Idaho Falls (school, live in, restaurants)

[cleosmom]

To add to what other poster's have replied I will agree that there is a good amount of Mormons in and around Idaho Falls and southeast Idaho as a whole. Let me add that there are churches of many denominations and non-denominations as well, basically something for everybody. Honestly? I've had more JWs knock on my door then I have the Mormons.

The falls in downtown are not mammoth, however they are man made to serve a hydro electric purpose.

As already stated, jobs are scarce here, be employed prior to moving here. There are jobs available to where you're not feeling pressure from "the church" as well, both my husband myself are gainfully employed in fields we enjoy.

We've been here nearly 20 years, feel free to drop me a DM for any questions that I might able to help you with.

[Mtn. States Resident]

Originally Posted by WyattE

Is there a huge population of Mormons in Idaho Falls and surrounding communities? Not that I personally have issues with them but from the threads I read in other states on City-Data.com, it has me a little nervous if I considered relocating there.

Hi Wyatt,

Given what your wrote I'm wondering if you could post those threads you stated above from CDF so myths are identified as such and facts are too.

The best estimate of Bonneville County is about 50% Mormon, as you would know, from your research of CURRENT threads. That being said, check out the % of Catholics too, as that is probably the second largest religious denomintion in the area.

You indicate you are in IN. I'm guessing here so I may be totally wrong. Nonetheless, let me try to explain the population a different way to you. If one were to take the eastern side of ID and compare the population to say the area around Purdue, Notre Dame, St. Mary's etc., then probably your question about, "huge population of Mormons " would be correct there are probably more than at Notre Dame. However, the actual number may be less than Indy Metro area. Those are different questions.

I am trying to make a point and it isn't to slam either church, or your OP. It is to get people to think about what the OP contained and answers relevant to your question. Additionally, I'm trying to get you to think of a current reference point for you so you may understand our comments better.

If I asked you, are there lots of Catholics around Notre Dame, how would you answer? What if I said, What percentage are active, practicing and what percentage are "lapsed," as some say, and exactly how many are there - how would you answer?

Do you want a number of Mormons in Idaho Falls/Ammon - Bonneville County? You really seem to be asking a different question from my POV and either didn't think you could ask it, haven't researched this site enough to see where others have asked more pointed questions, or need to contact someone like cleosmom, pw72 (who is in Pocatello currently, but will be moving to Idaho Falls and travels back and forth daily), or others here who are familiar with facts about Idaho Falls now. You may DM me, if you want to, besides the others who give excellent observations.

It's my honest opinion that what your wrote doesn't reflect your real question/questions. Could you fit in with 5,000 Mormons, or 10,000 or 30,000 Mormons etc? And what percentage of the area population would that be?

What I sense from you is you are wondering what would be different in your life, potentially based on outdated or limited knowledge about Mormons in eastern ID. If I'm wrong, I apologize. Do you have specific concerns like schools, activities, bars, other churches etc. that can also answer your questions but with the focus being on what you need in your life to be happy?

Cleosmom is right about the variety of churches. I purposely posted a post last year about a new JW church in Ammon being built, not because I was so fascinated in the building process (although it is interersting to have read additional comments). I posted it to say, for those who are really search the CDF threads for facts about an area, here is proof of diversity as another JW Kingdom Hall had to be built in Bonneville County to accomodate members.

It sounds like you have a job prospect, or you wouldn't be asking specifically about Idaho Falls. In fairness, certain professions have a higher rate of LDS employees be it because they emerged as a family business or other. Other professions, have a much lower rate of LDS. At others have stated, I agree, have your job secured prior to moving anywhere.

What I keep thinking about IN in particular is, given the professions of the last three former IN residents I know who moved to Idaho Falls, is are a certain group of workers/professionals just discovering Idaho Falls and what it has to offer them? Or is it just coincidence?

Hopefully, my comments have helped you think of what it is you really want to ask about Mormons in the Idaho Falls area. I doubt anyone here would have access to how many attended church last Sunday or how many are not practicing or only semi-practicing Mormons.

As I wrote to someone about two years ago, are you prepared to deal with all the non-Mormons in certain Idaho Falls areas, who don't go to church on Sundays and compete with you for shopping or recreational activities etc. ? That person is happily relocated, as a non-Mormon in Idaho Falls and agrees with me, people find what they want to find.

When can you visit to find out how the city feels for yourself? No one is at home in any city if it doesn't feel right for him/her.

Looking forward to your additional thoughts and/or questions.

MSR

[pooskie33]

[quote=TohobitPeak;10599584]Greetings pooskie33. I grew up in the Idaho Falls area too and now call the beautiful city of Boise home. Idaho Falls is a beautiful town and is near some gorgeous scenery although it is a little further from the mountains than most other Idaho cities.

