Thinking of moving To Phoenix are from Boise,Idaho (Scottsdale: crime, good schools)

[locolife]

Originally Posted by enigmadsm

please elaborate... What do we have to offer down here that Boise doesn't? Other than a few hundred more golf courses.

They have a more vibrant downtown, with many more people walking around and small businesses drawing people in from food to entertainment to shopping botiques as well as weekly farmers markets in the heart of downtown. Their state Fair is actually enjoyable to go to, and being the only "city" within a 4-5 hour radius so the music and live entertainment sector are also no shame. They may not get some of the multi day festivals but do have a lot of artists and musical theatre pass through.

They have far more activities like wine tastings/wineries, fair amount of microwbreweries. just as many, if not more outdoor activity close by and within city limits. River and greenbelt going thru downtown as well as three very large and fun parks, trees galore, skiing/snowboarding, the city is a cyclists dream, fishing, hiking, etc etc etc.

The tech and medical industries in Boise are not bad at all either.

Traffic is much much better, youth activities are equally available.

I will give Phoenix the nod for higher level education as Boise is lacking on junior colleges and more than one university.

I'm all ears for hearing what Boise lacks in comparison to Phoenix. Maybe i'm missing/forgetting some key things or simply have different taste than others?

The arts and cultural attractions aren't even close to the same level. Even DT Phoenix, for all it lacks today, blows away downtown Boise in number of restaurants, population, cultural/art neighborhoods, and walk-ability. This all coming from the website walkability.com of course.

Then there's the fact that Boise is a one stop shop in a very isolated area, whereas in Phoenix you've still got multiple other urban centers that are also larger than downtown Boise in Tempe and Scottsdale, Gilbert and Chandler are probably approaching Boise status as well.

Economic opportunity is better in larger cities, Boise might have a few options for tech and medical industries, but the averages aren't on your side in a smaller city.


I could go on, but it's kind of silly. Sure, if you want a small town Boise is probably great, I'd go to Prescott though if I wanted that and be in a much warmer, also tree covered, climate that probably also has a larger downtown than Boise as well.

[goolsbyjazz]

Originally Posted by locolife

LOL that is awesome! Yeah, nothing to see here folks... Just the 13th largest metro and 6th largest city.

I also like the quote about downtown Phoenix being less lively than Boise, spoken like a true suburbanite who probably hasn't been downtown in ages and if he/she does go downtown they drive to parking garage at destination, walk directly into destination, walk back to car in garage after event, and immediately proceed back to the freeway.

Never mind one of America's top rated neighborhoods in RoRo and the amazing number of artists that live in and created this area.

What does Phoenix have to offer? I actually like to flip this around and say what doesn't Phoenix offer? Besides a beach I find it hard to beat the Phoenix lifestyle when you consider the crazy amount of things to do here, the burgeoning downtown scene along with two other urban nodes in Scottsdale and Tempe that are caulk full of great food, arts, music and events. Add to that the number of lakes nearby and rivers that feed those and an outdoor activity scene that is only limited to your imagination.... What don't we have? An ocean beach, that's about it.

One of my favorite things about Phoenix is that you can find almost anything here, it's a melting pot of people who have brought with them a melting pot of food, architecture, and way of life.

enigmadsm, this^^^^^^^^

[enigmadsm]

Clearly you have never been to Boise. I find it laughable that you accuse me of not spending anytime in downtown Phoenix. Yet you are "guessing" that prescott has a larger downtown than Boise?
Neither of you have supplied any supported information to show what Phoenix offers over any city USA. Okay, you say we are extremely large based off population alone. But unfortunately that does not simply mean we are some astonishing bustling city.
In fact I'm sure many would agree that Phoenix is quite vanilla.

[enigmadsm]

To clarify, I don't dislike Phoenix and I don't have my blinders on. But Boise is very under rated.
And it is entirely possible that you may be right. But from my experience and preference in hobbies there is nothing that Boise lacks.

[Travelguy84]

Thanks everyone for their replies. I finally drove down to phoenix from boise after visiting my family in san diego. I really enjoyed the desert landscaping and the prices of homes seem to be plentiful for my budget of 210 k or so. I only was able to spend 2 days in the greater phoenix area. I was able to visit Chandler,downtown phoenix and somehow ended up in goodyear which actually seems like a nice suburb to raise family. I really didn't get to interact with too many locals,whigh i wish I could have though to get a vibe for the friendliness.
Moving from boise most everyone is friendly and smiles,says hello and will chat with you. Are there more friendly suburbs with family minded people you could recommend me look into for housing type.
Thank you

[sexxxcblac]

Animals lay out in the sunshine, plants gravitate towards sunshine, your mood will be different when sunshine greets you in the mornings.
Most vacations are planned with anticipation of cooperative weather.
There is a reason for our live and let live reputation.
People are flocking here, jobs are following those people.....
Only a fool would take sunshine everyday for granted.

[BIG CATS]

Originally Posted by sexxxcblac

Animals lay out in the sunshine, wrong, most hide from it

plants gravitate towards sunshine, they do everywhere

your mood will be different when sunshine greets you in the mornings. not for everyone

Most vacations are planned with anticipation of cooperative weather. Ill agree to this - unless you plan winter ski destinations when bad weather = good

There is a reason for our live and let live reputation. many states (incl WA) have that attitude, and are cloudy as funk

People are flocking here, jobs are following those people..... people flocking, yes. Jobs, not so much.

Only a fool would take sunshine everyday for granted. It causes skin cancer in huge numbers, too.

My .02.

[locolife]

Originally Posted by BIG CATS

My .02.

Your pessimism is only matched by the percentage of sunshine Phoenix receives.

[ctr88]

I'd take Boise in less than a heartbeat. Way nicer place.

[locolife]

Originally Posted by ctr88

I'd take Boise in less than a heartbeat. Way nicer place.

It's all yours for the taking.