Tucked between rolling foothills, cast against cloudless blue skies and pierced by the cool, clear waters of the Boise River, the “City of Trees” is surrounded by frontiers that still feel untouched and untamed. The natural environs have been carefully protected to remain that way, and in turn, Boise’s outdoorsy, hands-off-the-handlebars vibe reminds visitors of the backyard freedoms of childhood.

Ranking the best places to live is a difficult task, and any such list is going to generate debate over who was overrated and who was snubbed.

Comparing several rankings of cities gives us a better picture of which places consistently get high marks.

We looked at several popular rankings of the top US cities to live in, including lists by US News and World Report, 24/7 Wall Street, Money, Niche, Livability, and SmartAsset. Each of the rankings weighed metrics including quality of life, cost of living, availability of jobs, education rates, and safety.

It's clear to see that across the rankings, certain cities made repeat appearances at the top.

Boise, Idaho, has made the US News and World Report ranking of the best cities in America for three straight years. It has also appeared on rankings by SmartAsset andNiche.

Where should you go? Here are the top 50 most desirable places to give you an idea. And here is the latest 2018 list. 

Boise is about to get a country-fried restaurant with a high-profile pedigree, according to plans filed with the City of Boise. Rascal Flatts Restaurant is planned for the City Center Plaza on the Grove - right next to the lobby entrance for Boise Center East.

Maybe the best part of the music bill that Treefort put together this year is that it didn’t feel like an attempt at inclusiveness. And that’s the thing, festivals can easily have broad representation with the sense that they compromised any aspect of their festival’s identity. The top-billed artists — George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic, Andrew W.K., Princess Nokia, Pussy Riot, Rapsody, Cults, Zola Jesus, Oddisee & Good Company, and Lido Pimienta — offered up just a single white male in their midst. It’s actually a rare occurrence that a festival features more women than men at the top of their poster, but there wasn’t just diversity in genders and race, there was also a fascinating diversity of sound. Rap, funk, punk, rock, and other artists who are less easy to classify were all featured prominently. In all, it is a lower-key representation of what is possible with festivals show some imagination, legwork, and a commitment to being the change that needs to occur.

At any given moment, those who traversed a 16-block stretch of downtown Boise over the past five days might have stumbled upon 200 people doing yoga; a child’s face wrapped in virtual reality goggles; a dozen bands arranged in a circle, playing in unison under the direction of a conductor in the center; burly dudes lifting massive chains into the air; toddlers building forts out of cardboard; skateboarders hurling towards cement ceilings to a heavy metal soundtrack; George Clinton belting timeless funk; celebrity chefs plating Wagyu beef; saxophone buskers singing “I wanna dance with somebody;” bros shooting baskets at a hoop attached to a graffiti-laden van; Pabst Blue Ribbon jumpsuits and lion onesies. Well, one PBR jumpsuit, and one lion onesie.

Treefort Music Fest (March 21-25, 2018), an annual arts and culture festival in Boise, Idaho, is bringing over 450 rising and renowned musicians to more than 20 venues in downtown Boise. Treefort will also host a diverse lineup of creators, chefs, artists and innovators at nine forts that reflect growing communities in Boise, like yoga, food, beer, tech, film, literary arts, comedy and skateboarding.

One of the biggest concerns for potential vacationers is whether or not the place they’ve chosen to visit will be safe. This concern has only grown in recent years, and it’s a good one to have. Travel safety is important.

Depending on where you travel, you might have to consider any number of security concerns as a traveler. Even something as minor as having your pocket picked could ruin an entire vacation, and some attractive destinations carry with them much more serious risks.

That’s why we’ve put together a list of cities where you can focus on the culture, history, fun, and of course, food. Using data from Numbeo, we ranked them based on how they scored from a scale of 1 to 100, 100 being the safest. So if you’re looking for a nice, stress-free vacation, here are the safest 50 cities in the world for you to be.

Home to a spirited arts community, an explosion of award-winning wineries and craft breweries and a socially responsible shopping district, Boise is what cool looks like before the rest of the world has figured it out. Fun festivals abound in Idaho’s capital from downtown’s Treefort Music Festival (hailed as the new alternative to SXSW) to the Boise Brew Olympics and Punk in Drublic – a beautiful marriage of punk rock and craft beer.

