Is Boise, Idaho the new Denver / Salt lake City?

[Willgum]

What's up guys.

The word is out: Mountain Cities and Western states are rad. For natives of these places, recent years have brought hoards of new people; transplants from states like Cali and the East Coast. As a college senior in NY ( not the city), I've been planning my move out West ever since the start of highschool. Over the years, I've kept close tabs on the state of affairs in Denver through online discussions, statistics, and conversations with people who live there.

The general consensus is that Denver's growth has somewhat spoiled the initial charm the city held. While still a fantastic city, the traffic congestion, sprawl, and sky high rent means unless you have $$$ and time to kill sitting in i70, Denver's quality of life has decreased.

Salt lake city has experienced far less growth. Affordable rent, less crowds, short drives to the mountains all sound great. I've never visited SLC ( drove to Bryce / Zion though so I know how fucking awesome Utah is) but the Mormon driven agenda of the state is a bit of a turn off for me. Nothing against Mormons, they're super nice (too nice?).

Boise seems like it has a great quality of living, is handling it's growth well, and has decent skiing ( though not as good as Denver / SLC) . Idaho isn't one of the states that gets alot of recognition, especially compared to Colorado

So Newschoolers, I've always trusted you guys. I connect with you so much more than the average Redditor or citydata.com user. If you had to choose between Boise, SLC, or Denver, what's your pick? I'm stoked to move to any of these three cities, looking forward to landing a job in Accounting / Finance, skiing, partying, and meeting rad people

----TL;DR---

Has Boise become a top contender for young people looking for a Mountain / outdoorsy city?

 

[NewEscuelers]

The Mormonism has never been very intimidating for me so definitely SLC. What's a mormon gonna do?

 

[gapersarefriends]

I'm in Boise right now, and the outdoor community is very biased towards more summer sports such as biking/hiking whatever. That being said, the ski community is pretty dope and bogus is a fun little mountain. The best part about the skiing in Boise is in my opinion, that it's so close to other sick spots to ski. 5-6 hours to jackson, 5-6 to SLC, 2 hours to sun valley, hour and a half to 2 hrs to tamarack/brundage

 

[Willgum]

The Mormonism has never been very intimidating for me so definitely SLC. What's a mormon gonna do?

Yeah, I've actually grown up being friends with a Mormon family and they're insanely kind and giving.

Obviously someone with experience living in SLC will have an opinion with more weight than mine, but the vibe I got from the city-data forums was that SLC as a whole feels kind of neutered as far as nightlife, socializing, drinking, concerts, dating etc...

Maybe I'm overthinking it though, thats kinda why I wanted to include it in the thread

 

[mehregan15]

The Mormonism has never been very intimidating for me so definitely SLC. What's a mormon gonna do?

it's not what they're going to do... it's what they're not going to do. SLC has very little nightlife for a city of its size.

Lived in Denver for 4 years, now have lived in PC for 3 years. In my opinion...

1. PC... three resorts within 10 minutes, a cool town, minimal traffic, but expensive

2. Denver

3. Salt Lake

 

[snowpocalypse]

Idaho sucks ass. You hear that! Don't come here. All we do is grow potatoes.

 

[eheath]

Boise is similar to Denver where you will drive 2 hours to get to any good skiing, SLC is much closer to skiing. I think in SLC business is booming harder aka easier to get a job, the scene is slc is dope, the whole sugarhouse neighborhood, downtown and university area is mostly 18-35 year olds and the majority are not mormon. Don't let some stupid stories from 10 years ago scare you away from SLC, i moved to slc in 2007 and i've never felt a single negative thing from mormons. There are some silly laws but they don't actually affect your life and anyone who says it affects their life is a huge pussy.

 

[McNoche]

Yeah, I've actually grown up being friends with a Mormon family and they're insanely kind and giving.

Obviously someone with experience living in SLC will have an opinion with more weight than mine, but the vibe I got from the city-data forums was that SLC as a whole feels kind of neutered as far as nightlife, socializing, drinking, concerts, dating etc...

Maybe I'm overthinking it though, thats kinda why I wanted to include it in the thread

Just keep your ass out of Boise and Idaho. Don't need anymore retarded dipshits moving here. Stay on your shitty east coast. Leave us the fuck alone.

