Tell me about Boise, Idaho

I've been tossing around the idea of moving, what's Boise like anymore? Things like traffic, crime, recreational opportunities, and anything else, really.

I used to visit that area a lot back in the eighties, so I'm sure it's changed quite a bit.

ETA: DISCLAIMER: I'm not from California...

 

High traffic, very difficult housing market, whether you are looking to rent or buy, had a huge real estate boom lately, became one of the most difficult markets in entire country to buy a home, was the darling of real estate world, tons of people flocking there, mostly from California, Texas, etc, wages are lower than surrounding states, it's a right to work state, which is not good, lots of pollution in treasure valley, which includes Boise in the form of summer and winter inversions, sort of a dingy layer that hangs over valley, traffic is bad, roads and infrastructure was never meant to handle this much growth in such short time, takes 30 to 40 minutes to get across town and that's not even rush hour which starts around 3:30 pm, Idaho used to be different but it's been discovered, 2nd highest population per capita for Mormons , highest being Utah, could be a good or bad thing depending on person, Marijuana is illegal in any form, plenty of tweakers and alcoholics though, recreation was decent but you have to drive at least a hour or two for that unless you want to go to a local pond packed with tons of people or go for a bike ride on the green belt with hundreds of people or maybe hit a trail in the dry , brown foot hills outside town. It's 100 degrees in summer and freezing in the winter, spring and fall are the only seasons fit for human life, Boise , especially North End used to be one of the best kept secrets in America, that secret is out and the swarms of yuppies, and Uber conservatives have descended like locusts in strange futuristic SUVs and mini vans, just like they did in places like Aspen, Lake Tahoe etc, crime is still fairly low but I'm sure that's changing rapidly as well

 

Sounds like a lot of places anymore, sadly.

The real-estate market there is doable for us, as is the climate (I lived in Baker, OR for a long time, it's similar). Infrastructure and the pollution there don't sound too great, but I'm certain it's no worse than here (Loveland, CO). The air's so bad here anymore both my wife and I have developed minor respiratory issues; our air quality here often rivals Beijing's. Crime's a biggie for us as well, as it's pretty bad here.

With Micron doing a huge expansion, there's some good job opportunities for me there. Getting to flee Colorado sounds exceptionally attractive as well.

Anyone else with additional insights?

 

The 80s and 90s were great for Idaho but its entirely different now

 

How so?

I know real estate went completely ridiculous for a time, and Boise seems to have been gentrified a bit, but it sure seems to still be a fair amount better than where we are now. We have SO many unhoused homeless here (Loveland, CO), and crime has absolutely skyrocketed here since we moved out here in the late 90's.

 

They got some good Tators….

 

...and some freakin' KILLER Mexican food!

 

I am in Meridian, just West of Boise, moved here because wife has family here, been here 6 years. #1 do not pronounce it Boy-ZEE. It's Boy-SEE. :-D That was my first lesson in "so where ya from?"

TL;DR: if I had my choice I would go with the panhandle where it's mostly still small town and open country (except Coeur d'Alene, I hear it's worse there.) Wife won't go for it because winters are a lot colder.

I have mixed feelings about it, in spite of my comments below, we're really fortunate to be here.

In 2019 when we bought our house, the market was absolutely brutal. We made offers 20K over asking, someone would swoop in and outbid by 10K AND agree to cover any difference in assessment value. We made offers on at least 10 homes. It was that bad. Now (2023 for context if this gets read later) the market has subsided; our $323K home went to a $500K value in 2021, now it's valued at $425 and still dropping.

The good: we managed to get a home in that chaotic market because the person who lived here didn't know how to show it. Personally I think she was a vampire, the house was dark and draped up and the only thing on the walls was this creepy Hammer film looking painting of a ship on stormy seas. Neglected grounds, rotting wood "planters" all around. The neighbors tell us about the nightmares of her dogs left out in a pen all night. When we took possession, she or her son had smeared shit all over the bottoms of all three toilet seats. Nice huh?

