Pingree, Idaho: a nice place? (Pocatello, Idaho Falls: home, to buy, movie theaters)

[davis19]

Hello,

My husband and I are looking to buy some land in Pingree, ID. We are hoping to settle down and have a small sort of hobby farm with varied livestock and start having kids. Pingree seems to have some cheaper land, and it also seems to have more open space since it's a pretty small town from what I've found online (which isn't much, it's a pretty small place!).

Can anyone tell me some possible difficulties of moving to Pingree? I noticed that it's next to the Reservation, is this good thing or a bad thing? What are some Reservation laws that we should be aware of? I've heard that the Fort Hall Reservation is one of the best in the US, is this true?

Pingree seems to be right between IF and Pocatello, do a lot of the people who live in Pingree commute to work to these cities, or do they farm?

Do school buses pick kids up Pingree, or do parents drive them to school?

Any advice or experiences you can tell me about would be very much appreciated.

Thank you in advance!

[banjomike]

Pingree is a good choice for a hobby farm for sure, It's right in the middle of some major potato growing country.

You most probably won't have many problems living next to Ft.Hall. A former boss of mine and some of his friends lived in Ft. Hall while they were going to college in Pocatello and the relations between Ft. Hall, Poky, and Blackfoot are all good. The rez is one of the oldest, and the Shoshone and Bannock never had the deep problems with the white man the plains tribes had. Sacajawea was born there; it's always been their territory. They are some of the rare tribes that never were displaced.

Blackfoot is actually the closest city It is about 35,000 pop. and has all the major services. It's the home of the State Fair. The distance to Idaho FAlls and Pocatello is about the same, even though Poky may look closer on a map. There is a large lava flow just east of Pingree that's impassible, so one has to go south to Aberdeen and then east to Poky. I'm guessing that Blackfoot is about 15 miles east of Pingree.

You have to go to Blackfoot to pick up the Interstate to Idaho Falls. I.F. is about 25 miles north once on the Interstate. I'm not sure what the distance is to Pocatello, but it would be similar to I.F.

Most folks who live in Pingree either own spud farms or work for them. The area lies on the eastern edge of the Arco desert and is part of the most fertile farm ground in the southern half of the state. It's perfect for potatoes, and it sure grows a lot of them, but I'm pretty sure anything that can grow in Zone 5 will grow there. With some cold beds, some Zone 4 plants may be grown.

Expect to see quite a few Hispanics in Pingree; they are almost all farm workers and many have been here for a long time. Relations with the Hispanic population here are pretty good compared to some other states.

Commuting would most likely be a must if you don't plan to work your farm full time. Both Idaho Falls and Pocatello have roughly 50,000 pop. and both are commercial hubs that serve big surrounding areas. Poky has Idaho State University, and I.F. has the Idaho Nat'l. Laboratory.

INL was originally a nuclear testing lab and was instrumental in developing commercial nuclear reactors and the reactors used in naval vessels. Since the late 80's, the lab's mission has branched out to other energy fields, and the lab produced some of the first batteries used now in electric cars. One of the lab's battery systems is cruising around Mars right now in the latest explorer. They are also highly involved in solar and other green energy system development.

Both Poky and I.F. are where all the restaurants, movie theaters, etc. are found. I think Poky's night life is a livlier than I.F., mostly because of the college.

I don't know what school district Pingree is in. It may be in Aberdeen or Blackfoot.
Check here for possible info:
Idaho State Department of Education - Idaho School Districts Websites

It's wide open down there to the west, but the Blackfoot mountains are close on the eastern side, and Pingree is close to the American Falls reservoir and the Snake River. Most of the S. Idaho cities lie close to the Mighty Snake; it runs through the middle of Idaho Falls. The Portneuf river runs through Pocatello.

[davis19]

Wow, what an awesome response! Thank you so much for your time, I could have never gotten so much good information from searching online.

Pingree sounds like a nice place, thank you again for your time and your knowledge!

[cleosmom]

Originally Posted by davis19

Wow, what an awesome response! Thank you so much for your time, I could have never gotten so much good information from searching online.

Pingree sounds like a nice place, thank you again for your time and your knowledge!

Mr. Banjomike knows his stuff. I saw your original post and simply waited knowing he'd come along

[davis19]

I'm very grateful he did!

[banjomike]

Hi davis...
Really, the only way you'll know for sure is to come and check it out for yourself. Yellowstone and the Tetons are about 125 miles north. Why not take a vacation and look around?

[davis19]

Yes, you are absolutely right about visiting Pingree in person. My husband and I are working overseas right now and looking for a place to settle down when our contract is over. When we go back to the States we plan on checking out a few places, and I thought it would be best to ask on this board to see if Pingree would be worth a stop. We like Idaho because it doesn't have a lot of restrictions as far as owning livestock goes, and Pingree was attractive because of some listings we saw for raw land there.

Anyway, that's a lot of unnecessary information, but I appreciate both your advice about Pingree and about taking a trip out there.

Thank you again!