Boise vs. Spokane (Nampa, Meridian, Coeur d'Alene: sex offenders, credit, home)

[TohobitPeak]

Originally Posted by Tiger Beer

Informative post.

Take the post you quoted with a grain of salt. Much of it is incorrect and un-informed, such as the community college comment and the extremely exaggerated smog remarks among other points in that post. Reading the post you quoted made me grin

[Sandpointian]

I am enjoying this thread. If I may semi-hijack this thread, I would be interested to hear from previous posters and new ones, on their thoughts of the two cities going forward. The past does not always the best indication for life going forward.

Can Spokane successfully convert its economy into the 21st century from its paper/resource roots?

Can Boise become a center for small business dynamism outside of large corporation & government contracts that seem to dominate the area?

Can Spokane remake its image into something that is characterised more by its beautiful things about Spokane rather than its Section 8 underbelly?

I kind of like the grit of Spokane, although there is too much of it for me at this moment.

Both cities seem to have considerable upside potential provided neither gets complacent (see Detroit as an example) and move towards large expenditure driven urban policies.

Thanks in advance for your feedback,

S.

[boisefan88]

Originally Posted by TohobitPeak

Take the post you quoted with a grain of salt. Much of it is incorrect and un-informed, such as the community college comment and the extremely exaggerated smog remarks among other points in that post. Reading the post you quoted made me grin

Um, it wasn't that far off.

Remind me again what community colleges are in Boise? There's one in Ontario with a satellite campus in Caldwell, and a new one (CWI) in Nampa with a limited satellite campus in Ada County.

And yeah, it gets really smoggy here (part of the inversion pattern). It's no LA but it's enough to have EPA sanctions against us.

[TohobitPeak]

Originally Posted by boisefan88

Um, it wasn't that far off.

Remind me again what community colleges are in Boise? There's one in Ontario with a satellite campus in Caldwell, and a new one (CWI) in Nampa with a limited satellite campus in Ada County.

And yeah, it gets really smoggy here (part of the inversion pattern). It's no LA but it's enough to have EPA sanctions against us.

You are good!!You mentioned the campus locations for CWI. Here is more info if anyone is interested, CWI also has a location at BSU in downtown Boise.
College of Western Idaho | Maps & Campus Locations

There are trade/specialized colleges in Boise and the area too.


Except for a few days this winter and some days back when it was hot the inversion has kind of been a non issue this past year, even few years. Going back 3 or more years ago, when we were in the drought cycle, the inversions were much worse than they are now.
I read in the news last week that almost every major city in the West needs to watch their pollution counts including Boise, I'm not saying we do not have inversions but they are not as bad as some who post here claim they are, that's all. No city in the entire Western USA has the nasty inversion and smog issues which Salt Lake City and LA have to deal with and thank goodness we don't have the kind of industry those cities have which creates their dangerous air.

[boisefan88]

Remind me where the main CWI campus is, and where most of the classroom education takes place?

Also remind me what the whole Boise/EPA sanction thing was again?

[Deena160]

Originally Posted by TohobitPeak

Take the post you quoted with a grain of salt. Much of it is incorrect and un-informed, such as the community college comment and the extremely exaggerated smog remarks among other points in that post. Reading the post you quoted made me grin

To defend the original, original post by Retired Chef...I believe his comments about the region were very well researched, but his knowledge was from several years ago when he and his wife were looking all over the world to decide where they were going to retire. So, he may not seem accurate now if there a few community colleges in the Boise region and if you haven't had smog problems for 3 years. Still, I have found him to be one of the most credible and helpful posters on the Boise and Spokane forums. :~) D

[Made_it_To_the_Metroplex]

Originally Posted by TohobitPeak

You are good!!You mentioned the campus locations for CWI. Here is more info if anyone is interested, CWI also has a location at BSU in downtown Boise.
College of Western Idaho | Maps & Campus Locations

There are trade/specialized colleges in Boise and the area too.


Except for a few days this winter and some days back when it was hot the inversion has kind of been a non issue this past year, even few years. Going back 3 or more years ago, when we were in the drought cycle, the inversions were much worse than they are now.
I read in the news last week that almost every major city in the West needs to watch their pollution counts including Boise, I'm not saying we do not have inversions but they are not as bad as some who post here claim they are, that's all. No city in the entire Western USA has the nasty inversion and smog issues which Salt Lake City and LA have to deal with and thank goodness we don't have the kind of industry those cities have which creates their dangerous air.

