My brother lives in Boise. It's a great city. The access to nature is fantastic and relatively unique. I can't say much about the rest of Idaho (I've heard there's not much to see outside the nature and the pockets of affluent little towns), but as someone who has only lived in liberal cities on the east coast their whole life, I can assure you Boise is very nice and pretty progressive.
Of course, the state, itself, is pretty conservative. So if you feel you'll be directly affected by things like abortion bans or poor education, then you'll want to be careful where you end up and how you navigate any of that. But if you're making decent money in a city like Boise and enjoy the amenities of the area and can get over the state-level politics (because, again, Boise is quite progressive and you can get weed easily, etc.), then you'd probably experience a nice quality of life.
One negative thing I’ve heard about Boise and some other smaller western cities is that they have awful air quality due to the geography settling all the exhausts and particles in a sort of bowl. Not sure how bad this is in practice though.
As you said, Boise is in a sort of bowl (more of a valley), in the winter, a cold air system can get trapped in the valley by warmer air in the mountain area. This can lead to some pretty bad air (not nearly as bad as wildfires, just not very fresh). To me, the bigger complaint is about not seeing the sun for days. Idaho has a lot of sun throughout the winter, so it's noticeable. It isn't all winter, just a week or so at a time a few times per winted, depending on weather.
Idaho has lots of guns but a homicide rate similar to Canada. Boise is one of the few substantially sized cities in the U.S. with a homicide rate in the same ballpark as European cities (around 1 per 100k). The combination of orderliness and freedom is how America is supposed to be.
Idaho has a ton of incredible outdoor activities. You list some negatives but my biggest negative is all of the white supremacist groups. I felt uncomfortable just stopping for gas and going into a grocery store with everyone staring at me.
People in blue areas of Oregon are like that too. (My wife is from there and people do stare.) That part of the country is just antisocial and not used to seeing brown people.
They certainly aren't politically progressive, but Boise is probably one of the cleanest, safest, nicest cities in the US. It is really quite pleasant, at least it was when I visited.
I’m not a political conservative and I personally wouldn’t move to Idaho, but Idaho has a lot of appeal. There are plenty of conservatives who used to live in California who moved to Idaho in the past decade due to a combination of California’s high housing prices and wanting to move to a more politically compatible state.
Additionally, Idaho has a lot of beautiful natural scenery.
The population of Idaho continuously increases by ~1.5% - 2.0% every year. Clearly many people exist with a very different world outlook than your own, and value different things than you do.
Compared to say, states like CA or NY, which seem more aligned with your ideology, but whose population levels are stagnating. Food for thought.
I can't tell if you're being sarcastic but it's an incredibly beautiful state, full of mountains and sparsley populated with the exception of Boise. Further many people would love the things you said (I personally am not a weed fan and enjoy my human right to own guns). Boise is a beautiful place to live if you can afford it.
Probably some of those issues are not a big problem when you have a good salary (like child/healthcare). And a Silicon Valley salary in Idaho sounds like a pretty sweet deal.
NYS typically ranks 1-10 in states for education. NYC is a big portion of that ranking. Would not be so quick to call NYC education poor. There are pockets of badness but the overall picture isn't bad. I know plenty of people making 7 figures that send their kids to public school in NYC.
I lived in Seattle for a couple of years, where its completely legal, and I almost never smelled it. I smell it far more often in cities where its illegal.
The state has an incredibly strict abortion ban.
One of the worst rates of education in the Nation.
A blanket ban on Marijuana
There is no tax on fire arms, and concealed carry is legal.
Some of the worst child healthcare in the nation.