From Chicago To Boise!!! Best thing I have ever did. (Pocatello: appointed, for sale)

[SULLY THE LAND PRO]

Hey Guys considering to move to Boise,

So wanted to post a thread giving people a perspective of what it's like living here for people considering the move here from other areas. I was born and raised here in Boise and have seen some unbelievable growth since I was little. I moved to the Sun Valley area for a job about 10 years ago. I can say that Sun Valley/ Hailey area is one of the most beautiful locations. The only thing that is missing is a lake like Coeur d'Alene, Id and the floating green. However, the sites from Red Fish Lake are simply amazing and not to far away from Sun Valley. For those reading this from out of town this is one trip you have to take sometime. I'm impressed with how our community is growing but not allowing things to fall behind. They have some great options for families like Meridian Dairy Days, Meridian Night At The Park, Eagle Fun Days, and much more these are great local festivals or night out with the kids that provide entertainment.

In the surrounding mountains you have the 4th of July that you can spend in McCall, or white water raft or kayak down the middle fork of the Payette river. The cool thing is now that kayakers now have a water park here in Boise on the Boise River. While walking along the Green Belt which follows the Boise River you can see the white water in one area of the river. During the summer one of the local things to do is float the Boise River. It is a great way to cool off from those 90's to 100's temperatures during the summer. Which may I say there is a huge difference between 105 temperature with no humidity versus living in the midwest near Chicago for 5 years and having 93 degrees with 85 percent humidity. The 105 degrees feels a lot cooler because it is high desert here which makes it dry not humid. For those of you who feel that 90's to 100's are too hot you have McCall, Garden Valley, Stanley, Sun Valley, Coeur D'Alene, Bear Lake which is Montpelier are a few places that will get you to more comfortable temperatures. Now, the rest of the year in these areas will get a lot more snow than that which is seen in Boise. The exception was this last year where Boise actually for once got snow and it stayed around. Typically it will snow and the snow is gone in a few days or weeks. The fall in Stanely or Sun Valley areas are right off a post card it is so amazing to see all the different colors that the trees provide.

The local sports scene has gotten a lot more competitive here with soccer, baseball, football, and other sports. I can say since I was growing up till now the competition level has increased almost 100% more since I played Little League on up through high school baseball. Those of you that have kids that play sports they will have a lot to offer in the area of Boise to Pocatello area. The teams keep getting better and better the one thing that was frustrating when I was in Little League I was on the All-Star team based on my talent not who my parents know. Now, you see the level of competition so high that it is about who you know and not how good you are which was a wakeup call for me. I never felt that it would ever become a game of who you know. Honestly, those moving here with kids playing sports talk to me first and I can give you more prospectus on the area that you are considering and give you my recommendations or opinions of that specified area for sports.

This area is one of the best to raise a family with a very low crime rate here and I feel safe when I have my kids playing at the park. For those that are retiring it is great for the same things but also because it has 1) good weather for having 4 season 2) cheaper cost of living than what I would say about 70% of the country. 3) great community events for retired people 4) excellent camping or outdoor activities that will allow a person that retires here to live an active life.

The cost of living is very affordable here compared to cities in the West like Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, and other parts of California. I have a brother in-law that is living in LA which he loves and says that he couldn't afford to move to Boise and take a paycut. However, I was explaining to him that making $125k a year would be like making about $75k here you would easily be able to live like you would in LA. He wasn't buying the fact that you can lose that much off your yearly amount and that he would be able to live the same. So those of you who are moving to this area from any of the bigger cities rest assure the cost for living in Boise or just in Idaho in general you will see some dramatic decreases in your cost of living for the better. The dollar will stretch allot further.

If you have any additional questions about anything please feel free to reach out to me. I can provide you with information about areas or things to do. I can recommend looking at moving here is a good idea. You wont be disappointed with your decision. We have many helpful and knowledgeable real estate agents on this forum - just DM them.

Make it a great day!
Sully

[MikesChevelle]

Moved here from STL and feel the same way.

[Kinderutz]

Moved here with my wife and 2 toddlers from Philadelphia 11 months ago and it was the best thing I could have done for my family.
Just came back from a family trip to Philadelphia/New Jersey and couldn't wait to get to Boise.
89*F with humidity was brutal......98*F with humidity was insane.....came back to 101*F dry and felt so much cooler.
We live in South East Boise close to Lucky Peak and absolutely love it here.....went groceries shopping last night and filled the trunk of my car with $160 when just a week ago I spent $70(+tip) for a breakfast in Philadelphia(4 sandwiches and 2 coffees)....it's nuts out there.

