks like a small Phoenix or Denver - no interesting architecture, neighborhoods, charm, warmth, etc. It does provide excellent outdoor opportunities (hunting, fishing, hiking, rafting, mountain climbing) but otherwise, the available and accessible activities are limited. Although Boise has good healthcare, it is nothing compared to UPMC and the Boise Philharmonic, although good for its size, pales in comparison to the PSO. Pittsburgh was also strategically close to almost everywhere in the East - certainly within a day's drive to Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Upstate NY, the Adirondacks, etc. Remember that Boise is over 400 miles from its closest metro neighbors (Portland, Salt Lake), so it is pretty isolated. Air connections are less than what you are used to in Pgh. as well.

If you're willing to make such a drastic change culturally, climatically and scenically, then by all means, choose Idaho. But don't say that you were forewarned!

[Treecity]

I will have to disagree with you (Violet57) regarding some of your comments.
Sure Boise doesn't compare to an older, much larger metro in the East, but Boise isn't the "non historic" city like you make it sound. Downtown is full of interesting historic architecture and a lot of people often comment on just how charming downtown is, in fact much of the downtown area is a historic district. Downtown has a very quaint, historic feel to it with interesting local shops, restaurants, etc. The modern highrise buildings are kind of plain, but a lot of new buildngs proposed for downtown including the 34 floor Boise Place condo/hotel tower is beautiful and will add a lot to the skyline once built.

The NorthEnd Historic District, Warm Springs Historic District, Old Boise Historic District, all add charm and history to the surrounding downtown area. I moved here from larger cities and was quite impressed with the warm, historic, neighborhoods around downtown Boise as well as the impressive old homes and architecture. Granted the history here is not as old as the East, but Boise can hold its own easily when it comes to historic structures and homes. I found it amusing that you were trying to downgrade Boise by making it sound like a small Denver, when in fact Denver is considered one of the most cosmopolitan, artsy, cities in the Western US.

Boise is considered one of the best cities to live in if you are taking outdoor recreation into consideration---it isn't limited at all. There is so much to go see and explore around and near Boise (in the outdoors) that it is almost overwhelming. The two largest hospitals in Boise are considered some of the finest in the Northwest, and one of those is often rated as one of the best trauma hospitals in the whole Western US.
Boise is fast becoming an arts town and is very cosmopolitan for a smaller city. I looked in one of our weekly newspapers and verified that there are 24 art galleries/museums in the downtown area which is impressive for a city this size. Boise has changed tremendously the past decade and is becoming one of the most attractive cities in the West. And Boise is near some of the most beautiful scenery anywhere. I have lived in several larger cities and decided to move to Boise because this city has almost all a large city does without the large city headaches.
Oh yes, Boise is isolated, but so is every other major city in the Intermountain West. Salt Lake is just as far from another large city as Boise is.

[vintage]

My perception of Boise’s downtown and north-end is similar to Treecity’s. Boise has a defined pleasant city center. I consider the fact that Boise is a long way from a large metro area to be a good thing.

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