Denver Progressive to relocate to Boise (Nampa, Meridian: low income, transplants, 2013)
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HI,
We are considering relocating to Boise due to my husband's career change. The job I believe is located in the West-Valley area. I know very little of Boise...
We live in the SW suburbs of Denver, near the foothills. We have 2 young kids, ages 2 and 3.5. We could use some help in what developments or towns in which to look.
From what I have read, the North end would be more progressive, but it looks like they only have older homes in that area. I would like a newer home, no more than 20 yrs old, but will consider a remodeled older home. ARe there many scrapes in that area or do people generally remodel the old bungalows?
I mention progressive because I am not Christian, or Mormon. I embrace the New Thought Movement and Buddhism and am a vegetarian if that paints a picture. My husband is catholic.
We have been spoiled by the amount of parks and pathways and proximity to the mountains and downtown. We would love to find something similar. Of course the obvious is important..quality of schools, crime rate...We are looking for a house that also has some property between your neighbor. Here in denver, we have zero lot lines. I understand this is the way of many new developments, but would hope to not look out our window exactly what our neighbor is watching on tv.
We hike, snowboard, mt. bike and own a horse. So having access to these things are very important. I do not currently keep my horse on my property. I live in the burbs. He can be stabled at a facility like he currently is...
Our price range depends on what we sell our home for -we would not sell until after this winter. Guessing $250-275 may buy a nicer home in Boise than Denver.
That'll be a tight budget for anything horse friendly with a particularly new/nice house on it (even out a ways). It should get you a pretty new/nice home in a lot of areas on a smaller lot, though. How much land are you on now and how much would you like here?
I guess I would start by looking in west Boise or Meridian with that budget on a more newish house (northern areas have better foothill access, southern areas have better freeway/downtown access). The north end definitely won't fit if you want a house newer than 20 years along with a little property (the only newer houses there are of the in-fill variety, so they're on very tigh spaces).
You can buy more for your money in Canyon county and that might be convienient if your husband is working out that way, but the crime rate is higher and the schools aren't as good.
You can get some idea on the quality of specific schools from the State Dept of Education website - they have a 1-5 star ranking based on test scores, student improvement, etc. Obviously assessment tests don't tell the whole story but they'll at least give you an idea on where various schools stand.
As far as your philisophical leanings go, you'll find more along those lines closer to downtown and less along those lines in the more suburban or rural areas. That being said, Idaho has a pretty strong libertarian streak to it, which in my experience means people largely don't give a rip what you think or do on your own time as long as it doesn't impact them.
Thanks for some insight. I do not currently board my horse at home and I don't plan on doing so in Boise. So, with that being said, does that change your recommendations on where to live. Is the West-valley low income or commercial?
"West Valley" around here typically means Nampa/Caldwell, which are both in Canyon County. Those areas typically are lower income and have a little more crime compared to Ada County (Boise, Meridian and Eagle).
I don't work in Nampa, but if I did I would live in Ada County and commute over. You'd be going opposite of the rush hour traffic so the drive wouldn't be that bad, and I'd rather have my kids in Meridian-Eagle or Boise school districts (Meridian and Eagle have a combined school district, which actually covers some of west Boise as well) and just in general I'd rather have my family there.
Jump on Zillow and you can get an idea on how much you can buy for your budget.
Have a realtor show you around. Buy a house based on it's school district first, then on how much you like the actual house itself. (Had to do this myself (Disclaimer:I don't live in Boise).) Don't worry if your neighbor watches Fox News. As long as you both keep your yards mowed in a timely manner it's all good.
I find Boise to be relatively progressive compared to a lot of places I've lived. That would include the midwest and new england areas. I think you'll be fine in that respect.
I find Boise to be relatively progressive compared to a lot of places I've lived. That would include the midwest and new england areas. I think you'll be fine in that respect.
Heh, nothing too crazy to tell, just that I've lived in bastions of both sides of the political aisle, so to speak. You know which way the area leans, by which news channel they choose to show, in waiting rooms etc etc. In the midwest, it's definitely mostly Foxnews. New england, definitely NOT Foxnews.
IdaD, I am pretty sure Fess_2 was talking about the 'West-Valley' neighborhood in Boise... http://goo.gl/maps/YsVRu
I have lived there and I can tell you the West-Valley area is one of the more liberal areas. There are a lot of houses in that neighborhood too, it gets eerily quiet at night in the more residential areas. You might also be happy in the West Bench/Bench area as well, just east/southeast of the West-Valley. The Bench often is just as liberal as the North End in my experience, depending on the area, and I would say its a little more colorful than the West Valley. Really, it comes down to how close to downtown Boise you want to be, imo.
I would say Boise is progressive compared to some of the midwest (I don't know about the northeast though, even the some of the conservatives voted democrat and held liberal positions where I lived) but the state itself is VERY conservative and seems to fight tooth and nail against any sort of real progress and wants to keep Idaho in the stone ages and at the bottom of the country for income/wages (http://www.idahostatesman.com/2013/0...imum-wage.html, https://www.city-data.com/forum/boise...aho-wages.html). Boise itself is progressive as a whole with pockets of conservatism all over. Venture too far outside the Boise Metro and its staunch conservative and Republican country, with the exception of Twin Falls, Coeur d'Alene, and maybe Moscow.
Honestly I don't think the state as a whole is going to change much until Boise hits that population boom its due for, and finally gains enough population that the metro can boss the rest of the state around a little. I don't see that happening for at least 10-20 years, but it seems all but inevitable given all of the liberals moving here.
Last edited by ChaoticHolon; 08-13-2013 at 08:57 AM..
Honestly I don't think the state as a whole is going to change much until Boise hits that population boom its due for, and finally gains enough population that the metro can boss the rest of the state around a little. I don't see that happening for at least 10-20 years, but it seems all but inevitable given all of the liberals moving here.
I assume you mean the same way all the California transplants have ruined Colorado?
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