My own no-longer-private Idaho
Book Ranks Boise 10th Best U.S. City
By J. Gelband, 5-07-07
Most Boiseans already know that Boise is a wonderful place to live, but now it’s official and public. The Boise area is ranked the number 10 best United States city in which to live, according to the newly published “Cities Ranked & Rated, 2nd Edition,” a book published by Frommer’s, the popular travel guide experts.
“Cities Ranked & Rated” analyzed more than 400 metro areas in the States and Canada and ranked each one on ten major criteria: economy and jobs, cost of living, climate, education, health and healthcare, crime, transportation, leisure, arts and culture, and overall quality of life.
Those are categories in which Boise would, to the untrained eye, obviously do well. Not the transportation category, as any car-less chump has already learned, but that’s why Boise’s not numero uno.
Perhaps surprisingly, Gainesville, FL, was ranked the number one best city. The authors say Gainesville is tops because it has “gained popularity among northern migrants seeking a Florida climate and intellectual stimulation without the high prices, tourist bustle and stigma most commonly associated with the state.”
A hearty handful of Northwest cities round out the top ten: Bellingham, WA, in second place; Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton in third; Colorado Springs, CO, in fourth; Ann Arbor, MI, fifth; Ogden-Clearfield, UT, sixth; Asheville, NC, seventh; Fort Collins-Loveland, CO, eighth; San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA, ninth; an Boise-Nampa in tenth.
The book offers detailed descriptions of the cities, including a metro-area profile for each that cites statistics on white- versus blue-collar jobs, the number of below-zero days each year, the cost of an average doctor visit, and total number of Starbucks coffee shops.
According to Frommer’s, one in seven people moves each year, and 40 percent of Americans’ relocations happen between states or counties, not neighborhoods.
The nation’s least desirable place to live, according to the book, is Modesto, CA, which scored a zero on the 100-point scale.
Co-author Peter Sander has written numerous books concentrating in the areas of business and personal finance, including “Frommer’s Best Places to Raise Your Family.” Co-author Bert Sperling has been speaking about cities and quality-of- life issues for more than 20 years and developed the methodology for his “Best Places to Live” software, which is now the standard for studies in this area.
Get details and more travel info at Frommer’s web site.
I always like to read an article about which I cannot disagree. In this case it's about one of my favorite places and I, for one, am glad it wasn't selected numero uno.
Comment By BSU SUCKS, 5-09-07Boise sucks! After living here for two years I wonder what people mean by quality of life. Public planning is poor, education stinks, traffic worsens daily, infastructure is obsolete, pollution rampant. Religious zealots of all factions congregate here. Public transportation is unreliable. The jobs do not offer enough realistic wages outside of two employers. Hours from anywhere relevant. I guess ignorance is bliss.
Comment By Bikeboy, 5-15-07I'm always a bit confused by a comment like #2, just above.
"Boise sucks!" And then the author details the many grievances about the place.
So... why not move someplace else? (And take 100,000 or so others with you!)
I COULD NOT AGREE MORE!! Boise SUCKS, I made it 8 months and am MOVING so fast out of this shithole of a town..it's boring, it's ugly, it's repressed and its downright BORING!! UGH.
Back to the City I am ....
I served 10 years in that monstously overheated craphole of a town and could not wait to leave. No character!! People are extremely judgemental, I always felt as if no matter what I wore, it was a "fashion Statement'. There is no anonimity or privacy, it is EXTREMELY ugly, and the smug sonsofbitches think they live in a great little city. It is shallow and narrow-minded, nevermind the inability to advance or get ahead in your career, or pursue much outside the measley job you were lucky to score at $9.00 per hour.
You also have an inversion each winter which forces you to breathe smog for months, then in the "spring", which is actually early summer it gets so damn hot with no cloud cover or rain for, like, 6 months out of the year. I lived in fear of skin cancer since i'm so pale!
Small town minds, SUV driving whitebread yuppies in their subdivision mcmansions, suntanned shallow girls, not much intellectual freedom of thought or expression, precious little artistic creativity, and God Help you if you're a vegan!
PORTLAND: I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!
I will NEVER go back to that ugly ugly pathetic conservative waste of time!
Boise has some nice things going for it. The Boise River Greenbelt is an attractive, well-managed urban resource. The city has some excellent parks. It's downtown neighborhood offers a nice blend of culture and commerce.
However, I'm afraid Boise isn't nearly as pretty as I hoped it would be. Many people don't realize that Boise sits on the edge of the VERY DRY northwest desert. Consequently, it's a hopelessly brown city and hardly lives up to its billing as the "City of Trees". (I'm sorry, but lawn irrigation is the only reason that anything green is able to live in Boise.)
For my part, I prefer a city with more size. Boise is hardly a cowtown, but it still has a lot of growing up to do - it simply doesn't have the variety or metropolitan flare of larger cities like Seattle, Portland, or Salt Lake.
