Monticello Blanding area recommendations and advice (Cedar City, Bluff: motel, new home, job market)

[DaveHaze]

Hi, I am looking to relocate to the Monticello-Blanding area. I like the outdoors and that area appeals to me but I know little about what the cost of buying good undeveloped land or the cost of living and how the job market is plus I am from Texas and I'm sure it gets a lot colder there than what I am used to. If anyone knows about that area and could offer some advice it sure would be appreciated, thanks!

[DOUBLE H]

Hi Dave. I do not live there; I'm 175 miles away but I have passed through there several times. I like Blanding better because the people seem to be friendlier. It is maybe 50% bigger so it would have more services there. Monticello sits at 7000 ft. elevation; in the winter it can really snow at times.The road (U.S. 191) is a two laner but they have been doing a lot of road work there. Economy wise I couldn't tell you. Maybe someone else can chime in on that. Blanding has a few mom and pop motels where you can get a good room for $30 or so. A good place for chow is the Ol' Timer restaurant. The towns aren't real scenic but you don't have to go far to see it. The rock country from Bluff to Monument Valley is awesome. Go east to the San Juan Mountains in Colorado. You'll love it. Probably best to stay a week between the two towns for a few days and check it out. Good luck.

[Rockman]

Blanding is double the population of Monticello. It is also 1000 feet lower in elevation and not so close to the mountain. Makes for nicer weather in my opinon. Blanding has multiple grocery stores and shopping outlets to Monticello's one grocery store and no shopping outlets. The selection of dinner establishments is far greater in Blanding as well.

Blanding has multiple health care clinics as well as a urgent care facility for medical needs and has a new state of the art hospital that has just been completed and is now in the process of getting licensed.

The economy is San Juan County is very strong these days driven by energy exploration and production. There are also a variety of other types of jobs available as well. San Juan County is a very remote area with a lot of wide open scenery and is located closely to many fantastic areas to go see and visit.

The are many new homes that have been built in Blanding the last few years and there are multiple new subdivision being constructed this year 2008. Hope this helps.

Education wise Blanding has the College Eastern Utah a satallite campus with a variety of programs available and also offers other college programs by a ednet microwave program where you can register for other college's while taking classes at the Blanding campus.

Motel wise there are several locally owned motels as well major chain motels such as Comfort Inn and Super 8 that are both located on the south end of town with the Old Tymer resturant located between them. There is a grocery store right across the street along with a urgent care facility and a dinosar museum. All within easy walking distance of either motel.

For more information on Blanding they have a website Blanding City :: Your Base Camp to Adventure

[deanz3hall]

Blanding and Monticello are sadly HUGE rivals. So, a lot of things that are said on here could be pretty biased. I will admit right now that I am pretty biased myself. I grew up in Monticello. It is a beautiful town with amazing people. It is a half hour closer to civilization.
We like to say that we live in vacation land. We are twenty minutes to Canyonlands National Park, an hour to Mesa Verde, an hour to Arches National Park, and at the base of a gorgeous mountain. People often walk from their house up the mountain to Lloyd's Lake.
On the negative side... gardens and flower beds are often distroyed by the deer that wonder the neighborhood at night. It is also a small town so gossip is common, but it is also a very close-knit community with people that care and take care of each other.
The only thing I will say about Blanding is that I know some very good people from there. I have met a few people that have mentioned that thier move from Blanding to Monticello was one of their better decisions based on community factors.

[On-the-trail-again]

I regularly travel through this area and had considered moving there. I can tell you with authority you do not want to have anything to do with this area and these people. The county is very poor. I overheard a sheriff tell a business owner that due to the budget shortfall they were going to use speed traps and anything else to increase revenue. The residents are not friendly to outsiders. I spoke to a man who had recently moved there and said he was not fitting in because he attended the wrong church. There is no culture. How close you are to Wal-Mart is a good indication of the cost of living. The nearest Wal-Mart is 3 hours and 175 miles away in Grand Junction Colorado. Than means EVERYTHING cost more. As an example gas alone is 30 cents a gallon more in this area then any where else. Your dollars will not go as far as you think. Higher taxes on everything make this a very costly area to live in. If you are looking for outdoor beauty you will find a cheaper better lifestyle in either Northern Arizona or the Eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado.

[oldmikey23]

Nearest Walmart from Blanding is about an hour away In Cortez, Colo.. Gas is higher here as is Clark's Market...the only market in town. The speed trap thing is hogwash.....Monticello is were you have to watch it because they do have speed traps there.....ask my ex....lol!

[markg91359]

I only know what I have heard from others by "way of mouth". However, the white population in San Juan County is very politically conservative. If the local population had had their way I doubt there would be either a Canyonlands National Park or an Arches National Park north in Grand County. There has been a recent controversy over the arrest of a bunch of local people for illegally digging up Indian artifacts. The feds appear to have been heavy handed in the way they handled the arrests and a local doctor who was charged actually committed suicide. It doesn't change the fact that locals often feel a right to dig up Indian artifacts and keep them even if they are excavating what appears to have been a burial ground.

These towns were founded by a few families and I think you be surprised today if you realized how many are related to one another. They can be very cliquish and "will circle the wagons" if they feel any threat at all from people not within their community.

Tourism and conservation are value that are often at odds with activities like mining, ranching, and farming. I think there is a substantial segment of the population that wishes the tourists would all go home. They consider someone who proclaims they are an "environmentalist" to be in league with the devil.

This is a very beautiful area, but I would do considerable thinking before I moved here. I have doubts about how accepting the local population is of "outsiders".

[R3N3GAD3]

Originally Posted by On-the-trail-again

I regularly travel through this area and had considered moving there. I can tell you with authority you do not want to have anything to do with this area and these people. The county is very poor. I overheard a sheriff tell a business owner that due to the budget shortfall they were going to use speed traps and anything else to increase revenue. The residents are not friendly to outsiders. I spoke to a man who had recently moved there and said he was not fitting in because he attended the wrong church. There is no culture. How close you are to Wal-Mart is a good indication of the cost of living. The nearest Wal-Mart is 3 hours and 175 miles away in Grand Junction Colorado. Than means EVERYTHING cost more. As an example gas alone is 30 cents a gallon more in this area then any where else. Your dollars will not go as far as you think. Higher taxes on everything make this a very costly area to live in. If you are looking for outdoor beauty you will find a cheaper better lifestyle in either Northern Arizona or the Eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado.

Well about the only thing that you said was right is that gas is normally 30 cents more than elsewhere. Like mentioned before, there is a wal-mart about 60 miles away, and you don't have to worry about traffic jams like the city, so you can make it to wal-mart in less than an hour (from Monticello). And the construction crew working on the airport (from Cedar City, utah) seem to like the locals, and one of them is even African-American, and he likes it. He jokes around with the locals and has a great time. The grocery store in town has very good prices on food as well. and there is also a warehouse that you can purchase food supply and other items from in the town as well. The cost of housing is EXTREMELY cheap here compared to anywhere. I would like to know what "authority" this individual has to tell people to stay away. Because according to my authority, i think that area is a great place to live. Its absolutely terrible not having to worry about traffic jams on the freeway, breathing in fresh air, and not having to worry about where your kids are because everyone knows each other in the town. It's just terrible.. NOT! oh yeah and i talked to THE Sheriff down there and he said that the Federal goverment gave the county an extra $20,000.00 for overtime for his officers. Apparently they really need the extra revinue from that (bogus story for a) speed trap.. They have the largest county in Utah, and thanks to 9/11, they get funding from homeland security to make sure that the county is safe.