What Is It Like to Live in Boise Idaho

Postal service Summary: It seems like everyone is moving to Boise, Idaho. See why it'southward the hottest new city to live in and if it's correct for you.

Does information technology seem similar everyone is talking most Boise these days? Seriously, one quick roll through Google, and you'll find everyone from Forbes, Livability, Lone Planet, Jetsetter, and Thrillist touting the glories of why you should exist visiting or moving to Boise. The Boise metro area is i of the fastest-growing cities in the Us and is seeing a surge of younger millennials moving to the "metropolis of trees" for its economic opportunity and higher quality of life. Peradventure that's why Jetsetter listed Boise equally one of the vii Us cities that are hipper than you think.

Equally a full-time travel family wandering the US to observe where we want to live, how could we non include Boise in our list of places to visit? So nosotros did. We spent 4 months in "the Treasure Valley" to see if it lived up to its hype and if information technology could exist a identify we would exist happy to call domicile. Read on to see why anybody'due south relocating to Boise, our thoughts on this up and coming metropolis, and if nosotros're moving to Boise.

Living in Boise, Idaho: Pros and Cons

First, here's a quick summary of the pros and cons of living in Boise.
Pros:
-18-carat, friendly people
-Balmy weather
-An abundance of outdoor activities
-Low Traffic
-Low unemployment rate
-Burgeoning food and wine scene
-Family Oriented

Cons:
-Rise evolution and house prices
-Air quality
-Low diversity
-Lack of quality public transportation

If you accept followed our prior summary posts of the cities we've visited, you'll know we have some core "wants" from each city we visit. In a nutshell, we're looking for natural dazzler, man-fabricated beauty, affordability, a dynamic food scene, creative culture, variety, access to urban amenities, a mid-size city, depression traffic, community feeling, and chemistry. Y'all can read more virtually what those mean to us in our are we moving to Asheville, NC mail.

Here's our rating arrangement done in a completely subjective unscientific scale of 1-5 stars

1 Star – Nope, next.
2 Stars – Beneath average and leaning towards no.
3 Stars – A little, merely I'm not bragging most information technology on social media.
4 Stars – Yeah, solid yes.
5 Stars – Wowza, holy moly you lot're perfect!

NATURAL Dazzler

The number i thing you'll hear almost why people move to Boise is because of it's boggling admission to natural dazzler. I never got tired of driving on the 84 towards downtown Boise and seeing the sweeping views of the snow-topped mountains cradling the city. If you're a nature lover, Boise is a fantastic place to alive. In the winter, there'southward nearby Bogus Basin to get all your wintertime mountain recreation in, the foothills for unlimited hiking and mountain biking, and the incredible Boise River that flows through the city for fishing, tubing, and kayaking. Not to mention the rest of Idaho's wilderness that'southward only a short road trip abroad. Within one to two hours of Boise, you tin can visit one of the tallest sand dunes in Northward America, soak in a natural hot spring, or visit a sixty-foot waterfall – swimming hole. Obviously and simple, Boise is for people who want to enjoy the gifts of the natural earth.

That existence said, it is a high desert metropolis. Fifty-fifty though its nickname is the "urban center of trees," don't be fooled to think it'southward a lush woods town. No siree. You'll demand to travel to Northern Idaho if you want that kind of environment. We lived in a desert metropolis for over fifteen years, and we know without a shadow of a dubiety that nosotros are non desert people. We desire tall lush forests where the trees envelop you lot, rather than the sweeping desert views you get on Table Rock, the virtually famous hike in Boise. So while we recognize that Boise has spectacular beauty, it's not the correct kind of natural beauty for us.

Related:
Read our post on x amazing twenty-four hours trips to take from Boise

HUMAN Made Dazzler

While natural dazzler is a MUST for united states, we also similar to run across if the city we're visiting puts pride in the aesthetic and upkeep of its city. We love downtown Boise and if it were in our budget, living in the historic North Terminate would be a dream. It borders Downtown, and its close location to the foothills makes information technology a stellar pick for those who want like shooting fish in a barrel admission to hiking trails. We dear the mix of Victorian and Craftsman homes. If you're non into that style, Boise does have a love affair with the mid-century modern aesthetic, and y'all'll detect a lot of updated mid-century modern homes in "The Bench" neighborhood.

Boise has a lot of charm to it, and its Downtown is i of our favorite downtown areas in the entire United states. Information technology's make clean, not too large, non too pocket-size, a great mix of local shops and well-known shops, and first-class walkability.

I'd be remiss non to mention all the outstanding public parks in Boise. The city, forth with businesses and prominent Boisean families, accept done not bad work in offer a bountiful supply of beautiful unspoiled land that everyone tin can enjoy. My personal favorite is the Boise Whitewater Park and the Armed forces Reserve Bike Park, both funded in part past the Albertson family.

