Boise vs Denver (Eagle, Payette: ski resorts, amusement park, insurance)
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There quite a few "Boise vs [city]" posts, but I was not able to find "Boise vs. Denver" in the archives.
I am whittling down cities for relocation and these two cities make the short list. However, the two cities do have their differences and I would greatly appreciate it if you could let me know if I am missing any important variables in this consideration.
Here is where I see the differences -- any corrections or additions would be greatly appreciated!
1. Access to outdoor activities: Boise wins. Getting into the mountains and recreational spots from Denver requires a longer drive than to comparable places from Boise.
2. Future economic health and vitality: ? wins. I wish I had a crystal ball. For Boise I read mixed reports on the conditions of companies and industry in the area. Denver is bigger and may be able to withstand econonomic downturn.
3. Air quality: Even. At least according to this website: epa.gov/air/data/geosel.html
4. Climate: Even? Fairly similar it appears. Both dry climates. Boise temperatures are higher on average.
5. Restaurants: Denver wins.
6. Place to raise a family: ? This is intangible, and it would depend on the family, but for any objective criteria there may be, I guess I am not familiar enough with each city to determine what they are and which city wins.
There quite a few "Boise vs [city]" posts, but I was not able to find "Boise vs. Denver" in the archives.
I am whittling down cities for relocation and these two cities make the short list. However, the two cities do have their differences and I would greatly appreciate it if you could let me know if I am missing any important variables in this consideration.
Here is where I see the differences -- any corrections or additions would be greatly appreciated!
1. Access to outdoor activities: Boise wins. Getting into the mountains and recreational spots from Denver requires a longer drive than to comparable places from Boise.
2. Future economic health and vitality: ? wins. I wish I had a crystal ball. For Boise I read mixed reports on the conditions of companies and industry in the area. Denver is bigger and may be able to withstand econonomic downturn.
3. Air quality: Even. At least according to this website: epa.gov/air/data/geosel.html
4. Climate: Even? Fairly similar it appears. Both dry climates. Boise temperatures are higher on average.
5. Restaurants: Denver wins.
6. Place to raise a family: ? This is intangible, and it would depend on the family, but for any objective criteria there may be, I guess I am not familiar enough with each city to determine what they are and which city wins.
7. Anything else?
I think access to the outdoors is even, Denver's climate is better, and Boise's economic future is much better.
1. Access to outdoor activities: Boise wins. Getting into the mountains and recreational spots from Denver requires a longer drive than to comparable places from Boise.
I agree, I use to live in Boulder and it does take longer to access some of the recreational spots. Maybe this is due to more traffic in Denver?
2. Future economic health and vitality: ? wins. I wish I had a crystal ball. For Boise I read mixed reports on the conditions of companies and industry in the area. Denver is bigger and may be able to withstand econonomic downturn.
Not even going to attempt to predict, but Boise has consistently had one of the best economies in the country. Compare the stats for yourself, make sure you're not comparing the state as a whole but the metro areas of each. I don't know that Denver can say the same as I don't follow their economy. It's possible that comparing the two might be unfair due to Denver's larger size.
3. Air quality: Even. At least according to this website: epa.gov/air/data/geosel.html
Couldn't tell you on this one. Boise struggles when there are forest fires either in our state or close states such as CA, OR, and WA. The wind blows the smoke right into our valley. Last year we had a lot of bad air quality days due to all the fires. This year hasn't been as bad due to a more quiet fire season with the exception of CA- when they had all their fires burning we were affected by some of their smoke.
Car ommissions can add to this problem, but personally I think the smoke from the fires has plagued the area and created more of an issue than the cars- I'm no expert, that's just what I've noticed.
4. Climate: Even? Fairly similar it appears. Both dry climates. Boise temperatures are higher on average.
Maybe....yes Boise is warmer, but Denver tends to have more snow or snow problems wouldn't you say? Average snowfall for us is 21.4 inches.
East side of Denver seems to have occassional tornados?
5. Restaurants: Denver wins.
Probably yes, due to larger population, but Boise for it's size, holds its own and then some, compared to cities of the same size. I think you would be pleasantly surprised with what we have to offer here.
6. Place to raise a family: ? This is intangible, and it would depend on the family, but for any objective criteria there may be, I guess I am not familiar enough with each city to determine what they are and which city wins.
