questions about utah??? (Salt Lake City, St. George, Logan: sales, rental, house prices)

[tone1958]

Hi,

I am Tony, I reside in Rome, Ny and am considering relocating to utah. I am looking in the Hurricane area, I would like to know what taxes are like, what rent averages, ect if you can help me out, It would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Tony

[Elder_Shawn]

I used to live in Upstate NY a few years back. The weather in Hurricane is drastically different so prepare to dry out a little. You will for sure enjoy all the extra sunshine and no humidity. I don't know much about the taxes or rental properties down there sorry.

[emptynester]

Here's a link to the local newspaper. It might help a little on rental information. Sorry, I can't help with tax info.

http://www.thespectrum.com/apps/pbcs.dll/frontpage

[catburt]

sorry to say, but Hurricane is so ugly! Very dry and desolate. If you want greener scenery the Logan area is nice, but to each his own.

[coolcats]

Originally Posted by catburt

sorry to say, but Hurricane is so ugly! Very dry and desolate. If you want greener scenery the Logan area is nice, but to each his own.

Depends what you want. Logan is pretty with more greenery and cold winters. Hurricane is pretty with red rocks and mild winters. I was amazed to know that palm trees grow in Utah the first time I went down there.

Utah's pretty diverse, but the whole state is dry -- some places more than others. I actually prefer evergreen tree-covered mountains like those in Washington State, but Utah's mountains are still very pretty in their own right.

[frogamigo]

Originally Posted by coolcats

Utah's pretty diverse, but the whole state is dry -- some places more than others. I actually prefer evergreen tree-covered mountains like those in Washington State, but Utah's mountains are still very pretty in their own right.

*nods in agreement* Pretty in their own right, but quite dry (relatively speaking), even the mountains. Canyon maple is still Utah's best-kept secret.

I thought I knew what trees looked like. Then I went past the Cascades. My God. Those are trees!

- Chris

[coolcats]

Originally Posted by frogamigo

*nods in agreement* Pretty in their own right, but quite dry (relatively speaking), even the mountains. Canyon maple is still Utah's best-kept secret.

I thought I knew what trees looked like. Then I went past the Cascades. My God. Those are trees!

- Chris

Yeah -- my grandparents bought about 5 acres in the Cascades back in about 1980 for retirement. Full of tall pine trees with a runoff-fed salmon stream running through the property with mountain scenery unmatched even in Utah.

I have so many good memories of spending summers there. Unfortunately it might fall out of the family's hand when my grandmother passes on. My uncle owns half of the property, and he needs to pull out of it for his retirement. No one else has the money to buy his half because the land value is now astronomical. It'd be a shame, because you just don't find places like that any more.

[CA Transplant]

Did you get an answer about taxes? My taxes for the year are about $850 in Hurricane. This house is 7 yrs old, in Sky Mountain Golf Estates and just over 1500 sq ft. Catburt is right, it IS ugly here. Go north for greener pastures.

[txhensel]

Hi Tony, I too grew up in Rome, NY. I live in Kaysville, Utah now, which is about 30 minutes north of Salt Lake City. Utah has a ton to offer, especially when compared to upstate NY. The outdoor recreation is tops. Here the skiing, boarding, boating, hiking, mountain or road biking, off-road jeeping, etc., etc., are all just awesome, and I take advantage of them all. The scenery is much different!! It is very mountainous and rocky here and not at all like the green rolling "hills" you're used to -and you won't get the colors that go along with your seasonal changes. There just aren't a lot of trees. But the mountains and scenery, especially down south, are incredible. It is VERY dry here as opposed to your humidity, and the seasons are mild compared to Rome.

I think the biggest difference here is the "air of restriction" that resides over the land. (I'll leave that up to you to figure out.) But with that said, the people are friendly, and very family oriented. I lived here for ten years throughout the '90s and after five years in Southern California, decided to make the move back.. gave up the beach for the mountains, so I like it that much.

I'm not very familiar with Hurricane, which resembles a desert, though I did play in a gulf tournament there once and the backdrop of red rock cliffs was breathtaking. I've also done a lot of hiking in St. George, just southwest of Hurricane. It is a beautiful area as well. It's much warmer down in Southern Utah than it is up here near SLC, and in the summer the temps mimic Vegas, meaning 100 degrees plus. That area has had a lot of growth over the last three years, and I suspect the house prices are indicative of that.

Taxes, at least up here in Kaysville, are very low in comparison to anywhere in New York. I think sales tax is somewhere around 6.5%, and looking at an old tax bill, my home at the time was valued at $280,000 and the taxes for that year were $$1,562. I think that's about what you would pay for a $40,000 house in Rome. An average two bedroom rental would run $700/month and up... a two bedroom house, maybe $900 to $1,500, which is about twice what you'd pay in Rome. The wages are higher here though, and the standard of living is definitely higher. Our economy is on the rise, while Rome is stagnant, at best.

All said, I love Utah, having lived for ten years in Miami and five in San Clemente, CA; other than my time in NY, I call Utah home. It's a great place to live and thrive, and definitely a huge step up from Rome. -Hope this helps Tony, and good luck to you.

[alicenevada]

I am considering relocating to Utah/Arizaona/Nevada area as well. I am from middle Tennessee and when people see my gorgeous views (we have twenty acres of land and the views from every window are absolutely beautiful) they think that we are crazy to consider leaving. Unfortunately, with the flowering trees and lush greenery comes MUCHO allergy/sinus trouble. It has gotten almost unbearable for us and we are not okay with being medicated 100 percent of the time. Therefore, we are in the early planning stages of a move out west.

We went for some long drives in the Arizona/Nevada desert and while it is definitely a big change for us, we feel that it is ever bit as powerful and beautiful a landscape as what we are used to. It is just a very different kind of beauty. And since we feel FANTASTIC when we're out there, it is something we would be willing to try.

St. George seems like a lovely spot. But we are also considering Kingman Arizona and Boulder City Nv. We like St George due to the established trees, red cliffs, and proximity to Vegas (without being TOO close to Vegas).