Weekly Column: A City Named "Wooded"

I’ve heard it said that the best places to live are those places that have successfully combined “urban” and “rural” (or “city” and “country”).

Some cities do that with their parks. Some provide a variation of “country” with golf courses and jogging trails.

Many four- and five-figure cities have an advantage in the travel distance from “downtown” to nearby sites for hunting and fishing just beyond the city limits.

An interesting exercise in any city would be to ask a dozen or more people to write an essay on what they like about the place where they live.

In the April 2009 Smithsonian, Anthony Doerr has written such a piece about his hometown, Boise, Idaho. (Boisé in French means “wooded.”)

Click here to read entire article.

His thoughts are instructive for anyone who would like to reflect upon the reasons we like where we live:

“I live here because I can ride my bike to friends’ houses just like I did when I was 10 years old…”
“I live here because I can eat a $5 lunch at Zeppole, as I did for about 400 afternoons straight…”
“I live here because I can get in a car and head in any direction and within an hour find myself in something pretty close to wilderness…”

And if that’s not reason enough, there’s more:

"Boise is still so young and new – changing almost every day – and I don’t think it’s overstatement to suggest that our town represents everything that remains great about America: potential, youth, natural beauty, quality of life. Some 100 parks, 14 museums, playgrounds everywhere you turn: our skies are huge; our houses affordable. Hikers can still drink from a secret spring in the hills; paddlers can still go kayaking in the morning and meet with their accountants by noon. When we visit friends who live elsewhere, they ask, “Boise? Really? Why do you live there?” But when friends visit us, they say, “Oh, wow, now I see.'"

Indeed, city and country can co-exist in a most appealing way.