Boise Top City to Raise a Family!

Those that live here have long known Boise is the best city to raise a family! Apparently the rest of the country is finding this out as well. Mom it Forward, the social media community and network has placed Boise at #3. This site based its rankings on area education, affordable housing, crime rate, jobs, entertainment and commute time. We were beat out by Orlando, FL in the top spot (weather and entertainment) and at #2 Omaha, Nebraska (mid west small town feel). The tagline under Boise…”Diversity you wouldn’t expect” …honestly that is a tagline I never thought I would read regarding Boise. They direct that comment to our large Basque community and accessibility to art and diversity. The last decade has seen a small but changing landscape in Boise as we were designated the new home land for a number of refugee. Boise is home to several very involved organizations that help refugees including the The IRC (International Relief Committee) and World Relief Boise. The number of refugees in Boise is so low we don’t even garner a blip on the national statistics.

This latest ranking goes on to mention that compared to other Pacific Northwest cities like Portland and Seattle we are much more affordable with much shorter commute times. They go on to note this is a great place to be a sports fanatic with the local Boise Bronco football team and their iconic blue field. I think they missed the mark by not mentioning how health and outdoor oriented Boise is as well with skiing and camping close by, the greenbelt that runs for 30 miles through downtown and hiking the foothills out our backdoor.

According to the author we did beat out Madison, Wisconsin and Honolulu, Hawaii. In 2012 Forbes named us #2 in 2012. I don’t believe the 2013 Forbes list is out yet so we will have to wait to see if we made the cut!