No one stole it out from under us which made me suspicious, we did due diligence in checking out, looking for unfixable potential issues, all good. We are in the flight path of the airport but they're still high up, not a distraction, but I still have Donnie Darko thoughts. Got it at a 1.2% rate, zero down (super stellar credit) and refi'ed early to get the payment down. This is a 2 million dollar home in "other places," we got REALLY lucky.

Low crime (compared to almost any other part of the country,) open carry, you will only see homeless and druggies in the usual places in downtown Boise. I spotted at least 20 holstered guns the last time we went to the fair. The only homeless I saw in Meridian was a guy being hassled by a cop. Most of the crime, ironically enough, is from the high school kids of people who moved here LOL

All our neighbors except one renter own guns, and we know each other well. On the 4th and New Years the cul de sac next to us is blocked off and they throw a fireworks show that puts Dodger Stadium to shame (yep, fireworks technically illegal here.) Clean streets, no waking up in the middle of the night by gunshots or random altercations (for the most part anyway.)

The bad: developers are stomping the crap out of this area and there is no infra structure to support it. They widen roads here and there, but it's not going to be enough. They are building shit homes and apartments too, with vinyl faux siding, it's not even CSB board. When I press the doorbell at my stepdaughter's apartment you can see the plastic wobble in. Speaking of apartments, rent is ridiculous. She lives in this shit apartment and pays $1100/month, almost as much as our mortgage.

Sometimes you can drive for miles and all you see is Stepford Wives housing tracts. Then it opens up . . . and you see more land slated for apartments and more houses.

Traffic some days is worse than L.A., I hate to go out because of it. I know people who grew up here and most of the farmland they knew is now under housing tracts and I feel really shitty to be a part of that. The entire area is totally gentrified: you know how Fred Meyer and Dutch Brothers was always an Oregon thing? They are here, along with everything else from surrounding states.

The medical industry is totally monopolized, you go to St. Lukes, St Alphonsus, or "Primary Health" centers or you die. You cannot find a single practice doctor, they are driven out. I have never felt more like a sheep with a number on my back than when I tried to see a doctor. We've turned to home health care to avoid it.

There's not a lot to do, being a truck forum yeah "so drive, go four wheeling," when you do, everyone is already there LOL. Last time we went on an excursion we drove for 2 1/2 hours to a waterfall spot way in the hell in the desert, parked, hiked a half mile up the creek, when we got there there wasn't even a place to squeeze in by the water.

The one thing I really miss from my time in Oregon (38 years, a decade ago) is lake fishing, you could go to to any lake, rent a boat for a half day, drop anchor and pull in trout. None of the lakes here have boat rentals (that I could find.) there are marinas for boat owners, some there is a tackle shop, no boat rentals. Weirdest thing ever.

I'm big on concerts. STP (small venue acoustic session), Def Leperd, Cheryl Crow and a few others came though recently. Not only are the nosebleed seats off the hook, most of the time they are sold out by the time I hear about it.

The weather: it's not that bad but it's either baking hot or freezing cold, not a lot in between. This year has been pretty mild on both ends of the spectrum. The worst of it is driving in the winter, I'm puttering along the freeway in the slow lane, full 4WD maybe 35 tops, people are flying doing 65-70 and squirreling all over the place.

Overall we like it here and plan to stay, with all the faults it's still better than cities. Wife says people always try to get away on weekends, we don't because we've made this our home. I've never had garage in my life and now have a 3 car garage in which we actually park the cars (!!!!!!!!) more space than I've ever had in my life and wife calls it her forever home. We're happy here.

 

^^^this^^^

I am here for the dirt biking and the outdoor rec, some of the best in the country, and pretty much ignore everything else, and there is some kooky shit that goes on here.

