Questions about Cedar City... (Provo, St. George: fit in, houses, neighborhood)

[TOMTGB2]

My husband and I are looking to relocate. We currently live in the Mojave Desert in a very small town and are unhappy with its lack of opportunities, culture, extreme heat, dining choices, and recreation choices and are considering Cedar City. It seems to offer everything we want in a town, recreation, four seasons, programs for our children (we have two: a boy, 6, and a girl, 2) not to far from a big city and not a big city itself. He is in the medical profession, he is a PA, and I am a former high school English teacher who now stays home raising our children. We love the outdoors and enjoy camping, fishing, hiking, biking, and enjoy the theater and the Shakespeare Festival appeases me greatly =) Here is the kicker...we are not LDS, we are actually Catholic, and although we were both born and raised in California we are of Hispanic descent so we are "brown" and do tan. The question that I am asking and has been asked before on this forum is would we be okay? I do not expect to be accepted by the entire community and understand that there will be some people who will not like us because we are not of the right color or religion (although I hate to admit that in the year 2008). I would describe our family as Republican, educated, morally and environmentally conscious and very family-oriented. What do you think? We are planning a trip there next month and would like a heads up on what to expect. Thanks!

[Blondie-Rabbit]

You'll fit in fine. If you want to meet the shakespearan folk, Fred and I go way back,I can do an intro for you. Cedar is more diverse than St. George and with the University get a wide range as well. The festival draws even more. You will do just fine. There is even a cathloic church in town.

[Aerorick]

If your coming from the Mojave area eg. 29 palms, Joshia Tree etc., then Cedar would certainly offer more than that area without to having to go into Palm Springs or Victorville. Culturally I don't think there's a lot of diversity. But being Hispanic won't be an issue. It's just a bland little town with a Wal-mart and Home Depot and a few other national chain stores. Many people in the town travel 47 miles south St. George for shopping and for that matter employment. I suppose any dining experiances would be confined to Sizzler, closed on Sundays, assorted family owned Mexican and Italian resterants and of course fast-food. As far as entertainment there's movie theaters and an abundance of outdoor scenery and activitys. Last spring/summer was a little on the warm side compared to normal with temps in the 90's often. Winters can be quite tolerable to quite nasty. While -10 at night isn't unheard of it's usually when a cold front is passing through from the north and doesn't stay that way for more than a couple days. There will be snowfalls of up to 18 inches at a time occasionally.
As far as the Shakespere Festival is concerned it's actually one of a string of events that are hosted by the town in the spring and summer. The personality of the city is something you'd just have to hang around it long enough to get a feel. Like I said before, I consider it a bland little Utah town. I suppose the best part of it in my opinion is that Mesquite is only an hour and a half away.

[Blondie-Rabbit]

The Garden House resturant on 100 West and about 170 south is close to fine dining as you will get. If you want steak houses There is Milts Stage Stop, and Rusty's just up the canyon a bit. There is a new japanese place like Benihania's, so you can even get Sushi in Cedar now. The city doesn't host the Shakespeare festival in fact when it started they were against it. The city has in recent years cashed on it's popularity and the fact that it one of one two who have won Tony awards for their productions. There is also the Niel Simon Festival, and a few other things that are on a small more local scale. The funny thing is, St. George use to be smaller than Cedar. St. George people use to make the trek to Cedar to do shopping. Even with St. George (which use to be 60 miles away, before they moved the start and stop points) there is no real diversity other than you have a target and few more places on that scale. The real shopping is done in Vegs or going north to Provo/SLC. As for outdoor rec. you find it all near by. Jobs suck! Do not expect to come here and make good wages. Housing is obscene for what you get and the no jobs to support the prices. Water rates are very high. There are plans for a old renaissance style village with better dining and small shops where the future Shakespeare Festival will be built. There is a large resort/spa that is being planned for the north interchange area. Enoch which is close, ahs a lot of activity going on for it's industrial park, which is bringing in some larger companies, and hopefully better wages.

