Boise, Idaho
This isn’t the first time Idaho’s capital has made our list of the Best Places to Live — and for good reason. Boise has so much to offer, for so many walks of life.
For outdoorsy types, Boise boasts thousands of acres of protected reserves, where native plants and wildlife are as intrinsic to the city’s fabric as the people who walk, job and cycle through the trails that connect these spaces. More than 100 parks dot the city, many named after prominent local women who helped shape its history. The crown jewel, Ann Morrison Park, has cricket fields, an outdoor circuit training gym and an off-leash dog park that’s the size of four football fields put together (and then some). Julia Davis Park, meanwhile, is the gateway to a string of museums — the Boise Art Museum, the Idaho Black History Museum and the Idaho State Museum — and the city’s zoo.
For history nerds, there’s the Idaho Penitentiary and the Basque Block. Music venues like Shrine Social Club, Neurolux and Knitting Factory cater to the indie music crowd. And for the Instagram set, Freak Alley, an open-air art gallery downtown, is a must-visit.
Boise’s star is rising, and businesses are flocking to the city in droves. Tech giants like Micron are expanding here, with a $15 million investment in a new manufacturing plant. Exyte, a high-tech engineering and construction company, just opened a Boise office, and Meta (Facebook’s parent company) is building a data center nearby. For the second year running, the Milken Institute named Boise a top-five best-performing large city, citing its consistent wage growth, low cost of living and an attractive housing market that, after several years of skyrocketing prices, is finally stabilizing.