Joe McGlones AMC Jeep Service in Boise ID

[rang-a-stang]

I'm on a getaway with my better half this week in Boise and I'm driving down the road and almost wreck becuase I look over and see a shop that has about 8 FSJs parked around outside. I slam on my brake flip a quick u-ey and check it out.

They were closed so I just looked through the window.

https://goo.gl/maps/2G5ibc5igLw

They are at 4970 W. Chinden BLVD, Boise ID. When I drove by they had a J Truck with a Tow set up in the back and a Gambler 500 sticker on the front in addition to a ton of various years of Wagos and Grand Wagos. I didn't notice any Cherokees. What a cool shop.

In the 3 days I have been here, I have seen 3 FSJs out and about; and we are doing TONS of driving around. TONS. I was really surprised to see a shop like that here.

[SOLSAKS]

dang.......rang a stang !!!

wish i was there....

driving in the wide open spaces.

sounds like a cool find.

i can just imagine the touring around is fun.

i been battling kidney stones for over a week ( my first time )

E.R. once and going to the Dr, tomorrow....

keep me in mind while you are wheelin around.

dave in NC

[JPSwapMohn]

Man, that shop was there back at least since ‘04 and i believe it was much older than that. I bought my 88 from a used car lot on Chinden. I tried to take it to this very shop to have it checked out and see what they might do with it on my checkbook. The guy I spoke to, don’t recall much, other than he was a crusty bastard and a complete A-hole. I basically concluded that he was in business for himself and his vehicles, cause he obviously didn’t want other business..

I truly hope it is better, new management, or a son or daughter carrying the torch. Was there an AMC sign still up? I know Chinden was widened in recent years, so the area out by the road likely changed.

Cool to see the old stomping grounds.

[rang-a-stang]

i been battling kidney stones for over a week ( my first time )
E.R. once and going to the Dr, tomorrow....
keep me in mind while you are wheelin around.

Oh man! I have passed kidney stones twice! Awful! I feel for you, Dave.
"wheelin' around" may not really be an accurate statement. We reserved a compact car but they didn't have any left so they gave us a mommy-van. I drove it about 4 miles and discovered a ton of broken stuff and things that weren't clean so I took it back. They gave us a Cadillac XTS! HAHAHA! We're driving a full size caddy for less than $25/day!

Man, that shop was there back at least since ?04 and i believe it was much older than that. I bought my 88 from a used car lot on Chinden. I tried to take it to this very shop to have it checked out and see what they might do with it on my checkbook. The guy I spoke to, don?t recall much, other than he was a crusty bastard and a complete A-hole. I basically concluded that he was in business for himself and his vehicles, cause he obviously didn?t want other business..

I truly hope it is better, new management, or a son or daughter carrying the torch. Was there an AMC sign still up? I know Chinden was widened in recent years, so the area out by the road likely changed.

Cool to see the old stomping grounds.

It was closed when we drove by. I would have loved to go in and see if he had any parts for sale but I wouldn't be able to get them home, anyway. Yep! Still had an AMC sign out front! It was super cool looking.

Me-n-the-wife are out looking for places to move out of Kommiefornia. This place is on our short list. Any advice as someone that used to live here?

[SJTD]

We too have been nosing around for a place to get outta Kal but we want to be within a long day's drive of here. That pretty much means N. Arizona as far as Flagstaff, maybe S. Utah and the Reno area.

[JPSwapMohn]

I left Boise in ‘05, and have missed it ever since. My understanding is that house prices have really spiked up there based on the exodus out of CA. A little advice..immediately get your license plates changed. The locals are friendly, but some of them are getting priced out of their own homes and they will blame you.

The great thing about Boise is that it has mountains (skiing, hiking, fishing, camping, wheeling) and the desert (wheeling, varment plunking, etc) “And a river runs through it..” You are within easy distance of a lot of world class fly fishing waters. There is a local ski hill 19 miles up the mountain. More or less utopia in my mind.

The weather is great. The mountains catch most of the snow, and the high desert tends to keep temps reasonable. I took the top of the wrangler in early May and put it back on sometime in September every year. No rain.. Every sunrise and sunset is awesome. The cold snaps in winter tend to be short and the lack of humidity makes a huge difference in how cold it feels (compared to NE PA where I am now .. can’t get warm).