Good reply I know there is a lot of mountainess (is that even a word, lol?) and diverse landscapes here around Boise, but none of them feel like 'home' to me. I totally agree on Palisades area being your own private Idaho. That is what I miss. I do not feel...comfortable here because I do not know the area. I was raised as an only child by my grandparents, who were retired. Because of that, we spent hours on end driving through the country, be it, Palisades to the old cheese factory, Arco to a little german restaurant, Yellowstone up to Bear Claw, Mesa Falls, Island Park, Driggs, Teton Valley, Cave Falls...those memories and places feel like home to me, and because of all the traveling we did as a child, I know that area up there like the back of my hand! I could take my friends to places they had never even heard of!
Living here, my husband and I have neither the time (3 jobs) or the money to just go drive around, but I would love nothing more than to discover this part of ID. We did go to Idaho City last year, but I was not as impressed as I hoped to be.
We have lived here for 15 months, and I wish everyday I could move back home. I'm not happy here, to say the least.
Thank you for naming some places...someday, if time will allow it, I hope to convince my husband to take a day off and we'll drag our 18 month old up into the hills.
And we'd love to visit McCall...but don't know what to do there, and don't have much money.
I guess I should have pointed out that my reasons for loving the IF area are tied to sentimental feelings as well. It's where all my family is, memories with my Grandma in Sugar City, and growing up we moved from Blackfoot to Shelley to St. Anthony to Rexburg and finally stayed in Rigby for the longest period. My parents still live there. Those are the real reasons why I love eastern Idaho like I do. Nothing else truly feels like home.

[WyattE]

Mtn. Resident, you really elaborated on my question but I was just asking a basic question. I've spent some time reading the Utah section of city-data and people would comment about Mormons on there, some good, some bad, so I was basically thinking it may be the same in IF area too. I have nothing against Mormons, I even know some myself and they are very likeable people. I guess I would ask the same question if a certain religious group dominated an area more than others, but thinking about that, I should ask that question where I currently reside. True, there are more Catholics in my area and they probably dominate this area, but they don't push their religion on to others or maybe they do, I guess I truly don't know. I'm not trying to attack any Mormons at all if I come across that way. It is not my intent. I basically wanted to know that if an out of state resident moved to the IF area, would there be any backlash? I'm not the type who brings their former state and behavior to a new area and try to continue with that way of life, like I hear Californians do. I am more of the type to blend in, more focused on family values and morals and raising my children, but I do not want them to fear any backlash either, if I decided IF is for me and my family. I've never been to IF but have been close. I've been more to the border area of Idaho and Wyoming and fell in love with the area, but the necessities my family would need(jobs, schools) it seems IF area would possible be a good fit. So maybe my question should be more about the schools, jobs, weather of that sort.

[Mtn. States Resident]

Originally Posted by WyattE

Mtn. Resident, you really elaborated on my question but I was just asking a basic question. I've spent some time reading the Utah section of city-data and people would comment about Mormons on there, some good, some bad, so I was basically thinking it may be the same in IF area too. I have nothing against Mormons, I even know some myself and they are very likeable people. I guess I would ask the same question if a certain religious group dominated an area more than others, but thinking about that, I should ask that question where I currently reside. True, there are more Catholics in my area and they probably dominate this area, but they don't push their religion on to others or maybe they do, I guess I truly don't know. I'm not trying to attack any Mormons at all if I come across that way. It is not my intent. I basically wanted to know that if an out of state resident moved to the IF area, would there be any backlash? I'm not the type who brings their former state and behavior to a new area and try to continue with that way of life, like I hear Californians do. I am more of the type to blend in, more focused on family values and morals and raising my children, but I do not want them to fear any backlash either, if I decided IF is for me and my family. I've never been to IF but have been close. I've been more to the border area of Idaho and Wyoming and fell in love with the area, but the necessities my family would need(jobs, schools) it seems IF area would possible be a good fit. So maybe my question should be more about the schools, jobs, weather of that sort.

Thanks for the clarification or your real question, WyattE. Your comment,
" I basically wanted to know that if an out of state resident moved to the IF area, would there be any backlash?" is what I think you were really after originally. You are correct I added a lot more in my post, but not really knowing what concerns you really had, I tried to cover my bases.

If you have a job opportunity in the area and are ready to be a happy Idaho resident, I don't see any obstacles to you moving and being happy. That being said, if your new job is setting up a meth lab, you wouldn't be very welcomed in Idaho Falls. (Need a little humor here, but nothing about Meth is funny).

