Tell me about Boise
08-25-07, 09:08 PM
#4
it is flipping hot in the summer and cold in the winter, the wind blows across the high plains unabated... and the only time i have ever been stiffed on parts is when i sent 2 sets of rotors to a boiseite for free, only asking for shipping charges...
but i hear it is nice.
taxes are low and property is cheap, it tends to be cosnservative politically and people
will mostly leave you alone if that is what you want.
are you moving there?
but i hear it is nice.
taxes are low and property is cheap, it tends to be cosnservative politically and people
will mostly leave you alone if that is what you want.
are you moving there?
08-25-07, 11:23 PM
#5
Former Moderator. RIP Icemark.
Thread Starter
it is flipping hot in the summer and cold in the winter, the wind blows across the high plains unabated... and the only time i have ever been stiffed on parts is when i sent 2 sets of rotors to a boiseite for free, only asking for shipping charges...
but i hear it is nice.
taxes are low and property is cheap, it tends to be cosnservative politically and people
will mostly leave you alone if that is what you want.
are you moving there?
but i hear it is nice.
taxes are low and property is cheap, it tends to be cosnservative politically and people
will mostly leave you alone if that is what you want.
are you moving there?
08-26-07, 02:15 AM
#6
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I live in Ontario, Oregon...about 50 minutes west of Boise.
I love it here. Granted, I was born and raised in this valley, but I'm not someone who is afraid to leave my comfort zone, but yet I still choose to stay here.
You get the big city shopping and any and all retail shops you could imagine, without having to live in the big city. Boise is around 300k, and then the surrounding cities, which have literally grown into each other the past decade (eagle, meridian, nampa, caldwell, middelton, kuna, star all run into each other, sometimes you can't really tell what city you are in if you don't know the area
)
Meridian and Eagle are pretty dominate with upper-middle class and upper class living, not all of it, but good part espeically north eagle, boise is old enough it has it's dumpy areas but most seem to be located in the large industrial/commercial areas, which you wouldn't want to live in anyway.
Traffic is modest, rush hour on a normal day is NOTHING compared to larger cities (portland, seatle, etc) and traffic keeps moving along and rarely comes to a stand still, so getting home from work is usually fairly painless.
Downtown has a very strong nightlife 7 days a week, so if you are a night owl, plenty of entertainment any time of the week.
Family entertainment is all over as well if you have kids, regardless of their age, always some good clean fun to be had.
3 ski resorts that I can think of in the area, bogus is like a 45 minute drive and Brundage in McCall is less than 2 hours I believe. Tamarac isn't far either. An un godly amount of trails and blm ground to explore on quads/dirtbikes, mountain bikes, hiking, multiple lakes/resivouirs to fish/boat on.....damn dude you name it, we have it, and still is very moderate as far as how populated the valley is. Local economy is pretty much self sustaining, with many good paying jobs to be had.
Right now the real estate market is dropping and sellers are gettting deperate, so it's definitely a buyers market right now. Thousands of new homes have been built in the past couple years, and everywhere you turn is a nice, new subdivision with many options depending on what type of home a person is looking for.
Theres a quick run down on a few things from someone who actually lives here, rather than a passer-byer who came through for a couple days during some crappy weather and gave them a bad outlook on it. It is hot and dry in the summer (average temp this year in July was 96 I believe) and winters vary from little to no snow, to cold as hell and a good amount of snow, but never anything you can't drive through. So the weather definitely can go from one extreme to the other, but as far as any type of devistating weather (floods, tornado's, etc) we've never had any.
Oh, and we even have our own little Idaho Rotary Club.
I love it here. Granted, I was born and raised in this valley, but I'm not someone who is afraid to leave my comfort zone, but yet I still choose to stay here.
You get the big city shopping and any and all retail shops you could imagine, without having to live in the big city. Boise is around 300k, and then the surrounding cities, which have literally grown into each other the past decade (eagle, meridian, nampa, caldwell, middelton, kuna, star all run into each other, sometimes you can't really tell what city you are in if you don't know the area
)Meridian and Eagle are pretty dominate with upper-middle class and upper class living, not all of it, but good part espeically north eagle, boise is old enough it has it's dumpy areas but most seem to be located in the large industrial/commercial areas, which you wouldn't want to live in anyway.
Traffic is modest, rush hour on a normal day is NOTHING compared to larger cities (portland, seatle, etc) and traffic keeps moving along and rarely comes to a stand still, so getting home from work is usually fairly painless.