 

[Deepskier]

Boise is aight but id probably choose SLC because it is more ski oriented but boise is fun as fuck especially in the summer. So that helps pass the time till skiing

 

[.lencon]

Idahomie here and I hate boise. If you're gonna live anywhere in Idaho it should be driggs, SV, or poky. SV has dope skiing, and you can find cheaper housing but it's still pricey. Sick skiing and BC, also super sick summer stuff since you're in the sawtooths. Driggs you have targhee which gets dumped on and you're close to Jackson and a few hours away from SV and good ole P creek. And poky is awesome too. You have pebble creek which is a dope little mountain, hopefully Cy will comment on it since he was down here last weekend tearing it up. We have ISU for the college kids and were 2 hours away from SV, Targhee, Jackson, all the resorts in SLC Utah and the side/backcountry is dope. Housing is hella cheap too.

So sorry for the rent and my review on Idaho but I absolutely hate Boise. SV, Pocatello, and Driggs are kinda the only places worth living in for Idaho imo. Actually up north near courd a lane is really pretty but skiing is kinda a hassle.

 

[Willgum]

Boise is similar to Denver where you will drive 2 hours to get to any good skiing, SLC is much closer to skiing. I think in SLC business is booming harder aka easier to get a job, the scene is slc is dope, the whole sugarhouse neighborhood, downtown and university area is mostly 18-35 year olds and the majority are not mormon. Don't let some stupid stories from 10 years ago scare you away from SLC, i moved to slc in 2007 and i've never felt a single negative thing from mormons. There are some silly laws but they don't actually affect your life and anyone who says it affects their life is a huge pussy.

Good shit, you're the second nser I've talked to with only good things to say about SLC

Just keep your ass out of Boise and Idaho. Don't need anymore retarded dipshits moving here. Stay on your shitty east coast. Leave us the fuck alone.

Lol you got it homie

Idahomie here and I hate boise. If you're gonna live anywhere in Idaho it should be driggs, SV, or poky. SV has dope skiing, and you can find cheaper housing but it's still pricey. Sick skiing and BC, also super sick summer stuff since you're in the sawtooths. Driggs you have targhee which gets dumped on and you're close to Jackson and a few hours away from SV and good ole P creek. And poky is awesome too. You have pebble creek which is a dope little mountain, hopefully Cy will comment on it since he was down here last weekend tearing it up. We have ISU for the college kids and were 2 hours away from SV, Targhee, Jackson, all the resorts in SLC Utah and the side/backcountry is dope. Housing is hella cheap too.

So sorry for the rent and my review on Idaho but I absolutely hate Boise. SV, Pocatello, and Driggs are kinda the only places worth living in for Idaho imo. Actually up north near courd a lane is really pretty but skiing is kinda a hassle.

Nah this response is perfect thanks dude, any main reasons you hate Boise? I thought I wanted the city for better jobs, but SV looks like a sick place to live, I'll check out those other places too

 

[.lencon]

Yeah I guess Boise would be better for jobs probably, but Pocatello isn't terrible. I just don't like the city of Boise. Just that simple. The drive there sucks for me so that's another reason. And it just seems like the mountains around Boise suck unless you travel for a ways. I'm just not a fan at all haha. But some people really like it. Just not me.

 

[sgg.23]

Boise is similar to Denver where you will drive 2 hours to get to any good skiing, SLC is much closer to skiing. I think in SLC business is booming harder aka easier to get a job, the scene is slc is dope, the whole sugarhouse neighborhood, downtown and university area is mostly 18-35 year olds and the majority are not mormon. Don't let some stupid stories from 10 years ago scare you away from SLC, i moved to slc in 2007 and i've never felt a single negative thing from mormons. There are some silly laws but they don't actually affect your life and anyone who says it affects their life is a huge pussy.

This is spot on, there are some really cool neighborhoods and groups of people here if. Your worried about the diversity I guess

 

[imakestickerz]

Idaho has more Mormons than Utah if you're really concerned about that.

 

[.lencon]

Idaho has more Mormons than Utah if you're really concerned about that.

Okay first off, Mormons aren't bad at all. You don't have to be friends with them if you don't want. If eheath can live in Utah and not complain about Mormons, anyone can.

And also Idaho doesn't have more Mormons that Utah. More than half the state of Utah alone is LDS while only about 1/4 of Idaho is LDS.

