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ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH TECH
Population: 568,086
Population Growth Since 2000: 18.2%
Percentage of Workforce in Creative Class: 33.2%
Cost-of-Living Index: 95.5 (100 being national average)
Median Household Income: $49,833
Income Growth Since 2000: 16.6%
How do folks get any work done around here? The skiing, snowboarding, fishing, biking and kayaking in and around Boise are an almost irresistible temptation to desert your desk. Glance northward from the city's orderly downtown business and shopping district, and the majestic slopes of the Boise foothills beckon.
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Those in search of classy entertainment may be surprised. Says Susan Thayer, who relocated four years ago from Albany, Ore., to run sales for Episciences, which makes Epionce skin products: "The city has evolved into a magnet for the arts." She and her spouse, Terry, frequent the theater, as well as Boise's own symphony, opera and dance companies.
When they're not casting a line or taking in a show, a growing number of Boisians work for local high-tech businesses, the fruits of which make up the state's biggest exports. Micron Technology and Hewlett-Packard are the Boise Valley's two largest employers. But the area also cradles smaller technology and e-commerce firms, which come to make the most of low business costs -- about a third less than in California or Washington.
Employers know they'll find a high proportion of college graduates here (37%, compared with the national average of 27%) and that new hires will find plenty of affordable housing. Explore Boise's eclectic mix of old and new neighborhoods and you'll find homes with a median price of $235,000. The average work commute is 18 minutes.
For those in search of a small-but-happening feel, the burgeoning suburb of Eagle is the place to go. Lloyd Mahaffey, previously an executive at Honeywell, Apple Computer and Verifone, moved to the former farming town in 2004, hoping to find a laid-back place where his kids could hunt and play tennis while he dabbled in winemaking and developed real estate.
Eagle's soil tests perfectly for the cultivation of red-wine grapes. Now Mahaffey is developing ten homes reminiscent of Italian villas, each with its own 4-acre vineyard. After visiting him in Eagle, several friends are planning to relocate to the area. Be advised: "When you first arrive, you have to downshift and adjust to a more relaxed pace," says Mahaffey.
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POSTED BY: Chris Knight, GRI (June 24, 2008 12:13 PM)
Another great thing about Boise is the weather. It is a four season area, and I find the changes refreshing. Winters are cool with a touch of frost and an occasional dusting of snow measured in inches rather than feet. Spring is fresh and green with fruit blossom festivals in the more rural areas. Summer pulls you to the mountains, lakes and trout streams as the temperatures creep towards a dry 98°. Fall is beautiful with the leaves turning all colors of the Sunset-of-Summer in the City of Trees and community Harvest Festivals celebrate family and our agricultural roots.
POSTED BY: Boise Native (June 27, 2008 06:53 PM)
I am proud to be a Boise native. I have lived on both the east and the west coasts. I always wind up back home in Boise. I am sorry that others have had bad experiences here. However, I tend to believe there can be good and bad in everything and most of the time we get exactly what we look for. I also have a rather unpopular opinion for a Boise native and that is if you are from anywhere else including California, Welcome! Just please help keep our beautiful streams, mountains, lakes and wildlife as beautiful as you find them.
POSTED BY: Diane Anderson (July 26, 2008 10:10 AM)
The recreation in Idaho is premium, the cost of living is low, but that's because the wages are also very low. If you want to start a big business here, the Legislature will practically give you anything you want. But we thrive on slave labor here. The city's #1 vendor is inmate labor. No kidding. How else could we sustain the no cost "we don't have any revenue for that" growth? It's the largest boom industry, criminal making aka The Business of Incarceration. It's catching on across the country. Welcome to Ada County. There certainly is a lot of contrast here!
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