Great Place To Live If You Live Frugally
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4/15/2021
Been here since 2016 when I moved from Greensburg Pennsylvania and got married to my lovely wife that same year. Was born and raised in Dallas Texas with strong conservative views. I was the republican in a blue state in Pennsylvania in which I never felt welcome there. Boise Idaho is a great place to live, but my heart still is in Texas and I might go there on vacation soon. Below are my pros and cons since I've lived here for 5 years.
Pros
1. Great work opportunities if you are willing to work hard for it. Blue Collar work is a booming industry here that has been very lucrative for my family and my wife in the medical field as well. If big tech is your thing, Micron is located here.
2. If being outdoors is your thing, then this place is the right place for you! There is a lot to do here from camping, riding bikes on the Greenbelt or hiking trails there as well, there are several places in Idaho for hot springs with a short drive, skiing in Bogus Basin nearby in the mountains with cabins to rent, several locations for lodging your camper/trailer or pitch a tent and have a camp fire, kayaking, craters of the moon, the Old State Penitentiary, and Table Rock if you want to do some hiking in the mountains to see the breathtaking views below to name a few fun places.
3. Cost of living is comparable to wages if you know how to be thrifty, frugal, and DIY. Don't be picky with your work and put your best foot forward and you'll do fine if you aren't already in a mountain of debt.
4. The community is very welcoming here IF you have conservative views and are republican.
5. Low crime rate overall.
6. Many food pantries for those who need food.
7. Small city feel with most of what a big city offers.
8. Neat farmer's markets because this is an agriculture state.
9. Nice events here and there like Anime Oasis and frequent concerts at the Taco Bell Arena. Loved that Breaking Benjamin concert at the Ford Idaho Center that one year! That was a blast!
10. Nice restaurants here like City Buffet, Sunrise Cafe, Los Betos, Flying Pie Pizzeria featured on Man Vs Food, Big Juds also featured on Man Vs Food, Cafe Ole, The Goodness Land, Louis Italian Restaurant, Good Wood BBQ, Joe's Crabshack, and Chandlers if you have very expensive tastes are just some of the many hidden gems here in the city and nearby.
Now Onto The Cons
Cons
1. Air quality is very bad in the summer. Several times we've had nearby forest fires that had smoke come into the valley and made everyone get a sore throat and coughing. Visibility is bad during this time of year due to this. But when there isn't fires nearby, the air quality is fine for the most part. That year Table Rock caught on fire was the worst I've experienced here.
2. Dry climate with very little vegetation. I like seeing trees and the color green is pleasing to my eyes. It looks arid and the soil quality is bad here so mostly weeds grow unless you use artificial means to grow stuff. In Pennsylvania I never had to water my grass! Here in Boise it isn't economically sound to grow grass since it is arid unless you want a huge water bill and constant maintenance to fight off weeds!
3. If you have far left views, be prepared to get flack from a good majority of Idaho's residents. We are red and conservative and plan to keep it that way including our guns!
4. Unpredictable weather. If you aren't paying attention to the weather forecast all the time, be prepared to get blindsided from time to time from freak windstorms, hailstorms, and thunder storms. The summers here in July and August are scorching hot and from time to time our winters are extremely cold and linger on into spring. Sometimes during Spring the weather can't make up it's mind. It will be nice spring like weather then the following day we would get hit with snow! Usually the snow does not accumulate for the most part during the winter.
That pretty well sums up my 5 years here in Boise Idaho. Hope this helps whoever may want to come live here.
Jonathan | Boise City, ID