Hey Ohioans

[the_pines]

I'm glad you asked. To me, a city of around 500k-1mill is about the perfect sized city. You can have a lot of the things bigger cities have on a smaller more manageable scale. Your traffic isn't going to take up most of your life. Getting to a health clinic or hospital is relatively easy. As well as being able to travel to different grocery stores or whatever very easily.

Its less a burden on police and infrastructure also. Lower crime, easier to manage schools. Its just the perfect sized city for me.

Now the pictures I was looking at of Boise weren't brown and ugly. If you go north of the snake river valley it gets green and mountainous quickly. I don't know why I like Boise so much and I have never been there. It reminds me of a Dayton out west that's a lot cleaner. The prices I seen were similar too. You have the mini downtowns with miniature high rise buildings and loft apartments without staggering costs. In cities those sizes costs stay much more reasonable. Its also easier to settle in and be happy than it is in a city that is a beast.

I want to move to Boise bad or at least be able to see if I would like it. I like the mini downtowns and smaller high rises much more than the huge towering skylines. I just don't like huge cities. Dayton and Boise are about the perfect sizes.

My wife isn't going to go for it though because of family. We wouldn't know anyone out there. Actually one of my wifes best friends when she was younger moved from Boise to Dayton. She loved Dayton but ended up moving back to Boise and going to college there. God I hope Californians don't cause it to be overpriced. Western Montana(to small of towns for me) is already way overpriced because of transplants trying to make it resort country. Like the poor and middle class need even less places to move to.

I don't mind winters or snow either. I love the snow during Christmas time. I don't like being in a warm weather area during Christmas. It just doesn't have near the coolness. I can be happy just about anywhere though. I don't need to move. Its just that i'm always pulled towards that certain sized city and natural settings. Boise looks like the Gem City of the west to me. Much cleaner and without the hardships. Though I could get out there and find out it feels to new or fake or something.

Plus it doesn't seem like an area plagued by political arguing and nonsense. I like areas that use common sense over trying to be to cool or something. I guess my dream would be to move to Boise and start a video game company(if I went to school to be a programmer and everything else) or start one in Dayton. Actually I would probably make them like brother and sister cities and help both equally.

These smaller cities are way cooler. They can have all the things bigger cities can and leave out all the things you wouldn't want in bulk. You can go from a loft apartment, downtown nightlife where people are concentrated to being in the country relatively quick. You can actually live life instead of being pulled and pushed around.

[boardmanite]

Anyone got pictures of this western dreamland?

[the_pines]

Yea let me try to find them first.

These are from the Idaho forums,

//www.city-data.com/forum/boise...s-capital.html
//www.city-data.com/forum/idaho...ho-7-24-a.html
//www.city-data.com/forum/boise...ne-photos.html
//www.city-data.com/forum/boise...res-boise.html

Only problem is Idahoans are reeling from rising real estate prices. Investors and house peddlers, and rental investors are causing massive inflation everywhere. Its seems home prices around Boise and such are creeping up to 200-250k. The locals are very angry about it. So if you do like it and want to move there, do NOT encroach into the fabric of their infrastructure. I wouldn't cut down to many trees or anything like that either. It seems like a place to live, not a place to just transplant to. Anyway, dreams. . . I think its already to expensive for us to live there. RRRRRRRR real estate investors rub me wrong in the worst way.

[Crew Chief]

Was stationed at Mountain Home AFB (50 miles East) and lived in a nice apartment complex in Boise. Observation: ID is a Right-to-Work state, so wages for many skills tend to be lower. I'd also say it's a good place to start a business if you have your stuff together, otherwise. Boise is equidistant from Portland, OR, Salt Lake and Spokane, in other words, right in the middle of nowhere. It's a nice oasis in the middle of spectacular scenery and outdoors recreation (Even the High Desert Plateau has it's own unique beauty!) Summers are hot and dry, so that's why Sen. Craig's backdrops look brown. Generalizations are never very good, but we found Boiseans very frinedly as long as you behave yourself. There really is a suprising mix of political thinking in Boise. Conservative natives as well as more liberal new arrivals. My next door neighbor was undergoing a sex change as we were leaving... Just some random thoughts...

[the_pines]

Yea. never mind. I'm not in to the liberal west scenes. I'd rather live underground in Ohio lol. Its either Tampa or Dayton(or somewhere else in Ohio) again for me.

[boardmanite]

Great pictures. I've had a complete change of opinion about that place. I'm moving to Boise even if you don't!

[ILOVEOHIO]

Pines,

You almost want to make move to Boise but, it seems almost too good to be true. I think I'll stay in my small town. It will never get bigger, especially now that the whole Casino thing has been shot down and its incredibly predictible, which is nice for having a family with children. The ONLY thing I have against my tiny town is that there isn't more of a racial balance but, we aren't too far from Akron or Massillon that its unattainable.

[the_pines]

Alright guys and gals. What about these cities? These are the cities im looking at. Any of your thoughts would be appreciated.

Durango Colorado, Santa Fe New Mexico, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, Astoria, Oregon, Concord, New Hampshire, Portland, Maine, Bar Harbor, Maine, Redding, California, Asheville, North Carolina, Reno, Nevada, Colorado Springs, Colorado, Bend, Oregon, Newport, Oregon, Seaside, Oregon, Boise, Idaho, Youngstown, Ohio, Akron Ohio, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Ft Wayne, Indiana, Sequim, Washington, and Juneau Alaska.

I know they might look pricey but it is my opinion that if the average family doesn't move to a place then it is in danger of becoming a resort wealthy only town.

Guys go get Google Earth( Google Earth ) and lets take a stroll up and down the mostly unpopulated Oregon Coast. Its filled with captioned pictures if you zoom in and click on the blue dots.

[Ohiogirl81]

I love Asheville. Love it love it love it.