[pzw]

Sully-thanks so much for the information. You are a goldmine of knowledge! My husband and I are considering retiring to Idaho in about five years. For about 40 years we've lived in the high desert in both California and Nevada. We both grew up in New Jersey so we've experienced the different climates and we much prefer having four seasons. Is there an area you could recommend where the high temperature wouldn't be 100°+ in the summer? We're pretty tired of the desert heat. We like the snow and would like to live in an area where roads are plowed within a couple of days of the snowfall. We've been looking at places near Yosemite, to give you an idea of the type of area we'd like to live (lots of trees, etc),
although I know snow removal can be a problem. Do you have any recommendations for us?
Thanks! Pat

[Big_Hitter]

^ Several people I know flee to McCall during the summer. I lived in Houston for about 40 years so the summers here don't bother me at all.

[pzw]

Thanks Big_Hitter. I'll check it out.

[SULLY THE LAND PRO]

Originally Posted by pzw

Sully-thanks so much for the information. You are a goldmine of knowledge! My husband and I are considering retiring to Idaho in about five years. For about 40 years we've lived in the high desert in both California and Nevada. We both grew up in New Jersey so we've experienced the different climates and we much prefer having four seasons. Is there an area you could recommend where the high temperature wouldn't be 100°+ in the summer? We're pretty tired of the desert heat. We like the snow and would like to live in an area where roads are plowed within a couple of days of the snowfall. We've been looking at places near Yosemite, to give you an idea of the type of area we'd like to live (lots of trees, etc),
although I know snow removal can be a problem. Do you have any recommendations for us?
Thanks! Pat

PZW,

I would say also like big hitter mentioned McCall I'm actually heading up there this weekend it is a great place. Much more mild temps or I would also mention Garden Valley that a very small town though located closer to Boise if you need to make any run to the city. If you are looking Yosemite, there are many places on the Hailey, Sun Valley are great places as well. If you like that Yosemite area you would love Tetonia and Driggs. This area is amazing close to Jackson Hole Wyoming and not to far from Yellowstone. Take sometime to look at those areas let me know what you think. Northern Idaho Couer D'Alene is beautiful area or near there. Let me know what you think. Make it a great day!

[SULLY THE LAND PRO]

Originally Posted by Kinderutz

Moved here with my wife and 2 toddlers from Philadelphia 11 months ago and it was the best thing I could have done for my family.
Just came back from a family trip to Philadelphia/New Jersey and couldn't wait to get to Boise.
89*F with humidity was brutal......98*F with humidity was insane.....came back to 101*F dry and felt so much cooler.
We live in South East Boise close to Lucky Peak and absolutely love it here.....went groceries shopping last night and filled the trunk of my car with $160 when just a week ago I spent $70(+tip) for a breakfast in Philadelphia(4 sandwiches and 2 coffees)....it's nuts out there.

kinderutz,
This is great to hear that you are happy here. I like east Boise it's a great area and great community let alone great vicinity to downtown. What was the reason for the move in the first place?

Sully

[Kinderutz]

My kids (2&3 at the time) had severe asthma due to the pollution and humidity of the East Coast and Philadelphia in particular.
They don't have any allergies but were coughing so bad that they were put on albuterol and a maintenance steroid 3 times a day...this is not the inhaler but the nebulizer....each treatment takes about 30min to administer everything so 1.5hrs daily for a 2 and a 3yo was brutal.

The doctor told us they might grow out of it or they might not and really the only thing that will make a difference is air quality.

So my wife and I started looking online for places with good air quality and overall good places for asthmatics.....Boise popped up and checked more things on our list then other places (good schools, lower cost of living, natural beauty, etc.).....we knew nothing about Boise, Idaho but for the sake of our kids we decided we wanted to know more.

We visited Boise in April 2015 and fell in love with it.....the place, the people, the scenery, everything....but there was still a big surprise in store for us.

Our kids went from 3 nebulizer treatments to none within 24hrs of landing here.....I had never seen my kids with rosy cheeks previously, they were always pale and just thought that's what the tone of their skin was....wrong, they just couldn't breathe.

I had tears in my eyes when I saw them full of energy and being able to just be kids......they could finally breathe here.

We returned to Philadelphia after 5 days and put everything for sale....the rest of the family called us crazy to just pick up and move 2,500 miles away in a place where we knew nobody....it was a long journey (took forever to sell the house in Philadelphia and at a loss, we lived with my in-laws for 3 months) and finally in September 2016 we made it to Boise once again, this time 4 one-way tickets...we were here to stay....and we haven't had a breathing problem since (knock on wood).

We used to spend $700/week in asthma medicine now it's 0(zero).....I can't believe I'm typing this, it's amazing.

No matter what happens next I feel like we already won.... my kids (now 3 & 5) are healthy and active, our quality of life has improved significantly and all 4 of us are much happier .....and healthier.

We are very lucky to be able to call this place HOME.

[pzw]

What a wonderful story!