Forced relocation to Pocatello? (Boise, Idaho Falls: crime, daycares, how much)

[azjulieann]

My employer is closing our offices in Phoenix. I have a choice of moving to Pocatello, Boise or Des Moines. Pocatello is a littler closer to our family but not much… Can anyone give me information on the Pocatello area? What is the town like? What are the good areas to live in? Where are the good schools? How much does daycare cost for a 2 year old? We are non-LDS, is there a lot of discrimination? Is Boise a better choice?

[cleosmom]

I can't help you with daycare costs, my kids all have four legs However moving to Pocatello or Boise would be about the same as far as the mix of people go, Pocatello has a college so there's a good blend of folks there and with the size Boise is becoming it's got a blend as well.

Your preference might be more towards weather, Boise will be warmer in both winter and summer, okay not a heatwave in winter, but they get less snow.

[djstorey]

I can't help much with the schools or daycare either but I can say that Pocatello is a nice, safe area. You could check out the yellow pages online and call some daycares to get cost info. For schools, there are a few web pages that will give you some info if no one here knows the answers. There is a link on realtor. com that lets you compare things like schools, crime etc... Maybe that will help you.

As far as the LDS influence, with the college in town, you have a better mix of people so you should not really notice much discrimination. Even here in Idaho Falls where I live, it's not really that bad. Most of the people are nice enough. My 2 kids in school have not really had any problem at all other than running into things like dances and boy scout stuff they hold at one of the LDS churches. Even though it's an LDS event, all kids are allowed to go and I let mine do it.

Like cleosmom said though, the weather is warmer in Boise and it's a larger city. I guess it would depend on what you prefer on those points.

Good luck!

[Pineboy]

Pocatello is a nice town in a nice area and is finally starting to grow and has some ammenities that Idaho Falls has and Boise has.
You can't really compare Pocatello or Idaho Falls to Boise partly because Boise is 4 times larger and then of course Boise has the metro of nearly 600,000 people. Boise is like a whole different world than Pocatello or I.F. in many aspects. The weather is milder than SE Idaho and there is a larger more diverse population. Boise has big city shopping, restaurants and a great vibrant downtown full of stuff to do and the city is VERY family oriented with huge parks (I mean huge). Downtown is growing very fast and several new highrise buildings are being built or are in the plans. The religious influence is much more diverse in Boise because of the population. THe LDS influence here is not as large as in Pocatello, but all religions get a long with each other in Boise. I think I read once that the largest religion in Boise proper is Roman Catholic.
I grew up in SE Idaho so I think the area is great, but Boise is a better fit for me. And the outdoor scene in Boise cannot be beat. But like I said Poky is a nice place also that is finally starting to "update" and grow.
It is the butt of Idaho city jokes though...

[my3arabs]

JMHO, Pocatello is better for the kids. Boise has been having some problems with murders and drive by shootings lately. Pocatello is colder though and there is more to do in Boise. Do a search on Google for city infor on both and you will find all the info that you need.

[vintage]

Pocatello is one of the many armpits of Idaho. Best visit for a week before moving there.

[sharkey]

Hello Azjulieann,

What did you decide and who are you? I'm going to Boise though I didn't know about those **** Hobo spiders 'till I found this site.

[sharkey]

Uh-oh, maye ID is too conservative after all, this site just edited out D.A.M.N.

[frybergerfamily]

we have been researching in Pocatello as well. Here is a very informative website that you can compare schools and get statistics on. It is
www.GreatSchools.net: (broken link))

[my3arabs]

Oh yes, ID is very conservative! The best thing is when my youngest son hurts himself and he says d.a.m.n. I have never made a big deal of it but the ppl here go nuts! I am strange in that I don't believe in "swear" words.

Anyway, don't worry about the Hobos. They aren't that big of a deal. We have them here in Castleford just like Boise has them but a lil worse cuz we are in the country. Just have the outside of your place sprayed during the spring and summer and you will be fine. Just watch out for the big ones cuz the will chase you , Not kidding on that one either!