Considering Moving to Idaho Falls (Boise, Pocatello: real estate market, rentals, crime)

[Wardendresden]

Originally Posted by Mtn. States Resident

Wardendresden,

Between the endocrinology practice in Idaho Falls (none in Pocatello), and certain primary care docs who have a special interest in thyroid disease and have learned some of the pearls of practice, I'm more confident now about thyroid care in Idaho Falls than I have been. As I'm sure both you and your wife know, every true thyroid patient has learned it is a matter of being proactive and knowing what works best for him/her and being able to endure the changes made which won't clinically manifest for 6 weeks. The key is finding a practitioner wise enough to listen to a patient.

Absolutely get all of your wife's medical records and make copies for doctors but keep the originals with you/her regardless of where you relocate. It will help whichever practitioner care for your wife. Some of us (ME, ME, ME) are the odd ducks that show those subtle changes on T-3s, not T-4s. It saves so much potential conflict with a physician to produce previous lab tests proving my point vs. arguing in an office.

Of all the things you've written here what most puzzles me (and I'd love to know how you've got this one planned) is how you could drive a very long day and be in Denver. If you don't mind, please clue me in on your planned route. I consider a long day of driving 8-12 hrs. and do realize that isn't necessarily the same for others.

I think you're wise to investigate ID on your own from the air, on ground, driving and walking etc. I'm a firm believer you'll know where "home" is for you. It either feels right or doesn't. I trust my gut...

Good luck in your search

MSR

Thanks again for the advice MSR. The medical information makes me think we may need to be in IF
as opposed to Poky. Fifty miles further, hmmm. But closer to the Tetons, too!

Here is the Pocatello to Denver route I am considering and it will actually be about 20 miles further since my son just moved to Parker (a southern suburb) from Denver. And I think outside of driving several days like I will be coming from Dallas, I can handle a single hard day's drive.

Pocatello, ID598 mi (about 9 hours 9 mins)
1.Head southeast on N 7th Ave toward E Wyeth St 0.3 mi
2.Turn left onto E Center St 1.0 mi
3.Merge onto I-15 S via the ramp to McCammon Salt Lake 21.9 mi
4.Take exit 47 for US-30 E toward I-15 BUS/​McCammon/​Soda Sprs/​Montpeller 0.3 mi
5.Turn left onto U.S. 30 E/​E Merrill Rd Continue to follow U.S. 30 E
Entering Wyoming
183 mi
6.Keep left at the fork and merge onto I-80 E 293 mi
7.Take exit 359A for Interstate 25 S/​U.S. 87 S toward Denver 0.5 mi
8.Merge onto I-25 S/​US-87 S Entering Colorado
97.0 mi
9.Take exit 210A for US-40/​US-287/​Colfax Ave 0.2 mi
10.Turn left onto W Colfax Ave 1.5 mi
11.Turn right onto Broadway 0.1 mi
12.Turn left onto E 14th Ave 0.1 mi13.Turn right onto Sherman St 318 ft

Denver, CO

[MountainBiking]

Originally Posted by Syringaloid

Good luck with your school concern. The Boise and Meridian school disctricts are some of the best in the state and the Boise school disctrict is often referred to as the best in the state.

I've heard this all the way down here in Southern California. My sister is a school principal here in So Cal and has heard teachers and school district officials mentioning good things about the Boise and Meridian school districts.

-Cheers.

[Mtn. States Resident]

Originally Posted by Wardendresden

Thanks again for the advice MSR. The medical information makes me think we may need to be in IF
as opposed to Poky. Fifty miles further, hmmm. But closer to the Tetons, too!

Here is the Pocatello to Denver route I am considering and it will actually be about 20 miles further since my son just moved to Parker (a southern suburb) from Denver. And I think outside of driving several days like I will be coming from Dallas, I can handle a single hard day's drive.

Pocatello, ID598 mi (about 9 hours 9 mins)
1.Head southeast on N 7th Ave toward E Wyeth St 0.3 mi
2.Turn left onto E Center St 1.0 mi
3.Merge onto I-15 S via the ramp to McCammon Salt Lake 21.9 mi
4.Take exit 47 for US-30 E toward I-15 BUS/​McCammon/​Soda Sprs/​Montpeller 0.3 mi
5.Turn left onto U.S. 30 E/​E Merrill Rd Continue to follow U.S. 30 E
Entering Wyoming
183 mi
6.Keep left at the fork and merge onto I-80 E 293 mi
7.Take exit 359A for Interstate 25 S/​U.S. 87 S toward Denver 0.5 mi
8.Merge onto I-25 S/​US-87 S Entering Colorado
97.0 mi
9.Take exit 210A for US-40/​US-287/​Colfax Ave 0.2 mi
10.Turn left onto W Colfax Ave 1.5 mi
11.Turn right onto Broadway 0.1 mi
12.Turn left onto E 14th Ave 0.1 mi13.Turn right onto Sherman St 318 ft

Denver, CO

So via WY. Will you be checking that drive out this summer? I hope you're planning to visit, via driving, just in the summer. United has direct flights from Denver to Idaho Falls and back should you need to travel to Denver at other times.

