Best place to live

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lurker

lurker

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Arden_sl said:
Any of those raving people on these boards? Anyone here actually live/have lived in Boise and can confirm that the weather is great, cost of living reasonable, friendly/progressive people, lots of things to do, etc?

I mean, all that stuff makes it seem like "the new, less expensive Boulder". If that's the case, I'd be all about it.
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I live outside of Boise. I've been here less than a year so I can't comment on most of the things you're curious about. I came from Northern AZ. (Sedona)

I used to average my electric bill at $200/month and I froze in the winter (I also had a pellet stove that ate $600/year in wood) and sweated in the summer. Last month here my electric was $90 and gas was $10 and I ran the A/C. I never ran the A/C in AZ. My water bill in AZ was $60-$90/month with minimal landscaping and no veggie garden. I now pay $8.5/month to the city for metered water and $200/year for unlimited irrigation water and I have 1/2 acre of lawn and garden. I sold my house in AZ for twice what I paid for here.

Two days ago I went to the Boise mall for the first time. Large indoor mall with maybe 200+ stores and only 1 vacancy that I saw. Place was crowded. I'm used to going into a mall in AZ or northern CA and they're empty, no shoppers or stores. Very depressing. Not here.

I don't know about winter. I researched it before I moved. It should be no colder than where I was but it will last longer. Minimal snow in town.
 
Arden

Arden

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lurker_sl said:
I live outside of Boise. I've been here less than a year so I can't comment on most of the things you're curious about. I came from Northern AZ. (Sedona)

I used to average my electric bill at $200/month and I froze in the winter (I also had a pellet stove that ate $600/year in wood) and sweated in the summer. Last month here my electric was $90 and gas was $10 and I ran the A/C. I never ran the A/C in AZ. My water bill in AZ was $60-$90/month with minimal landscaping and no veggie garden. I now pay $8.5/month to the city for metered water and $200/year for unlimited irrigation water and I have 1/2 acre of lawn and garden. I sold my house in AZ for twice what I paid for here.

Two days ago I went to the Boise mall for the first time. Large indoor mall with maybe 200+ stores and only 1 vacancy that I saw. Place was crowded. I'm used to going into a mall in AZ or northern CA and they're empty, no shoppers or stores. Very depressing. Not here.

I don't know about winter. I researched it before I moved. It should be no colder than where I was but it will last longer. Minimal snow in town.
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Thanks. I looked into it and it seems like the winter there is indeed quite long and quite cold.
 
Borzak

Borzak

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According to that list a county where I own "land" in East, TX that is bankrupt. Provides no fire protection and no deputies but has pine trees ranks the same as the current county I live in that is in the hill country of TX that people are lined up to move to for the beauty of it. Go figure.
 
Famm

Famm

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lurker_sl said:
Two days ago I went to the Boise mall for the first time. Large indoor mall with maybe 200+ stores and only 1 vacancy that I saw. Place was crowded. I'm used to going into a mall in AZ or northern CA and they're empty, no shoppers or stores. Very depressing. Not here.
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Wow, that's crazy. There's still such a thing as malls?
 
Prodigal

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Since you had Raleigh, NC as an option I figured I'd throw out two option with culture and much more IMO to do.

In NC - New Bern, NC. On the Pimlico Sound, a smaller Charleston but with a lot of history and good food and people. Also pretty central to other coastal destinations.

Further south - Charleston, SC, or more specifically Mount Pleasant right outside of it. Might be a bit too warm in the heat of summer, but an amazing place otherwise.
 
Famm

Famm

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I still think Raleigh is the hands down obvious choice all things about your search considered. Assuming that you're staying in the States too.
 
Arden

Arden

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Prodigal_sl said:
Since you had Raleigh, NC as an option I figured I'd throw out two option with culture and much more IMO to do.

In NC - New Bern, NC. On the Pimlico Sound, a smaller Charleston but with a lot of history and good food and people. Also pretty central to other coastal destinations.

Further south - Charleston, SC, or more specifically Mount Pleasant right outside of it. Might be a bit too warm in the heat of summer, but an amazing place otherwise.
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Don't know much about New Bern, but it looks small and backwater-ey. I admit I could be totally wrong about the backwater part. Honestly, I think I need to at least be a short drive from (or actually in) a city of at least 100k+, preferably 150k+. I'm in Savannah now and it's a bit small at 150k, but I can deal with that size for other benefits. I do like Charleston (was there for 8 weeks), but Charleston is basically the same as Savannah for all my purposes- a lateral move.

This thread and the research it has led me to have been pretty damn useful.

It's down to Raleigh or Boulder, I think. I love San Diego, but I want to own property and it's just not realistic there. Boise is too cold in the winter. SLO is still a close third.
 
Chanur

Chanur

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Any idea on what I could expect to pay for a 1 br apartment in the Dallas area? I don't know where I would want to live out there but I don't want my costs to double what I'm paying now.
 
Alex

Alex

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WTF SLO more expensive than San Diego? Really? I find that damn near impossible to believe.
 
Arden

Arden

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Alex_sl said:
WTF SLO more expensive than San Diego? Really? I find that damn near impossible to believe.
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I did a brief property check and it looks comparable. Probably not *more* expensive, but not less expensive, either.
 
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