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]

I'll post a report! I too am starting to think along the lines of winter hime / summer home. Sadly, that does eat up the money, and the main point of this (for me right now) is to free myself from needing a high income. So maybe we won't go that route right away or maybe ever.

I think I'm with you on the sunlight. I'm very light-aware. I can get truly grim if I don't see the sun.

[bendoutdoors.livejournal.com]

Owning a second home doesn't usually make a lot of financial sense. For the foreseeable future we plan to rent a place for 1-2 months each year. That allows us to try out different areas. If we find one we really love we might consider purchasing. A second home is less likely if we end up with an airplane...

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Ooo, that makes sense; I hadn't thought of renting for short periods of time like that.

Heh, heh, heh, the lure of the air. What kind of airplane are you two considering?

[bendoutdoors.livejournal.com]

For me it's more a desire to avoid commercial air travel whenever possible. :-) Darin keeps talking about a Cessna since that's what he's learning in. If I have to ride in it (and maybe fly it someday) I want something faster! Lancair announced a new single engine turbo prop (Evolution) with a speed upwards of 380 mph for something in the neighborhood of $300K. Only problem is it's a kit plane. :-( So which planes should we consider?