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Hi all! We're heading to Idaho hopefully by the summer, but we just can't decide WHERE we want to land.
We are a family with 5 children(not LDS, but Christian), and where we're coming from is just not safe for our kids anymore. We love nature and community. We visited Boise May 2015 and really enjoyed it. We have yet to visit Idaho Falls but it seems to have the amenities that are important to our family. My husband is fortunate to be able to work from anywhere we are.
I guess my question is, What are the benefits of either town? We like to be IN town or pretty darn close-not too keen on having to drive more than 5 miles to town. I appreciate all that Boise has to offer, but we do like the small town feeling as well.
As I'm typing this, I can hear the police helicopter doing its rounds. We recently experienced a drive by shooting right in front of our home. Enough is enough.
It can be tough growing up non-LDS in southeast Idaho or Utah. Nothing against LDS people by any means, but something you ought to consider given that you're raising kids. Aside from that Idaho Falls is a nice town. I do prefer Boise, though - generally nicer weather, more amenities, nice airport with good connections and in our specific case medical care for your youngest which wouldn't be available in a smaller town like Idaho Falls. The biggest negative compared to Idaho Falls would probably be traffic. Both offer great access to nature and the outdoors.
It can be tough growing up non-LDS in southeast Idaho or Utah. Nothing against LDS people by any means, but something you ought to consider given that you're raising kids. Aside from that Idaho Falls is a nice town. I do prefer Boise, though - generally nicer weather, more amenities, nice airport with good connections and in our specific case medical care for your youngest which wouldn't be available in a smaller town like Idaho Falls. The biggest negative compared to Idaho Falls would probably be traffic. Both offer great access to nature and the outdoors.
I don't agree with some of IdaD's statements. I'm wondering when IdaD last visited the Idaho Falls forum let alone the city?
To the OP, schedule a visit to Idaho Falls. What I read is you thought Boise was the place but now you are wondering if Idaho Falls would be better for your family. Plan on spending a few days so you can really sense what I.F. feels like to you.
I absolutely want IdaD's proof about "specific medical care" for children. You must know more than I do. The 6 pediatric sub-specialists being recruited to increase the pediatric sub-specialists already in Idaho Falls, besides open heart surgery on kids, what can't be done in IF that Boise offers? Trauma care increased 25 % last year alone, due to pediatric trauma. This summer EIRMC starts a new addition including adding 10 more rooms to the E. R. There will be an entire pediatric ER area separate from adult, including major pediatric traumas. I believe the PICU is being expanded too as the Pediatric Intensivists need the space. I'll let IdaD name what other pediatric sub-specialties are in Idaho Falls. Our NICU is a IIIb. Open heart surgery is the only procedure not done at that level. And shocker, our neonatologists help cover one of the Boise NICUs.
If IdaD has nothing against LDS, why even mention it? F5 posted proof here within the last year that Pocatello had the highest percentage of LDS in the state. So what. Athiests in eastern ID want LDS neighbors as the neighborhoods tend to be better cared for and quieter. Having one of 17 national labs Idaho Falls does get residents relocating from around the U.S. and many foreign countries that gives Idaho Falls a lot of diversity few in the Treasure Valley and NID acknowledge, despite it being the 5th largest employer in the state and growing.
The Baptist Church seems to be growing the fastest with six churches in I.F. There are about 40 different churches. Oh, one of the Baptist Churches has a private school K-12 grade. The Parochial school only goes through grade 6 or maybe 8, I'm not certain.
OP, please post and read in the Idaho Falls forum. No location is right for everyone. But you'll always wonder until you visit.
Historically, I've found IdaD's posts about the Treasure Valley and general subjects to be accurate. A few of us are so tired of outdated information being passed off as current facts, we are no longer staying silent, regardless of our beliefs. Let alone the very, very outdated information about pediatric medical care in Idaho Falls. It's humorous in a way for the years I've worked in Pediatric subspecialty care to read that viewpoint.
I agree about the Boise airport. Idaho Falls has good routes direct routes to Denver, Salt Lake City, an L.A. area airpory, Vegas and others. We all wish we had the direct flight to Boise and Seattle. Horizon doesn't own the right aircraft for that currently.
Nature is accessible easily in most Idaho locations.
We'll look forward to seeing you post, OP, in the Idaho Falls forum. Ask questions after you search. Where you decide to live, if you pick Idaho, is up to you. What I will not tolerate any longer is inaccurate information from those living hundreds of miles away.
MSR
Last edited by Mtn. States Resident; 04-21-2016 at 08:30 AM..
I don't agree with some of IdaD's statements. I'm wondering when IdaD last visited the Idaho Falls forum let alone the city?
To the OP, schedule a visit to Idaho Falls. What I read is you thought Boise was the place but now you are wondering if Idaho Falls would be better for your family. Plan on spending a few days so you can really sense what I.F. feels like to you.
I absolutely want IdaD's proof about "specific medical care" for children. You must know more than I do. The 6 pediatric sub-specialists being recruited to increase the pediatric sub-specialists already in Idaho Falls, besides open heart surgery on kids, what can't be done in IF that Boise offers? Trauma care increased 25 % last year alone, due to pediatric trauma. This summer EIRMC starts a new addition including adding 10 more rooms to the E. R. There will be an entire pediatric ER area separate from adult, including major pediatric traumas. I believe the PICU is being expanded too as the Pediatric Intensivists need the space. I'll let IdaD name what other pediatric sub-specialties are in Idaho Falls. Our NICU is a IIIb. Open heart surgery is the only procedure not done at that level. And shocker, our neonatologists help cover one of the Boise NICUs.
