Idaho Falls is a fantastic city in America, and as you might guess, it is in the state of Idaho. Idaho Falls is the biggest city (in terms of population and size) in eastern Idaho. Back ten years ago when the 2000 census was taken, the whole population of Idaho Falls was around 50,000. Another census that was taken in 2008 shows that the metro population was 123,000. That makes Idaho Falls the 3rd biggest metro area of land, in all of Idaho state.
Idaho has all kind of attractions and facilities to make the place a breeze to live in, as you might expect from a city with over 50,000 people. The city has its own airport (the Idaho Falls Regional Airport). Also, it is known commonly as the home of the Idaho Falls Chukars, which is a minor league baseball team. Idaho Falls is right on the border of Ammon in Idaho state – it’s also known as a hub for eastern Idaho.
You may be wondering about the history of the city. A timber bridge that was built on the Montana trail (across the Snake river), that the city was built around. This bridge is attributed to Matt Taylor, a Montana Trail freighter. The bridge served the flow of westward migration and travel. The bridge built also allowed farmers to move their cattle across to different regions. This same bridge is still standing and it’s the center of the city. The term ‘Idaho Falls’ for the city came about in the year 1891, because of the rapids in the Snake river around the city.
One noteworthy and disastrous event in the history of Idaho Falls was the opening of the National Reactor Testing Station in the desert west of the city. This occurred in 1949. In 1961 there was a major accident when a nuclear rod controller was removed, causing a nuclear meltdown. Three people died that day. But what’s interesting is that the Idaho National Laboratory is a huge economic powerhouse, which employs well over eight thousand people to this day.
Before the opening of the Reactor Testing Station, most occupants of Idaho Falls were farmers, or involved in the agriculture industry. Afterward, many people found work at the Idaho National Laboratory. There were several layoffs that occurred in 1993. Industry and local business in Idaho Falls is going well. In Idaho Falls you will find numerous entertainment centers, sports venues, restaurants, shops, clinics and much more.
There are many small and large businesses that work in Idaho Falls, and many of them do well enough to make ends meet. The rising population is enough to make many companies profitable. You will be able to locate dentists in Idaho Falls, lawyers in Idaho Falls and Idaho Falls accountants without too much trouble. There are also doctors, plumbers, carpenters, landscapers and every other major service that you can think of. Now as you may imagine, a lot of small ‘mom and pop’ businesses that work in Idaho Falls that manage to stay in business have been around for a while, and it is really difficult to make a profit when you first start.
Overall I would absolutely recommend visiting Idaho Falls. The community and people there are really friendly, and the city is still just small enough to keep it peaceful. You can go to Idaho Falls either on vacation, or to live there full time. Naturally, before buying a house there you’d better look at the real estate market and what’s been going on lately. Many properties in Idaho Falls are actually really cheap, and the median house price is something like $250,000 – so it is easily affordable to live there.