Does Boise Have Too Many Californians

24/7 Wall Street just came out with their Top 25 Fastest Growing Cities In America list and Boise, Idaho comes in at #20.  This detailed report drops after an intense investigation into more than 380 areas across the country between the years of 2010 and 2017.

The U.S. Census Bureau data used to compile these numbers were...

• population percentage changes
• migration and national growth

While most cities across the United States are having a decline in population growth, Boise is definitely not in that category.  Boise has grown a whopping 15% in the time statistics were gathered.

So where are all these people coming from?  Answer:  CALIFORNIA

I, myself grew up in California, bounced around the country to earn my stripes in radio in cities like...

• Yakima, Washington
• Fayetteville, Arkansas,
• Las Vegas, Nevada
• Salt Lake City, Utah

And now I've been in Boise, Idaho for almost four years.

Californians migrating to Boise kind of started as a running joke and now people seem to look at it in one of two ways.  Either... It's still kind of funny how many Californians have moved and continue to move here OR We're sick and tired of you Californians moving in.  Get out!  The following 'SPOOF' blog titled 6 Reasons No One Should Be Moving To Boise Right Now went viral.  It's basically a fun, goofy warning to all outsiders that they shouldn't be moving here.  You can check it out below.

While this blog was written in good and fun it seems that Boise's tolerance for Californians has started to run thin.  When I go out into our community I'm starting to hear lots of negative comments thrown out to people from California and sometimes these comments are thrown out to anyone that does something bothersome like drivers, annoying people in restaurants, grocery stores, at work, and more.  People shouting out "Stupid Californian", "Must Be From California", and a whole lot more just like those.  On the other side of things, I've heard comments from people who've rented cars with California license plates worried about their safety.  Has it really gotten that bad?  Do we really hate Californians THAT BAD?

I don't have the answers.  All I know is Boise's growing fast.  It's not the same nor will it ever be.  It'll continue to change and we, as a community will change too.  It's inevitable.  Now, what do we do with that change?  That's up to us.  I've always been a big believer in Things Are What You Make Of Them.  What are we going to make of Boise?