Downtown has a very strong nightlife 7 days a week, so if you are a night owl, plenty of entertainment any time of the week.
Family entertainment is all over as well if you have kids, regardless of their age, always some good clean fun to be had.
3 ski resorts that I can think of in the area, bogus is like a 45 minute drive and Brundage in McCall is less than 2 hours I believe. Tamarac isn't far either. An un godly amount of trails and blm ground to explore on quads/dirtbikes, mountain bikes, hiking, multiple lakes/resivouirs to fish/boat on.....damn dude you name it, we have it, and still is very moderate as far as how populated the valley is. Local economy is pretty much self sustaining, with many good paying jobs to be had.
Right now the real estate market is dropping and sellers are gettting deperate, so it's definitely a buyers market right now. Thousands of new homes have been built in the past couple years, and everywhere you turn is a nice, new subdivision with many options depending on what type of home a person is looking for.
Theres a quick run down on a few things from someone who actually lives here, rather than a passer-byer who came through for a couple days during some crappy weather and gave them a bad outlook on it. It is hot and dry in the summer (average temp this year in July was 96 I believe) and winters vary from little to no snow, to cold as hell and a good amount of snow, but never anything you can't drive through. So the weather definitely can go from one extreme to the other, but as far as any type of devistating weather (floods, tornado's, etc) we've never had any.
Oh, and we even have our own little Idaho Rotary Club.
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08-26-07, 03:33 PM
#8
You should consider a second home in the Seattle area 
And if you need an agent... Guess who?! That's right! ME! haha
Boise isn't so bad. From what I could tell when I was there a few years (3 or 4) back it was pretty quiet, but downtown was really busy late at night. You really do get a lot for your money. New homes over there are absolutely gorgeous and definitely worth the money you pay for them over there. In comparison a 250k home would have been about 500k in the Seattle area at that time. It really didn't appear there was much to do there. But they do have WalMart and Coldstone ice cream That's gotta count for something
And if you need an agent... Guess who?! That's right! ME! hahaBoise isn't so bad. From what I could tell when I was there a few years (3 or 4) back it was pretty quiet, but downtown was really busy late at night. You really do get a lot for your money. New homes over there are absolutely gorgeous and definitely worth the money you pay for them over there. In comparison a 250k home would have been about 500k in the Seattle area at that time. It really didn't appear there was much to do there. But they do have WalMart and Coldstone ice cream
That's gotta count for something
08-26-07, 05:17 PM
#10
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08-27-07, 04:35 PM
#12
Former Moderator. RIP Icemark.
Thread Starter
Now the one thing I do like about WA is that I hear there are no State income taxes.
Boise isn't so bad. From what I could tell when I was there a few years (3 or 4) back it was pretty quiet, but downtown was really busy late at night. You really do get a lot for your money. New homes over there are absolutely gorgeous and definitely worth the money you pay for them over there. In comparison a 250k home would have been about 500k in the Seattle area at that time. It really didn't appear there was much to do there. But they do have WalMart and Coldstone ice cream That's gotta count for something
That's gotta count for something
08-27-07, 04:44 PM
#13
Former Moderator. RIP Icemark.
Thread Starter
So where do you suggest?
Looking for a city area 50,000-300,000 population (gets you the basics of a decent city including a decent modern airport within at least an hour and a half drive).
Cost of living low (at or near the national average).
Medium to high standard of living.
No frozen Tundra, no snow on the ground for months on end, no temps above 100 for any major length of time.
Preferably within a 3 hour drive of a decent ski resort.
Looking for a city area 50,000-300,000 population (gets you the basics of a decent city including a decent modern airport within at least an hour and a half drive).
Cost of living low (at or near the national average).
Medium to high standard of living.
No frozen Tundra, no snow on the ground for months on end, no temps above 100 for any major length of time.
Preferably within a 3 hour drive of a decent ski resort.
08-27-07, 04:45 PM
#14
Former Moderator. RIP Icemark.
Thread Starter
I live in Ontario, Oregon...about 50 minutes west of Boise.
I love it here. Granted, I was born and raised in this valley, but I'm not someone who is afraid to leave my comfort zone, but yet I still choose to stay here.
You get the big city shopping and any and all retail shops you could imagine, without having to live in the big city. Boise is around 300k, and then the surrounding cities, which have literally grown into each other the past decade (eagle, meridian, nampa, caldwell, middelton, kuna, star all run into each other, sometimes you can't really tell what city you are in if you don't know the area)
Meridian and Eagle are pretty dominate with upper-middle class and upper class living, not all of it, but good part espeically north eagle, boise is old enough it has it's dumpy areas but most seem to be located in the large industrial/commercial areas, which you wouldn't want to live in anyway.
