pocatello

a town of approx. 51466 (2000 census) located in south eastern idaho. home to idaho state university (founded 1901).
originally the fort hall trading post, which became the railroad community of pocatello. it hosts several historic builds and hotels, which were used as housing for women of “questionable” character. often times these women entertained the conductors of the railroad.
pocatello is dominated by the lds faith and most things are closed on sundays. each year they have a parade called “pioneer days” to celebrate their crossing to salt lake- they block most of the roads. on the same token poctello houses six coffee shops.
a lot of people do meth in some form or another in pocatello. it has become a big problem.
there is nothing to do besides go to the roller skating place, the drive-in (only in the summer) and drink large amounts of alcohol.
people were excited when a movie theater was built with 10 theaters and then lowes built a store next door and the community exploded in happiness. but it was almost -rg-smic when bed, bath and beyond popped in and the word on the street is “olive garden…”
pocatello can be a great place if you don’t expect too much.
person 1: “if more liberals moved to pocatello we might actually have traffic on sundays.”
conservative f-ck: “die heathen!”
a thriving mormon community in southeast idaho, home to idaho state university, a variety of crazy meth addicts, rich mormons, lots of indians, and hip young college kids. despite how it may look from the outside, pocatello houses a growing hipster counter culture. from the ones who hang out at local coffee shops and cruise pocatello’s countless thrift stores (notably the youth ranch and the di), to the ones who hop off at the train station and camp in the area during the summer, pocatello’s got all the witty artistic cl-ssiness you need. most of these individuals are working on some sort of music or art degree at isu while paying cheap rent for a trashy apartment and working a job that sounds cool but actually sucks. hipsters like living in pocatello because of the ironic clash that their growing presence has against the prominent lds community. pocatello has six coffee places, mostly locally owned, which is pretty cool. the only thing that sucks about them is that the only reason they’re still open is because the hipster kids of pocatello like to hang out in cool places no one has heard of. if you’re deemed “cool” enough, you will be welcomed to the nightly college parties that occur over the summer, or perhaps asked on a date to an artsy community event. all the coolest people like to go to the small shows around town–from local acoustic music to even cooler sounding new music from portland, most of which you wouldn’t have heard of.
1.
me: so you’re from pocatello. do you go to isu?

hipster girl: yes, i’m a photojournalism major. i used to be an arts major but i changed my mind. i shoot photos for my friend’s undiscovered acting agency in boise.

me: wow that’s super cool that you choose cool irregular paths of life. it really illuminates the ironic contrast of what kids our age normally do after high school.

2.
boss: so are you a member?
me: a member? …of what?
boss: (scoff) the church!?!
me: …

3.
me: so you’re a member, right?
hot mormon girl: yeah of course! you?
me: um, not really…the missionaries invited me though.
hot mormon girl: it was nice meeting you.
a mountainous desert region in southern idaho. you’re either mormon or an avid drinker and drug user. pocatello is nice in the spring but is known for having no fall and goes from freezing ice covered h-ll to blistering dry summer. pocatello is a railroad city and there are tons of them all over the place. the city is bridged into two sides. old town and the modern city where idaho state university is. the politicians are stupid and republican. all they care about are doing construction on roads so in the summer and winter there is horrible construction on the freeway.there is nothing to do in pocatello. you hike around and do outdoor stuff in the summer. when winter hits you either ski and snowboard or you never ever go outside. people in pocatello are used to nature so they don’t cream their pants when they see it. the deer run around during all seasons on the icy roads trying to make you die. if you live here you probably know 5 people that have hit one. during the summer it takes 15 minutes to go out into the mountains and see moose and all sorts of majestic sh-t. most people that live here hate it, but because there is little real crime its a peaceful town. you can walk down streets at night without fear of being robbed or shot. there are no blacks in idaho but a lot of mexicans and indians. pocatello was named after “chief pocatello” from a indian that died for some n-ble cause after the whites killed and enslaved his people so the mormons named their city after him.
hey lets go to the woods and get really baked and then come back and play video games because there is nothing to do in pocatello.
pocatello: karmic debt center, pacific northwest region
ask anyone why they are there. the lists are long and full of bizare such as, “my girlfriends and i were getting drunk and were joking on where to move. so we pulled out a map and darts , and where did the dart land? pocatello.” the ‘rubber band effect’ is also a problem there as well. you can live there for as less as 6 months, leave for twenty years and return for no reason at all. yes, its true that a large portion of the town, 50,000 ppl., rolls up its sidewalks on sunday but there are worst places. try bonners ferry, id. for instance. at least there is more than two gas stations and one resturant open on sunday. if you don’t mind being poor comfortably, move to pocatello. just try and score a job before you come, ok? good luck, and good hunting!