What I like about Idaho (Boise, Nampa: transplants, new home, dorm)

[kristinl5]

During the drive out to a potential listing today in the Kuna/Nampa area my mind started to wander about the different posts on city-data from people who want to know about Idaho (I know having your mind wander while driving is not wise, but let's admit it..everyone does it). I started thinking about all the things I like about Idaho..at that moment I passed a farmer on a tractor going the oposite way on the road I was on, and he waived a greeting to me (no he wasn't gesturing at me due to innatentive driving!).
That is what I like about Idaho...you can go through the busy metro area of Boise and minutes later you are driving through farm country with the locals waiving at you.
The sunsets! The sunsets in Idaho are absolutely gorgeous, I don't know why it is but they seem more beautiful, more special here than anywhere else I have lived or visited.
The fact that you have a river running directly through the downtown area of Boise, and you can watch people floating it on rafts and inner tubes, enjoying a summer day (no this is not an episode of CSI with people floating in a river!)
You can have a city entertainment like the ballet, plays, rock concerts, etc.. and at the same time you find small town parades, festivals and fiddle contests.
On a nice day in June you can take your family out to pick cherries and enjoy the cherry festival in Emmett, in the fall you can pick pumpkins and apples...and you can enjoy a picnic in the orchard and make a day of it!
You've got great skiing, excellent white water rafting, fishing, boating..and all of these can be as little as an hour away from your home.
It's a beautiful place and I feel lucky to live here! AHHH Idaho

[DESERTRYDER]

Ah Emmett..
That is why we have chosen that to be or new home town.
Close enough to the big city to pick up grandma at the airport but far enough away to be in the country.

great story Kristin

[kristinl5]

Thanks Desert, I've been watching your progress on moving to Idaho and enjoying your adventure...I'm sure you'll enjoy Idaho just as much as I do!

[stingraynm]

x2 ALL THE WAY!

The first house I lived in growing up, we had a large back yard at the base of a hill. The lower scape had a tree fort sharing support from the hillside and a massive elm. The upper scape had two cherry trees and one apple tree, plus a garden containing strawberries, raspberries, squash, snap peas (called 'em sugar snaps), tomatoes, carrots, onions, and rhubarb. I have many fond memories of gathering ripe items from the trees and garden.

Also in agreement with you that small-town Idaho friendliness is rarely matched. I miss the smile, wave, and nod of Idaho highways and back roads.

[Towhee]

Kristin, My sister lived in Boise for many years, and now lives in Meridian. We (she and I, and our brother was born and raised in Camas County, and lived in the Jerome area for years. You have made me nostalgic!
But....I have been here in the Ozarks for over 31 years,and I must say, the people here do exactly the same thing as you mentioned the locals doing in Idaho. I still love Idaho, and it will always be my 'home', but now this area is also my home.
Actually, a very large population of Jerome came from Arkansas, from this very area where I now live.
I went to high school in Jerome, and I had a saying , that Arkansas and Missouri took the area around Jerome without firing a shot!
Anyway, I enjoyed your post.

[eastidahomom]

I confess that when we moved here, I hated Idaho! The snow was beautiful for the first week and then I only wanted it to go away and have warmth and sunshine again.

After many years here, I too have fallen in love with the sunsets, white water rafting, the fact that rivers run through Boise, Idaho Falls, Blackfoot, etc. The canyon in Twin Falls, the fact that the old farmers know us by name, and even if they don't, they smile and wave. It's a much friendlier atmosphere by far from where I grew up.

Ok, I still hate the snow and cold. But you have reminded me of the good points in Idaho and for that, I appreciate the post.

[stingraynm]

Originally Posted by eastidahomom

I confess that when we moved here, I hated Idaho! The snow was beautiful for the first week and then I only wanted it to go away and have warmth and sunshine again.

After many years here, I too have fallen in love with the sunsets, white water rafting, the fact that rivers run through Boise, Idaho Falls, Blackfoot, etc. The canyon in Twin Falls, the fact that the old farmers know us by name, and even if they don't, they smile and wave. It's a much friendlier atmosphere by far from where I grew up.

Ok, I still hate the snow and cold. But you have reminded me of the good points in Idaho and for that, I appreciate the post.

Yeah, the cold - and even more so, the clouds, it seems - can get pretty brutal in some areas. My first winter in Moscow as someone who was used to Boise winters introduced me to the experience of Seasonal Affective Disorder (though freshman doldrums probably played their part, too).

Just for the sake of many who are put off by Idaho's winter cold and let the doldrums and cabin fever get the best of them, I'll share some lessons learned from what was occasionally unbearable cold in Moscow... the kind that stings whatever is exposed, including the lungs.

