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we're moving to UTAH for a better quality of life... WI have spent the last 2 hours reading threads about Mormons, etc. Religious preference DOES NOT play a factor in how I socialize with others. I treat everyone the same. I believe you get, what you give. I also do not force my religious views (Southern Baptist) on anyone. Can someone give me info on the town? I have 2 children (11 & 17). I would also like to know about the wildlife, bugs, employment (husband works in road construction), housing. I was looking into the Tuacahn High School for my daughter and a good elementary school for my son. we are of latin descent, will that pose a problem...We are both fluent in both english/spanish...any jobs? Any & all advise is appreciated!
Last edited by Wisconsinite; 04-11-2007 at 05:53 PM..
I am sure you will get a variety of responses to your post. We currently live in Saint George (mixed family Asian/Caucasian) There are many families of latin descent in the area. I think being able to speak spanish is a real asset! I wish I could. Job wise if just your hubby is looking it seems like there is endless road construction but I don't know what kinds of job openings or pay scale they have. If you are looking for work as well there are a number of fields-- I don't know what your expertise is, the only thing I can think of that is really lacking is technology/software type jobs. There are a few companies here but not many technology wise.
School for the kids-- I have heard from many people that Tuacahn is an excellent school. They have an emphasis on performing arts and provide an array of opportunities in that arena (I've seen some of the productions and they are fantastic) core academics are good as well. With your younger child there is also a charter school if you prefer that over a regular public school. I have heard many good things about George Washington (k-7th I think?). My friend's kids currently attend and she has loved it. The drawback is that Tuacahn and George Washington are probably a good 30-40 minute drive from each other and my understanding is that neither provide bus service since they are charter schools (check into that on Tuacahn I may be wrong) I know George Washington has not in the past. It is a fairly new school as well, just opened last year. If you are interested I would contact them as soon as possible as they operate on a 'lottery' system with preference given to returning students and siblings.
Wildlife and bugs-- I'm not sure if you want to interact or avoid This depends a great deal on where exactly you choose to settle. In the outlying areas of Saint George there are lots of rabbits, quail, road runners, cockroaches (nothing an exterminator can't keep under control), ants, ticks (mostly in the higher elevations), a few snakes both venemous and not (mostly reclusive and stay to themselves, even as avid hikers as we are I've rarely come across them), coyotes, varieties of spiders (just like anywhere else) several types of birds, lizards, etc. Don't have to worry about mosquitos too much because it is so dry here, no fleas or chiggers.
If you like out of doors this is a great place to settle. The weather is mild most of the year and you learn to avoid the 110+ of summer. We are only about 1-2 hours away from mountains that stay nice and cool all summer long so it's not hard to retreat. Vegas is only about 2 1/2 hours away and offers a lot more 'bigger city' stuff plus a major hub airport. I've been in this area a long time so if you'd like any specific questions answered feel free to ask.
we're moving to UTAH for a better quality of life... WI have spent the last 2 hours reading threads about Mormons, etc. Religious preference DOES NOT play a factor in how I socialize with others. I treat everyone the same. I believe you get, what you give. I also do not force my religious views (Southern Baptist) on anyone. Can someone give me info on the town? I have 2 children (11 & 17). I would also like to know about the wildlife, bugs, employment (husband works in road construction), housing. I was looking into the Tuacahn High School for my daughter and a good elementary school for my son. we are of latin descent, will that pose a problem...We are both fluent in both english/spanish...any jobs? Any & all advise is appreciated!
