Moving from Raleigh to Salt Lake City - Mormon Stigma (Provo: real estate, lease)
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I'm def. NOT LDS, I'm Catholic, but not very religious, as in, I don't go to church or I guess talk about religion alot. My neighborhood is all LDS, except my family, & our direct neighbors, although, they are jack-mormons, I think is the term I've heard. They are LDS, but don't practice it. I've had no problems, & I get along great w/ my neighbors! I also have a great Mom's group, many of whom are also def. NOT LDS. Of course, I'm also married w/ kids, so, I think that helps to meet people, & make friends. As a single, childless person, I'm not sure what I'd do here. Of course, I could say that anywhere now, since I'm so used to having my rugrats around. =)
it took me a moment to realize that you were saying you are definitely not mormon. at first i thought you were spelling deaf wrong. really changes the whole context of the message. glad my brain is starting to catch up.
for singles in utah, you have one of the best opportunities to get out and enjoy the outdoors. utah has some of the most amazing desert and highland country i've ever seen. take advantage of the fact that you don't need a babysitter to go have fun. go down to grand gulch and see the myriad indian ruins, or hike the skyline drive, or go down to the four corners, or zion, or arches, or capitol reef, or any of the other amazing sites that utah is famous for.
LOL Sorry, I shorthand sometimes. =) &, yes, I agree, the scenery is amazing. We love to hike w/ the kids alot too. Carrying them adds to the workout. =)
LOL Sorry, I shorthand sometimes. =) &, yes, I agree, the scenery is amazing. We love to hike w/ the kids alot too. Carrying them adds to the workout. =)
true. my last trip down to snow canyon, i carried my daughter all the way back to the car while she slept on my back. poor little kid was tuckered out.
ArrowJess-I lived in SLC as a kid and learned to ski there. Best skiing any where and YES, best snow on earth. I relocated back there in 2002 and left in 2005-couldn't stand it. Loved it as a kid but not as an adult. I am not LDS and I very much felt a stigma living there-professionally and socially. My co-workers were all warm and fuzzy until they found out I wasn't Mormon, then just very polite. Since their (Mormons) lives evolve around their church and its practices, that is what they do and if you are not part of the religion then you don't fit in their world and it is the LDS version of the Vatican. Forget liberal. I moved back there from having lived in Reno for 27 yrs. and let's just say-culture shock. If your young male employees go a'courting then expect to try and be converted if they date LDS girls as getting married and havng babies is what they are raised to do. I'm not slamming the religion or it's people-but they do have their OWN way of living. And if you are not LDS it is hard to fit in. And the clothes are made by Omar the tent maker.
Also, you really need to like kids and being around them because there a LOT! I gave up going to movies because of there being so many. Kids are okay but no one should be forced to put up with less than desirable behavior. My husband would comment that "they (Mormons) expect you to accommodate them and their beliefs because they are the majority". I felt that was very true. I have had quite a few people say they felt ostracized living there if they weren't LDS.
SLC has a lot to offer and there is a lot of outdoors stuff but given your situaton and what you are lookng for I would highly recommend considering somewhere else. The cost of living is high compared to the wages, the air quality is beyond gross in the winter time, lots of traffic and well, I was use to 24/7 so the night life was a bit of a joke to me. The people there are very nice and well educated and very into arts and culture. So in that respect there is a lot to offer. However, I have family that still live there and they don't seem to be bothered by the LDS influence but after 40 yrs. how would you recognize it? My sister never has understood my reference to it but then complains about being treated different-lesser than-because she is a woman. Hello! I have never been treated so condensendingly (sp) by men in my life as I was there. No, I do not miss it there and have no intentions of living there again. I don't even like to go there to visit and haven't been back since I left. Yeah-look elsewhere or your employees could very well end up hating you. Try Idaho or Oregon or Washington-eastern side is much sunnier. Northern Idaho is very nice-a bit gloomy in the winter and Couer de Alene is approx.45,000 and very close to Spokane, WA which I think is 200,000. May not be big enough for you though. Good luck.
