Help me find a town (Ogden, Layton: ski resort, fit in, house)

[jenndun]

We are looking for a town to move to in the next year. We want mountian views right outside our windows. Good schools. High speed internet. 5-10 thousand people. Lots of snow in the winter. Lake with in 30 miles. Low cost of living. Places that need teachers.

[VC dreamer]

Have you looked into the Saratoga Springs/Eagle mountain/Lehi area?
I chose this area because of the Alpine school district for my daughter, and the fact that my house sits on Utah lake was a big plus for my husband. I have no idea what the population numbers are for this area but I do know that is growing by leaps.
It's in Utah county which is very heavily populated by LDS if that matters to you or not. If you are LDS, you will fit in just fine, and if you are not LDS, you will fit in just fine too. I am not, and have had no problems here. I've been here 8 months and I am not beseiged with everyone trying to "convert me". In fact, I've only had missionarys at my door once, and then the local bishop stoped by once as well. Both times, they simply introduced themselves, and offered any assistance. No religious talk at all.
I am very very happy with the school (high school) and my daughter has made many friends. Coming from CA like I did, I was surprised that I had to pay for her to go to public school--book fees--security deposit--and lab fees for a total of 234.00 but other than that I really have no concerns. And she doesn't have to pass through metal detectors any more so she's happy about that.
As for snow....it snows here that's for sure, but I wouldn't say it is a lot. I think the most was back in Dec or Jan and we got about 6 inches.
Wherever you decide to move to though.....check out everything first...go to the city yourself and do your homework, walk through some neighborhoods and talk to people you see outside.
I was always told that Saratoga Springs being so close to the lake had a huge problem with bugs in the summer...so far I have not found that to be the case.
Good luck with your move.

[skye78]

Liberty, UT is a good area for a very small community (about 5,000 - 10,000), LOTS of snow, a reservoir within 10 miles (you can boat in it), it is IN the mountains so you have views everywhere...along with deer and mouse. Has high-speed internet.

www.relocate-america.com/states/ut/cities/liberty.htm


Heber Valley is another option. Slightly denser population, but still a very small town feel. Resevoir within 10 miles. Average snow (same as Salt Lake - which doesn't really get much). Has high-speed internet. Mountain Views.

Midway, Ut is right next to Heber and offers the same interests that you are looking for, however cost of living is expensive ($450,000+).

I can't say anything about teaching positions or education in general, as I only know people who live there who no longer attend school.

www.utahrealestate.com
Heber is in Wasatch County
Liberty is in Weber County

[HEL_EN]

Ogden is wonderful! I have the greatest view of the mountians, the Ogden airport where I can watch the sky divers, less than 5 minutes away from Roy, Riverdale, an other small towns, we have fantastic shopping places, and you cant beat the weather!!

[john2timex]

Skye78 had some great suggestions. The limiting factor is the size of communtity you are looking for and wanting snow leaves out most of the southern end of the state. That being said I would add two other locations:

1) Cache Valley area. There is a midsized lake near Hyrum at the south end of the valley (goto utah.gov and search Hyrum state park) which has good boating. Other communities include Logan (County Seat), Smithfield, Nibley, Providence. Lots of snow to be had up logan canyon, google Beaver mountain ski resort. There are several wintersports trailheads maintained for snowmobiling and other recreation.

2) Beaver, Utah. Small community in the mountains of Southern Utah. elevation is appprox 6000ft. It also has winter sports opportunities but I think the ski resort there has not operated for the last several years.

[here_here]

Seriously, I would check out Kaysville. I have lived here for 27 years and I love it. It is a 2 minute drive to great hikes in the mountains, 25 minutes from 3 different boating areas and only 5 minutes from the freeway that will get you to downtown Salt Lake in about 15-20 minutes. It is a great little city with a growing population that will always need great teachers. As far as snow, we get a pretty good amount.

[bob rulz]

Originally Posted by VC dreamer

As for snow....it snows here that's for sure, but I wouldn't say it is a lot. I think the most was back in Dec or Jan and we got about 6 inches.

You obviously haven't lived here very long, then. Just wait. There will be some winters that will seem like they just never end.

[bob rulz]

Originally Posted by here_here

Seriously, I would check out Kaysville. I have lived here for 27 years and I love it. It is a 2 minute drive to great hikes in the mountains, 25 minutes from 3 different boating areas and only 5 minutes from the freeway that will get you to downtown Salt Lake in about 15-20 minutes. It is a great little city with a growing population that will always need great teachers. As far as snow, we get a pretty good amount.

Except that it's in the middle of a giant urban area that has way more than 10,000 people (in fact, Kaysville itself has passed 20,000, and you can't distinguish it from Layton or Farmington).

If you can handle the cost of living, try Park City. I don't know about teacher problems. You should never have a problem with getting "bad" schools (in my opinion, almost every public school in the country sucks, and probably in other countries, too, but by school standards, Utah doesn't have "bad" schools).

Originally Posted by VC dreamer

I was surprised that I had to pay for her to go to public school--book fees--security deposit--and lab fees for a total of 234.00 but other than that I really have no concerns.

$234?! Maybe it's different in Utah County than here. It has to be. It might be because they're all new schools down there.

[VC dreamer]

$234?! Maybe it's different in Utah County than here. It has to be. It might be because they're all new schools down there.[/quote]



Maybe it is just a Utah County thing...I don't know, but from what I understand Lehi High School has been around since 1908 so it's not because the school is new. Also, the fees charged are different for each class so some students may have to pay more, some less. My daughters' largest fee was for the debate class and that was $100.00 the other fees are:
Activity fees....30.00
drawing lab fee.15.00
library fee......... 2.00
locker fee......... 2.00
painting lab fee.15.00
stage crew fee..20.00
textbook rental..35.00
deposit.............15.00
I just wonder how parents with more than one child in school handle all these fees.

[bob rulz]

Originally Posted by VC dreamer

Maybe it is just a Utah County thing...I don't know, but from what I understand Lehi High School has been around since 1908 so it's not because the school is new. Also, the fees charged are different for each class so some students may have to pay more, some less. My daughters' largest fee was for the debate class and that was $100.00 the other fees are:
Activity fees....30.00
drawing lab fee.15.00
library fee......... 2.00
locker fee......... 2.00
painting lab fee.15.00
stage crew fee..20.00
textbook rental..35.00
deposit.............15.00
I just wonder how parents with more than one child in school handle all these fees.

I don't think my school has textbook fees; I could be wrong though. But otherwise, $234 isn't as high as I initially thought it was. I usually ended up at $150 or so. But it still seems a little high. It could just be the classes, that's a lot of classes with additional fees.