You're in luck! I'm not a huge fan of St. George, I've lived here since 2001 and have visited since the early 90's. First to get it out of the way, don't worry about mormons, st. george is growing at a current rate of 10% per year and a very small amount of that growth is mormon so the city is becoming very religiously diversified, especially compared to other areas of utah. I know of a southern baptist church downtown. St. George is basically a small retirement/golfing community turned into a las vegas suburb because everyone wants to live where it's warm but not so expensive and unsafe as california, nevada or arizona. Wildlife is rather scarce, you have to drive for a couple hours if you like to hunt(I don't know if that's what you meant) there's opportunities for some bird watching, but not much lives out here in the desert. The best asset that St. George has though is it's proximity to Zion NP, Bryce canyon, Moab, everyone here goes to lake powell, so you have many outdoors options close-by. Bugs can be an issue, but not if you spray monthly. Roaches and spiders are probably the biggest problem. I've lived in two different houses and three apartments here and we always have to spray for roaches. Not really any ant problems, the nice thing is that it freezes here at night all winter so the bugs don't thrive all year like AZ with scorpions, centipedes and all that. You picked a great place for your husband's work, construction is our best industry, there's not enough workers for the projects. I was offered two days ago a job paving roads for $13/hr 60hrs per week with great benefits, you can pm me for the name of the company. Other jobs are mainly retail oriented and st. george wages are quite low, quite. They have increased over the last 3 years or so, but not compared to the cost of living. The best employers here(common opinion) are Skywest airlines and IHC hospitals. I'm sure when they build the new airport it will give a big shot in the arm to employment. That said, unemployment is around 2% and it's easy to get one of our crappy jobs. Housing is another buzz word, it's really making those of us who moved here before the housing boom sick to see how much the prices have increased over the past two years. Houses that cost 200k (3br 2bath newer construction)in 2005 now sell for 400k and the prices are kind of stagnant now, not dropping. My parents built a custom house here in green valley area south of the airport in 2003 for 215k, very upgraded. Two neighbors just sold smaller, lesser homes for 385k and 435k. You can't find a starter home here, it's all condos now in the 200s, hurricane is a small town close-by(too small and backward for me) that has some more reasonable prices but they are increasing too. Ivins is a trendy area but very expensive, the builders like to build million dollar homes just for the fun of it. There are many empty, beautiful homes because the builders are building without securing buyers first. It's the same with retail, there are three brand new strip malls that are being finished around where I live and there aren't any companies lined up to move in, they built a medical complex last year that couldn't find a tenant so they turned it into a bank...it's really weird how people think. The quality of the new homes here is fantastic though and there are many nice subdivisions. Downtown is shriveled up, the housing is mainly 1950's-1970's trailer looking homes and there are few good restaurants and stores(you should have seen how crazy people went when they just opened the olive garden and khols here) there are maybe three upscale restaurants, a poor selection of ethnic food(poor mexican food for a southwest city), and everything is drive ins and chains(applebees, chilis, etc.) The mall has been pathetic for years because walmart owned a quarter of it and wouldn't rent out the space to anyone (there are two super walmarts here and EVERYONE who isn't filthy rich does most of their shopping there.) Dillards finally bought the building and redid it, but that left their old space empty so the mall is still pathetic. I guess people always say that Las Vegas is an hour and a half away, but it's a miserable, ugly hour and a half drive and vegas isn't really a family friendly place for fun, especially if you're not wealthy...you know what i mean? there is a decently large hispanic population here in st. george but i must tell you even if someone gets offended that there is a stigma here against latinos. People here blame mexicans for whatever is wrong with their town (a lot of people moved here from CA and Vegas to get away from latinos) so don't be surprised if you don't get a very friendly welcome from non-hispanics. Having lived in puerto rico (i'm anglo) and knowing a number of latinos here that is my honest opinion. They've had two anti-immigrant demonstrations here so far this year, that didn't happen before. Being bilingual has surprisingly little effect on jobs here outside of construction and maybe the hospital/social services. Employers never care that I'm bilingual here. There is a drug problem, and it's pretty serious with meth being very popular (in a very nice townhome complex i lived next door to a crack dealing couple) but people here like to pretend like nothing happens. Crime is low, it always has been but it is rising quickly and st. george now has the fifth highest crime in Utah behind SLC, Ogden, West Valley, and