Has anyone lived and raised a family in either of these two cities. I am sure there are some good things about them (low crime rate) but I am not sure if Forbes knows of some of the absolutly toxic parts of LDS culture that are a huge part of these cities as well. Can anyone else comment or give some insight about this, thx.

Much lower Mormon population there, and the LDS sector has a lower percentage of crazy-ass überMormons.

I happen to live in Idaho but am not in Boise. I think Boise would be a safe bet, especially over Provo. Provo is entrenched on all sides because of the large number of LDS in the area. My husband's business takes us to Utah a lot in the summer and it seems no matter where we go, there is an LDS church on every dang block. As for the state itself, I think Utah is a beautiful place and offers folks great things to do year round (fish, snow ski, rodeos, etc.). My perspective is that the non-LDS people mind their own business, do their own thing, and let others do their own thing. The LDS on the other hand will bombard you, give your kids crap about not being LDS, and are clickish (sp?).
Boise appears to be pretty diversified. I don't know the ratio of LDS to non-LDS but I would bet money that the non outnumber the other. Idaho too is pretty and has lots to offer folks. Oh! And don't forget the Boise State Broncos - go Broncos! LOL.
I can't give you numbers on the cost of living in one over the other.

I am not sure what line of work you are in, but the Twin Falls area is another low crime rate area and is considerably smaller than Boise. The cost of living is cheaper than Boise and while there is LDS, there are a lot of regular folks. Something to think about, anyway. :0)

My daughter has lived near Boise...Meridian and now Star. She likes Idaho a lot. She converted almost 5 yrs. ago - she had already been married to a Mormon. And yes, it happened while she was in Meridian. They sucked her in. But I have visited there and don't feel an overwhelming presence of Mormon Culture...Utah, on the other hand, i do. Weather in Idaho is 4 seasons and not as much snow as Utah....the seasons remind my daughter and me of my home - PA.

Crazy-ass idiocy. Obviously, somebody ain't tried living in Provo. Boise's not TERRIBLE. But isn't Idaho the most red state? I just couldn't live like that.

cludgie Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Boise's not TERRIBLE. But isn't
> Idaho the most red state? I just couldn't live
> like that.


I have some nevermo friends living there after spending most of their lives in California. They're as liberal as you can get. They like Boise. I figure if they can find a happy niche there it can't be too bad.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/14/2012 09:33PM by Stray Mutt.

I grew up in Boise.

I don't think the low crime rate and low cost of living of Boise have much to do with the Mormon population.

It just happens to be an isolated mid-sized city in a mid sized valley and it is also very close to the mountains with excellent irrigation potential. People come here and don't want to leave. My theory is that these geographical factors have shaped the culture and values of Boise to be fairly conservative and homogeneous without a lot of the extra things that others cities have to worry about with a greater diversity of values.

Growing up Mormon in Boise was a confusing and drwarfing influence on my social development. About 1/10 of my classmates were Mormon. Just enough to make me feel like if I didn't fit in with Mormonism than something was wrong with me.

I recently took a anthropology seminar where we were discussing cultures that we had negative experiences with. Two people in my discussion group said growing up in Meridian was hard because they have a larger group of Mormons there. They often felt contempt and judgement from their Mormon peers which was a blow to their self-esteem development.

So maybe isolated and homogeneous cultures like Boise have a lower incidence of societal problems, but Meridian is a different story. The self righteousness is a silent stressor on non-mormon kids.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/14/2012 12:10PM by Brian M.

Do LDS youth in Boise attend released time (school-adjacent) Seminary, or early morning Seminary? If the population is consistently 10%, it might be a critical mass for released time Seminary a la Utah.

Brian M. you are so right. Glad those students were able to articulate that. My 7th grade daughter felt so out of place in Layton Utah in the early 90's it was ridiculous. So glad we left at the end of that yr. Yes, it is all about judgement. Plenty of people telling her she was not on the right path. Poor kid...and even today she still recalls it like it was yesterday.

what High School you went to? I was a Capital grad. When you said 1 in 10 classmates were Mo that sounded very Capital/Boise-ish.

No worries if that's to personal.

Verrrry different feel. Boise is actually very diverse. Very liberal pocket in our North end and a good mix throughout the valley.

I agree with a few others, Meridian has become a mini-Provo but for the most part there's pretty decent vibes between the mo's and non-mo's (with some definite exceptions).

Provo was beautiful I thought and I was a huge BYU sports fan at the time so I enjoyed my time there. Had a lot of good friends there who were active mo but still a ton of fun (concerts, Wendover runs, Jazz games, etc.)

Anyhow. My two cents. Love the Boise area. Enjoyed Provo.

Borah.

Probably a little under 1/10 there. Out of a classroom of 30 kids usually between 1-3 Mormon-lings, back in the 90's.

Provo does have benefits for raising kids, because there are just so many kids around. Lots of community events, and businesses tend to cater to families. The sheer number of children can be overwhelming, though, at many of the community events. As far as physical location, hiking trails are great, but the mountains also contribute to the inversion effect and nearly the worst air quality in the country. Utah has the lowest funding per student for education of any state (too many kids again), but the results of test scores are only slightly below average for the country, so the schools are efficient with their limited funding. LDS culture seems to be changing in some ways - it's fairly common to meet mothers who have some type of employment, or at least were employed prior to having children. There is always an underlying assumption that you are Mormon in any social interaction. It's not a bad place to raise a family, but personally I would prefer to live in California.

cludgie,

you could always try Blaine County. Every election it is the only blue county. :)~ Of course the cost of living is a bit excessive.