Traffic is modest, rush hour on a normal day is NOTHING compared to larger cities (portland, seatle, etc) and traffic keeps moving along and rarely comes to a stand still, so getting home from work is usually fairly painless.
Downtown has a very strong nightlife 7 days a week, so if you are a night owl, plenty of entertainment any time of the week.
Family entertainment is all over as well if you have kids, regardless of their age, always some good clean fun to be had.
3 ski resorts that I can think of in the area, bogus is like a 45 minute drive and Brundage in McCall is less than 2 hours I believe. Tamarac isn't far either. An un godly amount of trails and blm ground to explore on quads/dirtbikes, mountain bikes, hiking, multiple lakes/resivouirs to fish/boat on.....damn dude you name it, we have it, and still is very moderate as far as how populated the valley is. Local economy is pretty much self sustaining, with many good paying jobs to be had.
Right now the real estate market is dropping and sellers are gettting deperate, so it's definitely a buyers market right now. Thousands of new homes have been built in the past couple years, and everywhere you turn is a nice, new subdivision with many options depending on what type of home a person is looking for.
Theres a quick run down on a few things from someone who actually lives here, rather than a passer-byer who came through for a couple days during some crappy weather and gave them a bad outlook on it. It is hot and dry in the summer (average temp this year in July was 96 I believe) and winters vary from little to no snow, to cold as hell and a good amount of snow, but never anything you can't drive through. So the weather definitely can go from one extreme to the other, but as far as any type of devistating weather (floods, tornado's, etc) we've never had any.
Oh, and we even have our own little Idaho Rotary Club.
I love it here. Granted, I was born and raised in this valley, but I'm not someone who is afraid to leave my comfort zone, but yet I still choose to stay here.
You get the big city shopping and any and all retail shops you could imagine, without having to live in the big city. Boise is around 300k, and then the surrounding cities, which have literally grown into each other the past decade (eagle, meridian, nampa, caldwell, middelton, kuna, star all run into each other, sometimes you can't really tell what city you are in if you don't know the area
)Meridian and Eagle are pretty dominate with upper-middle class and upper class living, not all of it, but good part espeically north eagle, boise is old enough it has it's dumpy areas but most seem to be located in the large industrial/commercial areas, which you wouldn't want to live in anyway.
Traffic is modest, rush hour on a normal day is NOTHING compared to larger cities (portland, seatle, etc) and traffic keeps moving along and rarely comes to a stand still, so getting home from work is usually fairly painless.
Downtown has a very strong nightlife 7 days a week, so if you are a night owl, plenty of entertainment any time of the week.
Family entertainment is all over as well if you have kids, regardless of their age, always some good clean fun to be had.
3 ski resorts that I can think of in the area, bogus is like a 45 minute drive and Brundage in McCall is less than 2 hours I believe. Tamarac isn't far either. An un godly amount of trails and blm ground to explore on quads/dirtbikes, mountain bikes, hiking, multiple lakes/resivouirs to fish/boat on.....damn dude you name it, we have it, and still is very moderate as far as how populated the valley is. Local economy is pretty much self sustaining, with many good paying jobs to be had.
Right now the real estate market is dropping and sellers are gettting deperate, so it's definitely a buyers market right now. Thousands of new homes have been built in the past couple years, and everywhere you turn is a nice, new subdivision with many options depending on what type of home a person is looking for.
Theres a quick run down on a few things from someone who actually lives here, rather than a passer-byer who came through for a couple days during some crappy weather and gave them a bad outlook on it. It is hot and dry in the summer (average temp this year in July was 96 I believe) and winters vary from little to no snow, to cold as hell and a good amount of snow, but never anything you can't drive through. So the weather definitely can go from one extreme to the other, but as far as any type of devistating weather (floods, tornado's, etc) we've never had any.
Oh, and we even have our own little Idaho Rotary Club.
08-27-07, 07:02 PM
#15
Yeah I completely understand the cost of living issue. But with our appreciation rates buying property is a really good investment. That is IF you can afford to buy it.
Boise seemed cool to me when I visited. it was a beautiful city much like Seattle in the darkness how it's all lit up. And really you're close to the Rockies so there are plenty of ski resorts like you're looking for. Not a bad choice at all. like you said you get a lot more for your money when you're buying property. And the homes they build are GORGEOUS!
