Moving to Idaho Falls/Blackfoot/Pocatello area (Boise, Rexburg: lease, low crime)

[arkah01]

Hi, I may be moving to the Idaho Falls/Blackfoot/Pocatello area from Michigan. I have been living here after moving from Minnesota for about a year. Due to not being able to find a job and whatnot I might be moving out to Idaho to be closer to family and have an overall better lifestyle. I have a few questions that I'd appreciate answers for:

1. Are there a lot of jobs out there?

2. My girlfriend is disabled (she has spina bifida). Anyone know if there are any good hospitals out there that would be familiar with her condition so she gets the quality treatment/surgeries she needs?

3. Are there good colleges in the area that are wheelchair accessible?

Those are the major questions right now. Thank you for your responses in advance.

[mejaka]

Can't help much with the first two--I've been away for five years and don't know the economy any more and no experience with the kind of disability you and your girlfriend are working with. Pocatello tends to be a somewhat depressed economy with cycles; whether you can find work there depends a lot on what you do. There are two hospitals in Pocatello, Pocatello Regional Medical Center and Bannock Regional Medical Center. I prefer the first--cleaner, newer, generally better in my experience.

The third, though--colleges--that I can help with. Pocatello is the home of Idaho State University, a reasonably decent state university that is fully accessible. No far from Idaho Falls, in Rexburg, is BYU-Idaho, a very good university with excellent accessibility--it is open to anyone willing to follow university codes of conduct, but it's run by the LDS church.

Job picture is probably better in Idaho Falls than in Blackfoot or Pocatello, despite them all being quite close. IF is a pretty community on the river; Pocatello has a blue-collar base as well as the college and is geographically inhibited where growth is concerned; Blackfoot has some nice areas and is a smaller community out in the desert (though it's probably grown quite a bit since I moved from Pocatello five years ago).

[ifid]

idaho falls is the best of the three . it has alot of jobs and alot of stores. it also. it has eastern idaho regional medical center- the best hospital in eastern idaho.

[cleosmom]

Originally Posted by ifid

idaho falls is the best of the three . it has alot of jobs and alot of stores. it also. it has eastern idaho regional medical center- the best hospital in eastern idaho.

Best hospital? Good perhaps, best, nope.

[abnelson]

You say you want a better lifestyle?
Rexburg is a really great, clean, low crime area, University town. BYU-I is handicapped accessible, and I think the professors here take a sincere interest in their students. I don't think the job market is very open here though, probably better in Idaho Falls - about 30 minutes away. And EIRMC (Eastern Idaho Medical Center) in Idaho Falls is a wonderful Hospital with many specialized clinics surrounding it. It also houses Air Idaho life flight helicoptors. In Rexburg we have a nice hospital, Madison Memorial Hospital which is expanding and has a heliopad. We are a very family-oriented and kid-conscious community, with a high percent of LDS (Mormon) families. If you are concerned with rumors about being wary of LDS communities, take it with a grain of salt (or 2 aspirins and call me in the morning) and I will assure you we are mostly good, friendly people. There are always a few hard-nosed who may give the rest of us a bad name but judge us for yourself. Good Luck!

[emilysart]

Idaho Falls is BY FAR the best. I am a paraplegic and went to school at BYU Idaho. It was good for accessibility. I then moved to Idaho Falls with my husband and we built a fully accessible home that we are selling right now. We have moved to Michigan. If you are looking for accessible housing it can't be beat. Contact Sheldon Dance with REMax if you are interested.

[Hammatime]

Pocatello is growing rapidly. A new high tech company is opening here (Hoku Scientific...public on the NASDAQ) with several offshoot high tech companies following. Idaho State is a Division 1A college. Around 12k students, and there is a new High Tech Medical campus going in for the Portneuf Valley Medical Center. Pocatello seems like the place to be for Southeast Idaho at the moment. Between Pocatello and Chubbuck (neigboring suburb), there is around 70k people.

[rigbymomof3]

Rexburg is the place for you. It has BYU Idaho and a wonderful Hospital. We live in Rigby (15 min south) and love it. Good Luck!

[Mtn. States Resident]

arkah,

You haven't responded for a while so I'm not sure if you are still interested or not.

I'd strongly recommend Idaho Falls for many reasons. First, medically, Idaho Falls has a fully staffed Level II Trauma Center. While verified as a Level III Trauma Center, the only in the state of ID, it functions as a Level II as it will be obtaining Level II Certification in the near future. The neurosurgeons do cranial as well as spinal neurosurgery. As you know, with shunt revisions etc. it's important to be close to those who do those procedures.