AFFORDABILITY

Boise is soooo affordable….if you moved hither five years ago. Sorry guys, while Boise was once an incredible place to move for its affordable homes, that is not the example anymore. Boise home prices have dramatically risen, and Boise is now 1 of the hottest real estate markets in the land. As of February 2020, the median domicile price was $355,590, an increase of eleven.25% from the last year. The steep increase in home prices has caused frustration and ire among long time residents who'south paycheck hasn't increased with the rising costs. Who can afford these more expensive homes? People from out of country. It's a contentious topic, and I'll get more into that later.

That being said, Boise is still a more than affordable identify to live than other costly cities in the Pacific Northwest. Overall, the cost of living in Boise is 1.2% lower than the national average. Here are a few stats from Nerd Wallet on living in Boise:

-The median price of a two-bedroom apartment is $ane,189.
-If y'all were making 60,000 a year bacon (pre-tax) in LA you would demand a 40,743 salary to maintain your standard of living.

Affordability is a metric that is going to be different for every person and their lifestyle. For us, Boise appears to be heading in the direction of Portland and may become inaccessible and too expensive for us.

DYNAMIC FOOD SCENE

It'south not that Boise has a bad food scene or a lack of high-quality restaurants serving inventive, excellent nutrient; information technology only doesn't have A LOT of that…nonetheless. I do not doubt that with Boise's ascension development that there is large potential for an exciting foodie scene. At that place's fifty-fifty a new nineteen,000 square-foot nutrient hall slated to open downtown in the almost future that volition focus primarily on renting to local businesses. At that place are a lot of bully restaurants in the downtown area, but what they're mostly lacking are diverse food options. So many dandy places to go a craft beer, salubrious eats, and full general American fare, but if you're looking for excellent Thai, Ethiopian, Vietnamese…y'all're going to have to expect for Boise to catch up to other cities.

Boise does accept a pop craft beer scene, heady up and coming wineries, a plethora of hip coffee shops, and ii fabled farmers markets that open up in the leap. Boise may not be in full foodie status yet, but information technology's just time till it starts to cleave itself out as a fun nutrient destination.

Related:
Where To Become An Astonishing Arts and crafts Beer In Boise
five Swell Places To Get Dessert In Boise.

Inventiveness

Having a city where the arts are thriving, and creative pursuits are not only accepted but applauded, is something that we think is very important to the vibrancy of a urban center. Boise has a fantastic art scene! It'due south an splendid place for those who are creatively inclined and are looking to be in a creative community. Walking effectually the downtown area, yous'll see Freak Alley, the largest outdoor gallery in the NW. You'll find the Boise Art Museum, the Idaho Shakespeare company, the Boise Jazz Society, and numerous music festivals that make their manner in the spring and summertime. The virtually famous music festival being Treefort, a 5-day indie rock festival that takes over downtown Boise. There'due south also Garden Metropolis, (technically it's own city and not in Boise) the "hipster" neighborhood that is having an urban renaissance into a thriving live-piece of work-create customs, consummate with galleries, hip restaurants, and wineries.

Multifariousness

Yeah, it'south pretty white here. I'll permit the raw statistics speak for themselves.

-White: 89.06%
-Two or more races: 3.28%
-Asian: 3.xiii%
-Blackness or African American: ii.12%
-Other race: 1.66%
-Native American: 0.61%
-Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander: 0.15%

For us, the lack of multifariousness in Boise gives u.s. serious break. We're hoping to heighten our son in an environment where he can see that humanity comes in many different backgrounds and cultures. The lack of diversity does not mean that Boise is an unwelcoming place or deeply divided. Far from it, my personal experience every bit a multi-ethnic woman was one of staggering friendliness and warmth. Of form, it goes without saying that my single feel doesn't speak for the whole. Overall, Boise is condign a more liberal city (they even have a female Autonomous mayor) that is exceptionally welcoming to people. In fact, Boise has a large refugee population and has taken dandy strides to be a oasis for people from Iraq, Syria, Somalia, and Congo. Currently, Boise has over xix,000 refugees from all over the world.

ACCESS TO URBAN AMENITIES

Boise has admission to everything y'all could want. Neat hospitals, an international aerodrome, a fun choice of restaurants, thriving local businesses, community events, Boise Land University, and every large box store you could e'er want.

