***Please give me lowdown on Idaho Falls...considering the area for retirement (Boise: how much, homes)

[Potted green thumb]

Don't forget to mention there's a shuttle to the VA Clinics, etc. Idaho Falls is the second largest 'city' in Idaho, boasting approximately 56,000+ people in IF and 136,000 people including the surrounding area and towns. Houses here range from $45,000 to $125,000 within the city limits. Most are fixer uppers, but not all. IF now has a new mayor trying to bring in more business and more things to do. There is a lot of places to go fishing nearby, not to mention things to do. And sometimes even a local needs to get away, so Yellowstone National Park is a hop, skip and a jump away as well as the Grand Tetons and Craters of the Moon. IF was voted one of the 10 best places to live in the country. And you asked about the weather. We are in a valley here so it gets a little colder and a little more snow than our southern neighbors, but this is Idaho. It's not as mild as Seattle or Portland, but I guess you could compare the winter weather to Issaquah or Sammamish, WA. Go here and it will tell you a little bit more about the community. Idaho Falls, Idaho - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Good luck with your decision. And thank you to all of you that served this country.

[folkguitarist555]

thanks a lot for replies. It is high on my list IF, thus far. I will be considering a couple day trip out there very soon. I did speak to someone online who lives there, a time ago, they said they wanted to leave cause of the winters there. I am ok with winters, but hopefully I don't land in a place where they are brutally severe like North Dakota, for example. I intend on putting boots on the ground in IF, and having a good look real soon.

[TohobitPeak]

Originally Posted by Potted green thumb

Don't forget to mention there's a shuttle to the VA Clinics, etc. Idaho Falls is the second largest 'city' in Idaho, boasting approximately 56,000+ people in IF and 136,000 people including the surrounding area and towns. Houses here range from $45,000 to $125,000 within the city limits. Most are fixer uppers, but not all. IF now has a new mayor trying to bring in more business and more things to do. There is a lot of places to go fishing nearby, not to mention things to do. And sometimes even a local needs to get away, so Yellowstone National Park is a hop, skip and a jump away as well as the Grand Tetons and Craters of the Moon. IF was voted one of the 10 best places to live in the country. And you asked about the weather. We are in a valley here so it gets a little colder and a little more snow than our southern neighbors, but this is Idaho. It's not as mild as Seattle or Portland, but I guess you could compare the winter weather to Issaquah or Sammamish, WA. Go here and it will tell you a little bit more about the community. Idaho Falls, Idaho - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Good luck with your decision. And thank you to all of you that served this country.

Good info, but Idaho Falls is now the fourth largest city in the state.

Major Cities
Name Population
C E 2012-07-01

1 Boise City 212,303
2 Nampa 83,930
3 Meridian 80,386
4 Idaho Falls 57,899
5 Pocatello 54,777
6 Caldwell 47,668
7 Coeur d'Alene 45,579
8 Twin Falls 45,158
9 Lewiston 32,051

[folkguitarist555]

Here in larger west coast city, and looking to retire to smaller, safer town/city. Looking hard at IF due to low home prices within my budget, and low property taxes, and proximity of city to Yellowstone and other nice mountain ranges and nice nature. Concerns are...

1) Are the winters actually around 8 months long out of the year, and very cold?

2) Being a single man with no kids, would I have a hard time fitting in, or being socially accepted into the area, seeing it is predominantly Mormon, with larger families? I am not religious, but I am spiritual and a non denominational Christian, but not a heavy church goer.

3) Does it ever rain there? I do like rain once in awhile.

I am wanting to badly escape from the congestion and traffic of the big city I am now, and I am looking at a few places around the USA, I ruled out N. Idaho, already, so now looking at IF. Thanks

[KurtAngleDoesn'tSuck]

I'm thinking along the same lines as you StarRider.
Idaho Falls is in a good location.
No where in Idaho is winter 8 months long.
I taking a trip over there the week of March 23rd to feel her out.
Probably a little easier for me since I'm in Boise.
Boise's nice, but I don't love it.
Just plain too many people.
I'll report on here after my trip.