However I'm not sure what the percentage of Mormons are in SLC, but really like eheath has said there's a few silly laws from LDS influence but nothing to bother you and less crowded hills on Sunday

 

[Willgum]

This is spot on, there are some really cool neighborhoods and groups of people here if. Your worried about the diversity I guess

Coming from a University with a 48% population of white students and tons of different cultures (Buffalo), diversity is not something I shy away from haha. I'll look into Sugar House fer sure

However I'm not sure what the percentage of Mormons are in SLC, but really like eheath has said there's a few silly laws from LDS influence but nothing to bother you and less crowded hills on Sunday

Didnt think about the Sunday thing, good looks. Yeah I really wasnt concerned with the Mormons themselves, just the political reach of the Church.

The fact of whether there's a good scene for young people is what I was really worried about, moving out there and knowing nobody means I'll have to make friends and a good environment for that is def important to me. Eheath's response makes it sound like there is tho

 

[McNoche]

The fact of whether there's a good scene for young people is what I was really worried about, moving out there and knowing nobody means I'll have to make friends

Better stay out of Idaho then. You won't be welcomed and you won't make friends.

 

[Outoftowner]

The Mormonism has never been very intimidating for me so definitely SLC. What's a mormon gonna do?

Force that shitty 3.2 beer on you?

 

[whiteboi]

Better stay out of Idaho then. You won't be welcomed and you won't make friends.

Chill buddy. No need to be negative, especially when he probably wont listen to you in the first place

 

[eheath]

Force that shitty 3.2 beer on you?

It's 3.2 by weight, 4% by volume. the typical light beer is 4-4.3% by volume. It's the exact same fucking thing.

 

[gapersarefriends]

Compared to what lencoln was saying, i love boise. The only major downsides are that the city is on the smaller side and bogus basin is average at best, if you ski outside of the park mostly. The trails in the foothills are world class, and the weather is nice as fuck, it's supposed to be 80 this week. Everyone is super mellow and friendly here, except for the cops who have a penchant for absolutely shitting on underage drinking.

 

[Willgum]

Better stay out of Idaho then. You won't be welcomed and you won't make friends.

Im coming to Idaho to find you and I'm gonna jerk you off with both hands till you love me

 

[ghosthop]

Im coming to Idaho to find you and I'm gonna jerk you off with both hands till you love me

+k

As for your job needs, slc makes sense because of all the business. I have friends there that really seem to love it, the outdoor access for a city its size is way cool, but something about that city gives me weird vibes. You should think about driving out and spending time in a few places once you get a list narrowed down, no substitute for your own experience.

Also, I've never looked for grown up jobs in the finance industry but besides a pay cut which may or may not mesh with your lifestyle/future goals, I would imagine there are some opportunities in smaller destination towns for personal accountants. Besides broke dirtbags and families making it work, typical residents of destination towns include rich fucks who are the type to pay someone else to manage their money.

 

[NE.]

I live in Boulder and have a good feel for the Boulder/ Denver area. I visited friends in Boise last summer and was pleasantly surprised. I can't speak for the skiing/ winter scene, but I would argue that the city is way nicer than Denver, comparable to Boulder, and seemed to have nicer people than Boulder.

 

[ModMommy]

Boise is fun in the summer, Bogus isn't the greatest for skiing though.

 

[cydwhit]

Idahomie here and I hate boise. If you're gonna live anywhere in Idaho it should be driggs, SV, or poky. SV has dope skiing, and you can find cheaper housing but it's still pricey. Sick skiing and BC, also super sick summer stuff since you're in the sawtooths. Driggs you have targhee which gets dumped on and you're close to Jackson and a few hours away from SV and good ole P creek. And poky is awesome too. You have pebble creek which is a dope little mountain, hopefully Cy will comment on it since he was down here last weekend tearing it up. We have ISU for the college kids and were 2 hours away from SV, Targhee, Jackson, all the resorts in SLC Utah and the side/backcountry is dope. Housing is hella cheap too.

So sorry for the rent and my review on Idaho but I absolutely hate Boise. SV, Pocatello, and Driggs are kinda the only places worth living in for Idaho imo. Actually up north near courd a lane is really pretty but skiing is kinda a hassle.

