Boise vs Nampa? (Meridian, Caldwell, Garden City: hotel, homes, neighborhood)
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I would recommend avoiding Nampa/Caldwell at all costs.
You have been warned.
Concerning burger joints, Bad Boy Burger is my top pick in Boise.
I prefer the one on Fairview between Cole and Curtis versus the one on Vista.
Not gourmet, just good.
One question I did have is are there any cons to looking at a newly built house vs a house that has been lived in for 5-10 years? We currently have a house in SoCal that was built in 1952 and have had to replace or repair a lot more than I wanted over the past 4 years. Are there houses built by certain contractors that are superior?
I suggest looking at both new and resale homes. Resale has the benefit of a more mature neighborhood so you can see what type of people live there and how they maintain their property. Resale also gives you the benefit of someone else paying for the window treatments, fence, sprinkler system, etc. New on the other hand gives you more current color schemes, no one else's pet stains, and a warranty. If you can't find what you are looking for in an existing home and get at least 90% of what you want, consider new and having a home built (if it fits in your price range).
Most builders here work with the real estate community so you pay the same price if you buy it from an onsite agent represent the builder/developer as you would having your own agent representing you (even though the builder pays the commission to your agent)!
There are definitely huge differences in quality and price of the builders here in the valley. The local building departments require inspections through out the building process so they all should be structurally sound, but some walls are straighter than others, finishes vary greatly (in both quality and application), and some build large boxy homes to maximize sq. ft. for the dollar verses paying for architectural appeal.
Sometimes, going with the cheapest builder and adding their fees to upgrade get you a home priced more than going with a better builder to start with.
Just like with vehicles, some are better than others but price dictates if you look at a used BMW or Lexus verses a brand new KIA or maybe you just buy a brand new Tesla verses a Prius. Until someone knows which variables are most important to you, it is impossible to say which builders are worth talking to since they all serve a niche.
I would recommend avoiding Nampa/Caldwell at all costs.
You have been warned.
Concerning burger joints, Bad Boy Burger is my top pick in Boise.
I prefer the one on Fairview between Cole and Curtis versus the one on Vista.
Not gourmet, just good.
I agree about avoiding Caldwell, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with a good majority of Nampa. In fact some parts of Nampa are nice up on the hill, giving you some good views and even have some small little pines around. I haven't been there but having Lake Lowell nearby probably is nice as well.
Also consider Meridian, which is now even a larger city than Nampa and will eventually even surpass Boise in size, potentially. Although, it is just a long expanse of endless tract homes, but so is Nampa and even a good chunk of Boise. Downtown Meridian is actually very quaint and nice and I wish they would build it up.. It has the potential to be the next best thing in this Valley.
This only shows to 2006 however. Compared to a lot of places in CA, as someone said, this is almost laughable, unless of course, you're the victim.
Nampa is the 2nd largest city in Idaho, Boise is the largest, so you can expect that with a larger population that some cities in the State, there will be more crime. Both cities, I believe, have seen an increase in crime this past year...but I think that can be said of most cities in the US.
This only shows to 2006 however. Compared to a lot of places in CA, as someone said, this is almost laughable, unless of course, you're the victim.
Nampa is the 2nd largest city in Idaho, Boise is the largest, so you can expect that with a larger population that some cities in the State, there will be more crime. Both cities, I believe, have seen an increase in crime this past year...but I think that can be said of most cities in the US.
I know what you mean, but there's actually nothing laughable about it. It's all relative - considering Nampa's population (under 90k), the crime rate is pretty high.
Only yesterday . . . and not what I'd consider to be an uncommon occurance.
There are plenty of nice areas in Caldwell and Nampa. All cities have their less than desirable areas, in Boise it is likely 36th Street near the Albertsons on State.
There are plenty of nice areas in Caldwell and Nampa. All cities have their less than desirable areas, in Boise it is likely 36th Street near the Albertsons on State.
Well, Meridian is a nice and clean city and the downtown has some nice kind of old Wild West downtown architecture. Also, there are some great businesses there like Pre-Funk Beer Bar and some great little eateries. If they would start putting up some apartment complexes, bars and more decent food places I think Meridian could be the next cool downtown. Think of it like Seattle and Kirkland. Each city has its own downtown. Kirkland has a very nice and quaint downtown that is somewhat reminiscent of Meridian's, especially in regards to size (well minus the awesome Lake Washington view).
My point is, if there was actually some city planning and the government could get it's head out of its rectum and actually try to build up the old town of Meridian, it could be an actually thriving and desirable place to live that can give an actual alternative to nightlife and social activities to Boise. Boise is literally the only place in Treasure Valley that has any nightlife, culture or social infrastructure and that is too bad, especially considering the size of the metro. And, even Boise is lacking the interesting neighborhoods most cities its size have. . Outside of downtown, North End, Linen District, etc it is just sprawled out city of homes and mini malls. The only thing they do here in Treasure Valley is build sprawls of subdivisions and mini malls and it really takes away the character of the cities that have a considerable amount of potential.
Meridian, really could be a thriving independent city with its own character, just the way Bellevue or Kirkland are in the Seattle area. But, they leave that potentially great downtown, dead as a ghost town and just keep zoning more and more tract homes and bulldozing more farms.
I think downtown Meridian is cute, but there doesn't seem to be any real nexus or draw there. Fatally, Meridian is 100% dependent on the automobile, and to me resembles much of So Cal, where there is no real downtown core in many of the communities, but rather, you kind of just drive wherever.
Downtown Boise, on the other hand, has BSU, the river and foothills to serve as attractions, and downtown serves more as a nexus for business and transportation. Plus, it's easy to bike and walk to for a large population of people. Not saying the rest of Boise doesn't resemble Meridian, but I do think there are distinct differences between downtown Meridian and Boise that affect their attractiveness.
On the other hand, I do agree that much of the building seems to be focused on Meridian rather than Boise. Rather than some infill development in the downtown core, I'm fairly discouraged that downtown Boise isn't expanding it's footprint into the western downtown area between 16th and Whitewater.
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