Sandy, Draper or West/South Jordan? (West Jordan, Taylorsville: apartments, for rent, house)

[mom5]

Which area is preferable between West or South Jordan, Sandy or Draper for good schools, non-lds church close and quality of living (safe, family oriented, shopping)? Any thoughts would be great.

Has anyone heard of South Mountain church???? Any thoughts?

Thanks!!!

[Moving2UtahfromNJ]

hello there! I live in Sandy and I love it. I am from NJ and my husband and I are renting to house for the time being. WE love Sandy!! I started to look at homes to purchase and Sandy is our first choice. Sandy, Draper and Cottonwood Heights are the three we will live in. We want to stay on the East Side. Preference of course. The views are awesome on the East side and close to skiing. That's our reason for staying in this area. I also hear the schools are better over here. Now remember that's what I've heard. I dont know if that is true or not. Well luck with your search.

[Calmeg29]

What's important to you for qualities of schools?

West Jordan: Schools are "ok." ONLY rate 3 out of 10 on National Testing scores- Ouch. (greatschools.net) School district will probably be splitting within next couple of years. ALmost did recently, but didn't include people who lived in entire district when vote to split was passed in a recent election (oops!)

All testing at Jordan High was substandard, even to other Utah schools (Math, Science and Language ARts). Was the reason we did not go there.

South Jordan: South Jordans schools are exceptional- elementary schools are all really good.
SOuth Jordan Middle School, is number 1 Middle School is Utah- exceptional teaching with great prep for high school. Bingham High School in South Jordan is excellent, 5A school, 5 Star parent rating. ALso 6/10 Nationally for test scores, although wasnt reported last 2 years. I understand if they were, would be about 8/10 Nationally.

Sandy has a lot of apartments, but Alta High School isn't bad. Just a lot of turnover there for some reason. Also rates a 6/10 on National testing level compared to other schools in the nation, at the Great Schools site. IF you have special education needs- Alta's Special Ed program is awesome. Most of elementary schools are good. Middle school is pretty good. You actually can live in Sandy and go to SOuth Jordan Schools- depends on where cut off is in relation to your home. Sandy is closest to Freeway. Parent rate 4.5 stars.

Draper is a nice little city- really away from it all on the commute though, if you are in Salt Lake a lot, or work that way. A LOT of private schools- SUmmit Academy is a Charter High School- and it is excellent (9/10 Nationally for testing). HIgh school is good- smaller community. Elementary schools are good- again, lots of private schools there. It's also in Jordan School district.

As for shopping- there is more shopping than you will be able to do, all over the place. Theres three malls in the South Jordan/Sandy area alone! Strip malls everywhere too. Everywhere is familiy oriented, because all you see are huge families and LOTS of kids

Churches- well, expect about a 300:1 ratio of LDS to others. I know there are at least 2 Catholic curches, 1 Presbyterian, 1 baptist, and 1 Christian CHurch in the area. Not huge churches though- we are the minority

With that said, South Mountain is GREAT. It's also the only church around here that is Christian, basically more non-denominational. THey have the main campus in Draper, and a satellite camus here at Daybreak. They were the only ones in the area to have a Chirstmas Eve service!! Wonderful people, indeed.


Hope that helps!

[Wojo-jojo]

Where are all the apartments for rent in Sandy and cottonwood heights? I have been searching on craigslist but all they have is SLC mostly. Where should I look?

[Calmeg29]

Try www.rent.com

I think they have ALpine Meadowsn, and Legends in Sandy that are not bad, can't specifically recall though.

[kwm03160]

Most of the schools in South Jordan are on moratorium right now. That means, unless you live in the school boundaries, you can't attend it (they won't accept students outside the school boundaries). The schools are overcrowded, but excellent.

[nicoolio777]

I live in Draper and I love it. It has more of a community feel that some of the other "suburbs" of Salt Lake. We moved here from Phoenix so the commute is nothing to us. The longest it has ever taken us to get into the city is 30 minutes and that was just a couple of times. The Summit Academy is a GREAT school but it's hard to get into. They are on a lottery system so it's just the luck of the draw whether or not you get in. Channing Hall is also great. I live down in the vally part of Draper and I love being right next to Draper Park and the library. Up on the mountain is pretty too, the lots just aren't as big and flat. There are always families and kids at the park. There is a whole week in July called Draper Days and that is a lot of fun (carnivals, fire works, 10K's, rodeos, etc.). The people are nice no matter what your religion is - at least that has been my experience. I hope that helps!

[Calmeg29]

The post about not being able to go to South Jordan Schools is NOT correct. I now live in West Jordan, my kids attend schools in South Jordan. Several of their teammates live in Sandy, even out on Taylorsville and Murray. You have to put a voucher in by February 1st of every year. You get accepted- no one that I know of gets denied, and your kids can attend the schools. My middle school child goes to South Jordan Middle School- which is the number 1 middle school academically in Utah. She has a 4.0 GPA there- the teachers are excellent. My High School child goes to Bingham High School- if you are at all looking for a school that is good academically and top of the stack in athletics, Bingham is the best choice. I researched schools like a pro- and this was by far the best choice for the kids. Vouchers are easy and kids going there's a cinch

[Mtn. States Resident]

Originally Posted by Calmeg29

The post about not being able to go to South Jordan Schools is NOT correct. I now live in West Jordan, my kids attend schools in South Jordan. Several of their teammates live in Sandy, even out on Taylorsville and Murray. You have to put a voucher in by February 1st of every year. You get accepted- no one that I know of gets denied, and your kids can attend the schools. My middle school child goes to South Jordan Middle School- which is the number 1 middle school academically in Utah. She has a 4.0 GPA there- the teachers are excellent. My High School child goes to Bingham High School- if you are at all looking for a school that is good academically and top of the stack in athletics, Bingham is the best choice. I researched schools like a pro- and this was by far the best choice for the kids. Vouchers are easy and kids going there's a cinch

I agree with this post. Vouchers have to be obtained early, but it is possible to have kids attend different schools.

I also vote for Bingham High as currently the best in the Jordan School District.

An earlier comment puzzled me when talking about special needs children. Hopefully, other schools and other districts have improved (it wouldn't take much for some to say they had improved). Jordan District has been known for more than a decade as the go to district for programs, professionals in the school systems etc. for kids with disabilities.

I'm hoping the comment about Alta's special ed is correct. It gives parents/students more options.

Mom5, you ask good questions and have gotten good answers IMHO. How about the budget for a house? That can greatly influence where people call home these days!

Good luck finding what is the right fit for you and your family.

MSR

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

OLD thread.