Published on June 15th, 2026
I grew up in New England, went to college in Colorado, and started my adult life in the Southeast. When it came time to decide what lifestyle was best for raising children, my daughter's father and I both knew that we wanted some place with a lot of wide open spaces, mountains, creeks, wildlife, natural beauty, and an abundance of resources. Our life vision was to buy acreage and homestead; we discussed locations in the Southeast such as Tennessee, Kentucky, or North Carolina (we lived in South Carolina at the time).
After spending a lot of time in the Southeast, I recognized that there was still something missing — something that I wouldn't find in the land of humidity, yearlong summer temps, massive invasive bugs, and border proximity. I'd been yearning to get back out West where the air was light and clean, the seasons changed like they did in New England, and the natural wonder of our country felt more expansive and inviting.
Our life trajectory took a vastly different path than what was planned. By the time my daughter turned three, I had gained sole custody after a tumultuous year-long court battle — and just like that, the life her father and I had mapped out together no longer applied. What didn't change was the vision I still had for her: room to roam, mountains, clean air, a childhood built outdoors. If anything, giving her that stability mattered more now, not less.
So I started looking at places to move — seriously this time, and on my own. I spent months researching probably half the states, drawing on years of my own travel to know what a place actually offered versus what it looked like on paper. My heart pulled hard toward Colorado; it's where I spent my young adulthood and felt like I became who I am, and raising my daughter there felt like it would honor what both of her parents had once wanted for her. But Colorado had always been expensive, and by the early 2010s when it became one of the first states to legalize recreational marijuana, a wave of relocations pushed real estate even further out of reach for a single mom starting over.
So I began looking elsewhere across the Mountain West: Albuquerque, Salt Lake City, Boise, and Phoenix all made my list. Boise had the lowest population, lowest real estate prices, and lowest crime rates. They also had public schools with great ratings at the time, and a wide variety of charter and private schools to choose from as well. By process of elimination I decided against New Mexico and Arizona for their weather, location, and crime rates. The Boise area was looking better & better the more I dove into researching all the things. On my first visit out here to check out some houses, I absolutely fell IN LOVE with Idaho!!!
The vibe in the Treasure Valley (the suburbs surrounding the Boise area) reminded me so much of where I spent my young adulthood in Colorado; there was a plethora of parks, bike paths, rivers, and hiking trails just outside of town. Within a 1-2-3 hour drive into the mountains you can get to a multitude of breathtakingly stunning destinations — many of which are now second homes to celebrities due to their quiet, mountainous appeal.
We've visited dozens of hot springs — both natural and man-made — as well as dozens of campgrounds — both boondocking and full-hookup style. We've checked out historical sites on the Oregon Trail, underground ice caves, museums filled with artifacts from the Gold Rush days and nearby Indian tribes. We've hunted for crystals and panned for gems. We went boarding down sand dunes and hunting for scorpions. My daughter has even done a polar plunge in Blue Lake, and dozens of polar plunges at many hot springs locations!
A decade in, here's the short version of an Idaho life well spent outdoors:
Camped: Lake Cascade, Payette Lake, Payette River, Snake River, Boise River, Anderson Reservoir, Rabbit Creek, Grimes Creek, Cascade, McCall, Garden Valley, Crouch, Lowman, Pine, Donnelly, Fairfield, Baumgartner, Lava, Bruneau, and Bear Lake.
Paddleboarded: Hayden Lake, Lake Pend Oreille, Lake Coeur d'Alene, Round Lake, Dierkes Lake, Snake River, Boise River in Boise and the South Fork of the Boise River, Middle Fork of the Payette River, Lake Cascade, Payette Lake, Sandy Point, Lucky Peak, Black Canyon, and Bear Lake.
Tubed: Portneuf River, Payette River, and Boise River.
Besides the dozens of states we visit when traveling, we've done quite a bit of adventuring right here in our home state! Idaho has a never-ending abundance of activities for all ages to enjoy. Our list of places to visit is still pretty long! We hope to check out one of Idaho's Dark Sky Reserve areas near Craters of the Moon, bike the Hiawatha Trail in North Idaho, head to Sun Valley in the fall, ski and snowboard on Idaho's mountains, continue checking off hot springs and campsites, and so much more.
Growing up on the East Coast spoiled me with being able to hop in the car and drive for a few short hours in any direction to end up either in the mountains, at the beach, or in an entirely different state. The vast open spaces out west mean that every state is a lot larger and takes longer to drive through. For example, my home state of Massachusetts is almost 8 times smaller than Idaho... so 7.9 MA's can fit into one ID! That means there's just about 8 times as much land to explore and places to experience here.
We fly when we travel for the most part, just because of how long it takes to drive everywhere when living out west. Major cities aren't typically within a few hour drive (besides Portland + Seattle) so a plane ride is a smarter solution to not waste at least half a day or more just getting to your destination. When living out west, road trips are a smart choice when you have at least a week to spare. There will be places to stop along the way, and to make the most of your trip you'll want to break up the car ride every so often. If you're considering moving out west, be aware that flying is usually the best travel option.
Looking back, Idaho gave my daughter something I couldn't have engineered any other way: a childhood measured in rivers we've floated and mountains we've climbed instead of a life we were still trying to make work somewhere else. She's grown up thinking wide open space and easy access to wild places is just... normal.
Ten years and dozens of camping trips later, I still catch myself standing in a river somewhere with her, thinking about how close we came to a very different life. I'm glad we ended up here instead.