I appreciate your response, but it's difficult to really articulate just how impressive the parks in Boise really are. It's not just about the number of parks, but their size and quality as well. Similar to Boston's Emerald Necklace, Boise has a string of parks along the Boise River. The difference is that these parks are connected by a series of bike paths, called the Green Belt, which also follow the river. On the Green Belt it's possible to go from the eastern edge of the city all the way to the neighboring communities to the west (about 25 miles total). For comparison, the East Bay Bike Path (which is probably the closest thing the state has to the Green Belt) is about 14 miles. However, while the EBBP mostly travels through suburban communities, the Green Belt travels through the most densely populated parts of the city including Boise State campus and downtown. Imagine being able to bike from Pawtucket to Garden City on dedicated bike paths without having to cross a single street, and having the path take you through Brown campus and downtown Providence. It's an incredible piece of infrastructure.

However, that's only the half of it. Starting with Julia Davis Park (Boise's version of Rodger Williams Park), Boise has had this tradition of wealthy local men building parks in honor of their wives and daughters...and in true rich white guy fashion each new park seeks to out do the ones that came before it. The newest park, Esther Simplot, has a swimming pond (which is actively filtered and treated) and two white water chutes. But even the older parks see lots of investment from the city new amenities are added regularly, and the grounds are generally in excellent condition. Imagine a Washington DC level of investment with a fraction of the population...that's maybe a bit hyperbolic, but they really are amazing parks.

Obviously Boise has some significant advantages. The city itself is a little over 150 years old, and as a result it doesn't have the density that Boston or Providence have. For much of its history the Boise River was a dumping ground, so there's lots of unused space for building big fancy parks. The city has also seen a tremendous amount of growth over the past 30+ years (which is a big reason why the "we're full" stickers are so popular). However, like it or not, all that growth has resulted in a lot of money for maintaining the parks and the Green Belt that connects them. At the same time, Boise is still a relatively small, young, and predominantly white city that doesn't have to deal with crumbling infrastructure, intergenerational poverty, crime, and institutional debt the way that Providence and Boston do. Simply put, Boise is an adolescent city with space and resources to spare. In time Boise will have to deal with the same "grown up" city issues as Providence and Boston and I suspect the parks will lose some of their luster (and in some ways this is already happening).

However, even with all of that I would still rather be here than there because at the end of the day Boise is in Idaho which means living in a state where Ammon Bundy received over 101k votes for Governor (just 20k less than the Dem candidate), and the sitting Governor had to stop telling anyone when he left the state because the Lieutenant Governor kept doing crazy shit like banning all mask requirements everywhere (including operating rooms).

That being said, I would love it if RI could have a "Blue Belt" where bike infrastructure (like the East Bay Bike Path) connects with public spaces in an intentional and well maintained way. With climate models showing an increased risk to coastal property and infrastructure there has been a movement among urban planners to see at-risk property turned into public space. It allows people to still enjoy the space while minimizing property damage due to storms and rising water. I'm doubtful that RI's leadership could ever be that forward thinking, but it's a nice dream anyway.