Good for you for looking at the details.

MSR

[Wardendresden]

Originally Posted by Mtn. States Resident

So via WY. Will you be checking that drive out this summer? I hope you're planning to visit, via driving, just in the summer. United has direct flights from Denver to Idaho Falls and back should you need to travel to Denver at other times.

Good for you for looking at the details.

MSR

I've traveled all of the route up to Kemmerer before. Once had to come back from Jackson (wintertime) and had to come down 89 to Montpelier then on to Kemmerer and southwards due to 189 in Wyoming being closed by snow. We lived twelve years in the Denver area, so are familiar with snow and both our current vehicles are all wheel drive.

So, all though I know it's possible to have some sort of early winter event in early to mid-September, they are still relatively unusual and don't stay around long. The purpose of the drive from Dallas all the way through is to check out again the drive from Green River up through Kemmerer and on to Pocatello/Idaho Falls. Because the next time I drive it will be in a 20 ft U-Haul truck! The rest of the trip is all highway and I'm not overly concerned with it.

When we moved from Denver to Dallas we took a U-Haul down I-25 and crossed NM on 87/287 and on to Denver. So I've driven two lane roads with a moving truck, but I just want to check it out again for places to stop, potential emergency help, etc. We hope to move in late April/ early May of 2014.

Probably would make more sense for us to move back to Kentucky where the wife has a lot of family, but we've been adventurers all our lives, and we both like the mountains---she flat out loves snow!! And the Tetons are our favorite place to vacation. Living close will be more conducive to doing that often. We even went there in late Nov/early Dec one year -- spitting snow when we drove up through CO/UT into Wyoming and on to Jackson--that was the trip we had to detour on the way home.

For this trip I've already got reservations at the Red Lion in Pocatello, but after your post I'm thinking IF may be a better choice for us for healthcare and may cancel those reservations to stay in IF instead.
We are already planning to visit property management companies, doctors, banks, grocery stores, fitness centers, etc. We've moved with planning and without planning---works a lot better with an agenda and plenty of planning. Even then there are surprises.

And knowing the area is LDS, I would very much like to attend some services somewhere. We have both been Baptist most of our lives, but I've always admired the lifestyle of practicing LDS members and would just like to experience a service. Don't know if they allow visitors or not, but I'd like to learn a little more. The wife's current boss (CEO of the hospital she works at) is LDS and speaks highly of SE Idaho and had a daughter who attended BYU-Idaho in Rexburg. Plus the woman she has just hired to start training to take over her position is LDS AND attended BYU in Rexburg. So we are getting a little information about the area. Haven't asked any of them about attending services though.

Thanks for sharing and making valuable suggestions.

[Huck L. Berry]

Originally Posted by MountainBiking

I've heard this all the way down here in Southern California. My sister is a school principal here in So Cal and has heard teachers and school district officials mentioning good things about the Boise and Meridian school districts.

-Cheers.

What good things?
That the district is towing a liberal union line that would make Californians proud?
They are.

[cleosmom]

Originally Posted by Huck L. Berry

Thanks for that reply.

Okay, so Idaho Falls isn't booming. Good to know.

Without being too specific, can you tell me what kind of business you're in?

Sounds like gas is about 10-15 cents cheaper there.

Glad to know there's a Texas Roadhouse there. Mmmmm.

Based on craigslist, rent is cheaper there too.

And groceries are cheaper here, too. Love me some WinCo!

I'm not discouraged. I need to do a trip over there and check it out. I've been through there lots of times on the way to SLC, Vegas, and/or SoCal, but never considered living there until recently.

I work at a pet hotel that does dog & cat boarding, doggy daycare, grooming services and gleans towards upper end pet foods typically not found at the big box and/or grocery stores. Locally owned and we know most of our clientele by name, if not the two legged ones, certainly the four legged ones

[banjomike]

Originally Posted by Wardendresden

Banjo, how close is IF to the mountains? I drove through there but stopped in Pocatello which I remember is near the base of a range of mountains, or a very long ridge at least. The videos on the internet show mountains around Poky, but I never see them in IF videos---usually just the falls. The wife loves mountains. We want to live in SE Idaho so we can remain no more than a long day's drive from Denver where our son and his family reside, but we haven't tied our expectations to any of the small cities along I-15.