Yeah, I agree, I've never spent more than a week there, but I've never been impressed with Boise at all, just pretty blah, and I don't really see any reason to live there over any other town you mention. SLC is a way better call than Boise IMO.

Driggs / Victor is rad if you like tiny towns. I do, and it's pretty freaking incredible. Targhee is fun, Jackson is 45 minutes away, and the backcountry is hard to beat. Nightlife is a little weak if that's your jam though. And there are not many young people here.

Pocatello: I could ski Pebble Creek happily for a season, super fun terrain, and a really good vibe, and an incredible group of shredders. I don't know much about the town, but I'd still choose it over Boise.

What Lencon doesn't mention is Northern Idaho.

Moscow: College town, very good mountain biking on Moscow mountain, closest resort is 3 hours away, but they are very good. 5 hours east gets you Whitefish, 5 hours west gets you Hood, 5 hours South gets you McCall, 5 Hours North gets you Canada. Cost of living is so cheap there.

McCall is super rad too, but more expensive to live there

Couer d'Alene: It's super beautiful, bigger than Moscow, right on the lake, very good mountain biking close by, skiing is much closer (like an hour away)

Sandpoint: Fills some of the racist northern Idaho stereotypes, but its right on the lake and right near Schweitzer, and just a stone's throw from all the good stuff in BC.

All in all I feel like Bozeman might be more on the path to being the next SLC / Denver...

 

[ModMommy]

All in all I feel like Bozeman might be more on the path to being the next SLC / Denver...

Bozeman sucks, tell your friends. People call it "the new Boulder." Ewww.

 

[.lencon]

Yeah, I agree, I've never spent more than a week there, but I've never been impressed with Boise at all, just pretty blah, and I don't really see any reason to live there over any other town you mention. SLC is a way better call than Boise IMO.

Driggs / Victor is rad if you like tiny towns. I do, and it's pretty freaking incredible. Targhee is fun, Jackson is 45 minutes away, and the backcountry is hard to beat. Nightlife is a little weak if that's your jam though. And there are not many young people here.

Pocatello: I could ski Pebble Creek happily for a season, super fun terrain, and a really good vibe, and an incredible group of shredders. I don't know much about the town, but I'd still choose it over Boise.

What Lencon doesn't mention is Northern Idaho.

Moscow: College town, very good mountain biking on Moscow mountain, closest resort is 3 hours away, but they are very good. 5 hours east gets you Whitefish, 5 hours west gets you Hood, 5 hours South gets you McCall, 5 Hours North gets you Canada. Cost of living is so cheap there.

McCall is super rad too, but more expensive to live there

Couer d'Alene: It's super beautiful, bigger than Moscow, right on the lake, very good mountain biking close by, skiing is much closer (like an hour away)

Sandpoint: Fills some of the racist northern Idaho stereotypes, but its right on the lake and right near Schweitzer, and just a stone's throw from all the good stuff in BC.

All in all I feel like Bozeman might be more on the path to being the next SLC / Denver...

Hey my last sentence was about courd a lane or however you spell it

 

[cydwhit]

Bozeman sucks, tell your friends. People call it "the new Boulder." Ewww.

Ha, I don't really know. I just know it didn't totally work for me.

Hey my last sentence was about courd a lane or however you spell it

Yep, sorry, I missed that!

Cour d'Alene is actually not bad for skiing, it's like an hour to Schweitzer, and closer to Silver and Lookout. And it's a really nice town, there's a reason Bruce Willis has a place there...

 

[.lencon]

Ha, I don't really know. I just know it didn't totally work for me.

Yep, sorry, I missed that!

Cour d'Alene is actually not bad for skiing, it's like an hour to Schweitzer, and closer to Silver and Lookout. And it's a really nice town, there's a reason Bruce Willis has a place there...

He has a place in SV too. He loves Idaho.

Haha but really I've been up north when I was little, haven't skied but it's way cool up there.

 

[theabortionator]

Ive always wanted to live in Idaho. Not in Boise though. Idk if I ever will but its been a thought for quite a bit

 

[kung_powpow]

Bozeman seems like a nice alternative, I live in Denver so I dont know too much about it tho

 

[ModMommy]

Bozeman seems like a nice alternative, I live in Denver so I dont know too much about it tho

bozeman sucks don't come here

 

[skierman]

"I've never visited SLC ( drove to Bryce / Zion though so I know how fucking awesome Utah is) but the Mormon driven agenda of the state is a bit of a turn off for me"

Anyone else find this particular sentence very painful?

