Kanab the truth (St. George, Cedar City, Price: sales, rent, hotel)

[kanab1]

Ok folks heres the honest skinny on Kanab Utah and Best friends Animal sanctuary. First of all Kanab is a small town about 5000 people jumps a little higher during the summer months. Working in Kanab, very few if any local jobs, best friends is the largest employer in the area they pay 10-12 dollars an hr, thats it no raises. The work is outside in all weather conditions, cleaning runs, poop scooping, walking dogs, feeding ec. they also have other areas of employment such as horses, cats, wild animals, birds, rabbits ec. these are all pretty much outside jobs. Kanab winters are relatively mild but do get cold, summers not bad 80-100. Local jobs include seasonal hotel and resturaunt work, ALA Academy for troubled youth, Stamp it, there are two grocery stores very spendy, fuel spendy, power not bad, water not bad, closest city with wal-mart , home depot, lowes ec. is St. George about 80 miles, kanab have 3 hardware stores, family dollar, pizza hut, subway, wendys, mcdonalds, and several gas stations, and private resturaunts. It is a very pretty place but if you are planning on moving here make sure you have a job first, rent is high here as well as the prices of homes. Do your home work before you come here. I know a lot of people who have come here to work at best friends only to have their dreams crushed and left with tails between their legs. A two week orientation/working interview is not a guarentee of employment. So be careful. FYI

[Utahooligan]

Great post!

One minor correction though. The city of Hurricane has a Walmart (open 24 hours) & that's about a 70 mile/70 minute (depending on weather) drive from Kanab. But if you need an emergency vet, Home Depot, Best Buy, etc. the closest major city that does has close to pretty much everything someone might need is St George, which will be a 100 mile, 110 minute (again, depending on weather/road conditions) drive. If I recall right, the two grocery stores & numerous other stores are closed on Sundays for religious (LDS) reasons.

A nice thing about Kanab is that it's a pretty small community where just about everyone knows each other. But that's also the bad news, especially if you work at Best Friends. The gossip mill is churning fiercely 24 hours a day & it's hard to escape it & not run into people you might not want to see. Some of the local old-timers resent Best Friends. I've only experienced this once, and it was some pathetic old-geezer that made a crude, provocative comment when he noticed my BFAS t-shirt.

BFAS does have 'indoor' jobs too -- administration, education, publicity/fundraising depts, etc. but yes, most of the hands-on stuff with the animals other than I suppose birds is going to be outdoors, or a screened enclosure exposed on at least one side to the outdoors. Staff & volunteers are great to talk to because all have the common-interest in animal welfare & most have moved at least hundred of miles in order to be there. But BFAS spends a lot of effort managing & shaping their public image, & anyone who has been there for a while understands that there are some skeletons in the closet (like with most other places). A lot of well-meaning but naive animal-lovers flock to BFAS like they're making a pilgrimage to mecca. It can & should be a fun place to visit, but people really need to invest a lot of thought & research before deciding to move to Kanab & work there!

[Kane County]

I agree with the general tenor of the above posts. It seems prudent to acquire an accurate rendering of a city/town and your place in it before relocating. But entitling this thread "Kanab the truth" with the self description of "the honest skinny" is not accurate and is a disservice to those that seek good information.

Kanab fuel prices are not "spendy". Diesel per gallon is only 2-3 cents higher in Kanab than St. George, Hurricane, or Page and regular unleaded is only 2-4 cents per gallon higher in Kanab than St. George, Hurricane, or Page.

Most skilled positions at BFAS are indoors. Albeit, the BFAS entry level manual labor positions are frequently done in the outdoors.

I suppose there are some us that actually live here, in Kanab, that travel to Hurricane or St. George for shopping but the majority of us go to Page, AZ. Prices are very similar on most items, the sales tax rate is about the same and lower on many items. It's only 72 miles and the weather is rarely a concern. Additionally, there is generally less traffic East of Kanab.

Additionally, Kanab has excellent regular and emergency veterinarian services for both family pets and large animals. I have been raising livestock with the use of herding/cattle dogs for my entire life and use veterinarian services a couple times a year.

"If I recall right, the two grocery stores & numerous other stores are closed on Sundays" . Sounds like it's time for another visit. Years ago, when we only had two grocery stores that was the case. Now some are open on Sunday but may keep different winter and summer hours.


"some pathetic old-geezer that made a crude, provocative comment when he noticed my BFAS t-shirt." The person that made that comment to you did something that was very inappropriate and that should never have happened. As a forth generation Kanab resident, I apologize for his ignorance and narrow mindedness.

I hope this was helpful.