MID SIZED CITY

Boise has an estimated population of 228,790 people. For us, that's a great number that isn't overwhelming. Of class, with Boise being the fastest growing city in the U.s., those numbers are ascent every year. From 2010-2018 the population in Boise rose by 18.ii%, and the population is growing every yr by around 2 – 3%. Do yous want to hear something crazy? It's predicted that by 2040, Ada County will have over i,000,000 people. Of class, Ada Canton is made up of more than just Boise, but there's no refuting that Boise's population volition go along to abound.

Low TRAFFIC

You lot ask me if there's traffic in Boise? No. You ask a long time resident? It'southward awful. Can't get anywhere these days!

I don't know how to break it to you guys, just the traffic is not bad in Boise. I understand that if you lived hither, y'all would see the change in commute times, but in comparison to the rest of the The states, time spent in the car in Boise is very low. According to the U.Due south. Census Bureau, drivers spend an average of over 25 minutes for commute fourth dimension in their vehicle. In Boise, the average time spent commuting is 17 minutes. The merely time we ever saw traffic in Boise was when we were in the neighboring cities of Acme and Nampa.

Is traffic going to go worse in Boise? Probably. It's what happens when a city grows.

Boise gets an A++ for its community. You guys, everyone says hi to you here. Fifty-fifty when you're in your car, they wave…from their car! For real, the people are incredibly friendly, welcoming, and warm. Boise may be a mid-sized city, but it has retained its small-town charm. I don't hateful to pigment it equally this utopian Mr. Rogers society, because there's going to be rude people wherever you go, just the Boise community stands out for its genuine nature. People from Boise love their city and put a lot of love and pride towards creating a community-focused surround.

If you're thinking most relocating to Boise, Idaho, considering you have kids and are looking for a family unit-friendly place, then you can't become wrong with Boise. Boise is listed by MSN equally the eighth safest metropolis in the globe. In fact, Idaho, in general, is one of the safest states in the United states of america.

Related:
25 Fun things to practise in Boise with kids

CHEMISTRY

So how was the chemistry for united states? Did information technology excite us? Did information technology experience like…maybe I want to meet more than of y'all? Aye. It did. We really enjoyed our time at that place. Information technology took a little while. But once the weather condition warmed up and we spent more than time outdoors we saw the neat potential this amazing city has.

Will people hate me if I'grand from California?

If I'm going to talk virtually moving to Boise, I have to address the narrative that Idaho despises California and all of its residents selling their mini-mansions, scooping up Boise's cheap belongings (to them), and raising the housing prices for everyone. Is information technology truthful? Partially. There is a massive influx of people moving to Boise, and a lot of them are from California. They're also from Washington, Utah, and Texas. In truth, the biggest group of people moving to Boise are residents from within the country. That doesn't mean that their concerns about the Californication of Idaho are unwarranted.

I've spent a small corporeality of time in Idaho now, four months in Boise, and several months in Northern Idaho. No one always treated me like a pariah when I told them I used to live in California. Mostly they would just joke with me not to tell anyone, and then we would move on. It'due south easy to hate a faceless grouping who you don't know who you lot've stripped of their humanity; it'south a lot harder to despise an actual breathing man who's standing in front of you lot with their cutie pie ii-yr-former telling y'all how bang-up your urban center is.

Because I'yard a super curious person, I did ask every single person I talked to virtually their feelings on the rapid development and if they hated me because I once lived in the state of California. Sidenote: I've also lived in Maryland, Texas, Boston, and Georgia, so I'm not sure if I'grand an actual Californian. What makes one a Californian? I digress.

Here'due south what I've gleaned from my small sampling of Boiseans. If you're going to motion to Boise and you are coming from a country that rhymes with schmalifornia, hither is what you should NOT do:

-Talk virtually how much ameliorate your land is
-Talk virtually how much better your nutrient is
-Talk about how much smarter and ameliorate you are

That'due south it. Just stop talking near how much better you lot are. Cease living upward to the stereotype that Californians are elitist snobs. Look, people in Boise are incredibly nice. If you are warm and show a genuine love for their groovy city, they're not going to hate yous.

Merely if you are moving from California to Idaho, you lot might want to change your California plates equally shortly every bit possible.

Final thoughts about moving to Boise, Idaho

We loved our time in Boise, and nosotros went dorsum and forth on if this is where nosotros want to live. The high quality of life, the outstanding nature, the growing downtown area, and the warm community vibe left us with a lot to think about. Ultimately, we're not sure nevertheless. While we beloved the natural beauty here, we crave a different type of nature with thick dark forests nosotros can get gleefully lost in. We'll see. Our journey isn't over even so, and we still have and then much more than to see. Stay tuned.

Are yous thinking virtually moving to Boise, Idaho? Let us know your thoughts below or if yous have any questions.

Also, check out our sister post on living in Asheville and our thoughts on the funky mountain town.

Pivot It For Later

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