Pros and Cons of Living in Boise, Idaho
29
0
Pros and Cons of Living in Boise, Idaho: If you’re thinking about moving to Boise, Idaho anytime this year, this article is for you. By the end of this article, you’re going to understand if Boise, Idaho is going to be a place that you could live, so that you could ultimately plan your trip here, come visit with the team, and start narrowing down exactly where you want to live for your move this upcoming year.
Hey friends, welcome back to the website! My name is Mira Patel. I am a real estate agent here in Idaho, and if you’re thinking about moving to Idaho, what you need to do is subscribe to the website so that when I post new content each week, you get updated to help you on your journey of discovering whether or not Idaho or Boise, Idaho is going to be a good fit for you.
Pros of Living in Boise, Idaho
Small City Feel
Boise, Idaho is a small city. The whole area, Boise and all the suburbs around it, ultimately the Treasure Valley, you’re looking at like a total population of 800,000. Now, if we compare that to some other larger cities, just cities on their own, you’ll see that, again, Boise and even the surrounding cities, it’s just not that large of an area. And I just pulled some up here:
- Los Angeles: 3.9 million
- Phoenix, Arizona: 1.6 million
- San Diego: 1.4 million
- San Jose: 1 million
- San Francisco: 800,000
So, you’re talking about everything in this Treasure Valley area being put into the little small pocket of San Francisco. Denver, Colorado, the city itself: 740,000. Seattle: 740,000. So, you can kind of see that again, this area is not one of the biggest cities on the west coast. It is small, but again, this is a pro, so I’m saying it’s small and that it’s a pro, and this is why you might like that.
For example, say you want to drive all the way across the valley, all the way from, say, Caldwell on the far west side and Southeast Boise on the far east side. Right now, if you were to make that drive, you’re looking at 35 to 40 minutes on Interstate 84. So, the benefit of it being small is that it’s just not that large. You can easily get around.
Now again, when talking about a small city, we are going to miss out on some things. My wife and I were talking about it this morning. Yes, you’re going to miss out on like IKEA. We became accustomed to that when we lived in Portland, Oregon. It was really nice to go to IKEA, to grab something for the kids’ room or go get a nice new lamp or drop the kids off and kind of take a break and go eat the cheap food in the cafeteria. Yum. We don’t have that here. You got to drive to Portland for that. You got to drive to Salt Lake City or Seattle, but you’re not going to get that here in the Treasure Valley. But what you are going to get is the small-town feel.
Also Read: One Day in Fremont California: 1 Day Itinerary Fremont
And now, I will even say this as a caveat. I have talked to some of you who have thought about moving to Boise, Idaho, and even you would say, “Ah, it’s too big. It’s too bustling. It’s just not what I want.” And you tend to maybe keep heading east towards Twin Falls, Pocatello, Idaho Falls. You can check that out in the description down below. But I just put that in as a caveat because even for some of you, Boise just feels too big, and the whole area surrounding it, it’s just too big.
Again, let’s just say that you end up moving here, and you choose Boise or one of the surrounding cities. Often, I talk with people, and you know, they’re attracted to Boise, but they actually end up moving into one of the suburbs like Meridian or Eagle or Star. But let’s just say you did move to Boise proper. When you live here, for you to get to certain things, whether that’s schooling options, entertainment, grocery stores like Trader Joe’s or WinCo or Costco, it just doesn’t take that long. The traffic is not unbearable. A lot of times, you can just be on city streets, and you don’t have to get on an interstate.
Four Seasons
The next pro for Boise, Idaho, is going to be those four seasons. The four seasons are great, and I would imagine you probably love it or hate it, but let me give you my reason why I think you may love it, even though at the end of the article, one of my cons is going to be snow. But we’ll get to that.
Welcome to Boise’s first real good snow. So, here we go. You see that’s about three inches, three inches of snow. This is kind of what a snow day looks like here in Boise. So, here we have all four seasons. We don’t have an endless summer. You have to have multiple outfits when you come here. You have your summer clothes, you have your winter clothes, and then you have your in-between clothes.
