Great if you like bad traffic and bad air :-P
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8/23/2019
I was born in Boise and lived there for most of my life, just shy of 40 years (1976-2016). It used to be an amazing place! I moved to rural Maine because it had become so congested, cramped, noisy and the air quality was often terrible. I returned this summer (2019) three years later for a visit to find it much worse.
IF a person lived in LA county and spent 3-4 hours a day commuting in gridlocked traffic, I can see how the Treasure Valley might seem a respite. But then they also have to accept the inversions of Boise winters which are abysmal, even for someone from LA county. For the rest of the "sane" people out there, I can't imagine what they see in the place.
It is urban sprawl from the foothills into the desert. When will there be no open space between Nampa and Caldwell? It's horrible. I've spent plenty of time driving in Chicago and the Treasure Valley traffic can be far worse. At least in Chicago there is world-class dining and entertainment. Boise has pretty good dining and entertainment (if you know where to find it)... but not enough to justify the other headaches.
Before I moved away I lived in the North End against the foothills and worked downtown. Commuting was by foot or skateboard and all the Ridge to Rivers trails were right outside my door for outdoor fun. If you can swing that Boise would still be a wonderful place (although the air quality must be deteriorating every year). But very few people could probably manage that.
The urban blight beyond that - mega subdivisions where only semi-arid desert and farmland once was - is beyond depressing. Cookie cutter domiciles connected through a road system that was never designed to handle the traffic, punctuated by big box stores, fast food, and auto malls. No soul, no spirit, but a big yes to traffic jams.
I'll go back to visit friends/family on occasion, but after having spent some time in rural living, I will never live in a city again. And if I had to, Boise would be far down the list of desirable cities.
Bob | Troy, ME