Raise a Family in St.George? (St. George, Washington: insurance, assessor, mortgage)

[DonewithCali]

Is St. George a good place to raise a family??? We are considering a move there and have two kids, ages 4 and 8. How are the schools? Any parks for kids? Is it a family community or more for retirees, or what??? Any thoughts?

[philiplo]

Seems like everything here is for families, so you shouldn't worry about that. Even the New Year celebration was geared toward kids! How many cities can claim that? The adults were mostly bored at the "party."

There are some okay parks around, but not many out where I live in Washington city. I suppose there weren't any "common area" rules in place for development, so we get to drive a few miles to get to anywhere for kids to play. Maybe when the open land behind us is ready for development I can convince the neighbors to go in with me on buying a lot for a park.

Anyway, although there is an active retirement community here, rest assured that the majority of events are for kids. They're everywhere!

[jazzbird]

I lived there as a kid, but don't recognize it today. Sprawl is a problem. ALL of the U.S. is becoming more geared toward retirement with the graying of the baby boomers. Communities formerly famous for being family-oriented are going through a transition. The climate issue is one thing to bear in mind. Do you like the desert? Do you enjoy the kinds of recreational opportunities the desert represents...hiking, mountain biking? St. George is viewed by many Utahans as being fairly mild, but among Southwest cities it's a bit more extreme than most. Compared to other desert locations farther south in Arizona and New Mexico, it gets higher highs in summer and lower lows in winter. The average annual thermal swing is 85-90 degrees (for comparison, the total range is about 15 degrees in Santa Barbara). California's influence in terms of affordability and culture doesn't stop sharply at the state border (you've already noted the californication of Arizona), so if you want to stay within a half-day's drive, you probably won't escape it entirely. Many of the nation's more child-friendly cities are farther to the north in Wyoming, Montana and the upper Midwest. The best educational system is in North Dakota.

[wildfan]

Originally Posted by jazzbird

I The best educational system is in North Dakota.

thats borderline ridiculous its probably the worst in upper Midwest. you must be a teacher in NoDak.

[StGeorgeHome]

We moved to St. George 3 years ago from the East, have lived in California, and believe this to be the best place to live, raise a family and enjoy outdoor recreation. We used to homeschool due to the horrible school system back East, but love Southern Utah's public schools. Our kids actually learn, enjoy going to school and are not burdened with all of the nonsense in most public schools. Utah actually has the highest literacy rate in the nation. St. George was ranked the safest city in the U.S. by Farmers Insurance. It has some of the lowest property taxes, has a very friendly business environment, and has a nice blend of young families and retirees. We visited and researched over 30 destinations around the Southwest before selecting Southern Utah as the place to call home.

[lilypad]

I lived near Page, AZ for about 8 months on a contract job, and would go up to St. George nearly every weekend. You would not believe the difference on crossing the border into Utah from Arizona. Everything so neat and clean! Loved visiting St. George, for all the reasons mentioned above!

[Steadykat]

For the record. St George has changed considerably in the last three years.

Crime: We have had two murders here this year already. One , a 14 year old killed a 15 year old, involved rape and the I am told that the murder was as grisly as you can imagine. The other was an execution style murder. A woman in my town was carjacked yesterday. The suspects (2) lead the UHP on a 40 mile high speed chase crashing numerous vehicles before the UHP ran them off the highway.

Taxes: My property taxes were raised by 30% in 2006. The County assessor almost doubled the value of my house and the homes of my neighbors. The local citizens also passed a bond and a tax last year for the schools that will be added to next years property tax. You can tell the mindset of some of our new arrivals. Call the tax a "leeway" instead of a tax and tell them it is for the children and they will vote for it, just like they did in my homestate of CA. Of course nobody thinks to ask why the schools need more money wth all the property taxes revenues that have been generated with the new growth. The housing market is tanking here and I suspect that the City Council guys will be taxing us more as the existing tax money "well" starts to run dry. I am also sure that the City fathers will promote the new airport as our saving grace when the local economy tanks and we will get hit with a higher tax bill to finish it.

Smog: I never saw smog (inversion) in this County until late last year. The beautiful sunsets that I once enjoyed from my balcony are now buried in a orange-brown haze.

Illegal immigration: This wasn't a problem two years ago, it is now. If you don't believe me take a trip to the "Dixie Downs" area of St George and decide for yourself. The two Hospitals in town (IHC) showed a loss of 18 million dollars last year. That loss is the direct result of loss of revenue from treating uninsured patients. I know the Hospitals and it was mostly illegal aliens that are responsible for the loss.


One finds that the majority of people that talk well of the life in St George today have only been here a couple of years. Whatever place they came from probably already had all these problems and worse. They have no idea how fast this area has changed in the last 4-5 years. Talk to the old-timers, the ones who were here before the recent "boom" about how quickly this County has been screwed up in the last couple of years. I hope that it doesn't get worse.

[lilypad]

I am sorry to hear about St. George going that way.....I was there last about three years ago.

[AJY]

Originally Posted by StGeorgeHome

We moved to St. George 3 years ago from the East, have lived in California, and believe this to be the best place to live, raise a family and enjoy outdoor recreation. We used to homeschool due to the horrible school system back East, but love Southern Utah's public schools. Our kids actually learn, enjoy going to school and are not burdened with all of the nonsense in most public schools. Utah actually has the highest literacy rate in the nation. St. George was ranked the safest city in the U.S. by Farmers Insurance. It has some of the lowest property taxes, has a very friendly business environment, and has a nice blend of young families and retirees. We visited and researched over 30 destinations around the Southwest before selecting Southern Utah as the place to call home.

How is the business environment in St. George? Can you make a good living?
What about housing and new shopping centers?
We really want to be in an area that has lots of new stores and housing.
We are having such a hard time choosing a place to live.

[SpencerLV]

AJY,

If you like new stores and nice housing, I'd stear you towards the Green Springs area of Washington. A lot of the new stores are either there or going up in that area, and it's within very close proximity to the mall (which is getting a new Border's book store - FINALLY!!) as well as the highway exit (# 10). I also think it has one of the prettiest views in town, and this being a buyer's market, you could probably get a good deal on a really nice home. Neighborhoods are consistent and beautiful, and you don't have to drive through a run-down section to get to your house.

As for making a living, it entirely depends on what you do for a living. High tech is virtually non-existant, not a lot of national employers in town for white collar office workers. The city or county governments are possibilities, and maybe even the hospital center or the college. I'm sure things will improve with the completion of the new airport (hopefully!). Seems like (to me at least) there are a TON of realtors, bankers, mortgage lenders, and contractors of various flavors, as well as the typical Wal-mart-retail types of jobs.