I was talking to a family who just recently moved here from the East Coast, where it was like the same kind of weather all the time, and they’re like, “Yep, we wore shorts, we wore polos, that was all that we wore.” Then they moved here, and now they’re like having to shop and get the right kind of clothes and figuring out how to layer things so that they can handle the four seasons. But with that being said, in addition to summer, right, you’re getting spring, fall, and winter.
And winter is really unique here in Boise, Idaho, especially compared to the rest of Idaho. First, winter doesn’t last forever. Second, when it snows here, that also doesn’t last forever. So, it’s not like there’s just snow piles hanging out around town, turning brown all winter long. The sun’s going to come along and melt them. We’re high desert here in Boise, in Southern Idaho, and so we do get a lot of sunny days in the winter, which is lovely. You will get some overcast days where maybe you have an inversion happening or, you know, maybe a storm’s rolling in that’s bringing all the great snow for Bogus Basin so that if you like skiing, you can go up there and ski, and it’s going to drop a few inches down in the valley.
For example, just this morning when I woke up, I’d say we had about three to four inches, but it’s lovely. It’s just a nice change of pace. I personally love driving in the snow, but again, it’s not going to last forever. Within a few days or a week, it’ll most likely melt and go away. But you can’t really say that about a lot of other places in Idaho.
One other thing to note, and this is really in comparison to other cities here in Southern Idaho, is that Boise is not that windy. If you’re considering other places like Twin Falls, Pocatello, Idaho Falls, there’s a lot of wind that whips through that area. It’s a big wind. There’s some pros that come alongside that, but ultimately, I would say it’s a con. And if you’re somebody who’s considering other cities kind of along this southern section of Idaho, that would be something to consider. And I would add that as a pro to Boise that, hey, it doesn’t get super windy here.
Outdoor Activities
Next for pros of living in Boise, Idaho, is going to be the outdoors. And first, I want to highlight the crown jewel. There might be two crown jewels, but I’m going to say the Boise River, which is just cutting straight through the heart of Boise, straight through the heart of town, all the way up to Lucky Peak, all the way out past Eagle, and into Oregon. But the Boise River cuts through the whole Treasure Valley.
So, here we are on the Boise River. I had just finished up a doctor’s appointment. I’m on my way back to the office, and I’m going to fish maybe for like 20 minutes. And there’s just so many great spots along the river, either to fish or ride a bike. Or you can see here, some kids are probably playing and kind of made a hangout area. So, the river’s just got so much to offer. And we’re going to see if I can pull any fish out today.
And when me and my family relocated here, this was a huge, huge bonus. We had looked at other towns, like Oregon was an option that we looked at. I love that the Deschutes River cut through that city in Oregon. But ultimately, Boise came to the top for a couple of reasons. You’re hearing a lot of my reasons in this article, but the river was definitely one of them. This is a great place for you to cool off in the summer, go play with the kids, go rafting, go swimming, go bridge jumping, go kayaking, go boogie boarding, go surfing. And it’s ultimately just beautiful.
And so, there are so many ways for you to enjoy the river here in Boise. It’s not like everybody just built a bunch of million-dollar mansions on the river, and you and I don’t get access to it. The city did a really good job of making it accessible to us. And then all along the river, there’s such great amenities, whether it’s parks for you to go play at, restaurants, wineries, all sorts of things that make enjoying that river really easy and super fun in the summertime.
Now, let’s continue that topic of the outdoors. I just got done talking about the Boise River, but also you need to know that we have the foothills here. So, up along the top of Boise, as you look towards the mountains, what you’re seeing is the Boise foothills. And the foothills are amazing for you and your family to go explore. Just a few days ago, we went for a hike, and it was a 25-minute drive from my front door to go get to this trail. And it was just so cool for us to go out there and experience some of the beauty of the foothills.
And, again, it’s very easy for you to go explore those areas. You could find parking in a couple of different locations. And, you know, even if you’re wanting to ride your bike up there, there’s a lot of really good biking trails. You could take an electric bike. I’ve even seen people ride electric skateboards up and down the foothills. So, all of that is easily accessible. It’s very, very fun, and you get some of the best views in all of Boise.