Honestly, it depends on what you do. I could name you off the top of my head, as I mentioned before, a group of professionals that seem to have just "discovered" Idaho Falls and are moving from IN. To the best of my knowledge (and I DO NOT ASK, as boundaries are boundaries), one is LDS and two aren't. All are happy in their new homes.

Feel free to send me a DM if I can help you further. No one can guarantee anything for another person. However, the group who posts here would NOT tell you you should be fine with the general population.

I would caution you about trying to compared Utah Mormons to those living anywhere else. I've spent many years in UT during my college and advanced training days. It's too complex of a subject to address here. Again, I'll say if I asked one of my Catholic friends in Idaho Falls about how a Mormon would fit in around Notre Dame, I don't know that my friend could honestly answer that question, based on his/her Idaho experience. I know they would try, but until one has actually lived there and experienced situations unique for the area, it's can't be done.

Metro Salt Lake City residents have to deal with the influx of the world to the LDS General Conference 2X/year. No one in Idaho does. That's a smalll example (well, not if one lives in certain SLC neighborhoods where everyone parks for the meetings), but just one example of why generalizations aren't the best source of information. There are activities in Idaho Falls that UT residents don't experience, or even other ID residents don't experience.

BTW, I do realize Notre Dame is not the world headquarters for the Catholic Chur, but to many Catholics being able to educate their children at Catholic institutions is a goal since the day the child is born. Rudy is a great example of what people sacrifice to make sure their children can attend certain univerisities. The same is true for Mormons who have hoped, planned and sacrificed so their children can attend BYU-Idaho, BYU-Utah or BYU-Hawaii.

Since I've lived in both UT and ID and other states as well, I would caution you to not assume the answers you have read in the UT forum necessarily fit anywhere elsewhere. I'm not the only one who posts here who has lived in both states. I'm licensed in both states so I'm very familiar with cultures and differences between the two.

Have you been able to visit Idaho Falls yet? I still say a person MUST feel like they are at home to be able to move and be happy. I like pooskie 33's very honest post about where she feels comfortable or not. It's different for different people based on all sorts of factors.

As people write in most forums, there are jerks everywhere. But, I can't think what would be an issue for you being accepted in Idaho Falls, given what you've shared so far. I would recommend you utilize the services of a good realtor (always my weakness, never knowing whom to recommend), but someone who will listen to both what you like and don't like in houses so you can find what makes you happy.

As an FYI, Ammon tends to have a higher concentration of LDS families. I'm not saying that is either good or bad, just a fact.

Good luck in the move. As all who read my comments know by now, I personally am "allergic" to packing and moving. If this turns out to be the right move for you, both professionally and personally, I hope everything goes smoothly.

Let me know if you have any other questions I can answer (other than a realtor). I don't know as have family land in my family, so I've only used realtors in different states.

I hope this helps clarify even more the situation in Idaho Falls. Do feel free to send me a DM, if you want to. I'm a litttle busy right now, but will try to get to it as soon as I can, if you want to ask more direct or other questions that shouldn't be posted in the open format.

MSR

[tdna]

Originally Posted by yukiko11

I took a trip about 15 years ago which covered WA, ID and Montana. The biggest memories I had of Idaho falls were that the falls were like a small trickle of water and there was a Jr College built in the old river bed that they used to supply. Also, I found that potatoes that I always thougt were raised in Idaho were about twice as expensive as the ones in WA where I lived LOL
I drove through a lot of Idaho and found it to be not only ugly, but I didn't appreciate the guy who was pumping my gas preaching to me and handing me copies of scripture.
When I stopped at a motel, the sheets were yellow because of the chemicals in the water.
I went into a gift shop to purchase a tourist gift for a friend and had to wait 20 minutes while the clerk was "Ministering" to someone on the phone.
I am a christian and believe in all of those behaviors, but not on your employers dime. That is theft in my book.
Idaho is not a great place in my humble opinion.

I'm sorry that you have such negative memories from your long-ago trip through Idaho.

I moved here a little over a year ago and have a quite different opinion. I've found Idaho to be gorgeous with such a diverse landscape, the people to be friendly and welcoming, and the potatoes to be delicious and inexpensive (I just went grocery shopping and bought a 10# bag of Idaho spuds for $1.99)

I live in a town with a large LDS population and I usually drive to Idaho Falls when I need to do any shopping. I have never, ever, had any sort of negative encounter with any LDS people. Maybe I've just been lucky, who knows? But, I don't think so. Every organized religion has extremists, and those are the people and stories that make the news. As a result, anyone who doesn't encounter folks, on a regular basis, who practice said religion believe that everyone who practices that religion is like the people they saw on the news. That's just not fair and we should all know better.