Being in close proximity to a wealth of natural riches, urban adventures easily transition into outdoor escapes. Meander through the Boise River Greenbelt, a 25-mile park in the heart of the city, or head into the surrounding mountains and foothills for hiking, mountain biking, skiing and river rafting.

Being outside means a lot for our happiness, so it’s important that we choose to live with easy access to the nature and surrounded by people who actually use the nature around us.

In this study, our analysts have looked into the most relevant metrics for determining how easy it is to access the nature around us and how much we use the nature.

We have looked into the best combination of these metrics, so we could calculate exactly which states are the best outdoor states in America.

Ideally, if you’re taking a weekend getaway to a big city, you want a home base that has a true sense of itself -- and that gets you quietly daydreaming of a big move, even. So we put the question to dozens of writers: What are the neighborhoods in your city that make kickass destinations in their own rights -- and in many cases, epitomize the best of your hometown? We sifted through the best to arrive at this 12-pack of standout 'hoods to streamline your Airbnb search and generally ground you among a minimum of tourists. You may not be from around here, after all, but you still want the goods.

There’s a buzz in Boise, and it sounds a lot like Instagram shutters snapping from Freak Alley Gallery. This outdoor venue is all about building a creative community in the heart of Boise, and it’s playing its part in making Idaho’s capital more colorful with murals and events. Boise GreenBike makes it easy to embrace the neighborhood’s open-air way of life with convenient bike sharing. How cool is that?

In Boise's 'Basque Block,' hundreds of children sing songs and practice regional dances diligently every week as part of their community's effort to keep the culture thriving.

In 2017, 11 U.S. states registered a change in migration status over 2016 results. The study also found that 23 states registered as balanced—meaning that moves in and out of the states were roughly equal—17 as outbound, and 10 as inbound, including Washington, D.C. The data showed an overall decrease in moves in 2017. Atlas has conducted the Migration Patterns study since 1993 to track the nation’s interstate (between states) and cross-border (U.S. to Canada) moving patterns annually as reflected in moves handled by Atlas.

The 10 U.S. states with the highest percentage of inbound moves and outbound moves are included in order below, and Idaho is the study’s inbound leader for a second year in a row. While Illinois has classified as outbound since 2009, the state has the highest percentage of outbound moves in the country in 2017.

Yes, potatoes lurk beneath the surface of everything, but Idaho’s capital city is so much more, blooming with artsy and independent delights. Plus, a river runs through it.

I landed in Boise seeking simplicity but left delighting in complexity. In Idaho’s City of Trees, I found 19th-century architecture rubbing muscular shoulders with new bank towers and a gleaming community play space bequeathed by a potato titan.

Bob Kustra remembers a very different campus when he took over as president of Boise State University in 2003. It was more of a commuter school, with about 18,500 students.

Now, it’s bustling with more than 24,000 students from all over Idaho, the West, the country and the globe.

To help military veterans find the best places in which to put down roots based on their status, WalletHub’s analysts compared the 100 largest U.S. cities across 17 key indicators of livability, affordability and veteran-friendliness. They range from share of military skill-related jobs to veteran income growth to availability of VA health facilities. Read on for our findings, expert commentary from a panel of researchers and a full description of our methodology.

Guns & Oil is taking over the original Payette Brewing Co. building at 111 W. 33rd St. in Garden City. The space, which includes a 15-barrel brewery and a taproom, will be the company’s first actual production facility. Founded in a southwest Austin garage in 2013, Guns & Oil has been hiring other breweries to make its line of lagers.

Payette closed its taproom in Garden City after opening a second, larger facility at 733 S. Pioneer St. in Boise in 2016. Although the Garden City site still operated as a brewery, founder Mike Francis began looking to exit. One option was to have another brewery come in “and essentially be a turnkey operation,” Francis said.

Guns & Oil pulled the trigger. The brewery bought Payette’s remaining equipment. It joins a rapidly growing Boise beer scene.