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I recently had some job opportunities come up in Boise and deciding if I want to relocate from Portland. I don't know much about the area besides a couple trips to the Sawtooths. The local climbing seems good with along with CoR and Tetons not terribly far and I've heard rumors of ice climbing to be had.

What are people's experience with the culture, city scene, climate and other outdoor stuff in the area......oh yeah and good beer available?

I have an urge to be sarcastic here, but I'll fight it. Basically, if you like the outdoor life Boise is pretty good. From downtown, it's 15 blocks to fly fishing, 2 miles to great singletrack, 6 to a hike with 3k' of gain, 9 to basalt columns (and 4 to sandstone cliffs), 16 miles to the ski area, 35 to great whitewater, and 130 to the Sawtooths. So who needs culture?
Compared to Portland, you'll miss the rain. There aren't any glaciers. Boise will seem really small. And it's a long, long way to the coast. Ice climbing around her is sort of an urban myth- it exists, but usually only for a couple days at a time- but there's always the North Face of Borah.

Boise rock climbing:
http://www.boiseclimbs.com/

Boise brew pubs:
http://www.google.com/search?client=saf ... 8&oe=UTF-8

Boise climate:
http://www.cityofboise.org/CityGovernme ... 40626.aspx

For the outdoors, it looks pretty nice. Culturally, it's supposed to be pretty conservative. I believe it's the city with the second largest Mormon population after SLC. Not that's there anything wrong with that, but it will provide a better idea of what to expect socially.

splattski wrote:I have an urge to be sarcastic here, but I'll fight it.

Is it that silly asking about culture there?

Thanks for the rest of the info! Hard to be beat those mileages to your favorite activities.

TacoDelRio wrote:

fatdad wrote:For the outdoors, it looks pretty nice. Culturally, it's supposed to be pretty conservative. I believe it's the city with the second largest Mormon population after SLC. Not that's there anything wrong with that, but it will provide a better idea of what to expect socially.

I hope this doesn't have an impact on beer and other fun beverages. I plan to move out there after escaping LA.

No, Splattski has the impact on the those beverages, he drinks them all

I think you'll find Boise to be a great place to live for an outdoorsperson, but culturally VERY different from Portland, OR. May I suggest NOT doing this in Boise:



(From your own profile...)


Otherwise, have fun.

ClimbandBike wrote:Is it that silly asking about culture there?

No it's not Pat but I'm sure they must have some p*rn shops there as well...you'll be fine dude.

sarah.simon wrote:I think you'll find Boise to be a great place to live for an outdoorsperson, but culturally VERY different from Portland, OR. May I suggest NOT doing this in Boise:



(From your own profile...)


Otherwise, have fun.

I don't know....when I googled "Boise Idaho" this photo came up....could be a lively crowd.

Are you straight? I hear Boise has a big gay population

I was there for the first time this past spring and really like it, but I had my girl with me which kept the gays from constantly grabbing my ass.

Tonka wrote:Are you straight? I hear Boise has a big gay population

I was there for the first time this past spring and really like it, but I had my girl with me which kept the gays from constantly grabbing my ass.

I find it hard to be too picky. My dating strategy hovers between "Anything that moves" and "Do you take out of state checks?"

Just make sure you pay a visit or two before pulling the trigger. Just about every place looks great when you're on vacation.

Outdoors -- pretty beautiful really. Great whitewater on the Payette. Longest stretch of continuous runable class 5 anywhere in the states, I think. Best part about Boise outdoors is it's not that crowded. You can go into the lesser known ranges in the state and not see anyone for days. Fun and easy to travel in the backcountry because the vegetation is sparse and there are no glaciers. (I guess I miss glaciers sometimes, and if you like super thick forests, you might not like the sparse vegetation). You don't have to drive anywhere to go for a run in the foothils. You can get up above the city in about a 20 mins running from the north end. Skiing is 16 miles away. There are some close climbing areas (within 15-20 mins) and Asana http://www.asanaclimbing.com/home.htm is a Boise company and they do a lot of climbing stuff in the community, so climbing culture can't be too bad (I only just started climbing so don't know much about it)

What's impressive is you have all this stuff that's relatively uncrowded in this city with a great downtown and surrounding neighborhoods. I've had friends visit from Bellingham and the Bay area who both LOVE the downtown... and all it's beer. http://www.justeatlocal.com/bittercreek has one of the best beer selections I have ever seen. Ok, compared to Portland, no where has great beer, but there are a few breweries here.
Pie Hole has great pizza and $1 PBRs !!! yum. and it's open til 3.
Unfortunately (or not) Idaho has the highest mormon population per capita, but rest assured that doesn't really interfere with the nightlife. Good independent theater downtown. One of the best farmers markets I've ever been to, great co-op, huge Basque population. Boise's sister city is in the Basque region of Spain. There's a really high refugee population, I'm not quite sure of the reason. There are ski movies coming through town every year, banff film festival, basque festivals. Great concerts, Dave Matthews comes through, Michael Franti, the Rolling Stones came a while back. They have sports teams: Hockey, baseball, Boise State Football, basketball.
The North End was rated one of the best neighborhoods in the US by the American Planning Association. Right now, houses are dirt cheap here so buy something in a nice neighborhood (North End or East end).
You're also moving from Portland, probably the nicest city in the US. Boise is much smaller. Still has everything you need, just not as much.

Climate is really dry. It doesn't rain much, but when it does, it pours and is really beautiful. You get those rocky mountain thunderstorms to accompany it. If you like the ocean and can't bear to part with it, well, this place is pretty landlocked.
It snows about 20 inches cumulative each season.

Boise? Salt Lake City ??? Los Angeles ????

Hey, to each his own. Have you ever thought about coming down to Arizona?



Come in August for a blast (of heat) that is. And, don't trip over that rattlesnake...

WHERE IS THIS PLACE CALLED "Bust ?" I wanna go to Bust !!!

ClimbandBike wrote:I don't know....when I googled "Boise Idaho" this photo came up....could be a lively crowd.

That sorta reminds me of Dirty Little Roddy's on 6th St. I'll leave it up to you to decide if that's a good or a bad thing.