Any other young transplants (or even anyone from IF) trying to meet up and go do stuff? (Idaho Falls: university)

[rishmeister]

Hey, I moved from northern Virginia (Washington, DC area) in February to work at the INL, and to be honest, I'm still trying to figure out how to kill time in Idaho Falls outside work and the few things I've found to do here. It's definitely much harder to meet younger adults here than it was back home. I'm 23, to give you an idea of "young". I'm not about to tell my life story and what all my interests are and such, but I will say that if at any point, anybody who's in the same boat wants to start putting together a group to go out and conquer whatever there is to conquer here in Idaho, let's do so!

[cleosmom]

Originally Posted by rishmeister

Hey, I moved from northern Virginia (Washington, DC area) in February to work at the INL, and to be honest, I'm still trying to figure out how to kill time in Idaho Falls outside work and the few things I've found to do here. It's definitely much harder to meet younger adults here than it was back home. I'm 23, to give you an idea of "young". I'm not about to tell my life story and what all my interests are and such, but I will say that if at any point, anybody who's in the same boat wants to start putting together a group to go out and conquer whatever there is to conquer here in Idaho, let's do so!

Perhaps if you indulge in something that contains your likes you might find those around your age to hang out with. For example, if you're a pet lover, this Saturday is the Annual Mutt Strut and Pet Fair benefiting the Snake River Animal Shelter

[Mtn. States Resident]

Originally Posted by rishmeister

Hey, I moved from northern Virginia (Washington, DC area) in February to work at the INL, and to be honest, I'm still trying to figure out how to kill time in Idaho Falls outside work and the few things I've found to do here. It's definitely much harder to meet younger adults here than it was back home. I'm 23, to give you an idea of "young". I'm not about to tell my life story and what all my interests are and such, but I will say that if at any point, anybody who's in the same boat wants to start putting together a group to go out and conquer whatever there is to conquer here in Idaho, let's do so!

rishmeister,

I totally agree with Cleosmom! Do you take the bus to INL or work in town? For those trying to "kill time," there are endless posibilities. If you want recreation, Heise, the zip line, The Sand Dunes, Target practice, meeting with other singles at weekly activities, meeting people at University Place, BYU Idaho or ISU, visiting Jackson Hole, taking flight lessons, joining one of dozens of clubs who do everything from star gaze, to fly model airplanes, to learn foreign languages and far more. Horse races are being held Sat. and Sunday at Sandy Downs. Your budget is the limit of *fun* things to do. Every Friday the Post Register publishes as many clubs and activities as they have room to print. There are still some Live United Concerts at Snake River Landing and a couple more Tuesday concerts downtown. There's bowling every Friday and Saturday nights with music. Check to see if any recreational sports teams play just on weekends. If not, start one. There's the I.F. ski club, photography clubs etc. etc.

One of the big transitions from college to adulthood is finding how you can give back. The PR also posts non-profits that need volunteers. Cleosmom gave you a great one for tomorrow. Pets not your thing, enroll and walk "A Mile in Her Shoes," tomorrow to show your support for the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Center. The weather should be nice. Prefer to do something physical besides walking to raise awareness about Domestic Abuse and Sexual Assualt, The Food Bank always needs help. Volunteers are needed at Hospice, probably the library and some of the gardening clubs and Big Brothers Big Sisters of America etc.. Want to volunteer online? I have a list of topics that need added to ID and the I.F. area, how soon could you start?

If you aren't meeting others, I'm the first to acknowledge that can be a problem, if riding the buses to INL. Focus on weekend activities first, so you can spend enough time. Meeting other people with some similar interests is the key. There are plenty of people to meet in 300,000+ people. But you have to go where a group is gathered. I guarantee you if you volunteer to help others, you'll meet other people. The thing about eastern ID, is those who volunteer always know others, but often screen new friends before introducing them to other friends or family who live here.

I look forward to your return post of what you did for fun and how you gave back to the community as a volunteer. Welcome to the forum and to the Idaho Falls area, even though you've been here a while

MSR

[tmp4]

Originally Posted by rishmeister

It's definitely much harder to meet younger adults here than it was back home.

You're right, but it gets easier with time! I'm also a recent (2 yrs ago) transplant from back east and it's been tough to meet 20s and 30s. The first year out here was tough, especially since seemingly all of my younger neighbors and coworkers were married with kids. All it takes is to find one or two locals and then mingle your way into their network. Consider yourself fortunate to be working at the INL -- there's bound to be several other younger transplants. Have you put out the feelers at work?

There's tons to do here, albeit most of them involve outdoors activities, so it's much better if you're an outdoorsy person. Coming from a big city myself, it took a little extra work for me since I was used to indoors activities on the nights and weekends, like concerts and major sporting events.