Time Zone
The next pro for living in Boise, Idaho, is going to be the time zone. So, here in Boise, we are on Mountain Time, which means it stays lighter here a little bit longer, both in the winter and in the summer. So, for example, if you’re thinking about Northern Idaho, North Idaho is on Pacific Time, which means the sun’s going down a little bit sooner. So, if you’re looking for a little bit more daylight hours and just a little bit more sunshine overall, Mountain Time here in Boise, Idaho, might be perfect for you.
Cons of Living in Boise, Idaho
Growth and Its Impacts
The next con for Boise, Idaho, is going to be growth. We are growing so fast, and we are seeing a lot of people moving from different areas. A lot of people moving here from California, and they’re bringing their culture, they’re bringing their way of life, they’re bringing their voting habits. And a lot of people who are already here are not super happy about it. I was just meeting with a family yesterday. They said they were moving from California, and their neighbors were like, “Don’t California my Idaho.” And while I love California people, because I was a Californian myself, you know, it’s just one of those things where some people don’t want the growth. They don’t want to see the changes. They don’t want to see the increase in the housing prices. They don’t want to see the change in the way that people live and vote and ultimately want to do life here in Idaho.
I know when I moved here about ten years ago, I had an idea of what Boise, Idaho, would be. And, you know, it’s changed. It’s changed a lot since I’ve been here, and some of that’s great. But ultimately, you know, in ten more years, Boise, Idaho, is going to look drastically different than it does today. And if you decide to move here, you need to think about whether or not you want to be part of that growth.
Isolation
The next con for living in Boise, Idaho, is going to be isolation. Boise, Idaho, is kind of a city in the middle of nowhere. And once you leave the Treasure Valley, there just isn’t a lot of big cities nearby. Some of the closest major cities are going to be Spokane, Washington, which is next to Coeur d’Alene, or Salt Lake City, Utah. And if you’re really looking for something like IKEA, which I mentioned earlier, you’re looking at Portland, Oregon, or Seattle, Washington. So, Boise, Idaho, can feel a little isolated.
But the good news is we have a great airport. Boise Airport has a lot of direct flights to some of these major cities, making it easy for you to hop on a plane and get to where you want to go. But if you’re someone who likes to drive, just know that Boise is a little bit isolated compared to some other major metropolitan areas.
Hot Summers and Cold Winters
The next con for Boise, Idaho, is going to be the weather. And specifically, I’m talking about the hot summers and cold winters. Two years ago, we had like a month straight of over 100-degree weather. And, while that’s not super common, it does happen, and it can get really, really hot here in Boise. On the flip side, it can also get very cold. In the winter, you’re going to experience temperatures that can fluctuate from 0 degrees to 100 degrees throughout the year.
And so, if you’re someone who doesn’t enjoy those temperature extremes, Boise, Idaho, might be a bit of a challenge for you. But again, those four seasons can be really lovely if you enjoy that kind of variety.
Snow Shoveling
The next con for Boise, Idaho, is going to be snow shoveling. When it snows here, you are responsible for shoveling your sidewalks by 9:00 a.m. And while Boise doesn’t get as much snow as some other parts of Idaho, it does get enough that you’re going to need to shovel. And it’s something that, if you’re not used to, can be a bit of a chore. But it can also be a great way to get outside, meet your neighbors, and start your day with some exercise.
Conclusion
If you’re thinking about moving to Boise, Idaho, I hope this article helps you understand the pros and cons of living here. It’s important to weigh these factors and see if Boise is going to be a good fit for you.
If you’re planning to move to Boise this year, make sure to reach out to me and my team. We’d love to help you in the process. You can call, text, or email us anytime. We’re here to help you plan a smooth transition to Idaho.
Leave a comment down below with your favorite pro or con, and let us know if you’re planning to move to Boise. See you in the next article!
[…] Also Read: Pros and Cons of Living in Boise, Idaho […]
[…] Pros and Cons of Living in Boise, Idaho […]