Dude, you're an idiot.

 

[treebeard]

Nah this response is perfect thanks dude, any main reasons you hate Boise? I thought I wanted the city for better jobs, but SV looks like a sick place to live, I'll check out those other places too

I'm not understanding the Boise hate here. He lives like 6 hours away and it's sounding like he mostly just hates the drive there, and that's fine I mean no one enjoys spending half a day driving through a desert. But, having lived in both SLC and Boise, I can say a lot of good things about Boise that I couldn't say about anywhere else (aside from maybe Bozeman).

First off, you can be in the city one minute and be on a dope mountain bike trail in the foothills literally 2 minutes later. Boise's local music scene is rapidly becoming the best in the west. We have more breweries than Bend, OR. There aren't a fuckload of people here like there are in Denver or SLC. I can confidently say I haven't waited in a lift line in the 4 years I've been skiing Brundage and Tamarack, near McCall. Even on weekends, it's like 30 seconds tops. Oh, and the skiing fucking rules. Cliffs everywhere at Brundage. People will tell you that Bogus sucks, but they're ignoring the fact that it's not supposed to be a great mountain, it's supposed to a good local hill that you can ski for a few hours and not waste a full day.

On top of that, Boise State is a decent school if that's in your plans at all, and if not, the job market is still better than most other places. The city is really blowing up and people are figuring out that Boise is a fucking dope place to live. Really the best thing I can say about the city itself is how clean and simple it is. Ridiculously easy to navigate, you never feel overwhelmed or like shit is towering over you at all times, and it's really fucking hard to find yourself in a part of town you don't want to be in.

Final thoughts. Salt Lake was amazing[/] for strictly skiing. If that's all you're looking to do, go to SLC. You'll never regret it, as long as you ski every mountain (or at least Brighton and Snowbird) and not just Park City. But if you're looking for a much better daily life with some amazingly underrated skiing, Boise is really hard to beat.

 

[.lencon]

I'm not understanding the Boise hate here. He lives like 6 hours away and it's sounding like he mostly just hates the drive there, and that's fine I mean no one enjoys spending half a day driving through a desert. But, having lived in both SLC and Boise, I can say a lot of good things about Boise that I couldn't say about anywhere else (aside from maybe Bozeman).

First off, you can be in the city one minute and be on a dope mountain bike trail in the foothills literally 2 minutes later. Boise's local music scene is rapidly becoming the best in the west. We have more breweries than Bend, OR. There aren't a fuckload of people here like there are in Denver or SLC. I can confidently say I haven't waited in a lift line in the 4 years I've been skiing Brundage and Tamarack, near McCall. Even on weekends, it's like 30 seconds tops. Oh, and the skiing fucking rules. Cliffs everywhere at Brundage. People will tell you that Bogus sucks, but they're ignoring the fact that it's not supposed to be a great mountain, it's supposed to a good local hill that you can ski for a few hours and not waste a full day.

On top of that, Boise State is a decent school if that's in your plans at all, and if not, the job market is still better than most other places. The city is really blowing up and people are figuring out that Boise is a fucking dope place to live. Really the best thing I can say about the city itself is how clean and simple it is. Ridiculously easy to navigate, you never feel overwhelmed or like shit is towering over you at all times, and it's really fucking hard to find yourself in a part of town you don't want to be in.

Final thoughts. Salt Lake was amazing[/] for strictly skiing. If that's all you're looking to do, go to SLC. You'll never regret it, as long as you ski every mountain (or at least Brighton and Snowbird) and not just Park City. But if you're looking for a much better daily life with some amazingly underrated skiing, Boise is really hard to beat.

Dude I've spent my fair share of time there. Yes the drive sucks, but it doesn't help when you arrive to you destination and that sucks too. Haha I'm just not a fan of Boise at all. It's not like it's a dirty terrible city, the mountains around there are just kinda eh and I've just been in other mountain towns/cities that I like more.

 

[.lencon]

Also it's not a 6 hour drive for me bud it's like 3.

