Escape From California To Mormon Country (Salt Lake City, Provo: condos, hotel, houses)

[fordvictory]

I currently live in a very liberal part of California, a state which is perhaps thee most liberal state in the union. I want to go 180 degrees in the opposite direction. My goal is to find an ultra conservative area with a strong religious presence. In my research I've discovered Utah as a bastion of highly concentrated Mormons.

I was originally considering Salt Lake City, but I guess like all cities SLC has gotten watered down with liberalism Moderator cut: rude . For this reason I've moved on to SLC's southern towns: American Fork, Orem, Provo, ect. I like these towns because they have a much higher Mormon % than SLC itself (90% vs 55%).

Statistically speaking, American Fork, Orem, Provo, ect, all seem to have a similar Mormon population %. Since this criteria can be met by any of them, I'd like to highlight my second criteria.

My second criteria is older stock houses pre (WWII) and more traditional walkable communities. Among these southern towns, do any come across as being more old fashion? Having older stock homes? Or do these places look pretty similar and just blend together?

[sp2007]

I have to ask, are you LDS or do you just like living near mormons? The content and manner in which you posted your question is a little disturbing.

[fordvictory]

Originally Posted by sp2007

I have to ask, are you LDS or do you just like living near mormons? The content and manner in which you posted your question is a little disturbing.

I'm not LDS, I'm an atheist. I just want to live near Mormons.

[nemmert]

Being that you're specifically trying to avoid the SLC area... you may want to post in the general Utah forum versus the SLC area specific forum...

In general terms, outside of the SLC valley, you're in low growth areas... low growth areas = older homes.

[skibarbie]

If you really want to move to a conservative area, you should also look into Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas...

[ChrisC]

In response to your question about homes:

Sadly, you won't really find many communities in Utah Valley that have predominately pre-WWII-built housing. There are pockets of small, reasonably-sized pre-WWII homes in certain areas, though. You could look at the southeast/east side of Provo. I'm not sure where you are coming from as far as why you like these older homes, but I far prefer them as well. My motivation is that they were sized reasonably and designed, for the most part, very space efficiently. I find most of modern home architecture ludicrous because of the excessive size and wasteful space design--money pit McMansions. This being the case, I'm always on the lookout for small homes from the past (just because I like the designs so much). They are sprinkled around the valley, but you'll find that, unfortunately, they're being swallowed up by giant eyesore hotel-sized homes and condos. As I said, try east/southeast Provo. Also, some neighborhoods of northwest Orem have quite a few.

If you really want to go to a small town that retains most of the homes built in the 40's and has very few newer homes, you could try East Carbon. Lot's of small homes built when they knew how to build them reasonably. I love that town, but it's very, very small. Not much in the way of infrastructure (it was essentially a company town, and the coal mines closed down quite a few years back). Still, about 1200 or so people there. Nice little place. Also, you could try Price or Helper.

As far as conservative, I'm not so sure you'll find what you are looking for here. SLC, Ogden, Provo/Orem have all been very heavily populated within the past 20 years or so from much more liberal areas. We're talking over 500% growth in the town I'm living in. There IS a "legacy culture" here that is conservative. But it's just that. It's no longer the dominate culture, per se. Now, if you go away from the Wasatch front to smaller Utah towns, yes, there is still a predominant conservative vibe.

Personally, I don't really care one way or the other, but I don't like over-regulation, compulsory measures, and others minding my business more than I do. I don't like being forced under the "umbrella." That tends to be a liberal thing. Also, I don't like big metro areas. I'm moving away from Utah (hopefully in the not too distant future) and to North Dakota. I've been told by many, many people who either live or have lived there that the social atmosphere is one of largely friendly, but reserved folks who tend to mind their own affairs and not everyone else's. I'm sure it varies by region, but the progressive collective thing hasn't made it there yet in significant numbers. I'm hoping the cold winters will keep them away until after I kick the bucket.

At any rate, I'd be cautious about what you expect to find in Utah. You might have an unpleasant surprise. Then again, maybe not. You might find just what you're looking for. Never know 'til you try...

[UtahRoots]

You haven't mentioned your employment requirements which would definitely have bearing on the decision about places to consider. As a liberal pinko myself, I am trying to think of places in Utah that you couldn't pay me enough to live in. I figure those would be places you'd like La Verkin comes to mind. A few years ago they discussed seceding from the United States, and they actually passed a city ordinance banning the United Nations from conducting work within La Verkin city limits. But it's a tiny tiny town without much employment available. Another possibility would be Virgin, Utah. Citizens of Virgin are required to own firearms. But again, it's a little bitty town with not much employment opportunity. There's also Washington City, which officially demanded the repeal of the 17th Amendment. You would probably be comfortable in St. George, which is very conservative but also has some older homes and is much larger than La Verkin, Washington City, or Virgin so it would have more employment opportunities. I don't think I'd go to Carbon County though. They actually have a pretty high percentage of union folks. And you should avoid Summit County as well. It's probably the only county in Utah (except maybe Carbon County) that routinely votes Democrat. All in all, the farther south you go from Salt Lake City, as long as you avoid Carbon County, the more politically conservative the towns will be. We spend so much time on this forum trying to convince people that Utah isn't Stepford, that it's kind of refreshing to be responding to somebody who wants us to help them find the most conservative possible place in the state. I hope you find some place that meets your needs.

[UtahRoots]

You might be tempted to look at Cedar City since it's in southern Utah, but it's a university town and has a big arts/theater community relative to its size so it's probably not one of the more conservative towns. But it does have some nice older homes, so it might work for you. Rockville, just outside of Zion National Park has really wonderful pre-war homes but I have no idea how conservative it is politically. On the other hand, just about any place in Utah is a whole bunch more conservative than southern California.

[fordvictory]

Thanks for the advice.

Originally Posted by skibarbie

If you really want to move to a conservative area, you should also look into Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas...

Yes but do these places have a large religious presence? And by religious presence I mean a religion that actually enforces it's rules on members. I don't think so. To be honest I don't know of any other region in the entire country that has such a high concentration of members belonging to a forceful denomination. Without a critical mass like Mormons have, religion is useless for effecting local or regional customs.

Originally Posted by UtahRoots

You haven't mentioned your employment requirements which would definitely have bearing on the decision about places to consider.

I work in a low paying job. I'm not pegged to any particular industry.

Originally Posted by UtahRoots

On the other hand, just about any place in Utah is a whole bunch more conservative than southern California.

Yes anywhere in Utah will beat California flat out.

Originally Posted by UtahRoots

We spend so much time on this forum trying to convince people that Utah isn't Stepford, that it's kind of refreshing to be responding to somebody who wants us to help them find the most conservative possible place in the state.

I can't understand why anyone with a liberal bent would wanna go to Utah? They should come to California and sing kumbaya.

[UtahRoots]

Well, if six billion people hadn't beaten me to San Diego, I might have moved. But I was born in Utah, all my family is here, and there's always hope that I can live long enough to see Utah tip into the moderate zone. Oh, and I can't sing. So Kumbaya is out. All kidding aside, there's a place for everybody in Utah. You just gotta know where to look.