I completely agree with the folks who have expressed their disdain for Boise. I venture to say that not just Boise, but all of Idaho is a land forgotten by God. I come from large metropolitan areas--Phoenix and Boston. My old man got a job transfter to Boise in '03 and I was bummed out. No big acts come to Boise (Idaho Center alternates between Rascal Flatts, Larry the F**king Cable Guy, and Idaho Stampede), the inversion smog is disgusting and unhealthy, the locals are hicks who think Boise is "the big city", and--worst--we have a closeted gay senator. Yes, we are God-forsaken. Education sucks, as does transportation. The state refuses to make more exits off I-84 to the multiple suburban subdivisions. This causes our one or two on-ramps and off-ramps to be crowded at morning and evening rush hours, respectively. It takes 45 minutes to go 8 miles from Meridian to Boise in the morning. Don't move to Boise. I'm leaving as soon as I finish my undergrad. I'm angry and homesick for Boston as I write this. By the way, that nice little review at the top of the page is the most misleading bull I've ever read.
Comment By Joseph, 6-24-08I keep reading how Boise is in the top ten of this list and that list. Or about how great everything here is. I just cannot understand this. This has to be the WORST place for anyone unless you are a middle aged, independly wealthy, overly conservative, closed minded, religious zealot. The roads here suck. There was a total hands off approach by the local government when the town had its boom so everything is sprawling and poorly planned. Most roads don't have sidewalks or streetlights. hen it gets dark the roads are down right dangerous. The bus system runs sporadically and stops running at like 6:00 PM with no weekend service. There are no Bus stops so people just stand in the streets and try and waive the bus down if they are lucky enough to have one pass. The airport NEVER has enough parking at the terminal. Most of the streets are not pedestrian friendly. There are NO community colleges in the area. Boise State is the only OVERPRICED option for any ongoing relevant education. Despite what the locals think Boise State University is just a glorified community college with a good football team. There is NO culture unless you like Chinese food made by white hillbillies or are a Mormon. I have lived all over the world and I have never been so judged as I have been in this place. I cannot tell you how many rascist comments I have heard in everyday conversations with coworkers etc... This place is terrible and really needs a reality check as the born natives take any type of criticism as an attack on their beloved "jewel" of a city. DO NOT move here. I have been here a year and I will be getting out soon. The top ten lists ARE DEAD WRONG on this one.
Comment By Bitter, 7-04-08I was born in Boise, raised, and lived here my whole life and I must say...I thought I was the only one here that thought Boise was screwed up. I've been to other cities and towns (Denver, Minneapolis, Duluth...)and I totally understand what these commenters mean about the locals here being extremely judgemental. You can't walk anywhere without someone staring you down, like you don't belong here, regardless of your appearance (did I mention I'm a local?). You can't hold on a conversation with anyone because they look at you like you've grown two heads. And it is true about racial and homophobic slurs that go on around here. I've had dozens of people label me as gay for some reason.
Traffic is horrible. Everyone swerving all over the roads. I guess according to Idaho law, you have to be drunk in order to drive here. Drivers are either overly agressive or extremely slow.
One commenter mentioned above that the green belt is a good quality, so are the neighborhoods in the north end. But you can only explore the green belt so much until you get tired of it. Not to mention the ample amount of perverts that roam around the Boise river.
Then there's the schizophrenic weather year round, but I guess that's been covered here already, as well as the low paying jobs. All my money I have been saving up is going for my move out of this hellhole and go to school. BSU has nothing much to offer (no Music Technology programs). Seattle, here I come. Sure it rains a lot up there. I'm aware of that, but I'd rather live somewhere that has more happening and more opened minded people than burning to death in 106° weather half the year.
Boise...
My wife and I have been here about 9 months. It's been challenging. Fall was nice - everything has a golden hue to it. Winter wasn't bad (I grew up in Colorado and no where near as much snow) BUT, we didn't have any of the infamous "inversions". I had one person tell me they can last a month or more and that so much smog and air pollution is in the atmosphere that it looks like fog. This summer the air was BAD. My wife and I had to quit running outside because we couldn't BREATHE. Smoke from forest fires, controlled burns, and agriculture contribute to some of the worst air I've seen - and I grew up in Denver's "Brown cloud".
As of today, Boise seems like a vacuum. Restaurants downtown (which is a neat little downtown) are closing at a record rate. I've never seen so many open lots, empty houses that are brand new, but haven't been lived in for two years. There's a reason some of the magazines say it's an entreprenuer's dream... There's a behind the scenes PR push (I have my suspicion) and there is NOTHING HERE. So yes, I guess if there's no competition than it's a great place for a business - if the population is here.
The most disturbing aspect is the pay rate. Salaries are much lower for comparable jobs than they are in neighboring states. Compounding poor pay, is the fact that there are basically two major health coverage insurers in the state. Our health benefits STINK.
Boise might be a great place in 5-7 years. Right now, people are leaving left and right.
While it is hard to disagree with the above comments about Boise being colder than Hitler's heart in the winter and hotter than the place He now resides in the summer with very little color except brown on the ground and blue in the sky Boise is not as bad as some other places I've lived. My first 3 weeks living in Seattle was spent inside because November is cold and wet (and it doesn’t stop until May...maybe) not to mention the 90 straight days of rain one winter. Then I lived near Sacramento and those 115 degree days were much worse than what Boise had to offer.