 

[McNoche]

Dude I've spent my fair share of time there. Yes the drive sucks, but it doesn't help when you arrive to you destination and that sucks too. Haha I'm just not a fan of Boise at all. It's not like it's a dirty terrible city, the mountains around there are just kinda eh and I've just been in other mountain towns/cities that I like more.

You're an idiot.

 

[.lencon]

You're an idiot.

Look who's talking.

 

[ghosthop]

Bozeman sucks, tell your friends. People call it "the new Boulder." Ewww.

I think that's pretty accurate, the only thing really hindering Bozeman's growth is the lack of major metro area within easy driveable distance. And a university president that is more concerned with enrollment numbers that only serves to draw in more cannon fodder for the hospitality industry and slum lords than research funding that actually developed local industry and , but whatever. I'm really curious to see how the town looks in 20 years with all the new strip malls and cheap-ass residential construction that is currently going up. None of this has to do with Boise.

But to the OP, if all you're planning on doing is showing up, partying, skiing, banging it out with a few bro ho's, and jumping ship, remember that wherever you move has people that have carved out a life for themselves there and you should respect that. I'm not saying don't have fun, but a place like Bozeman, which is really great on paper, to me has a ton of issues due to the never ending swarm of people that think moving to a "mountain town" will be fun for a few years and don't really consider the long term implications of their actions.

 

[.CJ.]

I was born in Coeur d' Alene and you need to be rich if you want to live anywhere near the lake.

 

[Willgum]

Yeah, I agree, I've never spent more than a week there, but I've never been impressed with Boise at all, just pretty blah, and I don't really see any reason to live there over any other town you mention. SLC is a way better call than Boise IMO.

.......

All in all I feel like Bozeman might be more on the path to being the next SLC / Denver...

Thanks Cy, I'm gonna keep this post in mind if my preferences move towards a small town.

bozeman sucks don't come here

haha cant actually tell if you're serious

"I've never visited SLC ( drove to Bryce / Zion though so I know how fucking awesome Utah is) but the Mormon driven agenda of the state is a bit of a turn off for me"

Anyone else find this particular sentence very painful?

Dude, you're an idiot.

Explain? If by painful you mean discriminatory, I didn't mean it that way. If by painful you mean ignorant, that's because I've never visited SLC. But I do know that the LDS holds a good amount of clout in Utah politics.

But, having lived in both SLC and Boise, I can say a lot of good things about Boise that I couldn't say about anywhere else (aside from maybe Bozeman).

First off, you can be in the city one minute and be on a dope mountain bike trail in the foothills literally 2 minutes later. Boise's local music scene is rapidly becoming the best in the west. But if you're looking for a much better daily life with some amazingly underrated skiing, Boise is really hard to beat.

Fantastic post thanks dude, I think you're the first to respond having lived in both SLC and Boise. Live music is actually really important, any type of concert from hiphop to rock to EDM and I'll be there. Skiing for me is a blast no matter where, I'm stoked about tiny hills so even though Boise might not have the power of SLC mountains, it's a huge step up from NY and that's what I want. Skiing is of 20% importance to me cause I'll love it wherever I am.

But to the OP, if all you're planning on doing is showing up, partying, skiing, banging it out with a few bro ho's, and jumping ship, remember that wherever you move has people that have carved out a life for themselves there and you should respect that. I'm not saying don't have fun, but a place like Bozeman, which is really great on paper, to me has a ton of issues due to the never ending swarm of people that think moving to a "mountain town" will be fun for a few years and don't really consider the long term implications of their actions.

I know exactly what you mean, cultural & demographic shifts really transform a city. I do plan on being involved in the community, adopting the culture, generally assimilating respectfully.

