Living in Logan?? (Cedar City, Brigham City, Heber: fit in, apartment, high school)

[shockjulie]

I am originally from Boise Idaho so grew up around the LDS. There were never any problems, I found them to be great neighbors and members of the community. My brother and family with school age children lived in Southern Idaho, and felt the "clicks" of the LDS kids, but I do think tha is somewhat inherently natural, i.e. if you are Catholic, you would probably lean toward friends from your Church, likewise the LDS. My brother's wife taught school in St. Anthony, and was responsible for bringing together the Boy Scout troop of non LDS kids, again, not to exclude them, but they had their own group and the other kids did feel left out. It is what you make of it. I lived in an apartment with 4 other LDS girls (I am denominational Christian) and never felt excluded or coerced into joining their religion. Instead, we grew a respect for each other's diversity.
My husband and I are considering retiring in Logan Utah, and I would be interested in hearing about the experiences of other on-LDS there. It is a beautiful area (must love snow). We may or may not have one child in high-school, depending on when we go.

[frogamigo]

I grew up in Logan until I was about 8. My sister just moved back to Logan as a matter of fact.

Logan is growing quite a bit! It's bigger than I remember - not that I could remember that well! Cache Valley has a good 75k people I believe. I may be wrong though; check here and (broken link) for info. With that comes the disadvantages of growth. The increase in population has created more urban heat in the summer, more ozone-related summer haze, and more winter inversion fogs. (The valley isn't that big after all.) But it's still a charming place IMO. In some places strip malls are going up and in other places, tract housing. But you can still eat at the Bluebird for reasonable prices and get the best milkshake you'll ever have, and Papa Kelsey's still makes wonderful sandwiches. The canyon between Logan and Brigham City is still as pretty as ever.

I think Logan is one of the best places in the state to live. Although I would probably look at the Coalville-Heber City area as my top pick (just based on personal preferences).

Oh, the LDS thing. I never felt this mattered much, but it depends on where you go. I think it might for your son - it can be a "big thing" if you are in high school and trying to fit in. With the exception of Utah County (which I'd probably not recommend), you're going to find decent religious diversity in major population centers along the wasatch front. I'm not LDS, I live in Cedar City right now (Salt Lake before that)... and it's not an issue. There are fewer bars, and if that's important to you, you'll be bummed out, but to me that's not very important. <shrug>

- Chris