Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The biggest factor IMO is the lack of available jobs.
Compared to most of the west, yes -the area is more than 11% cheaper to live when you factor in rents / mortgages. Every-day items may not be 11% cheaper but the housing more than makes up for it.
Housing here is unbelievably cheap - even compared to other parts of Idaho and even the midwest - or nearly any "major" metro in the US for that matter.
Yes, cost of living is cheaper... but not 11%. Yes, quality of life is better, but what is that worth?
Couple that with the difficulty of finding jobs in the area....
If the same newspaper were to print a story with a different slant that makes things sound better, then you and a few anti growth buddies would all be calling it fluff. If someone wants to move here and make less but still get by and have a better "quality of life" then where they came from then who cares?
"quality of life" ("what is that worth" in your words per your post) uummmm ok. I think quality of life is everything. I would much rather live in Boise and make a dollar or two or three less then someone else in a larger crime ridden city. btw, I am making more here in Boise then I was making in the same position in two larger cities I resided in. It is subjective.
Last edited by Syringaloid; 05-17-2012 at 04:37 PM..
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,599 posts, read 81,297,702 times
Reputation: 57847
The average home price is $174,000 in Boise, the south is a little lower but the northeast, west coast and northwest are all over $200,000, that's about 13%. When you talk about wages, the south will be even lower than Boise, and the large coastal metro areas bring up the rest of the US when compared to Boise alone with homes over $500,000 and median family incomes over $125,000. There are many other cities far lower than the national average compared to Boise. Find a city of similar size in Missouri, Mississippi, Louisiana or Alabama and see their average wage and you will feel better.
News people just like to stir things up for attention.
News stories do try to stir up attention, but sometimes the facts are the facts.
This is nothing shocking. This is something people have known for decades. This is something that people say on this forum.
People can believe or disregard it. Not my problem unless I have to pay more taxes to support them because they have to get on welfare. Then I get pissed.
House prices and interest rates are at all time lows. And yet... no one can take advantage of it because there are no jobs to be found.... and HP is laying off even more.
From what I've seen, people either scrape by at $10/hr working in a call centers or they make well in excess of the average wage at Micron, BSU, Simplot, etc.
There's good jobs to be found if you're in the right field or have the right background, however, being so isolated, you're SOL if you're not or if your highly specialized job gets cut.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
If someone wants to move here and make less but still get by and have a better "quality of life" then where they came from then who cares? 