Boise for sure- consistently voted as one of safest places in the country if not the safest. Crime has dropped 37% in the past 10 years and recently downtown an additional 10%. Not sure if Denver can take kudos for that, but again, in fairness they do have a larger population.
A very family oriented area no doubt and with the demographics showing the average age to be between 31 and 32 years of age, it's most likely this trend will continue.
7. Anything else?
Yep..... Boise's airport is 10 times easier to get in and out of, plus, closing during winter due to snow, is rarely if at all an issue in Boise, so you have a better chance of your guests arriving for the holidays.
In fairness, I haven't lived in Boise or Denver....but, I have in-laws in Boise and have visited there a lot in preparation for my husband joining a dental practice there, and my parents moved to the outskirts of Denver about 5 years ago. Our choice for practicing dentistry came down to Boise vs. Denver.
My personal experience is that it really depends on what you want. I like a little more urban, more cultural activities, more access to any shopping I want to do. Boise seems like a nice enough place, but if there is a store not in Boise, you either have a 10 hr. drive or flight. In Denver, you've got the advantage of a bigger city with tons of inner/outer ring suburbs. My parents live in Evergreen, which is only a 20 min drive from Denver, yet they are on 5 acres in the mountains close to ski resorts. More school is also in the cards, and Boise is a little limited in that regards as far as choice of universities go. Also, I am planning on a masters in speech pathology. In talking to the programs in Boise, graduates there are earning 20-30K less than Denver. Not sure if that translates to other fields.
My husband, on the other hand, is slightly more small town and loves outdoor recreation. I think he would prefer Denver bc of the excellent skiing proximity, but he is very happy about the prospect of Boise bc of the lack of traffic, etc.
Anyway, it's a hard decision. The dental broker we spoke to in Boise said growth is declining on the whole, but as soon as the commercial catches up with the residential (5-10 years) it should continue to expand, get more of the culture/stores/access to things without going to SLC or Washington that I like. Good luck!
Just a couple of follow up notions I had on a few items:
Airport: Boise's airport is indeed more conveneient to town, but since Denver airport is a hub there are lots more direct flights to and from Denver. From where I live on the east coast, I can get direct flights to Denver, but I cannot get a direct flight to Boise. So from the perspective of relatives who will be visiting us from back east and us going to visit those relatives, Denver is more convenient.
Weather: One of the main factors that is unattractive about Boise is the HOT summers. People reply that Boise is "dry hot" and not "humid hot" and that makes a huge difference, but hot is hot, and looking at the temperature averages in Boise makes me think it gets quite uncomfortable.
Skiing: The ski areas are not that close to Denver, in that they require over an hour drive or longer if traffic is bad. Bogus Basin is much closer to Boise than the Denver areas are to Denver, and I'm wondering if even the places farther like Tamarack have a less traffic clogged drive.
Denver is so much larger than Boise that there is no logical basis to fairly compare the two cities. It is even hard to compare Salt Lake and Denver because Denver is so large.
One bad Denver has going for it is the amount of gangs and violence.
As far as freeways, highways, and inner city areas are concerned, I'd say Boise has much better traffic than Denver. Every time I'd drive up from NM to visit my sister in Ft. Collins, then commuted around Denver or up I-70 into the mountains, traffic was always crazy relative to what I'm used to from Boise, Albuquerque, and even Portland. A person from Seattle or LA would still find it quite mild, though.
1. Access to outdoor activities: Boise wins. Getting into the mountains and recreational spots from Denver requires a longer drive than to comparable places from Boise.
Not really, particularly if you live on west side of town (Lakewood, Bear Creek, Wheat Ridge, etc.). Also, I would say quality of recreational spots is higher for Denver. Colorado ski areas are far superior. Bogus Basin is closer but it is a very dicey drive and pales in comparison to areas such as Winter Park, Copper Mountain, Loveland, etc. - all easy to reach for day skiers from Denver. Weekend ski traffic can be bad, but if you live in Colorado you can avoid it by skiing on weekdays. 4 lane interstate each way unlike 2 lane roads in Idaho.
Hiking in Colorado superior, IMO, because scenic foothills/mountains are closer than in Idaho. From Boise you have to drive a ways to get to where the trees are. Many barren hillsides - kind of drab, with trees only at the highest elevations. Mountains outside Denver are tree clad (although beetles are working on that!!)
