Before transferring to DC we lived in Boise for 9 years and LOVED it! When we first arrived it was a bit of a culture shock because everyone is white (over 90%) and armed and Mormon. Seriously...it's about 1/3 Mormon. The strange thing is that it has/had a large non-straight population for such a red state. We tell people Boise is 1/3 Mormon, 1/3 non-straight and 1/3 none of the above hahaha. We moved there in 97 and left in 06. We sold our house for more than double what we paid which really helped out when we got to the DC area. We left just so we could get closer to the folks that were getting older and sicker. Then it was culture shock when we got to DC, but opposite lol. The downtown Boise nightlife is awesome! So many bars, nightclubs and local restaurants. It really has a big city feel but is still a small town for sure. We could be snowboarding at Bogus Basin in about 45 minutes, we could float the Boise River through town or we could go water skiing at Lucky Peak. Gambling in Jackpot, NV was only a few hours away. We made several trips to the Oregon coast and also down to Salt Lake City. Boise really is a great place to live and raise a family. Camping/Hunting - both amazing! The schools our kid went to were outstanding, K-8 but we did high school in DC. All year there were community events throughout the city including free concerts downtown in the summer, Alive After Five, and all year we had First Thursday downtown. It was just a really fun, active place to live. Now we're just counting down the days until we retire to the Clearwater Beach, FL area. Can't wait!!!