Boise seemed cool to me when I visited. it was a beautiful city much like Seattle in the darkness how it's all lit up. And really you're close to the Rockies so there are plenty of ski resorts like you're looking for. Not a bad choice at all. like you said you get a lot more for your money when you're buying property. And the homes they build are GORGEOUS!
08-27-07, 07:33 PM
#16
Former Moderator. RIP Icemark.
Thread Starter
Yeah I completely understand the cost of living issue. But with our appreciation rates buying property is a really good investment. That is IF you can afford to buy it.
Boise seemed cool to me when I visited. it was a beautiful city much like Seattle in the darkness how it's all lit up. And really you're close to the Rockies so there are plenty of ski resorts like you're looking for. Not a bad choice at all. like you said you get a lot more for your money when you're buying property. And the homes they build are GORGEOUS!
Boise seemed cool to me when I visited. it was a beautiful city much like Seattle in the darkness how it's all lit up. And really you're close to the Rockies so there are plenty of ski resorts like you're looking for. Not a bad choice at all. like you said you get a lot more for your money when you're buying property. And the homes they build are GORGEOUS!
Then I could truly retire at 45 and fly back and forth between Cabo and the Pacific Northwest.
but that means finding something decent for around $400K-$500K... don't think I am going to find much in Seattle or the outlining areas for that. It looks like the Boise area, 400K buys a pretty large house and a decent amount of land.
08-27-07, 07:55 PM
#17
Well actually if you were away from Seattle prices get much better and you really could find a great home for that price. Hell, my parents' home is 3200 sf, 5 bed, 3 bath and has a view of the mountains and it's valued right about $500k. And it's about 45 minutes North of Seattle. Within driving distance of Stevens Pass, Snoqualmie Pass, and Mt Baker which are all decent ski resorts.
But yeah, when looking for a home out here you're probably going to be sitting on a smaller lot and you really will get much more for your money in the Boise or Eastern, WA areas. I can't argue with that. I just think there's more entertainment here with sports teams and Puget Sound and the Cascades and all that chocolatey goodness.
But yeah, when looking for a home out here you're probably going to be sitting on a smaller lot and you really will get much more for your money in the Boise or Eastern, WA areas. I can't argue with that. I just think there's more entertainment here with sports teams and Puget Sound and the Cascades and all that chocolatey goodness.
08-27-07, 08:19 PM
#18
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If you have a 400-500k budget for a home, you can buy, within reason, pretty much whatever you want.
If you want more bang for your buck, and a little less traffic and smaller community, might want to look into Middleton. 15 minutes from Boise, just a mile off the freeway.
I like the country seeing how I grew up on the family farm, so something like this is what I would be looking at for 400-500k. 
Just an example. Right now and for the next 6 months is the time to buy around here....lots of forclosures going on, people losing their asses, Micron just layed off a ton of people, so the market is at a stand still. Good time to save some money!!!
Oh, that house sits on 3 acres, so you actually get some space as well!!!
.
If you want more bang for your buck, and a little less traffic and smaller community, might want to look into Middleton. 15 minutes from Boise, just a mile off the freeway.
I like the country seeing how I grew up on the family farm, so something like this is what I would be looking at for 400-500k. Just an example. Right now and for the next 6 months is the time to buy around here....lots of forclosures going on, people losing their asses, Micron just layed off a ton of people, so the market is at a stand still. Good time to save some money!!!
Oh, that house sits on 3 acres, so you actually get some space as well!!!
.
08-29-07, 04:34 PM
#19
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Yeah my current work contract is up in February and we just bought and paid for a vacation house down in Cabo, but we are thinking about selling the house in the North San Francisco Bay and buying something that would be paid off, so that between the two houses we wouldn't have any house payments.
Then I could truly retire at 45 and fly back and forth between Cabo and the Pacific Northwest.
but that means finding something decent for around $400K-$500K... don't think I am going to find much in Seattle or the outlining areas for that. It looks like the Boise area, 400K buys a pretty large house and a decent amount of land.
Then I could truly retire at 45 and fly back and forth between Cabo and the Pacific Northwest.
but that means finding something decent for around $400K-$500K... don't think I am going to find much in Seattle or the outlining areas for that. It looks like the Boise area, 400K buys a pretty large house and a decent amount of land.
In my area 400k will buy you an older house, not very big, zero yard/land, and not with the best surroundings haha.
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