 

[numnuts]

Boise local and these are my pros and cons about Boise

PROS

sweet summer scene (kayaking, biking, camping, etc...)

cleaner city

people are friendly (based on my experiences)

bike trails are some of the best

(not of age to drink but based off brothers) beer here is better than SLC

CONS

Bogus is fun but after a while it gets old and terrain isn't too great

slow drivers

business/jobs are too booming here

cops think you're the devil if you smoke weed or underage drink

ski scene is there but not as exciting as Denver or SLC

 

[kung_powpow]

bozeman sucks don't come here

Yeah Denver sucks too, there's too much legal weed to smoke here

 

[JuliusJ]

Sup y'all. Figure this thread is calling my name. Grew up in Bend, Oregon, don't get me started on how rad it is. (I'll tell you if you ask)

I'm going to throw something new into the equation. Went to school in Spokane, WA, which is somewhere i'd actually consider. Good beer, recreational weed is legal, fucking sick mtb like right in town. I could go on about that alone if that was your scene. You have 4 ski resorts within 1.5/2 hrs, one of them having a killer DH MTB scene (Silver MT, Idaho). Schweitzer is the 2 which you'll want to go to. Nelson, British Columbia is 3.5hrs away. Coeur d'alene is practically part of Spokane at this point, you don't want to live there, Spo is way more happening.

Figured post college I wanted a relatively similar climate and more of a ski scene. Considered Bozeman, Bellingham, Boise, Denver, SLC mostly. Denver is cool and probably more cultured than SLC, ended up in SLC mostly cause skiing is WAY closer and a former college roommate was en route there as well. No regrets so far.

First Fall/Winter here this year. Night scene and beer are both not bad, whatever anyone says about it. I live in Sugarhouse right off the 80 so its 30min> to get up Big or Little Cottonwood Canyon. I have so little contact with Mormons, but when I do, they are pleasant and fine with drinking. Granted, I'm not doing so in like Provo or some shit. Skiing here is all time, theres killer MTB near SLC and Park City. Working full time at Backcountry.com and I know there are plenty of other job opportunities here for lots of industries.

That said, I'm sure Boise is fine, does seem to be more summer oriented than some other areas, but those reasons listed above were more of a draw here then to Boise. Pretty much list your pros/cons and go from there

 

[treebeard]

Fantastic post thanks dude, I think you're the first to respond having lived in both SLC and Boise. Live music is actually really important, any type of concert from hiphop to rock to EDM and I'll be there. Skiing for me is a blast no matter where, I'm stoked about tiny hills so even though Boise might not have the power of SLC mountains, it's a huge step up from NY and that's what I want. Skiing is of 20% importance to me cause I'll love it wherever I am.

For sure dude. I came out here from PA in 2009 and I wish I would have had the lowdown from locals back then. You have a good attitude, you'll do great wherever you end up. Let me know if you choose Boise. One of my first friends when I first got here happened because of NS

Bogus is fun but after a while it gets old and terrain isn't too great

slow drivers

cops think you're the devil if you smoke weed or underage drink

Ignore Bogus as a main mountain.

The last 2 here could be said equally about SLC

 

[PeppermillReno]

Just keep your ass out of Boise and Idaho. Don't need anymore retarded dipshits moving here. Stay on your shitty east coast. Leave us the fuck alone.

What you really mean is 'move to Denver/Summit where dipshits from Jersey/midwest outnumber locals.'

 

[Grishnackh]

Boise resident here. Born in Boise but grew up in Twin Falls less than 150 miles away. I've lived in Boise for about 6 years and the growth and expansion has been significant. It's definitely making a name for itself as a new "up and coming" city (doesn't feel terribly accurate to say that but it feels right).

I love Boise. the other day I skied Bogus Basin for a couple of hours, rode my bike on the greenbelt, and hiked some trails in the foothills. All of which was done in less than 10 hours. I have never lived anywhere else where I can do all that shit in one day, not saying that there aren't places out there like it, but Boise is pretty good for any kind of outdoor activity that you want to do.

Sure, Bogus Basin isn't the best hill in the state, but its a 30 minute fucking drive, can't really beat that. SLC and Denver will be way better for skiing but we are still relatively close to a few good (also cheap) skiing. There is good back country skiing also less that an hour away, even more if you are willing to drive.

Boise is still cheap to live in as well (for the time) but I can't imagine that it will stay that way given how things are playing out. Also, there are quite a few mormons. But I can't really see any agenda they may have for the city. Other than putting a church on every fucking block.

I've visited SLC and Denver a lot. SLC is pretty rad, not as cool as Denver or Boise imo but I haven't spent enough time there to really develop any sort of opinion on it. Denver is super congested because of the great migration of all the stoners. My best friend moved there with his girlfriend and they can afford rent, gas, food, and their weed habit and thatr is about it (sounds like a pretty hollow existence to me).