The neurosurgeons in Pocatello decided to have more of a "restricted practice." They no longer do trauma work and only spine. Obviously, since S.B. affects more than a person's Spine, your g/f needs to live closer to a neurosurgeon who does emergency procedures and cranial surgeries too.

Additionally, Idaho Falls has two fellowship-trained spine surgeons and 3 f/t neurologists plus a couple of others who consult. If your g/f is utilizing a physiatrist, there are wonderful services available in Idaho Falls, both in physicians and other mid level practitioners. EIRMC has a floor dedicated to rehab.

The economy is brisk in Idaho Falls, especially if you have skills. I know one major electrical contractor is quite concerned about the number of electricians they will loose, just due to retirement, as their demand is higher than ever (as a company) and the owner can't hire enough electricians. What skills would you be adding to a community to know if there are good matches for you?

Also, INL is one of about 15 U.S. Labs. It offers a variety of jobs, as do the small businesses that support INL's mission. Within a year, INL will hear if they have landed any of the 3 portions of GNEP. Total job growth, for all 3 sections of GNEP, is 32,000 new jobs, after the facilities are built. To even get one segment, most likely 4-5K new employees will be needed (at the minimium).

Hoku did locate in Pocatello, after Pocatello purchased extra property and leased it to the company for $1, for 99 years. Personally, I've heard a lot of spin about Hoku and now other companies looking at Pocatello, but very little action. However, it is a positive development for Pocatello.

And the previous comment about the Pocatello Hospitals, while I'm positive was made in good faith, isn't accurate at this point. The two hospitals merged into one hospital about 2.5 years ago. Let's just say an ambitious CEO went ahead with new construction plans of the new medicial facilities. But, there is one small problem, it is a county owned facility and the voters were never consulted let alone allowed to vote on what they wanted. That is not legal in Idaho. So currently, Bannock County has spent $50 million dollars starting to build a hospital, but has been ordered to halt.

Consequently, Portneuf Medical Center is in the middle of turmoil now. It's well known in the Snake River valley how many physicians and nursing staff have left (by the dozens) and how miserable other employees are. Portneuf is considering different options right now of how to fund their hospital.

I'll also say there are varying opinions about Idaho State University's "quality." With the main campus in Pocatello, there is a large satellite campus at University Place in Idaho Falls. Tuition raises every quarter. The state of Idaho doesn't support ISU much, as it didn't win a Bowl Game in post season play like Boise State University.

If you are familiar with BYU-Idaho in Rexburg, I believe it will give a better quality of education. But, please review the guidelines for admission to familiarize yourself with some enrollment requirements, from this privately owned university. Not being a state University, BYU-I, can have a different dress code and other requirements for those who attend school at BYU-I. One does NOT have to be a Mormon to take classes from BYU-I, but you do have to be willing to abide by all requirements for entry.

Rexburg is about a 25 mile commute from Idaho Falls or 15 minutes from Rigby. With your g/f's established spina bifida, I wouldn't live in Rexburg. Rigby is as far north as I'd go as you need quicker access to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center, in Idaho Falls. And despite Air Idaho being a superb helicopter for medical rescue, why loose the time in a facility that can't do anything to help your g/f until the chopper arrives? She would have to get her routine f/u in Idaho Falls anyway, based on where the specialists are for S.B..

Many who have moved from larger populations prefer the ~75K residents in Idaho Falls/Ammon/Iona/Ucon and commute to Rexburg. Also, for practical things such as shopping, Grand Teton Mall is Idaho Falls and is the largest area mall. It is handicapped accessible and handicapped accessible.

Idaho is "getting there" as far as disabilities are concerned. It's not quite as advanced as some southern states making everything handicapped accessible. But, it's far more sophisticated and disabled friendly than what I've seen in Colorado. By the teachings of both the Catholic church, which has a significant population in eastern ID, and the LDS Church (Mormons), both emphasize accepting all people and helping where and how they can, acceptance of a person with a disability isn't that big a deal.

Nonetheless, my own experience has been you have to tell some people what you need, rather than assume they will just understand. That isn't to say the general populace, regardless of religion isn't willing to help others. Most neighbors always check on their neighbors after bad storms etc. Eastern ID has some really good people living in every county.

If you are still headed out to ID, have a safe journey and good luck with all your new experiences.

[Richabo]

Just read your comments on moving to Idaho Falls. I am going to be retiring in about 18 months and we are searching for a good place to live. Idaho has come up on our radar and we are looking into areas there. First we looked at Couer D'Alene area as it looked quite nice and was close to Spokane. But just found this info on Idaho Falls and was curious how it was as a retirement area. So I guess my question is - how do these 2 cities stack up as a good retirement place to live.

Thanks
Bob in AZ