Boise

[cjsmith]

Step 1 in figuring out what to do with the rest of our lives: figure out where it's going to happen.*

This weekend Rob and I checked out Boise.

General impressions:
- pretty darn white
- pretty darn hot
- surprisingly un-oppressive about how overwhelmingly Christian it is
- surrounding area just as dead and brown in the summer as where we live now
- fun walkable downtown (if ya have feet)
- close to skiing (good if ya have feet)
- lots of kayaking
- good potential for finding a house we like
- not much aviation community (though there's lots for the population size)
- friendly people (except the guy at Piazza di Vino)
- full complement of the same big box stores you can find in larger cities in America
- significant variety of restaurants
- no Challenge square dancing potential ever
- no veterinary school

Several of these traits will be shared by just about every place we consider. Places with perfect climate and comfortable religious diversity don't come cheap; if the point is to ditch the rat race and move to a far less expensive location, we'll have to accept some changes. Given that, Boise's pretty nifty. It has a Pride parade. lkeele, I found an EGYPTIAN restaurant! It's more cosmopolitan than a coast-dweller might guess a city of 185,000 to be.

I don't know if I can handle summer heat of 103F. weather.com claims the average July high to be 89; that is a sobering reminder that Albuquerque (92) and Austin (96) are probably also hotter than they look.

Could I be happy in Boise?

Probably.

Next stop: Albuquerque. Also on the list: Austin, Boulder, maybe Portland if we forget about cheap or sunny.

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* People of my generation and even a bit older change careers more often than they move from one state to another. Therefore, says Penelope Trunk, pick the location first and then pick the career. The location will last longer.

Comments

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

We're planning to move, yeah, but probably not soon. I need an entire life overhaul. This entry is probably the only other place I've mentioned that in this journal.

trying to balance climate, affordability, values, and a variety of other factors

Yep, that's what makes it tough, for sure! My parents actually have it worse. My mother hates the cold New England winters; she wants a place with lots of brilliant sunshine, arts/music/culture, New Age sensibilities, Buddhist meditation groups, etc. Meanwhile my dad wants a place where he can have a job -- he's a techie. That pretty much leaves San Jose, and did I mention they kinda need it to be affordable? I'm doing comparatively well because I'm willing to throw my twenty-year career into the wastebin.

We sound a lot more organized than we really are. We haven't narrowed it down. We're just thinking up places, discarding the ones that are egregiously bad fits for us, and putting the rest on the list! Obviously we'll need to get a little more focused.

Are you happy where you are now?

[sunnydale47.livejournal.com]

Are you happy where you are now?

The short answer is: Yes. And I think you might like it too.

I started to give you a lot of details about the area, but I ran out of space! So I posted my reply in my journal, and you can read it there (http://sunnydale47.livejournal.com/949787.html).