Saint George Utah - anyone have any info (St. George, Cedar City: sales, how much)

[Holly]

I am looking to move out west from Georgia. My husband and i love las vegas but don't want to live in Las vegas. St. George looks like a very nice city to live in and i was wondering if anyone has info on home prices, jobs (my husband is a cop and i will be graduating from law school), schools, how friendly people are to outsiders, is rush hour really bad?

we currently live in macon, ga. and house prices are really low. any information would be helpful. Also, I am catholic - are there any catholic churches there?

thanks any for any help you can provide

-holly

[coolcats]

I spent 6 months in Las Vegas on an internship about five years ago. That was enough. It's fun to visit, but not terribly livable. St. George is not too far -- an hour and a half. I've really only spent a few weekends in the area and driven through. It is a very nice area with great natural beauty -- a breath of fresh air literally and figuratively from Las Vegas. I heard is snowed last winter, but that is fairly rare -- it's climate is similar to Las Vegas. 50s in the winter and 100-115 in the summer.

I hear housing prices rose a lot during the boom. They've levelled off, but are still higher than what the job market can support -- due to retirees and california refugees I think. St. George is one of the fastest growing areas of the country.

Our invaluable city-data.com did show there is at least one Catholic church there.

I'd have know idea of the job market for your professions. Of course, cops are needed everywhere, and you could start your own practice.

St. George has a Mormon pioneer heritage, but given the influx of retirees and new comers the percentages now are about 60 percent LDS/ 40 percent Non LDS I have heard.

Hopefully someone who lives there can respond with more local views.

[scirocco22]

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[scirocco22]

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[Holly]

Thanks so much for the info! I appreciate the input. I had the same idea about las vegas, it seems like it is great place to visit but not live there. Which is why were are looking for something close enough to go and visit on the weekends w/o having to live there.

having a lot of retirees might be a problem, because that sometimes means that the job market is not very strong in that area.

as far as the desert weather - i have not experienced a full season of it. I have only been out there in the winter time. But i do live in georgia and it does it really hot and sticky here, although it sound like it gets hotter out there.

anyone else got anything about the police department out there or who is hte largest employer etc?

[scirocco22]

Hi again, Holly.

Okay, this is directly from the Chamber of Commerce site which I'll PM you because I think the moderators will delete the link if I post it here because they may considered it advertising.

The largest three employers in St. George/Washington County (again, Washington County which would be considered the greater St. George area whose population is now about 150,000 and growing) are:

1. Washington County School District
2. Intermountain Health Care (the big HMO in Utah)
3. Walmart (they have a huge distribution center just outside of St. George)

Here's a quotation that the Chamber has on its site --of course, this is coming from the Chamber of Commerce so you have to take it with a grain of salt:

Labor Force: With the annual job growth of now 9.6 percent , Washington County far outstripped both the Utah and U.S. performances. Job growth is healthy and unemployment is low. Washington County area businesses draw from both Dixie State College and Southern Utah University in Cedar City which is only one hour away.

Okay, talk to ya in a PM.

--'rocco

[scirocco22]

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[Steadykat]

I am not Catholic but I know that the local Catholic church changed out it's well liked Irish priest (Father Epperly?) for a South American priest about a year ago. Evidently many of the former parishioners aren't happy with the new priest and believe that he has only one agenda, the continued growth and protection of people living in this city and county illegally. Alot of these former church members now meet twice a month at the American Legion hall in Hurricane for services.

Housing prices are still high here, even though sales have slowed. Many of the jobs in Washington County are service oriented and low paying. The majority of people who moved here in the last few years brought equity money from home sales in other states. They could buy their homes outright. Construction jobs, where most of the job growth has occurred, have paid well in the past. However, one would expect that to change if the housing market slows. Most of our commercial growth, other than Resturants and Banks, is housing oriented. A drop in the local home market could seriously hurt the economy here.

[scirocco22]

wow! ...interesting information on the Catholic church there in St. George, Steadykat. Thanks for the update.

--'rocco

[stacy smith]

My husband is a contractor of 15 years, he works for a big company that builds houses. Does any one know how much he can make in St. George?