Boise, SLC, Denver (or 'burbs) or others? (Idaho City, Hope: low crime, job market)
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My family is looking to relocate to a mountain area with lots of outdoor activities (especially cycling), excellent schools and high-tech jobs. Isn't everyone?
Our girls are starting kindergarten and preschool next year. My husband's company is going through layoffs...so this is our chance to move...you guessed it...from California. It was either look out of state or go to San Jose. I grew up in Washington as a kid and have wanted to get out of CA for years. Our town now is GREAT (Folsom, CA)...but we would have to give it up and move to the Bay Area as I already mentioned if we were to stay in-state.
If you are from Washington, why not something like Spokane or Portland Oregon? Similar atmosphere and they have plenty of outdoor adventures as well.
Boise is nice, family friendly and good for outdoor activities. Downhill mountain biking is far better in SLC, I'd imagine we have better river rafting because Denver is pretty short on lakes/rivers not sure about SLC for that. We are closer than Denver to ski/snow for the most part, but their resorts and mountains are in a completely different class than ours, as are SLCs.
Urban cycling is very friendly in the Boise area
Can't help you on where has the better schools, but the high tech economy here is pretty limited, SLC is bigger but Denver is bigger than both Boise and SLC combined, so a Tech job MAY be easier to find over there. Seattle is full of high tech jobs as well.
My family is looking to relocate to a mountain area with lots of outdoor activities (especially cycling), excellent schools and high-tech jobs. Isn't everyone?
Our girls are starting kindergarten and preschool next year. My husband's company is going through layoffs...so this is our chance to move...you guessed it...from California. It was either look out of state or go to San Jose. I grew up in Washington as a kid and have wanted to get out of CA for years. Our town now is GREAT (Folsom, CA)...but we would have to give it up and move to the Bay Area as I already mentioned if we were to stay in-state.
Thanks!
Boise is definitely an outdoors city with lots of activities all year--- earlier this year the CDC ranked Boise as one of the most active outdoors cities in the nation, which is a great list to be ranked in. Cycling is a huge activity, both street cycling, racing, and mountain biking...if you are into biking, the mountain biking in Boise is far better then then other two cities you listed and more easily accessible. This week is Boise Bike Week which promotes the in your face bike culture here. Bogus Basin offers mountain biking trails as well as the foothills, and singletrack in the Idaho City area near Boise. The Greenbelt offers easy biking for the family along the river through town. Boise schools usually rank better than the schools in the rest of the state. High tech jobs have a lot of competition but Idaho's leading high dollar export is in the high tech and computer chip market. If you have the time, it is probably best to visit all three to get a feel for what each city is like because they are all really different from each other.
Last edited by Syringaloid; 05-18-2011 at 10:03 AM..
Thank you all so much! In case you're wondering, I posted the same questions on the SLC and CO sites, and Boise had the first people to respond! Also, SLC hasn't responded at all...so I think that may say something about the friendliness of the populations
I really appreciate you taking the time. Hopefully we'll be out there for a visit soon!
Or maybe SLC people are out having fun? Just kidding! Boise is awesome and sounds like it would meet your needs as it is very bike oriented. I would venture to say more than SLC, not sure about Denver.
Boise: Its a nice Mid-Sized town with alot to offer. Its not as big as the others but comes with many of the same amenities. It metro is about 1/3 the size of SLC and about 1/6 of Denver. It has a semi Arid climate which is auite comfortable if yhu enjoy Dry Climate throughout the year. If im not mistaking, Boise has a great education system. You also have to consider yourself and what you like, so boise out of the 3 wouldnt be the best choice for nightlife ( I would imagine).
SLC: Salt Lake is pretty much a larger version of Boise, except it has many more amenities. And Amusment park near by, Great public education, Same dry weather as the otheres, Better skiing than boise, and the skiing is closer (if you care about that stuff). SLC is a better option than boise for Adult activity. The suburbs are better in SLC than the actual city. Move to the suburbs if you can...Sandy or Murray are my favorites.!