We've got our visit scheduled for early in September. Planning to base in Poky and drive up and down the expressway getting a view of the area. Will keep you posted so hopefully you will allow us to buy you lunch and get your personal perspective regarding the area.

Thanks for your continued informative posts about Idaho. Always very helpful.

Hi, Warden...
Mtn States Resident was very accurate, but didn't go far enough.
While the Tetons are justifiably famous, Idaho Falls is surrounded by mountain ranges. The Lost River range is 60 miles away and the White Cloud range is also close by. The White Clouds were named because they look like big clouds when snow covered. The Blackfoot Mountain range lies to the south, and the Island Park caldera lies to the north. The Sawtooth range is about 2-3 hours away, and the Redfish Lake area, in the middle of the range, is extraordinarily beautiful. It a high alpine lake surrounded on 3 sides by mountains.

The biggest and highest mountains in the state are all in this area, and Mt. Borah, the highest mountain in the state, can be climbed in a long day if you're into climbing.

I also have to put in a word for the Arco desert. While it's totally different from the mountains, it is also a very cool place in it's own right. The Craters of the Moon Natl. Monument is a wonderful place for a day trip, and is a lot of fun to visit year round. The desert has a wild beauty of it's own.

[Wardendresden]

Originally Posted by banjomike

Hi, Warden...
Mtn States Resident was very accurate, but didn't go far enough.
While the Tetons are justifiably famous, Idaho Falls is surrounded by mountain ranges. The Lost River range is 60 miles away and the White Cloud range is also close by. The White Clouds were named because they look like big clouds when snow covered. The Blackfoot Mountain range lies to the south, and the Island Park caldera lies to the north. The Sawtooth range is about 2-3 hours away, and the Redfish Lake area, in the middle of the range, is extraordinarily beautiful. It a high alpine lake surrounded on 3 sides by mountains.

The biggest and highest mountains in the state are all in this area, and Mt. Borah, the highest mountain in the state, can be climbed in a long day if you're into climbing.

I also have to put in a word for the Arco desert. While it's totally different from the mountains, it is also a very cool place in it's own right. The Craters of the Moon Natl. Monument is a wonderful place for a day trip, and is a lot of fun to visit year round. The desert has a wild beauty of it's own.

Thanks for more specific information on the mountains. I'm going to modify our reservations to move our hotel from the Red Lion in Poky to somewhere in IF. The more I'm learning, the more I'm thinking it would be the best place for us.

Have visited the high desert around Moab, Utah. Was once there while it was lightly raining. We were driving the rather lonely road back to Dead Horse Canyon and a state police officer had the road blocked. They were filming a Cadillac commercial further up the road. He asked me how long we were going to be in the area (we had Colorado plates), and I said just a couple of more days. He said that was too bad, because the infrequent rainfall on the high desert meant that in 2 or 3 days every sparse plant out there would be blossoming--and they wouldn't last more than two weeks, and that we would get a completely different view of the desert. Sorry we didn't get to see it, but maybe the Arco desert will show us something like it!

Thanks again, Banjo, for your thoughts. Your years in Idaho have given you a terrific knowledge of the area and sense about what areas have to offer. You are a real treasure on CD for those of us who are seriously considering making Idaho home.

[banjomike]

Hi, Warden...
The Arco desert gets more rain, but it's still pretty dry year round.

One of my favorite times to visit the Craters is spring. The lava all becomes carpeted in tiny wildflowers that are pink, yellow and white, and each looks like it has been planted by a gardener. Because the lava is so porous, each flower needs the moisture equally, so mother nature plants them very precisely. The flowers bloom, seed and die in less than 60 days.

[TohobitPeak]

banjomike gives a great description of the area. I am originally from Idaho Falls and the mountains as mentioned are more in the distance and the hills near Ammon are just- well hills. The larger mountains are in the backdrop but never far away. Basically, Idaho Falls is flat much like Twin Falls is but that does not mean scenery is lacking at all.

Pocatello is at the base of foothills leading up to higher mountains and some of those hill/mountain areas by Pocatello are really beautiful. For instance, the area between Pocatello and southeast towards Lava Hot Springs is very scenic.

banjo is spot on about the Lost Rivers, White Clouds, Sawtooths, and the large number of other mountain ranges west of Idaho Falls which are in central Idaho. These are among the states most gorgeous and grandest mountains and more beautiful and expansive and wild than the Tetons in my humble opinion, although the Tetons are a sight to behold.