Reviews & Comments
Idaho, ID
Nampa, Idaho the good, the bad and the ugly -
8/13/2014I have lived in Nampa, for the past 6 years and I can tell you a lot about this place. I grew up in Idaho, born and raised and have lived in many of the cities here so I have a pretty clear idea of what is what and the Idaho expectation. Nampa is a bedroom community so don't expect the amenities of living in a city here because they don't exist. All in all Nampa is one of the better places in Idaho that I have lived in. So Nampa has a a lot of pros and cons...
Lets start with the pros...
1- The education depending on the high school is one of the greatest! My son attends Skyview and I am blown away by the school and the teachers. NSD 131 has a program called the academies which is kids can graduate High school and start college as a sophomores. They can take classes geared towards their futures. Some of the academies they offer are Medical, engineering, automobile you get the picture, the real kick is it is a public school system. This is no charter thing.
2- There is a gang presence but they are most Saturday morning rejects with spray cans.
3- Close to Boise, Idaho and easy to commute to Boise with a 13 - 15 minute drive if not in rush hour. If you hit rush hour it varies from 30-45 minutes depending on if there is a wreck or not.
If you are a church goer there is a very diverse church population, catholic, christian, Mormon, Jewish, Presbyterian and Nazarene are the big ones here.
4- Very diverse cultural background.
5- Reasonable home purchase prices.
6- 90% safe
7- It is a bedroom community for Boise and is very family oriented. Not really a good place for single parents or single people.
8- The main druggies you will find here is meth, pot, acid and over the counter.
9- There is pedophiles in town, that is everywhere though but honestly don't fear the sex offender list and check it because they are spread out and in some cases you would not even be able to guess. But for the most part people are very conscientious of the kids.
10- The state mental hospital is here and that is good and bad.
11- People are false accepting of outsiders. They will be polite and rude all at once, until you become more local.
Unfortunately there are more cons than pros...
1- Very few job opportunities. This fact alone cripples Nampa. The best money you can hope to make here is 10.00 - 12.00 an hour and that is if you are lucky enough to get on at Walmart, Amalgamated or Scentsy. Basically major dept stores or factories.
2- Overpriced rental co