Idaho vs Colorado (Boise, Nampa, Pocatello: low crime, home, good schools)

[sillygal]

Hi, I need everyones help here.....I pretty much need to decide between Idaho and Colorado for relocation. I visited Colorado last year, and although I loved the mtns, it was alot of desert. I am used to trees, water and greenery, but I found out that North of Denver it was more treed, and lovelier mainly in the Ft.Collins/Loveland area and I have recently found out how nice Idaho is. I drove thru the valley about 25 yrs ago, and can't really remember much about it. Besides it was very beautiful. I am living in NC and originally from WI, and wouldn't mind something inbetween the two weatherwise. But, as far as the water and the trees I think I may miss it......lol. I will be posting the same thing in the Colorado forum and lets see what happens.....Thanks, and I hope I get some input.

[StampinTami]

I have been through ID from Jackpot NV up through Twin Falls and then on over through Pocatello up to Idaho Falls and also down to Malad on through to Utah. That side of the state is pretty deserty and doesn't have a whole lot of trees that we saw. I think that it is very pretty there anyways and the trees that are there are very pretty. I have heard that there are quite a bit of trees up in the Lewiston area which is in the panhandle. We considered moving there but we just loved the feel of Idaho Falls. We figure we will plant more trees on our land. I have never been to Colorado so I can't help you there.

[pinkpalace]

I've lived in Idaho Falls, Pocatello, Boise, and Nampa. StampinTami's right -- all of southern Idaho is a high desert. It's not as desolate as southern Wyoming, but it's a far, far, far cry from WI or NC. (I've driven through both of those states. WOW!)

If you want to live among trees, like WI and NC, then best bet is to go to northern Idaho (Lewiston, Couer d'Alene, Moscow), or stick with NE Colorado. Ft. Collins and Loveland are really nice. Boulder is one of my all-time favorite places: amazing mountains, lots of trees, very trendy college town. However, housing prices in Boulder are pretty bad. If it were up to me, I'd go to NE Colorado.. but then, I've never lived there... so my opinion isn't worth too much.

[sillygal]

Yes, as far as scenery u cannot beat NC, but the humidity is getting the best of me, this is the last week in May, and the temps have been in the 90's already.......UGH. WI has the best of both worlds, with all the farmland and trees.........and lots of lakes but the below zero temps, and the wind off the Lake is wickedk,and raw even in June and July. Sigh!!! There is no perfect place out there....... Everywhere u live there is something!

[pinkpalace]

true, true. I'm living up in Maine right now. It's rather humid here too -- nothing compared to NC, I bet, but much worse than ID or CO.

I agree that there is no perfect place. I thought Maine would be pretty close to Utopia before we got here -- cheap housing, low crime, no traffic, good schools .. then we found out that ME has relatively no shopping, high energy costs (really high) and high taxes.

My wife hates it here, so we're moving down to where she grew up: Georgia. I guess I'm trading the cold winters here in for the hot sticky summers down there...

[sillygal]

LOL............well all of us are trading one thing for another don't ya think? Just read these boards.........!!! One person like water, desert, mtns. Some people enjoy the humidity and some people enjoy the snow.......LOL

If I could take the heat and humidity I would live in Savannah GA for the rest of my life. I could be totally content and happy there......My next choice might be Charleston....!

Where are u guys planning on moving too?

[pinkpalace]

We'll be going to Loganville or Monroe, which are both small towns roughly halfway between Atlanta and Athens. I have a new job in Atlanta, and I hear that my commute will be roughly 1 hr in each direction, on a good day. Ugh.

Short commute is another good point about Idaho. My longest commute was 30 minutes: once because I lived in south Boise and worked in NW Boise, the other because I lived in Nampa and worked in Boise. In another case, I biked to work, and the ride only took me 10 minutes. Aaah, the good ol' days.

[sillygal]

Thats interesting that u biked to work........!!! I would love to live in a place where I could do that. I have been so intensified with relocating somewhere that I could ride my bicycle everywhere........whether it be greenways, or via roads. I have come up with three areas CO, ID, and OR......!!! All of which seem to be bike friendly, now I figure out which one of these I can tolerate the weather in......I am spoiled, I am from WI and I grew up bicycling on Rails to Trails, and on farm roads. I do like shade trees when it is too hot, and I do worry about desert terrain. Then again, I worry about grayness!!! UGH

[altaina]

There ARE treed areas in Idaho - the central mountainous area (Stanley, McCall) or the North. And even in southern Idaho in the hills south of Burley or East of Pocatello. One thing you will NOT have here is humidity:-)

Western Oregon and Western Washington are great for green and mild temps, however you'll pay for it in rain, rain, rain. I lived there.

Western Montana is also beautiful for trees - have you checked that out? Try Missoula.

[pinkpalace]

Yes, there are treed areas in Idaho, and I don't mean to make it sound like Idaho is a desert wasteland (like most of Wyoming and most of Nevada), because it certainly is not. Out of all the intermountain-west states, I think Idaho has the best combination of trees, mountains, and rivers. The weather is good, and there's practically no risk of any natural disasters in Idaho. Sure, Idaho gets earthquakes, but they're pretty rare. I remember one earthquake while living in Pocatello, but that must have been 20 or 30 years ago.

My point is that, before moving to the eastern US, I had no idea what a "treed" area was. I have been to Portland OR, Seattle.. as well as Stanley, Challis, and lots of campgrounds in the Sawtooth mountains. There are a lot of trees up there, but it's really nothing compared to the eastern states.

In my first trip to New England, I landed in Burlington VT, then drove up to Montreal, drove over to Bangor ME and finally flew home from Portland ME. Having lived my entire life in the western US, I had never seen trees like that -- the sheer density and number of them. Not just up in the mountains (well, hills, there are very few mountains), but along the freeway, between the lanes of traffic, it was awesome. I took pictures of the freeway while driving the car. Seems pretty stupid to me now... but I'm just trying to express what a shock it was to me to see so many trees.

During my long drive from Idaho to Maine, I noticed that the density of greenery gradually increases after the eastern Nebraska. By the time you get into Pennsylvania, clearings are less common than trees. The western states are the opposite. There are plenty of trees, but you usually have to go out of your way to find them.