Moving to St. George (Santa Clara, Ivins: fit in, buy, best schools)

[sheaelise]

My husband recently bought a business in St. George. We currently live on the central coast of California. My husband is commuting back and forth once a month.

I have concerns about moving my family to St. George. First I must say that we have nothing against Mormans. Some of my childrens best friends are here are Morman. Wonderful, wonderful family.

My concern is that I have heard that in St. George, if your not Morman, your kids are kind of on the outskirts. My boys are heavily involved in sports and my daughter is a cheerleader. Are they going to have the same opportunities in the schools there?

I would like some input from families there, Morman and non-Morman. If you are living in St. George with teenagers in schools, please share your experiences with me. Other wise my husband might be communiting for a long time and I really don't want that.

Also I would like to know the best areas to live that have a community pool. And which schools are known best for their sporting activities.

Thanks!

[LlasaLost]

sheaelise---my best advice is to go with an accepting attitude, immediately get involved in things such as the schools PTA (or it's equivalent), the libraries, the museums, the town-beautifucation---the groups that are open to all and nearly always need and welcome willing volunteers; get to know people on that level, and give them the opportunity to know you.
My Second-best advice is to read up on the history of the "Mormons" and their beliefs; I'm not talking here about anti-Mormon skreeds, but authentic history books. If you know what a peoples' background is you'll develop an appreciation of what they've gone through, what's helped to form their group-identity, and such information might even help you understand some of their quirks and oddities!
Thirdly: the old-timers and their off-spring in that area are from hardened stock; their ancestors were from the Deep South, Germany, Denmark, England and Scotland; they had been tried in the ocean-crossings, the persecutions, the Missouri-incident (where there was an official "extermination" order on their heads), and in the handcart companies (again, you'll need to access the history books), and they had a wary-eye out for possible trouble from newcomers!
and, Fourth: you'll usually find what you expect to find, whatever that is!

P.S. I see you're from the Central Coast. Be prepared to lose the cool nights, the humidity, and the mild climate you're used to---none of which exists in the St. Geo area!! But the Winters, Springs and Autumns are very nice, indeed.
Oh--you did ask about schools, and in this mornings SLC paper there was a list of schools in Utah that are on the NCLB problem roster, two of these are in St. Geo. One is the East Elementary (which has been on the list for 2 years), and the other one is the West Elementary (on the list for 1 year). Sounds like they really could use some help from parents and volunteers, perhaps (?)

[philiplo]

Hi sheaelise -

My wife and I (non-LDS) moved to the St. George area 13 months ago, and so far we're loving it. However, as the new people in town, it has definitely been up to us to find a comfortable niche. Our neighbors are wonderful people, but are so busy with kids' activities and church callings that we don't get as many chances to hang out as we'd like.

Our children haven't attended school here (daughter is 19, son is 3), but one of my wife's co-workers has a son (14) who is having a problem. They moved here just this year, so he started as a freshman in high school. Most everyone else, of course, had a cadre of friends from growing up together, so he's had trouble breaking into that. He's also felt some religion-based ostracism, which is unfortunate because 14 is tough even without that crap. I'm interested in seeing how he's doing next year, when he's had time to find his "crowd."

Most communities have decent pools. There's the Sand Hollow Aquatic Center on the St. George/Santa Clara/Ivins border that you can buy a family pass for. There's also a huge development called Coral Canyon (http://www.coralcanyon.com) that has a golf course, tennis courts, a couple of pools, etc.

As far as schools, most are decent athletically. Pine View high school's football team was a finalist in state last year, but lost big to a Salt Lake school (I think). They weren't as successful this year (4-6). Dixie HS had the state golf champs this year, and their girl's soccer team was 16-1-2. Snow Canyon's girl's volleyball was 27-1 and is expected to do well at state.

Best of luck to your family -- I hope the business works out well.

[carlessbiker]

I'm just going to add my (late) two cents:
In regards to the Mormon concern I've noticed that those who "assume" that there will be conflicts/interactions/problems with Mormons are those who actually have conflicts/interactions/problems with Mormons. I'm not Mormon but I've never had a problem. True; the streets are wide and the minds are narrow, but you will find many who are just like you. Sure we have less places to get a drink and the shopping is slow on Sunday but if you come optimistic, life will be grand.