Come visit Boise dude, it's pretty rad.

I'm in Boise right now, and the outdoor community is very biased towards more summer sports such as biking/hiking whatever. That being said, the ski community is pretty dope and bogus is a fun little mountain. The best part about the skiing in Boise is in my opinion, that it's so close to other sick spots to ski. 5-6 hours to jackson, 5-6 to SLC, 2 hours to sun valley, hour and a half to 2 hrs to tamarack/brundage

This guy gets it. Summer activities are pretty popular here. But the last few winters have been pretty rough on us. This year was much better and it seemed to have revitalized the ski scene.

Yeah, I've actually grown up being friends with a Mormon family and they're insanely kind and giving.

Obviously someone with experience living in SLC will have an opinion with more weight than mine, but the vibe I got from the city-data forums was that SLC as a whole feels kind of neutered as far as nightlife, socializing, drinking, concerts, dating etc...

Maybe I'm overthinking it though, thats kinda why I wanted to include it in the thread

Mormons are nice people. My entire extended family are LDS and I have been around it more than I would have liked to be, but they are not unpleasant people. Almost creepy friendly. I don't think that their image totally reflects the churches true agenda but that is for a different thread.

Idahomie here and I hate boise. If you're gonna live anywhere in Idaho it should be driggs, SV, or poky. SV has dope skiing, and you can find cheaper housing but it's still pricey. Sick skiing and BC, also super sick summer stuff since you're in the sawtooths. Driggs you have targhee which gets dumped on and you're close to Jackson and a few hours away from SV and good ole P creek. And poky is awesome too. You have pebble creek which is a dope little mountain, hopefully Cy will comment on it since he was down here last weekend tearing it up. We have ISU for the college kids and were 2 hours away from SV, Targhee, Jackson, all the resorts in SLC Utah and the side/backcountry is dope. Housing is hella cheap too.

So sorry for the rent and my review on Idaho but I absolutely hate Boise. SV, Pocatello, and Driggs are kinda the only places worth living in for Idaho imo. Actually up north near courd a lane is really pretty but skiing is kinda a hassle.

Why do you hate Boise exactly? There are definitely other cool places in Idaho other than Boise, but I wouldn't say that either of the mentioned places are any better. I haven't been to Poky or Pebble Creek since I was 8 so I can't really say anything about it now.

I'm not understanding the Boise hate here. He lives like 6 hours away and it's sounding like he mostly just hates the drive there, and that's fine I mean no one enjoys spending half a day driving through a desert. But, having lived in both SLC and Boise, I can say a lot of good things about Boise that I couldn't say about anywhere else (aside from maybe Bozeman).

First off, you can be in the city one minute and be on a dope mountain bike trail in the foothills literally 2 minutes later. Boise's local music scene is rapidly becoming the best in the west. We have more breweries than Bend, OR. There aren't a fuckload of people here like there are in Denver or SLC. I can confidently say I haven't waited in a lift line in the 4 years I've been skiing Brundage and Tamarack, near McCall. Even on weekends, it's like 30 seconds tops. Oh, and the skiing fucking rules. Cliffs everywhere at Brundage. People will tell you that Bogus sucks, but they're ignoring the fact that it's not supposed to be a great mountain, it's supposed to a good local hill that you can ski for a few hours and not waste a full day.

On top of that, Boise State is a decent school if that's in your plans at all, and if not, the job market is still better than most other places. The city is really blowing up and people are figuring out that Boise is a fucking dope place to live. Really the best thing I can say about the city itself is how clean and simple it is. Ridiculously easy to navigate, you never feel overwhelmed or like shit is towering over you at all times, and it's really fucking hard to find yourself in a part of town you don't want to be in.

Final thoughts. Salt Lake was amazing[/] for strictly skiing. If that's all you're looking to do, go to SLC. You'll never regret it, as long as you ski every mountain (or at least Brighton and Snowbird) and not just Park City. But if you're looking for a much better daily life with some amazingly underrated skiing, Boise is really hard to beat.

This guy also gets it. Boise is rad, if you are going to live in southern Idaho, Boise is the place to be. But it all depends on what you are into.

 

[Snazzy]

BOGUS IS THE SINGLE GREATEST MOUNTAIN OF ALL TIME NOTHING EVEN COMES CLOSE