Caldwell Topped a National List of Small Cities to Move To. The Growth Got Here First.
If you live anywhere near the tracks in Caldwell, you know the train horns are still blowing. In March the City Council voted 5–1 to create a railroad quiet zone, and the city put in more than $200,000 worth of medians at seven crossings. In September the Federal Railroad Administration flagged a gap in the median on Ustick Road, and the horns kept sounding. When KTVB asked neighbors about it this month, one wanted the quiet. Another said, "the depot was here first." That small exchange holds the question Caldwell is now being asked on a much larger stage. In August, Travel + Leisure put Caldwell first on a list of nine small U.S. cities to move to, and on Oct. 22 Idaho News 6 carried the news under the headline "Caldwell named the top place in the U.S. to move to." The recognition is welcome, but it arrived late. The people came first. What matters now is whether the wells, classrooms and roads residents share can catch up with growth that is already here. T...