I can’t really recommend a specific neighborhood as my friends out there keep telling me how much it is growing. The area SE of town, along Warm Springs Rd and the river was where we were. At the time, BLM and the city had. stopped any expansion that direction, so no new subdivisions popping up overnight to ruin your view.. Not sure if that is still true.

[JPSwapMohn]

Another dynamic to consider: Boise is very progressive and generally liberal, while Idaho is very conservative. It creates an interesting environment, but at least while i was there, we all got along. It is a very outdoors-oriented area. When i was there, most of the restaurants had outside seating, and there was a dog under at least every other table. Lots of greenways for jog/bike/walking, but plenty in trails and mountain biking close by as well.

Sold yet? 8v)

[rang-a-stang]

Honestly, I have been sold on this place well before we came to visit. Coming here just sealed the deal in my mind. My youngest is 14 and headed to high school this year so we are not going to move before the end of this school year. I told the wife I would spend Dec-April actively searching for work here (and Spokane and Bayview ID). If we find nothing, we wait for another year.

Most of the people we talked to gave us the same advice you did (change plates). Our rental car had New Mexico plates so I wasn't too sensitive to it.

It's nice because most of my family is about a 6 hour drive from here (Spanish Fork UT, Portland, Reno). My oldest son is right by our current house but he just had a baby (I'm a grandpa as of 16 May!!!) and i am SURE he will be moving to Utah soon to be with my other son. My 18yo daughter will probably come up with us too.

There is construction EVERYWHERE. We went to a lot of different cities nearby (Eagle, Meridian, Star, Nampa, etc.). Almost everyone we talked to was either from CA or FL. We probably talked to 10 different folks about living here and only one was a native. I am dreading leaving Idaho today. I fly from Boise, to LA, then immediately to Washington DC for work meetings. It has been so fun here and the weather has been perfect.

I work for the Federal government and really don't want to lose my pension by leaving but there is not a lot of federal government work here. It may take a while for me to find work here.

[rang-a-stang]

BTW, I reallly reallly appreciate you taking the time to write out that advice. Its fantastic and exactly the kind of info we are looking for.

We have found most of the states we are considering moving to are like that (Liberal big city, conservative rest of the state). That's how Oregon and Washington are, too but Boise's population isn't so big it overpowers the rest of the state like CA (LA/SanFran/Sac/Santa Barbara), OR (Portland/Salem), and WA (Seatle/Tacoma) are.

[JPSwapMohn]

You are most welcome. I am also a federal employee now that i am off active duty. I landed in NE PA. You are correct that there isn’t much out there in the government. We keep looking at Utah, Colorado, and Arizona in case something that fits my role pops up for the same reason. Daughter is in WA and son is in AZ.. We don’t really want to be around Seattle and there isn’t much “east of the mountains”.

Good luck!

[Geminiroq]

I feel you on Idaho in general....I have relatives up there and visit about once a year. By far it is the best of all worlds and I have contemplated on moving up there. You are on the right path

[WrenchMonkey]

I'm in WA, seen a lot of folks move out that way. It's definitely got a lot going for it, more affordable than WA, lots of outdoors stuff to do, mostly conservative, laws seem pretty good for business owners. I've got a few friends contemplating leaving Texas for ID. Being close is Yellowstone is both a + and - in my book, lol. Love visiting but I also enjoy being upwind of any potential caldera eruption,

[SJTD]

I know a retired couple that live in Idaho. They come down to Bishop to sell purple glass at the Mule Days show.

He says they's a lot of furners up there from Armenia. Says they build a factory then import a bunch of labor. Locals don't really benefit.

I've wondered if it's really like that.

[Heavy_Metal_Thunder_81]

Since joining the service I've been stationed in Florida, Virginia, California, and Washington. Originally from Illinois and I've driven through or visited just about every state in between. 29 states in all and honestly Washington is the only one I really long to go back to to settle down. I don't think I'll ever go back to the Midwest, the desert Southwest isn't really my thing, and screw California. I miss the great PNW.

[rang-a-stang]

...and screw California...

Wisdom. Well said.