We have similar issues in the Greenville/Upstate S. Carolina area. Very pretty topography, great natural features, but we're constantly under threat of EPA sanctions, even though we don't have any "smokestack" industries. The region is fast-growing and there is the issue of sprawl, so maybe that is the reason.

[boiseguy]

My sister use to live in spokane and now lives here in boise and boise by far beats spokane.. Spokane has inversions and bad smog as well. I remember as far back as the 90's having threats to spokane by the feds to impose huge penalties on the city for poor air quality. South of Spokane is dry land wheat farming and every year they burn the fields and it provides thick smoke and smog that filters down into the spokane valley. It's above and beyond ANYTHING I've seen in SoCal.. I remember being there and my eyes hurt from the choking smoke clouds..
Also, Spokane is extremely ghetto and riddled with meth. While boise has the same problems it is more out in Nampa/Caldwell. Where Spokane's inner neighborhoods are riddled with crime, car jackings, meth houses and the old houses and neighborhoods are run down. Boise's older neighborhoods have been or are being renovated, mostly full of homeowners rather than transient renters.
Spokane Valley and Airway heights area's will provide a comfortable suburban feel similar to west boise and meridian, but it too only has one major freeway through their metro area and the traffic is similar to boise. I don't think either city really has traffic concerns... Commuting 20 minutes on the freeway is not a terrible commute when you live 15 miles away from downtown.. I mean cmon.. put it in proper context people.
Spokane has it's positives, Riverfront Park is an absolutely beautiful place and the convention center and river park square is something boise could use in it's downtown. With that said, it goes greatly underutilized in Spokane because downtown is kind of dodgy and run down with the presence of years past railroad town essences. The Bus Depot in Downtown Spokane is one of the worst I've seen, full of homeless and people begging for ciggarettes and change all hours of the day. And I've even seen prositutes walking along Sprague Avenue. You don't find any of that in boise.. I'm sorry..
The area around spokane does have pine trees and feels more alpine than boise, but boise city is full of leafy trees and greenery that is similar to a northeast/new england vibe. Going north of boise is alpine similar to spokane.. going west is rolling farmland.. and everything south is indeed desert.. but some of the most spectacular canyonlands in north america...

[jraonthefly]

Spokane has much more potential to be a great city. However, it is not at least yet. Boise is nicer, seems cleaner, and safer. Boise is dry and ugly and pretty bland. It is a close call.

[TohobitPeak]

Originally Posted by jraonthefly

Spokane has much more potential to be a great city. However, it is not at least yet. Boise is nicer, seems cleaner, and safer. Boise is dry and ugly and pretty bland. It is a close call.

I like Spokane, the city has a lot of untapped potential. It has an interesting history and grew rapidly during the silver and gold mining boom in the 1880's because of the Coeur d'Alene mining district in Idaho. Boise grew fast during the gold rush in the Boise Basin and Idaho City in the mountains north of the city. But, Boise has proven it has more potential over 15 years ago.

The last time I looked around Boise I saw plenty of trees, both evergreen and deciduous, parks, a river, mountains, much like Spokane. During the warm months I live in a city in the high desert which is green and lush and clean and full of trees, an oasis. I can be in alpine scenery that rivals anything near Spokane in less than 30 minutes or can be in desert canyonland areas in about an hours drive south and smell the sage. Boise has an edge up on Spokane in the scenery category in my opinion because of our close proximity to the evergreen Idaho wilderness and some of the West's most rugged and scenic desert canyonlands. During the Winter in Boise I can drive straight up the mountain above the city from the Northend, 14 miles, and ski at Bogus and dodge the pine trees and look out over the valley and see the Owyhee Mountains to the south and see outlines of the Snake River Canyon or I can look north and see mountains and pine forests for as far as the eyes can see. The wide open vistas are really inspiring.

I think both cities have great attributes but I think Boise is a nicer city in terms of being clean, progressive, and having an active city center which is important. Spokane has the bones to be a great city, but is waiting for that something to happen.