Vernal or... (Salt Lake City, Provo, Moab: hotels, transfer to, high school)

[vantexan]

...the Outer Banks of NC? I'm looking at a company transfer to Kitty Hawk, NC. The job would pay about $20hr but the costs on the islands are pretty steep. An upscale retirement/tourist area. I haven't signed an offer letter yet, and an opening in Vernal just came up with the same company. I'd make $18hr there. I love the West, prefer it in every way but my mom and sister live about 150 miles from Kitty Hawk. I like the coast and the mountains of North Carolina but I'd be miserable living where they live in eastern NC. Sorry but it just doesn't appeal at all. But Kitty Hawk would do if it wasn't so expensive.

I've never been to Vernal but everything I'm reading sounds good other than winter cold and high rents. I don't need much but I'd like to find an affordable 1 bedroom or studio apt that will allow having 2 old, friendly and housebroken dogs. And your opinion of Vernal as a place to live would be appreciated. I'm not LDS, but I am a Christian and while not against drinking alcohol I hardly ever do, haven't in a couple of years. Mostly just work and sleep. Are people pretty easy going there?

Sorry for the long post, opinions appreciated!

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

Don't know anything about the place except it is pretty far from the airport if you or your family want to visit. Any yes, it gets pretty cold and winter lasts a long time.

[devo306]

The airport in vernal does 2 flights a day to Denver. It's a nice little town but it is growing fast. You should be able to find everything that you need to survive here. It seems that the jobs are coming back, so prices are climbing. I'm from back east so it took a little for me to get comfortable here, but now we love it. Good luck!

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

Thanks for the correction! I did not know Vernal had its own airport.

[InSandy]

Boy if it were me I'd stay in Kitty Hawk :-). But then I love the east, I love the green, I love the ocean and a change would be nice.

On the other hand I love the deserts and parks and mountains of Utah. Vernal is a good town. My grandfather grew up there and we've visited friends there over the years. Though it was begun by Mormons and there is a large number there you will find the oil folk bring in a very different vibe. I think of it mostly in terms of what else there is to do there, like hiking and 4x4 in the mountains, fishing, Flaming Gorge, not too far from Moab or Grand Junction.

It goes through bust and boom times when sometimes even the hotels are too full for tourists due to workers there. I don't think that is the case at the moment.

I've thought about moving there, getting away from the city life. It is really fairly isolated, it isn't that large, but it is certainly the largest town of any substance within about a 3 hrs drive.

[JimBaker488]

FWIW: I passed thru Vernal last year on my way from Jackson Hole, WY to SLC to catch a flight and stopped in a couple places in Vernal to gas up and eat and found the people very courteous, friendly, and helpful.
Vernal is definitely off of the "beaten track" which can be a very good thing in some ways, though it's certainly on a good state hiway all the way into SLC. It's much larger than I expected, really more of a small city than a town and has that feel of a place where "things are happening", which is probably do to a vibrant local economy.

[ChrisC]

Vernal is a small city/town that has grown a lot over the past 20 years or so. You'll find pretty much anything you need for comfortable living there. Climate is high desert. It's colder than most areas of Utah during the winter, but since it's arid, there is not as much snow there, generally. Summers are typical for Utah. It's a friendly town and if you go there with an open mind, you should be fine. Just don't expect NYC.

[soccerscotty21]

I have been to vernal a a couple dozen times and have enjoyed it every time. It is a VERY small town and is not close to any cities. It is just over 300 miles to Denver and about 170 miles to SLC. Vernal is only minutes from some of the most breathtaking mountain areas in Utah. There are MANY excellent recreation options near Vernal for hiking, camping, boating, fishing, snowmobiling, and much more. If you are looking for a "redneck" type lifestyle, then Vernal is for you. If you aren't ready to remove yourself from real civilization (fast-paced city lifestyle) then don't move to Vernal. Vernal does have a few places to eat, both fast food and mom and pop type places, it has a Wal-mart and there is a high school in Vernal. Winters are brutal in the basin, the summers are hot (90's-100's), and the spring and fall are pretty short. If I had a choice, I would prefer Vernal over 99% of the places in the US, but I grew up hunting and fishing, so places like Vernal call to me. It all just depends on what you like to do.

[Spudnik]

My spouse and I lived in Vernal for 5 years and left just as the new 'boom' was starting. We are avid hikers & enjoy both mountain and desert environments--as a result, we really loved the Vernal area! We are not LDS, but did not see where that was an issue. (In 5 years, I think we only had one visit from a missionary). We had great neighbors and friends who were LDS. Many of the community activities were pretty 'family-oriented.'

It is pretty conservative and the region, at that time, wasn't particularly sympathetic to environmentalists, etc.
If you enjoy outdoor activities/geology, Vernal has a lot to offer! Summers get into the 90's and winters were rarely below 10 degrees with maybe a couple snows that didn't hang around long. We did have some foggy days in winter...

If you are looking for night-life and malls, it may not be a great fit. We would often drive 3 hours to Salt Lake City, Provo, UT or Grand Junction, Colorado if we needed to shop for something special. We did not find that a hardship, though, because the scenery is beautiful. And, I guess we just accepted that as consequence of living in the rural intermountain west.