The next winter, I realized that the key was to buy effectively warm multiple layers of clothing (thermals, head and face cover, and wool make all the difference in the world, not to mention a quality waterproof jacket and ski overalls) and thereby liberate myself from what was priorly captivity by cold. For the clouds, the body requires more exercize to supplement endorphins (just trudging in snow can accomplish a lot in a short distance, because it forces you to march for circulation and flex joint muscles, and that's aside from clothing weight, though ultralight synthetics are very advanced and effective now) and more nourishment to supplement the sun (hundreds of websites can direct you to proper foods... just don't listen to the ones that tell you to overload on vitamin D and zinc supplements... those can be toxic and a lot of healthy foods will give you an ample supply).

Lastly but no less importantly, good company and merriment. I don't think our New England and Midwestern ancestors (perhaps further back for other Northern Hemisphere locales) were just being random when they set celebrations of fellowship, reunion (and union), and optimism in the winter months. Of course, any historian will point out the fact that it falls just after the ideal time for hunting and harvesting, but for Thanksgiving and religious holidays, nothing forced our respective cultures to add the themes of gratitude, celebration, sufficient leisure time for travel, and gift-giving. I'm sure we owe a lot of tradition and themes to benevolent leaders of times past who just happened to recognize that a morale boost was necessary just before January steps up the tribulation.

Of course, some more fundamentalist traditions decide to fast and/or lay on a thick and heavy guilt trip, but I'm not touching that one with a ten foot pole, suffice to say that perhaps I'm more ethnocentric and post-modern than I'd like to believe on two respective fronts. Oh well, I think benevolence and joy need all the support they can get this time of year (and on this planet, to boot!), so I feel vanquished even if death puts me before a jury of extremists or tight-wads... some heavens just ain't heaven, y'know? If that were the case, I'd at least like to know what's up with all this subjective relativity of perception stuff before the torturous retribution commences... how dare we enjoy the gift of existence amidst its responsibilities.

Oh man, but I'll stop there... fun and merriment are just all right with me... says it all... and hey, a full house is a warm house and kids (little or BIG) can build much happier memories with presents (little or BIG). What really got me through the Moscow winters, above all else, were the pot lucks that would ensue with my Moscow friends, followed by the promise of a long break for reunion with my Boise fam and friends. Not so much as an adult in the fray, but as a youth on the sidelines, even the dysfunction and drama is just a further reminder of the "unique" character traits that we love about - and for family, share with - these nutjobs. Ah, for the bonds that cannot be broken, even by having nothing or too much in common.

[usafracer]

I love Idaho too. I am sad to say that after 6 years I am moving on though. I hope to find the same type of people and community in Alaska.

[kristinl5]

Thanks to all who posted, you just reconfimed what I said about Idaho..Its a great place to live!

[stingraynm]

Originally Posted by usafracer

I love Idaho too. I am sad to say that after 6 years I am moving on though. I hope to find the same type of people and community in Alaska.

In college I had two dorm pals from Alaska, one from Anchorage and the other from Homer, and they were both friendly fellows and very much the attitude I'd generally expect from city and township Idaho equivalents, respectively. They said the long days and nights are harder for transplants than for locals, and some areas get VERY remote (i.e., access = chopper or dogs).

The fellow from Homer would joke about how that locale consisted almost entirely of his relatives, but there was no question that much of that was intermingled via marriage with folks from other areas, and therefore most of them were several times separated genetically with plenty of outside gene pools provided. He was Tlinget, too, so his good-humored jokes aside, that's pretty much the case for many tribes in what were less accessible areas once upon a time. They've all covered fairly large swathes of land, maintained numerous lineages, and intermingled with subsequent nomads and settlers for centuries.

If anyone tries to b.s. you with any of those Alaskan stereotypes about isolation and in-breeding, it's important to remind them that we all originate from small nomadic tribes, some of them just more nomadic than others (and ironically those are the ones that kept the most heritage intact).

Really, a funny note to all those heritage issues is that humanity really owes a lot of its genetic and social health today to cruel and/or foolish rulers who forced and/or inspired the myriads of pioneers (nomads) throughout time, not to mention the numerous Romeo & Juliet themed true stories that will never be told, although they occurred among those who stayed behind among the larger "tribes" who found isolation in conflict as opposed to geography.

Sorry for the tangent, but hearing hopes that Alaska will bring the same friendliness of Idaho led me to recall the complementary learning experiences in college that were provided by in-depth world anthopological/sociological history discussions and interactions with tribal folks who joined me on the shaky limb of leaving behind the respective small worlds of childhood to join the big wide world with all its shared perspectives and intolerance.