Are you thinking of moving to Pocatello or Chubbuck Idaho? Get a new job with the FBI or one of the other companies? Do you want to know what it’s like? Here is a brief synopsis. If you want to discuss this, head on over to facebook and join the group, ‘New To Pocatello’.
These are my observations in the 6 weeks I’ve been here:
There is a difference between moving here for a job and just moving here. I just moved here.
I miss being able to call a plumber, an electrician, a tile guy that glues vinyl flooring down, ANYONE that wants to work. I miss a pest control guy that charges a reasonable $36 for spraying the outside AND inside.
Here they charge $89 and up and only spray the outside.
Because there are so many houses going up, there is no one that wants to work on the small jobs homeowners/renters have. At least that’s how someone put it.
If you are handy, you can do a lot your self, if not, you are at the mercy of someone who doesn’t want to work/doesn’t want the job.
People move here from everywhere else, mostly cities that are larger than here. They EXPECT professionalism and professionals to do the jobs they are hired for. There isn’t much of that in Pocatello/Chubbuck.
EVERYONE has at least one dog. Most have 3. They do not control the barking. Some people have cats and let them roam your yard, so YOUR dog goes nuts.
A nice house is hard to find in a decent price range. That’s if you’re coming from somewhere that is not the affluent areas of D.C., or California, etc. They are building houses like crazy and people are buying before the house is finished or landscaped. In the $350K range. MANY houses have basements that are not finished.
The caveat on the basement is: If it has even one small corner that is not finished, you won’t be taxed on it. However many of the houses built in 2012 are completely unfinished.
Many houses are right next to the railroad. There is one railroad engineer that must feel it’s his duty to blow the whistle for LONG periods of time around 4 a.m.
There is snow here. It gets to -25 some days I’m told. The growing zone is 6A and 6B. Right now it’s Oct 13, 2018 and it’s cold. I’m from Phoenix, Arizona, this is cold at 45F.
Probably the two single biggest problems here are that every ‘professional’ says, ‘I’m so busy, I’m so busy’, and they never get your job done. EVEN if they say, as one did to me, “I won’t let you down”.
The other is the lack of decent houses. People put their homes for sale and do not paint a neutral color. You will see walls that are bright green, red, purple, black. They want to sell their home but don’t clean it up even for photos. I’ve never seen such behavior in my life.
Lilacs. They are everywhere in spring. Gorgeous, aromatic. Spring flowers everywhere. Great fishing I’m told. Great hunting. Lots of trees and water. But you pay for water here. Which is just so odd to me. We paid in Az, but that’s a State that isn’t overflowing with rivers of water.
Veterans Affairs in South East Idaho. There is a small clinic that basically does nothing. For anything, you have to drive the 2.75 hours to the VA hospital in Salt Lake City. They have no podiatry, no optometrist even. That’s not even not an eye DOCTOR, that’s an optometrist. Yep, I have a cataract presently in my left eye, thru which I can see nothing.
The VA in their wisdom think it’s best to send a half blind Vet on a 3 hr drive to get her eyes checked. EVEN though I have just had it done in Costco out of my own pocket in July. Yep. No matter what it is you need, other than drawing blood, you will have to drive to SLC. It ticks me off.
BUT! I discovered after the fact, that they will put you in lodging either the night before or the night after your appt so you don’t have to drive so far in one day. NO ONE at the local #PocatelloVA clinic told me that when I complained about having to drive so far. [you know I was ticked off huh?] More to come on the group. The group is pretty new, hope this link works. But you have the name of it, New To Pocatello .