Hi, Guardian: I have already done these things. My oldest daughter is an R.N. in another state. I had been encouraging her to move “back” here. (She has been gone for many years.) There would be no problem for her to get a job, but I have, truthfully told her the air quality gets so bad that even for people with good lungs it is almost unbearable to inhale. Also, compared to where she lives now, the cost of real estate is just ridiculous here. She has a nice brick house with 13 acres of land surrounding it, not something she could have here on a nurse’s salary. So I encourage both my children to bring their kids and visit, and then go home again.

FACT – the CCDC had VERY little to do with most of what is seen in the Boise skyline at the top of the page.

If we are looking for the actual results of the CCDC then the picture should show an unfinished empty hole, parking spaces too small to get a Yugo into and list of companies that get fire and police protection and don’t pay for it.

Boise has a lack of violent crime compared to most cities. We have a great park system and we still have that rural style that we all love. Costs for the basics of life are relatively low and one can, at least, talk about and put in the media major problems. BUT….
1- A one-party system of economic elitists control’s Idaho’s state legislature and judicial sytem and Boise’s local government. Idaho( Boise) was the only state in the recent elections that remained solidly a one party system.
2- Land speculators control state and Local govts. so that our beautiful rural atmsphere is fast becoming polluted with hugh traffic jams on roads built for the 1950’s. Uncontrolled building projects by the same speculators rake in millions for them but infect our downtown and residential areas with urban blight complete with giant holes in the ground and vast ,brand new, buildings that remain vacant for years.
3- Minimum wage jobs, with no benefits are a large part of Boise’s financial picture while Unions, that is organizations that will better the working American’s lot, are taboo, thanks to the afore mentioned politicians.
4- A large percentage of Idaho’s and Boise’s citizens are unable to get the basic medical care they need because of the outrageous prices hospital’s and doctors charge along with the lack of affordable insurance .

There you have it, folks, ” The good, the bad, and the ugly.” The fact is we can do a lot about the negative things if we want. We need an effective two-party system and people need to get involved in what their local and state government is not doing for the good of the community.We are only going to get the government and communities that we worked for!

Ah, I see where you’re coming from now. You have a Vegas (nearly unconstrained growth) problem, and that is something I can sympathize with.

That (and a ridiculous tax burden) would be what I’m trying to get away from here in Ohio: miles and miles of shoebox houses crammed together on what used to be attarctive rural land, no prior planning for the ensuing traffic burdens, schools bankrupted by influx of dense-pack housing, developers raking in profits but not contributing to the resultant infrastructure issues, etc.

I guess that’s going to be harder to get away from than I had realized.

Daveg–You paint a familiar picture!
–Editor

Daveg, as a retirement location, why not? If you have school age kids, forget about it. I would love to come back to Idaho, but not until all of my kids are out of high school where we are now. By the way, over the years (decades) we bought three existing houses in Idaho, paid our fair share of taxes, made numerous and consistent charitable and nonprofit contributions, were cognizant of and deferential to the environment, and volunteered in a number of capacities. I spent more than a few hours preparing for and attending City Council and Ada County Planning Commission meetings. I spoke my mind, as many did. Eventually, all of the people who asked these bodies for things I thought imprudent got their way. They just had to wait it out, but they ultimately won. That’s how it’s worked in Boise for decades, but what people don’t realize is that now the effects are totally cumulative. With the kind of growth you have experienced, that is asking for so much trouble it is staggering.

Daveg, as a retirement location, why not?

Well, curious, that’s a good question. Traffic isn’t that big of an issue if I don’t really have to be anywhere at any given moment. Schools wouldn’t be a big issue, although I don’t know how they’re funded in Boise. They’re funded by property taxes here, which is a very large burden for our fixed-income retired folks to bear.

I’m still planning on a visit sometime in the next couple of years or so to see what Boise’s all about. Chances are, though, that I’d be looking outside of Boise itself, probably in the Caldwell area, due to the location of the highly recommended airport. I need someplace to store for my best toy! (http://n466pg.blogspot.com in case you’re curious)