Midvale. People are coming here for a low cost of living and low crime but they bring the opposite with them. The Utah school system is poor, with a low quality of teachers and no budget to work with, they've spent a lot of money on attractive buildings here but forgot to save some for quality teachers. As far as Utah schools go st. george has above average schools (more due to a higher class of people here than in other areas rather than the schools themselves.) with decent extracurricular and sports activities. In my opinion although much older than Pineview or snow canyon HS Dixie High (which just had a multimillion dollar renovation) is the best public here, I can't comment on elementary schools but stay away from the Dixie downs/santa clara area, they're known for being some of the worst in the area. I would URGE you to enroll your child in tuacahn IF they are interested in the performing arts and can handle a somewhat classist and stuck up student body. The quality of the education is better there but there are issues with "fitting in". I'm SO sorry this post is SOOO long but i'm looking for somewhere to move away from here and I know I appreciate a more detailed answer to help me decide. My wife and one year old will be moving from here in the next year and a half because 1. it's boring(no culture outside of one theatre, a couple choral groups and the dixie college events) most people bowl, see movies or hang out at walmart. 2. I'm tired of the extreme heat (80 degrees in april is wearing on me i'd take a chicago winter over an 8 month summer 3. the cost (this town has no top end jobs, people either came with their money or made it flipping houses) rent has gone from 600 for a large two bedroom in 2005 to 800 for a small two bedroom and continues to rise, there aren't many apartments here and I obviously can't buy anything working for a grocery store 4. the people (while they are all around GOOD people they aren't friendly to outsiders and tend to make cliques and not go outside them.) this might sound strange but I AM LDS and the concentration of mormons is more stifling for a member than a non-member, I've lived in five states and utah has the most unaccepting, judgemental mormons i've met. I'm sure people on here will say it's my attitude and not theirs but I can tell you that I really don't believe it's the case. I had no prior thoughts of what people would be like here and it hasn't turned out well. (I lived in Portland, OR for three months last year and had the exact opposite experience.) I hope this has helped you with your decision. St. George is a nice place, but don't expect too much, especially if you enjoy culture and excitement(and midwest openness and friendship) I miss my high school days in chicago and wish i'd never left, but you may have had a much different experience in "wiscAnsin"
GOOD LUCK!
I really don't mind the heat, I love it. I am not Mexican, born in the Carribean -raised in the states. what I meant by bugs/animals was...just to know what to expect...being that I don't like bugs, snakes, scorpions, etc...don't care for roaches...at all...but I suppose there are exterminators. I can work in any aspect as an admin asst/executive...so I'm not too worried. However, I do appreciate all the EXCELLENT COMMENTS...not I'm really confused. we were going to move to AZ-Prescott area, but that is over priced and really no jobs there. Phoenix is too big/crime infested (I hear)...so there is my dilema...O' My! God Bless & Thanks Again...!
p.s. Thompson...Wwisconsin is a beautiful state and people are very nice...there a good paying jobs. If interested, there is wausau, west bend, wisconsin rapids, stevens point, eau claire, minocqua, boscobel...I just hate the cold/snow....and drugs...well there everywhere, unfortunately.
Last edited by Wisconsinite; 04-12-2007 at 09:19 AM..
Real Estate can be a turn off as the pp stated. The house we bought in 2002appraises at about 2.5 times more than what we paid then. My hubby is in the real estate business (long 'necessary-change-of-career' story so he keeps close tabs on the market. It has inflated over the past few years but it's not impossible, really depends on what you are looking for. It is a better buyer's market right now than it has been. A standard home in the area (new/er 3bd 2bath about 1200-300sqft, garage, 1/8-1/4 acre lot) runs about $240K right now. The larger custom type homes that are sitting vacant can sell for substantially lower than the asking price (depending on the seller's attitude) because there are so many and they have been sitting for so long. The area overbuilt and everybody started trying to sell their homes because of the crazy prices others were getting= way too many houses listed= somethings gotta give= prices are starting to come down. It also depends on where you want to settle in. But there are lots of new subdivisions around and nice neighborhoods. I would also suggest avoiding the Dixie Downs area as well as some of Santa Clara, Washington and older districts within the city limits. Many of the houses there are just not kept up well, very sad to see.
As the other poster suggested IHC is a good employer here. They typically pay better wages and they have decent benefits. I have a few friends who work for IHC. There are LOTS of opportunities in your field of work with various companies, I don't think you'd have a hard time finding a job. I don't think your hubby would either.