Denver:<----I live here so I can give you a good idea of what its like. Imagine a mix between SLC and Dallas,and you have Denver.! Like the above poster said, Denver is larger than SLC and Boise combined. DENs education is really good.! Douglas Coutny and Cherry Creek school district are umong the best in the USA. I recomend Moving to Centinnia/Aurora, Colorado. Denver has much more than the other two when it comes to amenities.(4 sports venues,Aquarium, Denver Zoo,Larger Downtown than the Boise and SLC combine...etc) not saying the others don't have some of those thing (They do)...but they cant compare in some aspects.
Hi there! I see that you recommeded Denver over Boise if I read that right. And I could be totally wrong here, but doesnt Denver and many of the suburbs have high crime issues and gangs? Again, not trying to knock Denver, but we had a friend who mentioned that. I believe he is in Commerce City Co.
And with Denver vs Boise, which city has the stronger job market?
And while on Denver- how are the property taxes there?
Thanks! Great post by the way!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eiryhk14
Boise: Its a nice Mid-Sized town with alot to offer. Its not as big as the others but comes with many of the same amenities. It metro is about 1/3 the size of SLC and about 1/6 of Denver. It has a semi Arid climate which is auite comfortable if yhu enjoy Dry Climate throughout the year. If im not mistaking, Boise has a great education system. You also have to consider yourself and what you like, so boise out of the 3 wouldnt be the best choice for nightlife ( I would imagine).
SLC: Salt Lake is pretty much a larger version of Boise, except it has many more amenities. And Amusment park near by, Great public education, Same dry weather as the otheres, Better skiing than boise, and the skiing is closer (if you care about that stuff). SLC is a better option than boise for Adult activity. The suburbs are better in SLC than the actual city. Move to the suburbs if you can...Sandy or Murray are my favorites.!
Denver:<----I live here so I can give you a good idea of what its like. Imagine a mix between SLC and Dallas,and you have Denver.! Like the above poster said, Denver is larger than SLC and Boise combined. DENs education is really good.! Douglas Coutny and Cherry Creek school district are umong the best in the USA. I recomend Moving to Centinnia/Aurora, Colorado. Denver has much more than the other two when it comes to amenities.(4 sports venues,Aquarium, Denver Zoo,Larger Downtown than the Boise and SLC combine...etc) not saying the others don't have some of those thing (They do)...but they cant compare in some aspects.
If I had to just break it down on first to last (none of them are bad though) I'd vote
Denver
Boise
SLC
Reasoning because i grew up in larger cities so denver feels more natural to me, and i enjoy the professional sports as well as tons of activities
Boise is the absolute safest place I have ever lived, on the smaller side but big enough to where i don't get bored. I like their downtown moreso than SLC even though Salt Lake is bigger.
SLC last because all I really like about it is the panoramic mountains, the winter sports and the friendly people...otherwise downtown for me was bland and a lot more spread out than boise. its more expensive than boise, and not near on the level of denver.
Hi there! I see that you recommeded Denver over Boise if I read that right. And I could be totally wrong here, but doesnt Denver and many of the suburbs have high crime issues and gangs? Again, not trying to knock Denver, but we had a friend who mentioned that. I believe he is in Commerce City Co.
And with Denver vs Boise, which city has the stronger job market?
And while on Denver- how are the property taxes there?
Thanks! Great post by the way!!
I can awnser this
Denver, while having more crime than the other two cities, does not have a higher crime rate than naional average. Its not a "Dangerous City" by any means. Commerce city seems to be quite seperate from the rest of the city, so the crime there doesnt really reflect the low crime around the rest of the city. Sure denver (as well as the other cities) has crime, but thats all the things that come with a larger city. Ive lived here for about 14 years, and i have had nothing bad happen to me that involved Burglary,Gangs,Murder,etc. I recomend moving to the safer areas of town (where i live). Try Southeaster Aurora,Colorado. Great schools, Southlands mall,35-40 minute drive to downtown,15-20 minute drive to the nearest light rail station,Plus it is a fairly new and growing community. SE Aurora didnt even exist 10 years ago . Whatever city you choose, you don't loose, because they are all fantastic cities.
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I grew up in Washington as a kid and have wanted to get out of CA for years. Our town now is GREAT (Folsom, CA)...but we would have to give it up and move to the Bay Area as I already mentioned if we were to stay in-state.