I get my tattoo's local
I buy drinks local

It's not a big deal living amongst Mormons, they are no quirkier than any other die-hard religion.

[amykis5]

Sheaelise,

Did you get my note regarding move to St. George? I am from Central Cal and I too am making the move in the next 3-4 months. I am new to this site and I dont know if you got my note sent to you.
Amy

[Ventana]

Sheaelise-

We spent almost 10 years in St. George. The area is safe, gorgeous and geographically it is hard to find a place surrounded by more natural beauty. For retired people or those with no children, it is a nice place to live. We met some fine people there that we will always consider friends.

If you have children, there are issues that one should be aware of. As our children grew older, it became apparent that being non-L.D.S. would be difficult. It has little to do with being from out of town. About the time our kids started school, the negative comments about their religious status began as did the isolation. They simply don't want their children associating with non-members. You can read all you want about their history but it still doesn't make the ostracism any easier.

And no, we did not expect it. We had been visiting there since 1976 and always found the locals friendly. And they are.

[mommy2sara]

Hi! I wanted to post a reply about East Elementary being a problem school. East Elementary is one of the best schools in this city. I drive my daughter clear across town every day so that she can attend this school. I know it looks bad when they can't meet the requirements set by the no child left behind act, but they don't have a chance. They have many students that do not speak English and are far behind because of that. But they do have the very best teachers, the very best principal, the very best librarian, and secretaries. Everything about this school is amazing. I could write all day about all of the extra things that they do there. They actually have to have many, many parent volunteers because of all of the extras they do there. I was sick of driving my daughter clear across town every day, so I tried switching her back to our assigned school this year (one that does meet the standards). It lasted two weeks and we found that school to be highly inferior to East. To my daughter's great happiness, I sent her back to East.
We love East Elementary and we feel it a priveledge to be allowed to attend there. We also feel it a priveledge to live here in beautiful sunny Saint George.

[desertdawg]

Hey Sheaelise I have lived in Utah all my life 9 years in salt lake city and 29 years in St George area and I have never been morman or any other religion and no Im not athiest anyhow Mormans are just like anybody else there are good bad and inbetween I have 2 boys both in school here 14 and 18 both in sports wrestling and football and sure they have had to deal with a little bit of judgemental morman crap but not much not enough to call a problem in any sense. If you know how mormans believe you can turn that on them real easy they are suposed to welcome new people not reject them so if they dont welcome you with open arms go tell their bishop and they will get a talkin to lol but really most of them are great people the ones that arent the other mormans dont like either. When I was going to school here in the 80s it was alot worse and it still wasnt bad now there are alot of nonmormans moving in like yourself I love it here and I dont want to move.

[business]

All of St. George is beautiful. As for school concerns, I would not let the society run what you need. Jump right into sports etc. Be a part of the community and run with it.

http://www.thebusinesssuccessgroup.c...t-Funding.html

[clearlysuper]

Hello from St. George...

You probably have already moved here, but I thought that I would let you know a few things from my perspective. I am LDS (mormon), however, I grew up in California surrounded by non-LDS. I felt like an outsider just because I was taught a basic belief in Jesus Christ, and was raised with certain morals. (Don't drink, don't do drugs, don't be intimate until married.) I think these are values that most parents want for their kids. Growing up those around me called me many names, and refused to believe I was Christian. (The local Christian schools told the kids that mormons worshipped the Devil.)

I can tell you that the people here in St. George are not ignorant to those who don't share their beliefs, although they may seem pushy at times, they always have the best intentions at heart. I love the family community here too. I don't know how old your kids are, but the local high school are very competitve in sports, and they have great cheerleading groups too. Your kids should be able to fit in pretty easy. There are a wide variety of "types" at the schools.

If they are elementary age, the schools are all pretty good. The "No Child Left Behind Act" may not be an accurate reference guide. I know that West Elementary did not meet the standards because of their Special-Needs programs, however, the other requirement were all met if not exceeded. (They sent a copy of the results to those attending, and gave us the option to change schools.) There are other schools that have GREAT special needs programs. West just doesn't have the resources for the program. (It is an older school.) They are in the process of building a new school for West Elementary student, called Heritage Elementary. I'm sure that the new school will be absolutely beautiful and have everything that is needed for everyone to succeed.

I hope this information was useful. Feel free to ask me anything else you might want to know. (I've lived here for 10 years, and my husband grew up in a neighboring town.)