Where to live near Boise

Hi,

We are looking to relocate to the Boise area. We have 3 young children. We are coming from the SF Bay area. Can you recommend any areas with outstanding schools? How is the Hideen Springs area? Meridian? Eagle? Thanks..

Where to live near Boise

I would first come to Boise and check it out. I would rather, have my kids in the Boise system. Eagle, ect are a bit out of the way...meridian, the same, can%26#39;t say anything to nice about those areas. All you have to do is come and see...Boise is a cool town, with a ';hep'; sort of feeling . we feel, ALMOST, like we are in a city when there. They have refurbished alot of th downtown, with cool shops. They still have a saturday farmers market, and lots of concerts and things to do. enjoy

Where to live near Boise

I live in Boise, so having lived here I have a pretty good feel for teh area. Certainly a better feel than a visitor would have, anyway.

Nampa, Caldwell, anything in Canyon County - stay the heck away. Poverty, high crime, run down towns, etc.

Most of Meridian stinks, and by most I mean the main town itself and basically everything north of the freeway. Some of the town in the SE part of the City (around South Eagle Road in the Overland/Victory area) is pretty nice - butts up against west Boise, and only 12 minutes from downtown because freeway access is great. This is the only part of Meridian I%26#39;d live, and it is a really nice area. I have friends in a large subdivision called ';Tuscany'; out there, and it seems like a nice place (google - they may have a website).

Eagle has lousy places, but otherwise is a nice suburbs kind of area. Close to the foothills, which is nice. Hidden Springs is out in the Eagle area (may actually be in Boise, but it%26#39;s close to Eagle). It%26#39;s in the foothills, which is nice, but it%26#39;s by the Ada County dump, which isn%26#39;t nice. I think it has a very Stepford vibe to it and don%26#39;t really like it.

In Boise itself, the north end is spotty in some places but overall is the nicest part of town. Old houses, lots of trees, right by downtown, etc. But it%26#39;s expensive. There%26#39;s some nice areas along the river as you head east from downtown, but go too far and you%26#39;ll be in a massive development called ';Columbia Villiage'; - I%26#39;d avoid that. The Bench is a 60s/70s type neighborhood that runs on a ridge south of downtown that%26#39;s had a resurgence of late, but parts of it are still spotty. Parts of west Boise are nice, but pretty heavy on the LDS folks (no offense intended to any who are of that ilk - just an FYI) and sprawl, and you%26#39;re near the airport and the freeway access is poor (ie, you%26#39;d be better off in the SE Meridian area I mentioned before than West Boise, imo).

This is just a quick overview. I think Group One realty has a decent little description written up for the various parts of the valley so you may want to check their website out.

I have a few really good friends in Eagle, and one more thing on that is that the commute to downtown can be a little bit hairy. But, for a suburbs kind of town it%26#39;s really nice - upscale, good restaurants, close to the foothills, etc. Kinda pricey, though

that is what i was trying to say, a bit nicer and love that you said what you said...could live in Boise, not the others...I had planned to move to Boise after divorce, friends were urging, then met husband and stayed in KEtchum..best thing i%26#39;ve done. Then i can go to Boise and feel like i am in a real city, for me!!! enjoy

Well, I%26#39;m moving to the Boise area soon and after a few house hunting trips, here are my thoughts:

Ditto Nampa and Caldwell....especially Caldwell. Too many gangs for me.

South of I-84 is growing but where to grocery shop, etc?

I%26#39;m looking at Eagle and east Meridian - east of Linder between Chinden and McMillan. Nice neighborhoods, near to shopping.

Eagle road north of State is a zoo - 4 lanes to 2 lanes. Yikes! But, there%26#39;s a way around this.

School systems are good in Meridian and Boise. Eagle goes to Meridian schools. I have never seen so many schools being built in my life! Here%26#39;s a hint - look at their SAT or ACT scores for the high school within your area.

Overbuilding = too many houses to chose from. Lots of spec homes for sale, lot%26#39;s of existing construction for sale. I%26#39;m gonna give lowball offers for whatever we find. The infrastructure needs to catch up with the new construction. Too many 2 lane roads in areas that are clearly 4 lane capacity.

Jobs - it%26#39;s a service economy and it will get tougher now that Micron is laying off people. Boise needs job diversity soon!

Thank you for such thoughtful responses. I will take all of your info with me when I visit in August. Schools are a huge concern for me and I don%26#39;t want to waste my time looking at homes in not so great school districts. I did not know that Hidden Springs was near the dump..YUCK...Kathy

Hi

If you are worried about schools check out specific schools not districts there are really only two big school districts.

IMO the principal of the school is the most important cog in the education wheel they are like the CEO of a small company as they go or think is how the whole school goes. my son was in high school in the late 90%26#39;s I moved to the Capital high school area in Boise because they had one of the best music programs. then when he graduated I moved downtownLOL downtown boise is having a rebirth lots of condos going up and a vibrant urban scene.

probably comming from Walnut creek our commute won%26#39;t seem that bad to you but it is still a pain for those who must endure it.

on the dump it does not smell and in fact Boise and parts of Eagle are closer to it than hidden springs.

hidden springs is on the back side of the foothills behind the dump.

but I do agree it does have a stepford type vibe LOL

If you are looking for a rural area check out Emmett

My suggestion is look at the area by the Bogus Basin Road...forget what that is called. Hyde Park, Hill Road and near the golf courses on Bogus Road...The inner Boise is not as nice as near the foot hills and coming from Walnut Creek(, my mother was in Tiffany Court old folks home and i love the area, oh and Postinos but mom isn%26#39;t with us anymore%26lt; no more Walnut Creek) When you come and visit, you will know. Make sure that you go to the Red Feather for a nice dinner. We just found it and absoultly love it,,,,we are picky. enjoy

Thank you so much...mmmm Postinos...It is really hard to figure out where to look. My goal is to find an area with great schools and then zero in on the house. Traffic and high home prices are out of control on Walnut Creek. I love any suggestions..Kathy

Eagle and Hidden Springs have been discovered, by which I mean housing prices have already climbed quite a bit. I think the next place into which Boise is expected to sprawl (but hasn%26#39;t done so yet) is to the south of the airport.