[pw72]

Idaho Falls definitely has winter, but it isn't 8 months of the year, despite what some locals say. I think this comes from the occasional Rocky Mountain System that might bring snow in early June, or early October. This isn't unusual in the Rockies, (especially Denver), but keep in mind these kind of anomolies last 24-48 hours at the most.

The truth is, and you can check the weather section here, or the Weather Channel, Idaho Falls has more sunshine than most locales further west. Temps, on average are much lower in the winter, mainly because of cold overnight lows. However, looking at daytime highs, again, most are warmer than most locales in the west to northwest, many times without the precipitation. Beautiful weather usually is the norm from April to mid-October. With some wild exceptions, referred to above. Oh, and if you like an occasional Thunderstorm, East Idaho offers them up too, both in May and June, then again during the SW monsoon season which occasionally reaches E. Idaho in August and September. I kind of like the variety here, but that is just me.

[folkguitarist555]

I was just in Coeur Delane, always loved that area, but the houses with a little bit of acreage there,..were a tad too high for my budget and for what I am willing to spend. Plus Coeur Delane and that area, is growing too fast for my taste. The people there were very nice, and friendly. N Idaho reminded me a lot of NH scenery wise and personality wise. Too bad NH is so expensive as far as buying a home with acreage, goes. Plus NH gets huge amounts of snow, as well, in the winter. I have a few states and smaller cities on my short list. Idaho Falls has that Salt Lake Express shuttle bus that runs out of SLC to IF a few days a day, which would be nice to use to get to the SLC airport if need be. I would only use SLC for an emergency medical issue, or for their airport. I was surprised to see on a certain statistic website that SLC has a crime rating of "1", out of a 100, which is one of the highest crimes rates in the USA, tied with Spokane and a few others around the USA. Been to Boise a few times over the years, way too congested and crowded for me nowadays. Nice city though, not the friendliest place I ever been though, imo.

Idaho Falls, does seems ideal on paper, in so many ways, but I need to go there to see for myself. Which I will, very soon.

[cleosmom]

Originally Posted by starrider434

I was just in Coeur Delane, always loved that area, but the houses with a little bit of acreage there,..were a tad too high for my budget and for what I am willing to spend. Plus Coeur Delane and that area, is growing too fast for my taste. The people there were very nice, and friendly. N Idaho reminded me a lot of NH scenery wise and personality wise. Too bad NH is so expensive as far as buying a home with acreage, goes. Plus NH gets huge amounts of snow, as well, in the winter. I have a few states and smaller cities on my short list. Idaho Falls has that Salt Lake Express shuttle bus that runs out of SLC to IF a few days a day, which would be nice to use to get to the SLC airport if need be. I would only use SLC for an emergency medical issue, or for their airport. I was surprised to see on a certain statistic website that SLC has a crime rating of "1", out of a 100, which is one of the highest crimes rates in the USA, tied with Spokane and a few others around the USA. Been to Boise a few times over the years, way too congested and crowded for me nowadays. Nice city though, not the friendliest place I ever been though, imo.

Idaho Falls, does seems ideal on paper, in so many ways, but I need to go there to see for myself. Which I will, very soon.

Yes, touring the area yourself is always a good thing. Most folks can easily misinterpret our long Winters because yes we can have snowfall from October to May and even June. Not that things generally stick on either end of that timeline.

Cold? Yes and the winds make it colder. The "feels like" was -31F when I drove to work one day last week.

If you don't like congestion with traffic, stay home on the 4th of July when we have our annual traffic jam

Rain- as PW posted we did get some awesome thunderstorms, plus it's practically guaranteed to rain on both Labor day and Memorial Day, this I know first hand for watching my neighbors pack their camper like mad and return home early.

[folkguitarist555]

I am wary about coming to the area to consider living, permamently,..as a non-Mormon. I do not really know if coming to the area, and feeling that sort of possible "theocratic", and rigid religious ethos in the air....will feel comfortable to me. So that may be the biggest aspect which may win over in preventing me from moving to the area. I am sure it is a great area though, full of great people, just not sure if it is for me yet..

[tmp4]

Correct in assuming you've read through the innumerable posts on this board about the Mormon vs Non-Mormon thing?