I currently live in Boise and have lived here since 1978. My father is a Lutheran Minister and we moved here from Washington state because he received a call. My parents, one brother and I moved here - I was 13. I hated it because of the age I was (going into the 9th grade) and it was traumatic to leave all my friends behind and the only home I had ever known.

Our family was introduced to Mormonism early on through a meeting that the various Christian Churches in the area had with Mormon leaders at the time (I think there was a push in the LDS community to be seen as more mainstream Christian). They sent all of the pastors/priests and the wives that were interested to Salt Lake to "take a tour" of the LDS facilities and learn more about the history and doctrine of the church. My parents were quite puzzled with the doctrine of the LDS church and read several books on the subject after attending the meetings - No Man No My History, etc. Growing up in the area I always had the sense that Mormonsim was "weird."

Fast forward to today, in all the years of living in Boise, I really didn't know that much about Mormonism - most of what I have learned has been through this forum. It really has never been "in my face" and I've never even had a missionary at my door (maybe they have some sort of "radar" out on me). I have noticed that in raising my daughter over these past 18 years, that Mormonism does creep in through the friendship of the kids and various activities that my daughter was involved in growing up. When she was 5 or 6 I had her in a clogging class that was dominated by LDS kids, it was strange, but no one ever said anything about my daughter not being Mormon. However, I wondered if she had stayed in the class and had pursued it, whether the coach (who was very LDS) would not have allowed her the opportunities that she would have given to the LDS kids. Generally, I found that sports/school activities were also dominated by a certain mind-set of very high competition and I've often wondered if that was a bi-product of the high rate of Mormon parents and kids in the area.

But, to really answer your question, Boise is a great place to raise a family. I think if you are not LDS, you're pretty much left alone. There are many other faiths around here too - not just Mormons. There are also a lot of outdoor activities around the area, generally people are very friendly and the community is quite nice. Boise is still a small town even though we've had an influx of Californian's moving to the area over the past 5-10 years.

If you've learned Mormonism through us, you know more than if you had learned Mormonism through the LDS missionaries. After all the missionaries, you would not be equipped to make an informed judgement about your baptism. A year later when you were on your way to the temple, you would not know enough about that to make an informed decision, either.

Is Forbes magazine owned by the church?

unless you're Bill Haywood.

I have lived in the Boise area for about seven years now after moving from SLC where I lived for more than 30years. There are plenty of Mormons in the area but they do not dominate and one can go through life here without really being conscious of their presence. Idaho is very much like Utah in that it is a very conservative state, southern half at least, and has a heavily Republican legislature. Property price are ridiculously low right now and the city has a very strong sense of community which makes it attractive. It has only one sports game in town, Boise State football, which gets good support from across the community, and the nearby area offers excellent outdoors pursuits no matter your interest. It has been a great move for us.

We moved to Northwest Meridian 6 years ago and we call it "Little Provo." They've put up two ward buildings in the last year and there is at least one every mile. Our neighborhood is really LDS and you can tell it. We bought a "mormon" house and once they found out we weren't they never came back. We've had issues with LDS not letting their kids play with ours, snubbing at the community pool, and thinking their own everything. One LDS lady at the pool I was trying to chat with actually moved her chair to the other side. Story time at the library is mostly Mo (you can tell by the underwear). We are Christians and regularly attend church and they know it. I feel bad for the missionaries so we always chat them up, give them treats, and water. Then I guess the ward must tell them because they never come back.

However, Boise is more liberal and less LDS. Friends from Boise come to our house and can't believe all our ward buildings.

Overall Boise is safe, great weather, and lots of kids activities. Meridian has great parks and is a great place to raise kids.

With all that said, we love it here. Once I realized that LDS wouldn't be my friend, I've reached out and have a wide range of friends (gay, athiest, single, married) and people to hang-out with out and go places with. I think it was all finding our places. It makes me sad to see so many kids in our neighborhood that won't be my kids friends, but after seeing how they act, I'm kind of glad. So it is a great place to live once I stopped trying and started living our life.

Boise is less Mormon meridian though is a Mormon dumpster. Full of boring cookie cutter homes where nothing is more than 10 years old. Boise is more liberal and diverse

Boise is a wonderful place to live. We are now fourth generation, and were founders back in the mid 1800s. There are incredible outdoor activities, fun things to do and the weather is pleasant for three seasons of the year. If you pay attention to where you are living, and stay out of the heavy LDS areas you will be fine. I live in the People's Democratic Republic of the North End. Not many Mormons here.

I think Boise is a nice town and I would live there again if I needed to live in Idaho. I was inactive when I lived there and didn't feel like it was over the top mormony. Provo, however, gives me the heebie jeebies when I am there even for a weekend. I would never live there again. Never.

Unfortunately, one of Forbes' criteria for determining that is NOT "Degree of Fasciscm".