moving to Blackfoot (Boise, Pocatello, Idaho Falls: real estate, home, neighborhoods)

[midwestmom95]

Hello all,

I've been doing a bit of research on Blackfoot. Seems as if a lot of the questions asked on forum are quite old and answers may be different now. We were wanting to move to IF next June (2018), but I've been trolling real estate sites and a home has come available in Blackfoot that fits all of our needs...we are coming from a fairly small town of 14K which is mainly an manufacturing town and both Husband and I grew up in very small towns (300 or less) so we are actually fine with small town life. We have a soon to be 12 yo daughter and I can't find a lot of good info on schools other than the ratings seem to be low. I would love to hear any and all perspectives on living in BF from cultural diversity, jobs (or lack thereof) education, etc...If I've missed something please ask as I'm available throughout the day from time to time. Thanks! Oh, and if anyone can point me in the right direction if there's threads I'm missing that are more current I'd appreciate it!

[banjomike]

The schools in Idaho Falls are better in general than in Blackfoot.

Idaho Falls is also more diverse in just about everything you can think of. There isn't as much racial diversity there as in I.F., and not nearly as much local arts and performance stuff, although Blackfoot has a very fine and fairly new civic auditorium.


Blackfoot is really centered on agriculture. As such, the culture of Blackfoot is the same as any small farm town. I don't know what the job picture is there, since the entire area from Idaho Falls to Pocatello is doing well right now, I expect Blackfoot is, too, in that regard.
Blackfoot is home to the state mental hospital south. There's another in the panhandle, and is also home to the Idaho State Fair. During fair week, the town is really packed, and only the fair in Boise is as large.

The commute from Blackfoot to I.F. takes about 25-30 minutes on the I-15, which is a pretty good road until winter, when it can become slick during and just after a storm until the snow plows hit it.

Really, the only way you'll know if Blackfoot is right for you is a visit. It has the typical amenities of a small town, but if you like to shop, you will most likely be going to Idaho Falls or Pocatello for that. The Blackfoot hospital is pretty good, and has some specialties being practiced out of it, but I.F. has all the large medical facilities.

Idaho Falls can be deceptive when viewed on the net. It isn't all that big, but it's a hub city that services a huge area that includes parts of 2 other states, so it punches far above its weight when it comes to amenities.

I.F. has the best and most diverse medicine south of Boise and north of Salt Lake City, has all the major big box stores, a big theater complex, and all the stuff that a city 2-3 times its size has. It's always been a highly commercially-oriented town, and always been full of small local businesses. Ag is big in I.F. too, but there are other businesses that are bigger employers as well.

The school district in I.F. is typically better funded than in most parts of the state, due to the resident's willingness to pass school bonds. Surrounding Bonneville County has a district of its own, and the county residents are less willing to pass bonds, so the schools in the county tend to grow overcrowded before a construction bond finally passes. The county is growing faster than the city, and the property values in the county are generally a bit lower. This may be changing now, though, and I haven't kept up with it very much.

Although it's a lot larger than Blackfoot, it still has a small-town feel in all the residential areas, pretty much. This depends on neighborhoods now more than it once did. Blackfoot hasn't grown very much for quite a while.