[kanab1]

Unfortunately kane county is wrong even being a 4th generation resident, I have a deisel truck and fuel is at least .20 cents per gallon higher in Kanab than St. george and page, Deisel at the shell on main is 3.27 a gallon today 10-27-2010, I got it yesterday for 3.07 in hurricane. Also taxes in page az. are alot higher than Kanab, taxes are lower in Hurricane and St,George. Also One grocery store is open on Sunday the rest of the town pretty much shuts down. And really the only thing in Page is a Walmart and Safeway, but that is Where you can buy your boose, and lottery tickets, other than Ferdonia. St. George is 80.7 miles from Kanab and take about 1hr.15m. It is 61.95 mi. to hurricane takes about 1hour. Don't get me wrong I like it here I'm just saying do your home work, before you come here. And expect small town living, I only posted this because I have seen so many people come here for best friends without doing any home work then they end up being pissed off at Kanab and best friends because they couldn't make it here, and had to leave. Fyi

[Social Democrat]

Just curious; is the camera store on the main drag still open? It always amused me to pass by and see the "machine gun" in the front window!

[Kane County]

kanab 1 wrote "3.27 a gallon today 10-27-2010" ... today 10-27-2010? You posted that on 11-11-10! More bad information...please stop this type of posting as it is a disservice to those that are seeking accurate information. The date is wrong and you quoted prices at a gas station that may be convenient for tourist passing through town but consistently has the highest prices. Try Sinclair on Center Street for .16 cents per gallon less for diesel...which is only about 2-3 cents more than St. George/Hurricane prices.

Kanab 1 wrote "Also taxes in page az. are alot higher than Kanab" ... that is an inaccurate generalization,as it depends on the item classification. In Arizona many items are taxed less, prescription drugs are taxed less, fuel is taxed less, agribusiness equipment/supplies is taxed less, alcohol and cigarettes are taxed less, and the list continues. Also note, purchasing from the Kaibab Indian Reservation or individuals that are residents of the reservation, under most circumstances, will be tax exempt.

kanab 1 wrote "And really the only thing in Page is a Walmart and Safeway" ... REALLY?

kanab 1 wrote I have seen so many people come here for best friends without doing any home work then they end up being pissed off at Kanab and best friends... As explained in a Kane County Hospital newsletter sometime last year...many individuals have relocated to Kanab looking for a "geographical cure" to their psychological disorder and to no surprise a change in geography did not cure them.

kanab 1 ... does it not seem rather obvious that a prudent person would acquire an understanding of Kanab and their place in it before relocating?

social democrat wrote "is the camera store on the main drag still open? It always amused me to pass by and see the "machine gun" in the front window!" ... Yes, Terry still has his shop on corner...."machine gun"....LOL.

[kanab1]

Weather or not I got the date wrong today 11-18-2010 @ 1030ish the price of fuel is $3.27 per gallon and again it is 3.07 in Hurricane. Lets not nit pick Kane County. And yes Safeway and Wal-mart are pretty much it in Page Az. Other than resturaunts and small touristy shops. Kinda sucks that your a 4th generation resident and you don't know these things, you must not get out much. And I can't figure out why anyone would shop in Page sales tax is like 10+ Percent there. Oh well folks you make up your own minds, come on out and take a look but please do your home work, it is hard to live here unless you bring your job with you.Good luck.

[Kane County]

kanab1 wrote "why anyone would shop in Page sales tax is like 10+ Percent there" A large portion of household budgets are spent on groceries. Arizona grocery tax 0%...Utah grocery tax 3%

kanab1 wrote "my wife works at best friends and there is no other work around for spouses" this helps to explain your miserable and negative outlook.

kanab1 wrote "we found a spot to park our rv if had to pay rent we'd be gone already"and you are complaining about paying taxes? Dude...you live rent free and pay no property/land tax!


kanab1 wrote "I don't think we will be able to do much longer" sounds like you have already given up. Are you just waiting for your wife to give you permission to move?

kanab1 wrote "Kinda sucks that your a 4th generation resident and you don't know these things, now that is some statement coming from an unemployed transient, living in a RV on others land.

kanab1 wrote "you must not get out much." Work related...Cedar City every Thursday and Flagstaff on two Mondays a month. Powell frequently in the summer, Vegas for NFR and California Central Coast road trip in the last year. I don't know if that is "much" or not?

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

If all this thread becomes is 2 posters picking at each other, it will be closed.

[kanab1]

I"m not going to get into a pissing match, these are just my observations. Also I don't live in an RV we own a home in Kanab. I am not a transient either. Seems like kane county likes to throw the first stone. Anyway I will leave this post as it is and you folks can make up your own minds. I just wanted to give a little insight to those of you wanting to come here. It is a very beautiful place just gotta do your home work if you plan on living here. We did our homework and I don't need to work nor do I need to ask permission to leave here. My insight was for those people who do not research before they move. And believe it or not there are a lot of people that don't. So like I said before Good luck.