Kimberly Idaho ,close enough? (Boise, Pocatello: home, buy, college)

[Kelliekb]

am looking to retire, someplace with four seasons, small town feel, lots of community involvement . I need horse property and a in law cottage, not picky about manufactured housing vs stick built, lived in both. I have read up on everything I can think of, and Boise is not rural enough , I'm hoping maybe Kimberly is? Also have heard this side is a bit greener, coming from the desert I'm craving green. I also have solar , is that a popular option there? Any thoughts would be appreciated ! I know within two hours there is plenty to do, but within 30 minutes? Parks, parades, river, lakes ?
Thank you for any input.

[ScottStielow]

Kimberly is a good choice, from what i read. Close enough to Twin Falls for your Grocery needs,and medical. You are about two hours from Yellowstone NP, and the Snake River close by, if you are into rafting, and fishing.
I'm sure some of the regulars will be along to give you more information on Kimberly.
Best of luck.

[banjomike]

Kimberly is very close to Twin Falls. It's hard to tell where Kimberly ends and Twin Falls begins.
Twin is smaller than Idaho Falls or Pocatello, but it's a hub city for all of the Magic Valley and south to the Ruby Valley in N. Nevada. It also serves the Jordan valley along east edge of Oregon. There isn't as much to do in Twin as in Idaho Falls or Pocatello, but Twin is only about 1 1/2 hours from Boise on the interstate.

The Snake River canyon is right at the edge of the Twin Falls city limits, and it's very spectacular. The canyon is about 2 miles deep there, and the Shoshone Falls are higher than Niagara.

It is green there- there are a lot of springs, and really a lot of water all around, just underground. It comes from a remarkable geologic event- Lake Bonneville, the huge inland sea that once covered most of Utah, drained down the Snake River and cut the canyon that deep in less than 2 days. This exposed large areas of the aquifer that lies under almost all of southern Idaho. If one travels straight north, you will cross part of the Arco desert, which is actually a high steppe, similar to most of the west, and then come into alpine country- Sun Valley and beyond. The Twin area itself is pretty flat and is mostly agricultural. Big farms, big farm country.

That area is one that a person just has to look at; you'll never understand what it's like until you see it in person. In very general terms, Twin is growing quite rapidly. It is big dairy country; many California dairymen have moved there ever since the late 70s, and industry followed them; the largest Chobani yogurt factory is there, as are a lot of cheese and whey factories, and several big frozen food manufacturers are now either building factories or are in operation. Twin is very rapidly becoming a manufacturing city with all the manufacturing based on agriculture.

It's about an hour north of the Nevada line, and Jackpot, one of the casino towns, has some really nice casinos. Boise is 90 minutes north, and Salt Lake City is about the same to the south. Twin is home to the College of Southern Idaho, and the town is similar in many ways to Moscow, up north in the Palouse- lots of civic events going on, and a highly engaged community of diverse folks.

Really, all the southern portion of the state is great horse country. A lot of retirees are discovering the beauties of the south east edge of Idaho as well, from Bear Lake all the way to the Montana border. The Arco desert covers most of the middle of the south, and most of the population lies around it in all directions. This was one of the reasons why Idaho was settled more lightly than Oregon. The other reason is Idaho is mostly mountains.

[Cowgirl Kathy]

Thank you, banjomike, for the very thorough description of the Twin Falls and Magic Valley region. As my husband and I continue to debate where we want to end our days, we keep coming back to Twin Falls or Kimberley. We passed through and stayed overnight in Twin Falls about 10 years ago when we were headed to Yellowstone, and visited Shoshone Falls and explored the area a bit at the time and really enjoyed the town. I am getting excited to visit again and spend more time!

[Kelliekb]

Thank you Banjomike, that is wonderfully informative! We will be visiting in the fall, cannot wait . I'm sure there will be more questions as I investigate further ?

[banjomike]

While my home is in Idaho Falls, I've always liked Twin Falls. I have many friends there, or who came from the area.

Maybe it's the water or something, but that area has produced some of Idaho's very best musicians for many generations. A good friend's son now teaches the double bass at CSI, and he's typical of the quality of the musicianship that comes from there.