Everyone of course has different experiences, and maybe I've been spoiled by living here almost my whole life (therefore I don't have much of a frame of reference), but I can almost entirely avoid the Mormon influence. I've found plenty of liberal and non-religious friends, and I have a few more conservative and maybe somewhat religious ones. There are definitely plenty of highly religious Mormons around here, but there's also plenty of variety and you don't have to go out of your way to avoid the Mormon influence.
One thing you will notice about the culture here that I've noticed is different, however, is the sharp Mormon to non-Mormon divide. Because the Mormon culture is so dominant overall here, there are plenty of bitter ex-Mormons or non-Mormons who blame all of their problems on Mormons and form stereotypes about them despite the fact that they've been around them their whole life. It's ridiculous when a girl who's lived in Utah her whole life and has been around Mormons all that time can still say that Mormons are racist. *shakes head* I find these kinds of people to be just as bad as the ultra-conservative, stubborn, highly religious people who look down on others not of their faith.
Overall, however, I find Mormonism overall to be among the most positive and uplifting of any of the Christian faiths, and they practice a hard work ethic.
However, in the context of your post, I think you need to be more worried about a place that will be good for your business AND your employees. I couldn't help you there, but you seem to be more concerned about a place that will be good for YOU.
I think, on an individual level, Mormons are good people to know and work with. What riles me is the legislature and every repressive, good-ole-boy thing they try to pull (and most of them are Bushies and Mormon).
What I find interesting is all the so-called open-minded liberals who hate Mormons, Conservatives, and Christians in general. Hint to left-wingers: they're all different groups with some crossover, not one in the same. Tolerance? Can take it, but never dish it out.
What I find interesting is all the so-called open-minded liberals who hate Mormons, Conservatives, and Christians in general. Hint to left-wingers: they're all different groups with some crossover, not one in the same. Tolerance? Can take it, but never dish it out.
We like to call those folks coffee shop vegan hippies.
Hi there, I lived in SLC for 2 years, the city is so pretty, but the people will quickly give you a reason for leaving. If I were you, I would move my business right into Park city or heber, which is right by the ski resorts and alot more liberal. Being in SLC has a certain stigma and if your not mormon, you will be fit in, nor will your business do well. I know that sounds crazy but its true. I even got locked out of all my HOA meetings for my home. I finally moved, it really sucks cause the city is great. Move to Park city, much nicer anyway.
I think you should consider taking a trip with a few of your key guys to Salt Lake for a week. Try to see as much as you can, areas you may put your business, residential areas, restaurants, nightlife, etc. Visit Park City, which is definitely liberal compared to the rest of the state. I have lived in Utah most of my life, (Salt Lake for about 16 yrs) am not Mormon and have never had a problem meeting people that are non-Mormon. There absolutely is nightlife. Most of it happens on the weekends. There are a quite a few places that feature a variety of live shows on a nightly basis and certain acts will bring in a sold out or near sold out crowd. Sure a lot of places might get business in the middle of the week and can actually be fun that is just hard to get consistently.
If you lean towards Utah, I would only consider Salt Lake City or Park City, anywhere else; you might get a completely different experience. Salt Lake is about 50/50 non/non. I would guess Park City is about 30/70; it seems to be a lot of transplants with money. There is plenty of diversity and culture in Salt Lake; you just need to leave the house to find it. Some people in this state complain there is nothing to do but they are the people who go out twice a year. Take advantage of what there is at hand.
There are a lot of things to do here, especially it seems for guys. Practically every guy I know spends all of their free time taking advantage of all the outdoor activities there are across the state. I really don't think your guys would have any problem meeting ladies here. Seems to me it's always girls night out at the club and there are way more women than men. I haven't dated an LDS person since high school, 19 years ago. I don't run in circles where I would meet LDS guys. Now if you are in your late 30's/or mid 40's and are still single, I do think it gets hard to live in Utah and not be of the faith. Everyone around you has settled down and has babies and you are just limited to the few nights they can manage to go out.
Good luck to you.
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