True you could live in better climates like LA or San Diego, but you talk about smog and pollution have you ever seen the skyline of those cities. And I hear that LA has a problem with traffic, and I think Seattle does to if I remember right. Boise's traffic is nothing compared to those places. Spent a few months in Chicago during the summer 105 and 100% humidity isn't the greatest either.
While Boise doesn’t have all the exciting events that bigger cities do, you are literally minutes away from the most beautiful mountains and river valleys in the states. 30 minutes from skiing and miles of bike/hike trails. Just get out town.
For all you to complain about the people being so judgmental, what is bad about choosing to be different than the people around you and actually trying to change the culture of the area rather than complain about it and leave? It is always interesting to hear people judge someone as judgmental. How about educating instead of labeling.
I grew up in Boise, moved away for 11 years, and moved back because I couldn't think of a better place to raise my family and pursue my own success rather than feed off the visions of others. If you don't like it, fine, but don't say it sucks because there are far worse places to live.
Hmmm. Well, it was interesting to read the comments. Let's see, I am middle-aged, conservative, moderately religious, enjoy fishing/shooting, not wealthy but comfortable and my main considerations are a nice home and emerging economy to establish a small business operation.
I lived in Denver, Atlanta, LA and Seattle so I know the ins and outs of those places and cannot imagine that air quality and traffic in a metro of a half million or so is anything like mentioned above. I have spent 3 hours commuting 40 miles, destroyed a car with the accumulated mileage, been victimized by road rage, had 17 days of 100+ heat, 30+ inches of snow in early October and had automatic weapons used less than a mile from my home. The Idaho Stampede, walking the Greenbelt and a simple university sounds refreshing after all that.
Yes! Boise is a great place for many reasons.
WARNING - Health Alert!
Don't come for the air quality. We have the some of the worst air of any city our size in the country. You can't always see it from in town but go a couple of miles up into the foothills and look back down. Mostly it's a yellow haze followed by a black soot line that rolls in each morning, but often there is even more of a rainbow. If anyone cared we could have cleaner air here, but people would rather pretend it doesn't exist
Boise is a turd!
Comment By Ed, 3-01-09Boise here we come!
Just bought a house out in Boise and preparing for the move. Can hardly wait!
Oh yeah, need a job if anyone is hiring!
Boise is definitely overrated, I moved away from that hellhole about 5 months ago, the economy is shit there, I had to work out of town in other northwest cities before I moved away.(Portland, Seattle, and even Great Falls, MT has a better economy)
The unemployment rate for the Boise Nampa MSA is supposed to be around the 10.4% rate, but I have heard that it is much worse and getting worse-Micron will be gone soon, Albertson's, Morrison Knudsen, Boise Cascade, all have either been bought out or have been cut in half. Those were the major players in the economy there and have made the city grow so fast over the years.
So you have no infrastructure there anymore, how are people there going to keep those restaurants running when those high wages are now lost and have left for other countries or other American cities like Phoenix(where I have moved my business)
As far as the weather, I never liked going from 82 degrees to 108 and then back to 92, it just freaks your body out, plus it is GREENER here in Phoenix, yes a city known worldwide for being a desert, plus my business is booming here and gotta enjoy the lower income tax, plus I can get across Phoenix in an hour and a half(90 miles) Meridian to Boise(9 miles)takes an hour.
August is starting here and I really have no problem with the heat, especially compared to Boise, where it's not much different(I check the temps over there and sometimes Boise is hotter, with higher elevation and more humidity to spare. With September coming I have to deal with all this perfect weather for 10 months, sucks that I moved here!
Things I don't miss about Boise: inversions, over abundance of mormans, ignorant people, retarded drivers, cheap people, low wages, high property-income taxes, poorly designed roads/freeways, weather, weather, weather, again-the one lanes everywhere with the low speed limits and brutal four way stops in Meridian and Eagle RD., lack of good looking and educated women, constant talk of the Broncos being considered an elite team when they only play one to two decent teams a year and that includes a bowl game, people that live in Eagle that think it's a high end city--I live in Scottsdale, Eagle would be considered a 3rd tier city here, probably where Mesa is, everything looking dead and brown for 7 months, no real sports teams and not being close to any, cliquish people(see mormans), depressed people on meds, it amazing how many there are there, it's an epidemic.
Things I miss: my parents, sister, the Liquid bar on 8th st.(I actually liked that place, good people that work there.
Bummer for you, pretty green here this year, no inversions to speak of, traffic is laughable compared to almost anywhere else I have ever lived. It's a bit brown between Eagle and a bit north of Horseshoe Bend, but the river canyons are fantastic, Cascade, Payette and the other high mountain lakes are beautiful and the heat is nothing compared to Southern Cal or Tenn.
Great police officers, friendly store personnel, clean streets and neighborhoods, very happy with our decision to move here.