St. George Visit & Questions about Snow in St. George (Washington: rental car, rental)

[Rosanne]

The amount of the electric bills sounds like what we used to pay in California. Not really looking forward to bills that high. Is St. George and the surrounding area (Ivins, Washington, Santa Clara, etc.) pretty safe? Not really too much crime? We're looking for a safe place to live that isn't as expensive as it was when we lived in California. We moved to Pennsylvania four years ago after living in Southern California for 35 years. We did so for family reasons. It's much cheaper to live in PA, but we miss the west, and moving back to California is not an option because of what it costs to live there. So we will look in Utah, Nevada and Arizona, since our sons live in Southern California and we want to be close to there. Don't really want to have to deal with snow, but a little will be OK. We are retired, so finding jobs won't be an issue.

Everyone, thanks again for your insight. Anything else anyone wants to add will be appreciated.

[karenSG]

My City of St. George-Utilities bill shows $15.65 "Customer Charge" (charged everyone). The KWH charge, extrapolated because it isn't stated up front, was 7.41 cents/kwh. This was for 1-21-15 to 2-20-15.

Didn't look up what the summer kwh rate is.

[GoOutsideAndPlay]

Here's a post from a while back about electric rates in the area that may help. See my post (3rd down):
utilities cost st george area

[kcoliver]

Yes, the area is very safe...really not too many issues. Dixie Escalante electric is co-op so very low...Most people that have it don't pay over $130 during summer months. Check out Washington where new homes are being built, many transplants (especially from Calif.) close to shopping in St. George, clean. Huge homes being built in one area, but reasonable smaller homes very close. If you are retired, you might want to check Sun River (near Bloomington) - VERY Active senior community and HOA fees are $130 a month. If you don't want a place thats so controlled, check certain areas of Washington fields, no HOA's, older homes (built about 10 to 15 years ago) with a bit of property, from 1/3 acre, 1/2 .

[Rosanne]

Thanks for the link GoOutsideAndPlay. Kcoliver, what is the zip code for Washington Fields so I can look up some of the homes there. I usually use realtor.com. Thanks much.

[Code Stemi]

Rosanne, the zip code for that area is 84780

[kcoliver]

Rosanne, yes the zip is 84780, but that's for all of Washington...this is a big area. Fill in what you want in lot size, bedrooms pool, no pool, price, etc so that you don't get alot of stuff you are not interested in. When you find something you are interested in, google the address and check out neighborhood!

[Rosanne]

Thanks Blues_Jade24 and kcoliver.

[leaftye]

The snow this winter was a bit of a surprise. There was an early storm on or around Christmas that left some snow for a few days, which was normal enough, then that late storm that dumped even more snow. That snow stuck around longer, although only in the shadows. In both cases the snow on the roads melted very quickly. If you don't like driving in the snow, you don't want to drive north during or shortly after a storm because the Cedar City area gets a lot more snow and it sticks to the ground.

I can't help you with electricity since I have solar and haven't cared enough yet to look closely at the bill. I figure if I have an issue, I'll look for ways to conserve and maybe upgrade or add more solar panels.

There are many short trails in the area if you're into hiking, jogging, cycling, rollerblading, dirt bikes, 4 wheeling and more. I haven't found much in terms of long routes though, but to me a long trail is hundreds of miles long. I'd even be happy with a paved trail that would allow a hundred mile bike ride. St George does have a plan to expand their city trail system, and I think eventually it will connect enough trails that you could do a hundred miles without riding on the roads. Even if you're not into cycling, it's still nice for cyclists to have a separate protected route. St George is the most bicycle friendly place I've lived in so far.

If you're into outdoorsy stuff, stop by the BLM office on Riverside Drive. They have some books and maps for the immediate and surrounding area that should help you figure out some places to go. If the heat gets to you, you might try Bryce Canyon because it's at a much higher elevation. I went there for the first time this winter and loved it, but the -13°F low and a couple feet of snow put a damper on what I could do.

Since you're visiting in June, the amount of traffic may not be typical...at least if the university is out of session. If you're from San Diego, I'd say St George surface street traffic is about 80% of what I was used to in San Diego. The freeways are much better, but St George is so small that it usually doesn't make sense for me to get on the highway.

If you're into having a green lawn or gardening, make sure you keep in mind that St George gets about a third of the rain that San Diego gets, which should be a surprise since San Diego doesn't get much rain. St George summers are also like a hotter extended San Diego heat wave, and those short heat waves were already hell on my plants. Anyhow, if you're into gardening, I recommend stopping by Tonaquint Park. There's a community garden there, and the people there are a wealth of information.

Fortunately the heat is usually much drier than southern California, which makes it more bearable, but you may need to use more lotion. That applies in the winter too, if not more so.

Since you asked about crime, supposedly the city of Washington is the worst in the state, but I don't think that's saying much. Use some common sense when your house shopping, drive through prospective neighborhoods at night, and if it feels safe enough to you, it probably is. I'm still going to lock the doors on my home and vehicles though.

[kcoliver]

Leftye...where did you read that the city of Washington has the worst crime rate in the state? I always hear about SLC, and issues in St. George (Dixie Downs), but have not heard about Washington, (news or otherwise). When I had my patio cover installed, (Washington Fields), the contractor left his tools overnight out back...I asked wow aren't you worried about theft? He said...naw, not here, but if I were in Dixie Downs I wouldn't leave a hose outside.