Did You Know Chita, Russia and Gernika, Spain Are Boise’s Sister Cities?

The City of Boise has two official "sister cities" in the world: Chita, Russia and Gernika, Spain. Just how similar are they to Boise?

What is a sister city? According to sistercities.org, "A sister city, county, or state relationship is a broad-based, long-term partnership between two communities in two countries. A relationship is officially recognized after the highest elected or appointed official from both communities sign off on an agreement to become sister cities." Now, in my searches on the internet, I've noticed that typically sister cities tend to have similar population sizes, similar climate patterns and other major similarities.

That seems to be the case with Chita, Russia whose population is somewhat similar to Boise's; 324,000 and 240,000, respectively. It's also a city with a somewhat similar climate pattern. Granted, this is a city in Russia so if you ever travel there, maybe don't go expecting to hit up a Chita State game and walk the greenbelt after floating the Ingoda River. Though, I haven't seen anything saying that's NOT a thing.

Now, Guernica, Spain is interestingly similar to Boise as they also have a large Basque population, which makes perfect sense! It is from Spain, of course. Guernica is a bit smaller population wise but after doing a quick google search, it is an amazingly beautiful city that also has a pretty moderate climate. It's fun to know that almost every city has a "sister city", an agreed upon relationship and that even if you find yourself in Spain, or even Russia, you can get a little taste of home if you start to feel home sick.

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