If IdaD has nothing against LDS, why even mention it? F5 posted proof here within the last year that Pocatello had the highest percentage of LDS in the state. So what. Athiests in eastern ID want LDS neighbors as the neighborhoods tend to be better cared for and quieter. Having one of 17 national labs Idaho Falls does get residents relocating from around the U.S. and many foreign countries that gives Idaho Falls a lot of diversity few in the Treasure Valley and NID acknowledge, despite it being the 5th largest employer in the state and growing.
The Baptist Church seems to be growing the fastest with six churches in I.F. There are about 40 different churches. Oh, one of the Baptist Churches has a private school K-12 grade. The Parochial school only goes through grade 6 or maybe 8, I'm not certain.
OP, please post and read in the Idaho Falls forum. No location is right for everyone. But you'll always wonder until you visit.
Historically, I've found IdaD's posts about the Treasure Valley and general subjects to be accurate. A few of us are so tired of outdated information being passed off as current facts, we are no longer staying silent, regardless of our beliefs. Let alone the very, very outdated information about pediatric medical care in Idaho Falls. It's humorous in a way for the years I've worked in Pediatric subspecialty care to read that viewpoint.
I agree about the Boise airport. Idaho Falls has good routes direct routes to Denver, Salt Lake City, an L.A. area airpory, Vegas and others. We all wish we had the direct flight to Boise and Seattle. Horizon doesn't own the right aircraft for that currently.
Nature is accessible easily in most Idaho locations.
We'll look forward to seeing you post, OP, in the Idaho Falls forum. Ask questions after you search. Where you decide to live, if you pick Idaho, is up to you. What I will not tolerate any longer is inaccurate information from those living hundreds of miles away.
MSR
Check your PMs for more info regarding my comment about medical care.
I truly don't have anything against LDS people. My wife grew up non-LDS in southeastern Idaho and it was very hard for her at times. Ditto her siblings. I thought it was worth a mention.
I AM kind of curious about the non LDS thing--I mean, what are we looking at here? Just feeling excluded from events, church things, etc. or shunning/looking down on?
Glad to hear about the progress in pediatrics, this is important to us because of the kids. Thankfully, no one has serious conditions that need tending to!
Don't worry about the Mormons in either city. YOu will get along fine with them in either place.
Boiled down to it, Idaho Falls is 1/3 the size of Boise. So, while for its size, I.F. has more amenities by far than most, Boise has more and a wider variety of them.
The weather in I.F. is cooler and drier year round than Boise, and I.F. is more exposed, so its breezy more often than Boise. The winters are typically colder in I.F. as well, but Boise tends to get inversions during the winter which can cause 'log smog', while they are much more rare in I.F.
Boise's young adult population is higher, but both are equally good places to raise a family in. The housing costs are cheaper in I.F., and the other costs of living are somewhat less as well. Boise probably has a wider choice of homes available at any given time than I.F.
Both cities have a lot of civic pride, lots of parks and city recreation, and other stuff. Both are pretty clean, too.
For more particulars on each, check out the sub-forums on both. The I.F. sub-forum is more regional than Boise's, but it has a lot of I.F. specific info.
I AM kind of curious about the non LDS thing--I mean, what are we looking at here? Just feeling excluded from events, church things, etc. or shunning/looking down on?
Based on what my wife and her siblings went through it's not like you're shunned publicly or anything. It's more like you're just not part of the group. Sometimes a parent wouldn't let a friend come over to play or vise versa cause they didn't want their kid playing with a non-LDS kid, for instance. Just little stuff like that but it can add up, especially to a kid. She grew up in a smaller town and I'd bet it was more intense there - I doubt Idaho Falls is as universally LDS especially with all the people who've moved there from out of the area to work at the lab.
The best advice you got in this thread is just to take some time and visit both places to compare them, because they do have some different pros and cons to them.
I'll add on the airport that Boise is adding daily direct service to DFW in June. So you can fly daily directs to all major airports in the west plus smaller airports in the northwest and more distant locations like Dallas, Houston, Minneapolis and Chicago. They've worked pretty hard at getting Atlanta back too but so far it hasn't happened.
Lot of good comments here, but the one about air travel really hits home. We used to live in eastern idaho and air travel involved a 3 hour drive to Salt Lake before you could even get on the plane. Now it's a 15 minute drive and we're at the ticket counter.
More opportunities for kids that aren't lds was the second positive that made us move.
We've been here 14years now and don't miss east Idaho.
Yup. If frequent air travel is a must, Boise's the place. It's the main hub for Idaho, and has the best connections.
The Idaho Falls airport has improved the number of flights a lot over the past few years; many make it no longer necessary to drive to Salt Lake to catch a flight now.
But with the increased connections came a big mess in going to the airport. Lots of folks here get dropped off instead of leaving a car in the long term parking, and airport restrictions have made pick up a real pain in the butt for some of the flights.
The I.F. airport has an expansion plan that's in the process of approval, so I expect there will be more connections and fewer probs in the near future. The building itself isn't overloaded, so once inside, things are easier.
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