I don't agree with a lot of what the LDS church believes in. All that means is that my beliefs are much different and that I'm not going to join the church. It doesn't mean that the Mormons in the community are all zealots. I was raised Catholic, but I don't agree with much of what the Catholic church does, either. So, I don't attend Catholic Mass. That doesn't mean that I think Catholics are bad people.

I volunteer at our local food bank. Most of the other volunteers are LDS. I only know this because, as we were leaving one evening, they were discussing some things that came up at a recent stake meeting. They don't care that I am not Mormon. They're there to help out in their community, and so am I. That's all that matters.

Okay, I'll stop rambling now.

[Mtn. States Resident]

Originally Posted by tdna

I'm sorry that you have such negative memories from your long-ago trip through Idaho.

I moved here a little over a year ago and have a quite different opinion. I've found Idaho to be gorgeous with such a diverse landscape, the people to be friendly and welcoming, and the potatoes to be delicious and inexpensive (I just went grocery shopping and bought a 10# bag of Idaho spuds for $1.99)

I live in a town with a large LDS population and I usually drive to Idaho Falls when I need to do any shopping. I have never, ever, had any sort of negative encounter with any LDS people. Maybe I've just been lucky, who knows? But, I don't think so. Every organized religion has extremists, and those are the people and stories that make the news. As a result, anyone who doesn't encounter folks, on a regular basis, who practice said religion believe that everyone who practices that religion is like the people they saw on the news. That's just not fair and we should all know better.

I don't agree with a lot of what the LDS church believes in. All that means is that my beliefs are much different and that I'm not going to join the church. It doesn't mean that the Mormons in the community are all zealots. I was raised Catholic, but I don't agree with much of what the Catholic church does, either. So, I don't attend Catholic Mass. That doesn't mean that I think Catholics are bad people.

I volunteer at our local food bank. Most of the other volunteers are LDS. I only know this because, as we were leaving one evening, they were discussing some things that came up at a recent stake meeting. They don't care that I am not Mormon. They're there to help out in their community, and so am I. That's all that matters.

Okay, I'll stop rambling now.

Good post, tdna. It helps to have others share their experiencs. I do agree I don't think you've just been "lucky." I think there is tolerance/acceptance in Idaho Falls, potentially moreso due to INL and other technological companies, that some may not know about.

Thanks for adding your thoughts. I hope you will continue to do so.

MSR

[norcalmom101]

Originally Posted by radtechgirl2002

Yes, there are a great deal of Mormons in Idaho Falls and in most of Idaho overall. I am born and raised in North Idaho (Coeur d' Alene). Only Christian's there. The Mormon's, however, will not bother you, but if you smoke or drink etc.. they will look at you funny. Idaho Falls is very beautiful though. Just make sure you have work before you arrive. The Idahonian's do not care for outsiders and will block you out whether you know this or not. Your best approach is to tell them that you are originally from Idaho, or tell them you have family there. Hope this helps. Best of moving to you.

I smoke, drink, live in IF, and noone looks at me funny.

[norcalmom101]

Originally Posted by tdna

I'm sorry that you have such negative memories from your long-ago trip through Idaho.

I moved here a little over a year ago and have a quite different opinion. I've found Idaho to be gorgeous with such a diverse landscape, the people to be friendly and welcoming, and the potatoes to be delicious and inexpensive (I just went grocery shopping and bought a 10# bag of Idaho spuds for $1.99)

I live in a town with a large LDS population and I usually drive to Idaho Falls when I need to do any shopping. I have never, ever, had any sort of negative encounter with any LDS people. Maybe I've just been lucky, who knows? But, I don't think so. Every organized religion has extremists, and those are the people and stories that make the news. As a result, anyone who doesn't encounter folks, on a regular basis, who practice said religion believe that everyone who practices that religion is like the people they saw on the news. That's just not fair and we should all know better.

I don't agree with a lot of what the LDS church believes in. All that means is that my beliefs are much different and that I'm not going to join the church. It doesn't mean that the Mormons in the community are all zealots. I was raised Catholic, but I don't agree with much of what the Catholic church does, either. So, I don't attend Catholic Mass. That doesn't mean that I think Catholics are bad people.

I volunteer at our local food bank. Most of the other volunteers are LDS. I only know this because, as we were leaving one evening, they were discussing some things that came up at a recent stake meeting. They don't care that I am not Mormon. They're there to help out in their community, and so am I. That's all that matters.

Okay, I'll stop rambling now.

I second this experience.

[breer23]

Originally Posted by norcalmom101

I smoke, drink, live in IF, and noone looks at me funny.

I actually have gotten a few dirty looks for doing the above...but maybe it's the perpetual scowl that I display :0