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.

______________________
* 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

[lrc.livejournal.com]

I have two ex-girlfriends that live in Nampa. If you want more info on Boise, I can put you in touch with them.

I've got a buddy in Portland that flies a Rans S-10 he built himself. If you're interested in what aviation is like in that area, I can point you at him.

I've got another friend (Cessna 210) who lives in Bend, sunnier than Portland, and a short flight away.

I like Austin. For Texas, it's damn near civilized.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Wow! Who would have thought that one person on my flist would know TWO people in Nampa? Nampa's not that big!

Portland I think I've got a fairly good handle on; I just wish it were in the range of "you can buy a house within 10 minutes of downtown on an acre of land for $300K". :) Oh, and yeah, sun. I do get affected by the amount of light around me. :(

Totally agree with you about Austin. It's the only thing in Texas on our list at the moment. It has a lot going for it... except the heat.

[aelfie.livejournal.com]

Austin is still kinda muggy. What about Dallas?

[rfrench.livejournal.com]

Awfully big. We were trying to stay with medium-sized cities. Austin is one of the larger ones we're looking at.
But you're right, now that I look at it - Austin is very humid.

[aelfie.livejournal.com]

If you go north of Dallas into Collin County, its nice area. I have family who live there and there's lots of tech out there too.