As a side note too-- have you ever considered Dallas? We lived in a suburb of Dallas for several years and real estate there was decent, cost of living relatively low, a diverse population, TONS of good paying job opportunities, wonderful entertainment opportunities and by far some our favorite places to eat! The downside was-- traffic (which you get used to after a while), humidity, bugs (worse than here), crime rates are higher, schools are more crowded (but you could always go private), no mountains what-so-ever. We finally moved to be closer to family and get back where there are some hills since we are such out-of-doors people! I miss that place though-- Northern Cali too, but there's no way we could afford to live there the way we can here. I also have relatives who live in the Phoenix area. There is good and bad and there is definitely an issue with crime in schools. But you could always live on the outskirts (Mesa) and go private or maybe even find a decent public school.
Best of luck on your relocation! I hope you find a place you really enjoy
Last edited by tumo; 04-12-2007 at 12:45 PM..
Reason: typ-o's and info left out
I did look into Texas but also came up with overcrowded schools and lots of crime... Arizona is out of the question...too many bugs...Colorado is too expensive...So UTAH it is...I need to have some peace of mind...if you know what I mean. How do people dress in ST. GEORGE? Are they very traditional???? Thanks for your insight...it's well appreciated...
As far as the southwest goes I suppose St. George is about as good as it gets. I'm giving up on the whole area, thanks for the tip I've always been interested in WI and always got along well with those that moved down to Illinois. The dress here is a little split, there is some traditional dress, mostly from older ladies and there are some extremist groups that live around the area the FLDS who are insanely conservative, they frequent the area for shopping and to get their food stamps. Other than that St. George is rather trendy for Utah, most of the younger people try their best to copy the O.C.. I've seen that the lastest craze for young people is kind of a punk look with dark makeup and hair while st. george always used to be very blonde, very, very blonde. I don't think it's at all more traditional than the midwest.
Hi Wisconsinite...maybe you and I could trade places...you can check out some of my earlier posts on this board for my history here...the reason we are here is because my husband retired and this was fairly affordable for us, otherwise we would be back home in CA. Anyway, I do believe that the majority that live here and moving here are LDS. And the ones I have met and live amongst are very cliquish. But if you can work and keep the kids involved in things you might do ok. It is boring here, but I am a city girl. I am desperately looking for some decent mexican food, we have to wait and eat that when we go back home to visit. A lot of business close up on Sunday, even the fast food chains, except the national ones like McD, etc. We kind of joke about it but it really is the best day to go to Costco, or Kohls, no crowds..
Oops hit the send button. anyway, what I would suggest if renting before you buy. Contrary to the earlier poster, the OLD part of Washington City is just that, old. But check out other areas of Washington City such as Green Spring and Washington Fields. Newer construction, well kept up neighborhoods and real estate prices have slowed down so it might be in reason for you. Plus this 'end' of the St. George area is where the new restaurants, stores, Costco, etc.. are. The hospital is a couple miles away a very simple commute. We live in Green Spring and do like being close to everything here.
Good luck with your decision.
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WI have spent the last 2 hours reading threads about Mormons, etc. Religious preference DOES NOT play a factor in how I socialize with others. I treat everyone the same. I believe you get, what you give. I also do not force my religious views (Southern Baptist) on anyone. Can someone give me info on the town? I have 2 children (11 & 17). I would also like to know about the wildlife, bugs, employment (husband works in road construction), housing. I was looking into the Tuacahn High School for my daughter and a good elementary school for my son. we are of latin descent, will that pose a problem...We are both fluent in both english/spanish...any jobs? Any & all advise is appreciated!
Saint George
The downside was-- traffic (which you get used to after a while), humidity, bugs (worse than here), crime rates are higher, schools are more crowded (but you could always go private), no mountains what-so-ever. We finally moved to be closer to family and get back where there are some hills since we are such out-of-doors people! I miss that place though-- Northern Cali too, but there's no way we could afford to live there the way we can here. I also have relatives who live in the Phoenix area. There is good and bad and there is definitely an issue with crime in schools. But you could always live on the outskirts (Mesa) and go private or maybe even find a decent public school. 
