Single life in Idaho Falls is different

IDAHO FALLS - Bobby Jeffers of Idaho Falls seemed at ease in the downtown Alive After Five crowd on a Wednesday as he meandered through hundreds of people listening to music and enjoying cold beer on a hot summer evening.

The 27-year-old Virginia native and Idaho National Laboratory employee, sporting a shag haircut and aviator sunglasses, trekked down to the weekly event to relax, grab a beer and mingle with other singles.

Jeffers said he is not necessarily looking for a potential date, but if he happens to get one, that makes the event even better.

"I'm never on a mission to get a date, that's just how I operate," he said.

Jeffers, who moved to Idaho Falls in 2007 after graduating from Virginia Tech, quickly found out that being a single man in Idaho Falls who's unaffiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is different from single life in other cities.

"It's always like a joke," he said. "It's like, 'You're single? Well, good luck.'"

Jeffers said he calculated his dating pool and figures there are about 50 eligible women who fit his criteria in the entire city. He doesn't deny that the numbers depressed him at first.

If he wanted to date, Jeffers realized there was no percentage in waiting for women to come to him. He began attending Alive After Five and other community gatherings and also ventured outside of the city limits to meet women.

His last serious girlfriend, whom he dated for eight months, resided in Victor.

Other local singles say the hardest part about dating is that Idaho Falls, outside of the bar scene, lacks venues where non-Mormon singles can meet.

"(The bar) is kind of the only thing to do. If there are other outlets, I don't know about them," said Rachel Cope, a 24-year-old single woman from Idaho Falls.

Cope, who goes out with friends to the Golden Crown Lounge every Wednesday, said local bars are occasionally good for socializing with friends, but are not always the greatest place to meet potential dates.

K.C. Thorn, 30, of Idaho Falls, who was at the Alive After Five, agrees that bars aren't the best places to seek romance, especially when it comes to finding someone he feels he could take home to meet his mother. He doesn't care whether a potential date enjoys a drink, but doesn't want her to be a "bar fly."

"I try not to go to the bar," he said. "No good girls go to the bar."

Luckily for Thorn, he met his current girlfriend at a cousin's wedding.

Local singles Courtney Harder, 21, Ali Lingley, 22, and Cole Shackett, 22, said that when it comes to socializing, they're all regulars at Alive After Five on Wednesdays, the Peppertree on Thursdays and the Shilo Inn on Saturdays.

But even with that, they wish Idaho Falls offered more community events or outdoor concerts geared toward young adults. They'd be excited if a dance club opened in the area to bring more of a "night life" to the city.

Jenny Brooks of Idaho Falls works as a barista at The Villa Coffeehouse in downtown Idaho Falls. She says a lot of social networking goes on before and after first dates or initial mingling.

Brooks, too, has met people during working hours and has ventured out on a few dates with a couple of men she has met at The Villa. But none has led to a relationship. She recalled one memorably wasted evening when she and her date spent the night silently wandering through a bookstore.

She wasn't too disappointed, though. Brooks' friends had noted that her interactions with her bookstore date were "strange."

She and her co-workers do have to fend off "creepers" at times, as some men will boldly ask them out on dates or leave unsolicited amorous notes on the tables. Villa's female employees keep a running list of "creepers" and their often bizarre behavior.

With few places to go, many singles rely on friends to make introductions or act as matchmakers.

Despite the difficulties of finding a mate, many singles in the area aren't worried. Singles in their 20s, in particular, tend to say they aren't consumed with the idea of finding a future spouse or soul mate. In a few years, however, they know their priorities could change.

"I probably won't be happy if I'm not in a serious relationship by the time I'm 30," Jeffers said.