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The bolded is debatable. Boise actually is weird, quirky and has that NW vibe to it. There is a large tech industry, art scene, music scene, liberal citizens, a noted dining scene heavy on Vegan cuisine, etc. Boise is like a cooler, younger and of course much smaller version of Portland without the problems Portland currently has. The positive about the rest of Idaho being more conservative is that Boise, even as it continues to grow and become even more liberal, will never become a mess like Portland is know. Also, the LDS percentage in the Boise area is much lower compared to the rest of the state. The highest LDS percentage is in SE Idaho.
Treefort Music Fest, and indie fest held every March in downtown Boise, has been referred to as Portland's best music fest, was recently ranked one of the best music festivals in the world.
I think to get a proper feel of the Boise vibe, one has to actually live here or vacation here for a few months.
Boise is very much like Portland, I found it to be way more liberal than Salt Lake City
I still think the term "Intermountain West" is the best, though it's too seldom used.
I also think Idaho is, and has always been, the heart of the intermountain region. This is the state where everything the region has- it's contradictions, unique climate and geography, and its native population, is the most uniquely Intermountain.
NearFantasica is correct; Idahoans, even the most recent immigrants, are indeed more libertarian than anything when it comes to politics.
If newcomers don't have a libertarian streak in them when they arrive, it either starts growing in them or they'll leave.
Libertarianism- the desire to do things yourself and be left alone to do them- is so ingrown and such a part of the culture here that it colors us all purple in the end if anyone lives out their life here.
It makes conservatives and liberals all libertarians first, and all other beliefs secondly. Our only difference is the different shades of purple we all eventually become.
That's very hard for any outsider to understand.
But once any person moves here and experiences what it means to be out in our wilderness alone and in trouble, Old Mother Idaho teaches them all what it Libertarianism means to the folks who live here.
Politics is a rather trifling matter in life's priorities here. We all get along as good as we possibly can with our neighbors because we must or none of us will survive. This is life in a very unkind state that can be extremely forbidding and extremely generous, always in unexpected turns
There will always come a day in our lives here when it will become Do, Or Die Alone.
Even in our cities, nature rules with a very cruel and fickle hand. Always has, always will.
Idaho is one of few places left in the United States where this is still as true as it was 159 years ago when President Lincoln established the Greater Idaho Territory.
The Idaho Tourist Commission once had a big campaign that proclaimed Idaho is what the West once was. It failed, mostly because it was too close to the truth.
Libertarianism- the desire to do things yourself and be left alone to do them...
Besides the natural beauty of this state, this is the other main reason I just love living here and being a part of this Shangri-La. We have our struggles and trials, but overall, there is nowhere else I would rather be. I am home.
I have lived in Idaho for the most years other than my native Washington State, mainly due to employment requirements. Won’t go back. This is just me, but it is too cold and a combination of income and sales tax is a negative. I have lived in Moscow, Boise, Pocatello and Idaho Falls. Really didn’t care for any except for Boise. This city is the anti-Idaho city as it is progressive and actually feels moderately like a big city. Sorry to be so coarse but as a Seattle native (first 30 years) it comes closest.
Not really, I think northern Idaho is in the Inland Northwest which would include WA and OR east of the Cascades as well. Seems to make the most sense to me.
Inland Northwest.
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