If I knew back then what I know now about Hog Island Boa's then I would have definitely had choosen that one has my first snake. Don't get me wrong though, BP's are nice and all and is an all time classic example of peoples choice for their first snake, but it all depends on what you are looking for in a snake?
As many others have already mentioned, BP's are pretty laid back, come in tons of "paint jobs", tend to go off feed, like hot temps and need average amounts humidity and also really aren't a very active snake. I have slowly got away from keeping BP's mainly because of their typical food fastings and sometimes are very finicky.
Boa's on the other hand (and I speak of dwarf Boa's) are absolutely wonderful IMO. They are also laid back, very active, very good eaters, like to be handled and tend to like cooler temps and average-low humidity. I currently have a female hypo Hog Island Boa and she is a sweetheart. She is very docile and loves to be handled. She nevers misses a meal and takes down prey like a champ. The only thing that pisses me off about her is that she likes to play with her food. She restricts it for sometimes 20 mins or drags it around and by then its cold. I usually have it get it from her and re-introduce it to her and then she finally eats it. She definitely has a corky personality and when its feeding time she is a major witch... LOL! I also have a Dumeril Boa and he is also a sweetheart. Gentle as can be and loves hangin out with me, and I mean hangin out. He is perfectly content in my lap or stretched out down my arm and just stays there. He has also never missed a meal, but tends to be alittle bit shy when feeding and doesnt like the tongs. So for him I lay the mouse in front of him and let him be. He tends to like his privacy when he eats....LOL!
BUT in a nutshell, Boa's and BP's are like night and day in comparison. It really depends like I said before on what you are looking for in a snake. I really dont think you would go wrong with either species and lets face it, if you are gonna enter into the snake community you can never just have one snake!!!
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