There are a lot of small towns that are quite close to Twin that all have their own thing going. Buhl, Hagerman, Jerome, Gooding, Bliss and Wendell. Each has its own charms, but all are similar except in the countryside. Gooding and Bliss are the highest and driest in the region.

If i was to move over there, my personal favorite area is Hagerman. It's about 35 miles from Twin and the town is pretty small, but the country is really nice, with lots of scenic views of the Snake River Canyon, and it's one of the warmest and most sheltered spots in Idaho. While Hagerman itself lies above the canyon, it's the spot where the Snake widens out again after passing through the deep narrow slot in Twin. There's a lot of real nice land just downhill from Hagerman city in the canyon bottoms. Very fertile, grows a lot of fruit, and lots of free-running water.

[Kelliekb]

Banjomike, thanks again, in reading the forum in general, I see you have very thoughtful posts. As someone who is leaving all the familiar behind, and jumping into the unknown, I really appreciate it !
I am a bit concerned about the snow in the countryside, will I need a 4 WD to get to work? Where ever that may be... I know the main roads are well. Taken care of, but what about the small towns?

[IdaD]

I have family in Kimberly so I've been there several times. It's a small little farm town, maybe a little nicer than most. It's a little shabby looking but not bad at all. There's a newer section over closer to the highway and then after you get through that you come into the old downtown area, which is maybe 50% occupied at best. From what I understand housing is pretty tough to come by in the area right now because there's been so much demand from people moving in to work at the yogurt factory.

Good snow tires would generally be sufficient, but 4wd or Awd is better. We live over in the Boise area which has marginally lighter winters than Kimberly, and both of our vehicles are 4/Awd.

I would concur with banjomike that Hagerman is a nice spot and worth checking out. Another area you might check out is Emmett cause it's quite green with irrigation and the Payette running through the valley, but it's closer to Boise which has better medical care than you'd find in Twin if that's important to you. Plus more to do in the immediate area.

[banjomike]

Originally Posted by Kelliekb

Banjomike, thanks again, in reading the forum in general, I see you have very thoughtful posts. As someone who is leaving all the familiar behind, and jumping into the unknown, I really appreciate it !
I am a bit concerned about the snow in the countryside, will I need a 4 WD to get to work? Where ever that may be... I know the main roads are well. Taken care of, but what about the small towns?

No. After a big blizzard, it may take a day or two to clear all the secondary county roads, but rarely beyond a couple of days. A front-wheel vehicle with good winter tires will be fine for getting into town and back.

But if you buy a place that has 1/4 mile of private road to your house, it may be a different story. Owning a 4WD pickup with a snowplow attachment will clear that road, and will get you into town, if driven carefully, in a blizzard, (I've done it more times than I can count.)

It really depends on your own needs. Subaru wagons are big out here because of their utility. They'll plow through snow that can stop a FWD sedan, and still run down the road quite well in good weather. They are also good on gas, safe, and durable, and the trade-value is very high out here.

A tractor may suit your needs better than a pickup. There is a excellent thread going right now on them.

So it all depends. Personally, I own an ancient 4WD Ranger and a much newer Cooper MINI, and the Cooper has gotten me everywhere I've wanted to go since I bought it. The most critical component in in 4 season driving here are your tires. A set of specialized winter tires are pretty much a must-have for me; while a set of 4 season tires may get you through, none I've ever had handle on ice like good winter tires, and it's the ice you will need to be most concerned about. Snow becomes ice on all roads once there's some traffic on all of them.

Everything after the tires all depends on how thrilling you want your winter driving to become. I once owned a GTO that could buck drifts with the best of them as long as it didn't get high centered. All it takes is one hard winter to learn how to drive here, and a 4WD can be might quick to get you into trouble if you don't know how to handle it. It's a lot easier to get anything to go in the winter than it is to stop it.

[Kelliekb]

Which of the south east cities have the small town "cute?"
Local owned shops, farmers markets , anything like that ? Still looking between Twin east towards Pocatello ....