Boise does have better river rafting/kayaking w/ Payette River so nearby.
2. Future economic health and vitality: ? wins. I wish I had a crystal ball. For Boise I read mixed reports on the conditions of companies and industry in the area. Denver is bigger and may be able to withstand econonomic downturn.
Think this is a difficult comparison as Denver is much larger city. Also, Colorado is a much more populous state. Colorado is positioning itself nicely in tech, "green" alternative energy, etc., and has major universities, NOAA, etc.
3. Air quality: Even. At least according to this website: epa.gov/air/data/geosel.html
Both have their issues, particularly in winter months.
4. Climate: Even? Fairly similar it appears. Both dry climates. Boise temperatures are higher on average.
Boise's temp may be higher on average, but this means much hotter summers. Denver summer days typically cool down in early evening due to mountains to west and frequent monsoon thunderstorms. Boise cooks with no mountains to west to provide shade and it is frequently sweltering, w/ hot sun late into the evening. Also, no rain to speak of in Boise in July/August.
Many more sunny days in winter in Denver. Definitely more snow in Denver.
5. Restaurants: Denver wins.
Agree, by a large margin, but again that's partly a function of larger size.
6. Place to raise a family: ? This is intangible, and it would depend on the family, but for any objective criteria there may be, I guess I am not familiar enough with each city to determine what they are and which city wins.
This will vary by family I suspect. Denver has excellent school districts in its suburbs, and no offense to Boise State, but I believe superior quality higher education at University of Colorado, Colo. State and Colorado College. Average educational level in Denver is quite high relative to national average.
Our kids have had much more fun in Denver area. In Boise they missed things such as amusement park, major acquarium, superior museums, pro sports teams, Dave and Busters . . . .
On the contrary, Boise/Eagle has nice parks, is very safe, people are friendly and helpful.
If you are moving there from a larger city, Boise might feel a bit isolated. Denver has Boulder, Fort Collins, Colorado Springs very nearby. Each is an interesting place to visit. Not much in terms of cities to note on I-84 for significant distances either way out of Boise. That may be a good thing depending on your perspective, but it was noticeable to us in Boise.
7. Anything else?
Denver airport is not as user friendly, but so many more direct flight options more than compensates. Going to Mexico or a number of other destinations from Boise and you are likely to switch planes in Denver. However, where there are nonstops from Boise I'd take it any day w/ convenient parking, etc.
Denver is within a reasonable drive of more interesting places, IMO than Boise. Mountain towns - not just ski area towns - such as Salida, Pagosa Springs and Durango, and possible day trips to Santa Fe, Moab, Grand Lake.
No (or not much) poison ivy in Denver. Gotta watch that even by Boise River on Greenbelt.
Idahoans are good people and are justifiably proud of where they live. It's better than the vast majority of the rest of the country IMO. They can be a little touchy, however, about anything they perceive as criticism of Boise, etc. Denver is much less homogenous w/ many fewer natives, and less concerned about how it is perceived.
Having lived in both places I would say you can't conclusively say one is a clear cut superior alternative. Depends on what you are looking for and where you are coming from. For me, the answer happens to be Denver.
The citizens of Denver are horrible drivers, almost on scale with SLC drivers, they are slow, clog the left lane, do not signal, do not pay attention to the road and can't drive for sh*t in the rain. Not only that but the roads are in such poor condition that I bent a rim and damaged my suspension while visiting friends there a couple weeks ago.
I had planned on moving to Denver after I finish grad school here in Boise but now I'm definitely not.
The citizens of Denver are horrible drivers, almost on scale with SLC drivers, they are slow, clog the left lane, do not signal, do not pay attention to the road and can't drive for sh*t in the rain. Not only that but the roads are in such poor condition that I bent a rim and damaged my suspension while visiting friends there a couple weeks ago.
I had planned on moving to Denver after I finish grad school here in Boise but now I'm definitely not.
Denver drivers are slow?? I usually drive about 10mph over the speed limit and get passed by almost everyone on the freeway. I will admit that we have our share of left lane hogs here (every city I have ever driven in has this problem), which leads to aggressive driving. Lots of abrupt and aggressive lane changes here. You're right: people here do not know how to drive in the rain!
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