Meeting new friends in Idaho Falls (Boise, Pocatello: fit in, school, income)

[auntieage21]

Hello!! I am looking into moving to Idaho Falls and would really like help/ideas on the best way to meet some new friends in Idaho Falls!!! I will start out pretty lonely but would really love to meet some new friends to be able to hang out with and some fun with!! Any ideas?? Could use some help!! :-)

[cleosmom]

Not too much of a problem, what are your interests?

[Mtn. States Resident]

Originally Posted by cleosmom

Not too much of a problem, what are your interests?

I think Cleosmom is right. Start putting your interests, desired age group if that matters, and start reading online publications/websites to learn what's already in place.

BTW, welcome to Idaho Falls in advance.

MSR

[TetonTank]

In my experiance here in IF and ammon, I have found that not really pushing the issue you will finds friends faster then u can imaging. The problem is finding REAL friends that YOU like. Not just people around that U can talk to. I came here with the understanding that ill be lonely, and that's ok because of the job that I have. No real time due to schedule constraints.
But as of my first weekend here I met a really great family that has kids the same age as mine, and the parents have the same likes as my wife and I. So in hanging out with them, I have met thier freinds and my list of friends is growing every weekend..
For me the trick wad not to try so hard.
Good luck to u and urs, welcome and enjoy.

[Wardendresden]

Originally Posted by rumaco

Drug addicts or Mormons and neither will do you any good in the long run!

You must have a very poor sense of self to rail against good people--and I'm no Mormon OR drug addict.

Try reading THE SPIRIT LEVEL, written by two British researchers. Idaho is consistently in the best ten states of a very poor nation with regard to overall crime, homicide rates, even overall health---the latter in spite of having one of the worst physician to patient ratios in the U.S.

The researchers tie, quite convincingly, income inequality with crime, drug use, teenage pregnancy, homicide, educational achievement and mental health. They show the difference between nations, and in the U.S. between states. Idaho is generally ranked 8-10 with Utah almost always number one or two in all the charts.

Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and New York, all places with greater income disparity, are consistently in the bottom five.

The use of inductive reasoning--by taking personal experience and making assumptions about a larger society without doing any outside research, is almost always fallible in attempting to understand a community.

Sorry your life is tough--maybe you should attempt to change the one thing you control-----you.

Good luck

[Wardendresden]

Originally Posted by auntieage21

Hello!! I am looking into moving to Idaho Falls and would really like help/ideas on the best way to meet some new friends in Idaho Falls!!! I will start out pretty lonely but would really love to meet some new friends to be able to hang out with and some fun with!! Any ideas?? Could use some help!! :-)

When my wife and I visited IF in September, we just walked up to people in restaurants and at the library and asked them what they liked to do in the town. I personally board game a lot and found a location of a few gamers and went and talked with the leader of the club.

We found not a single curmudgeon in the whole town---nor in Pocatello either. The best way to make a friend is to be a friend.

[juneaubound]

Originally Posted by auntieage21

Hello!! I am looking into moving to Idaho Falls and would really like help/ideas on the best way to meet some new friends in Idaho Falls!!! I will start out pretty lonely but would really love to meet some new friends to be able to hang out with and some fun with!! Any ideas?? Could use some help!! :-)

You could volunteer for a cause that is close to your heart eg: a homeless shelter or food bank, an animal shelter, read to school children, volunteer for a fund raiser etc. You would come in contact with others who share your passion and that might be a good foundation to establish new friendships.

If you like to workout, join a local gym. If you like to hike or bike outdoors find a local meet-up group and participate in one of their outings. As someone else said, plug your personal interests into a search engine and see what groups/organizations are in IF. If you are religious, find a local church. If you will be finding work in IF reach out in personal ways to your new colleagues and see who you make a connection with.

[tmp4]

if you're in to homebrewing, I came across Rocky Mountain Homebrew and their website. Looks like they have homebrewing classes and occasional get-togethers

[banjomike]

Hi, auntie…
A lot, of course, will depend on your age and your interests.
The folks here are friendly and quick to help others a lot of the time, but naturally enough, it will take some time to make some close friends.
You don't mention where you're coming from. One of the problems newcomers encounter here is the lack of the urban mindset in Idaho Falls. Even though we're growing, we still think and act like country folks. This is true everywhere here with the exception of Boise, and only that's partly true there.

If you are coming from a large city, you'll make more friends by keeping whatever snap judgements you may have to yourself at first and decide later if they're accurate or not. You don't have to try to fit in as much as just learn how we are, and that's not hard; it just takes some time.

One thing you will discover is an acquaintance can develop into a friendship pretty easily, and one friendship soon leads to another. That's a result of our small-town way of thinking. In time, most folks develop a wide circle of friends, but relatively few down to the bone close friendships. But those don't necessarily take a lot of time to develop. There isn't much of a herd mentality here, so everyone is still seen on their own merits.

There were many good suggestions mentioned in the other posts. One I would like to add is folks like to visit here. Strangers will chat with each other at restaurants, while waiting in line, or just hanging out in the mall or someplace than they do in other places. That's 'visiting'. Don't be afraid to gently strike up a conversation with someone if you feel the time and place is right- that what we do.
If you can listen better than you can talk, all the better.

Don't worry, most of all. You won't have to be lonely unless you want it. I think you'll fit right in in no time if you want to.

[PerryTheFoodie]

How old are you and where in Idaho do you live? What are your interests?