Find the weather tolerable, growing up in PA for the first 21 years, then living in AZ for 20 years, here for the last 9+, climate is super easy to deal with. Yeah it gets hot, but only for a couple weeks, yeah it gets cold, but only for a couple weeks, lots of sun most of the entire year. While AZ has 6-7 months of solid heat, and PA has flicks a good weather here and there, with mostly overcast skies.

My wife on the other hand hates it here, and we are considering moving here in a couple years when I retire. Where that will be who in the fuck knows. One of the ideas is buying a camper then roaming around and see where we end up.

Since I have lived elsewhere and have traveled a bunch, I don’t have that state pride thing instilled in me, have seen people who just moved here from California get it, and cry about all the farmland disappearing, ummm, must not quite realize they and everyone else who recently moved are the problem, and really all that farmland used to be high desert, it is about how far back in history you want to look.

Everyone is looking for a better life, don’t think that exists…because when you find it, almost certainly it will be found by the masses then consequently ruined. Why I am pretty ok with just bumping around in a camper, get sick of a place, pick up and go somewhere else.

 

I guess i can point out some of the good things, lived there for 40 years so saw it change alot. Still one of the least populated states in general, lots of wilderness areas, very clean in general outside Boise where the inversions can settle in winter, some of the prettiest rivers in America, fishing, hunting, trail riding, skiing, boating , natural hot springs, unique geology, to name just a few, low crime, very friendly people, lower cost of living in terms of utilities and food, lots of hydro power plants help with this, Boise is a fun town, small but densly packed downtown core, so ya Boise has changed alot and im a little salty about it but Idaho is still one of the best and unique states in America with alot to offer

 

Yep it is fairly easy to get away from all the nonsense. One of the reasons I like it here. Back East not so much, ex-wife was from Cupertino, spent a bunch of time there…pain in the ass to get away from the crowds. Here, super easy. Do a lot of my outdoor rec stuff during the week, usually don’t see a soul on the trails. Weekends can get nuts in the popular spots, I avoid it and work those days. Think in 25 or so years in will look like Denver, but we will have moved or be dead by then.

 

Bogus Basin is pretty cool , Ski resort that looks over Boise, can use chairlifts in summer for Mtn Biking

 

It is. Stay away on the weekends though, absolute shit show!

 

There’s a pretty good Basque district downtown.

 

Tacos el Rey is one of the better ones. Reminds me of what we could get in Tucson.

While not authentic, Mesa Tacos & Tequila in Nampa is really good. The “Out West” brisket taco is one of my go to’s. The taste reminds me of mesquite grilled steaks that we could get in AZ.

https://www.mesatacos.com/menu

Bar Gernika is our favorite.

Found some good Middle Eastern, Thai, Indian and Ethiopian too. Not shortage of burger joints, almost comical. In & Out opening and attention it has gotten for a crappy burger and worse fries is hilarious. So many places that are so much better like Boise Fry Co.

 

Boise has alot of cyclists, some of the hardcore ones ride up to Bogus Basin which is I think 16 miles? Straight uphill

 

Guessing you went to Jump Creek, yeah that is a popular spot. There is another one (albeit smaller) on the other side of 95 that isn’t as popular, pretty much need a 4WD to get to it, does get the local riff-raft partying there Friday/Saturday nights though. Hit it mid week, no one.

Just need to take up fly fishing, real easy to find a secluded spot even close to the city center.

There is a ton of stuff to do, darn near endless recreation. Have been here just over 9 years and barely scratched the surface of all the trails here.

https://parksandrecreation.idaho.gov/motorized-trails/

 

Definitely lots of good food options, some really authentic mexican food trucks and little hole in wall places, the least english they speak usually means more authentic, not smothered in cheddar cheese , one little gem is called Carnaciera Coalcoman on Fairview Ave, tucked in the back of s small strip mall, its small market/butcher and sit down restaraunt

 

Check out rides to Silver City, old mining ghost town with a couple places to eat etc