5 Reasons Why Boise is Better Than Twin Falls

EDITORS NOTE: Twin Falls apparently feels differently. Read their response here.

I ran into someone from Twin Falls yesterday that told me how much better Twin is than Boise. I literally fell out of my chair from laughter. The fact that anyone could possibly believe that Twin is even on par with Boise is genuinely mind-blowing! To be fair, I decided to do some research to make sure that I didn't just have a Boise bias because Boise is my home. With an open mind, I decided to compare the two cities. There wasn't one category in which Twin Falls beats Boise, and it's not even close.

#1 - Outdoors
Both cities are in Idaho, so the surrounding parts of the state cancel each other out. We're comparing Boise to Twin Falls, so this essentially comes down to the Boise River and the Greenbelt versus Shoshone Falls.

Would you rather have 26 miles of greenbelt along the Boise River that can be used all year or a water feature that can only be appreciated when it's warm? The Greenbelt is unique to Boise. There is literally nothing else like it in America. In the warmer months, the river becomes even better with float season. Shoshone Falls is incredible, but when the locals constantly compare it to Niagra Falls, it loses its uniqueness. Otherwise, people would call Niagra the Shoshone Falls of the East, not the other way around.

#2 - Celebrities
Both Boise and Twin Falls have some celebrities that have at one time called their city home. But the number and the quality of those celebrities aren't much of a comparison.

Twin Falls can boast about Christina Hendricks, whom I think is phenomenal. I was a massive fan of her in Mad Men, and Good Girls is one of my favorite shows, but that's really where it ends unless you want to get into historical figures. The most famous historical figure from Twin Falls is Mark Felt, known as Deep Throat in the Watergate Scandal.

Boise has Aaron Paul, star of a little-known show called, Breaking Bad. Boise was also home to Oscar winner George Kennedy from the movie Cool Hand Luke, The Naked Gun, and Dallas. Boise also has several NFL and MLB players and even a former WWE Superstar.

#3 - Crime
If you think comparing the outdoors and celebrities is subjective, let's get into the hard facts.

When it comes to the crime rate, despite the larger population of Boise, the City of Trees is still safer than the nickname-less Twin Falls. According to NeighborhoodScout.com, Boise's annual crime rate is 18.79 per 1,000 residents, while Twin Falls is 24.6 per 1,000 residents.

#4 - Recreation
This category is so one-sided that I almost didn't include it.

Boise has a ski resort. Bogus Basin is home to some great skiing, and it's minutes from downtown Boise. It's also super affordable. For the Twin Falls resident, you're making the drive to Sun Valley, and in addition to your gas and hotel costs, lift tickets cost a fortune.

#5 - Nightlife
Twin Falls has a movie theater. Outside of that, there is no nightlife to speak of in Twin Falls. Boise has bars, clubs, exciting restaurants, and when it comes to movie theatres, Boise's are much better.  There's even one with an IMAX screen.

Case closed. Any questions?