[CedarCityUtahRez]

Non-LDS Discrimination is thriving in many, many, many areas in Cedar City, Utah....so sad for the children who are caught up in it.



We moved to Cedar City, 2 years ago. My children are 11, 8, 6, and 8 months. My children are shunned by the neighbors. The LDS of our neighborhood do not want their kids playing with my Catholic children. I did not think Utah was like this at all. I was warned, but I didn't believe the people who told me that we would be treated like "heathen outsiders". I thought that was more of an early 1900's thing.

I have one friend who is a temple Mormon/LDS and she told me that many LDS are like that--that don't want their kids "corrupted" by my Catholic kids. Another gal, an aquaintance, told me that she is LDS (but she married a Catholic) and her little boy has no one to play with in their neighborhood.

When we first moved here...My kids planned a party and spent their own money for decorations and treats. We decorated and were so excited to invite the couple of sisters that my girls had played with a couple of times. They accepted the invitation...and then, the day of the party the mother of the girls called an apologized but said that the girls would have to come home because she just remembered the day before that their cousins (who live in town) were coming over. The girls let it slip that their grandpa, basically wasn't happy that they were becoming friendly with NON-LDS kids. So, grandpa told them that he would bring over a bigger, better thing than to have...so it would be better than the party that my girls had planned.

I am so sad that we moved here. I wish we had not. The cost of housing is ridiculous, too.

[Aerorick]

Unfortuneatly that is not too far from many others experiances in Cedar. It's a town that has had a history of not wanting to get on with time and keep it the way it was in the "Good ole' Days" whatever that was. It recently celebrated actual scheduled air service twice a day from it's airport. Apparently the city fathers fought having air service there for years. Don't know what happened to change their mind. But they only fly to SLC. When Vegas would be a lot faster and connect with as many if not more flights. An interesting case in civic dynamics could probably be made when a town works so hard to stay the way it was. In the meantime, St. George has gone from half the size of Cedar to four times the size in the last ten years. Statistics show that 47% of Cedar residents travel the 40 miles south to St. George for most of their shopping. I think Cedar is a town that has lost any momentum it could have had and doesn't want to admit that it's probably too late. Who knows, maybe that's what they wanted. The old original folks kept it the way they wanted and wonder why the younger folks and graduates of SUU bail cause' there's nothing to offer.

[foster3097]

Cedarcityutahrez-

I am sorry you have had these experiences. We live with our kids in the high desert in California, and will probably be moving to Cedar City in the next few months. I have looked to move other places other than Utah, because we are LDS and want to continue to expose our kids to other cultures, religion, ect...

We (lds) are a minority in CA, and will find it interesting to live in Cedar City. If you don't mind, when we move out there, we should make a play date in the park for our kids to play. It is difficult for kids to make friends when they move to a new area. My kids are use to playing with anyone! They don't even think religion when it comes to friends. My kids are Boys 16, 14, 14 and girls 11,11,5.

I hope things get better for you! Hang in there!

[carlymac]

Well, back in the "Good Ole Days" in the 1920-30's my grandfather was a well-known and well loved citizen of Cedar City. He was an inactive member of the LDS church, in fact I believe he denounced it. But still treated his neighbors with kindness and interest and was very involved in the community. As far as I know he was never run out of town. Hundreds came to his funeral (so I've heard, he died before my father even got married) and that would have had to included many LDS folks.

So I guess my point is if you move to Cedar City with a chip on your shoulder or believing and internalizing everything you hear about how you'll be shunned, you're guaranteed to have a bad experience. But if you are as open and accepting of others as you want them to be of you, you'll have a good experience. I'm not dismissing that there are some very narrow-minded people out there, but to believe that everyone will look at you with furrowed brow or suspicion and will shun your children is way off. A sad generalization that does more harm than good.

We are LDS and live in a predominantly Catholic and Lutheran neighborhood in another state. I know how it feels to not quite fit in as many of the kids in the neighborhod go to a nearby Catholic school. Sadly we haven't gotten to know those families very well. We do feel isolated sometimes. But we recognize that people don't shun us for our religion. We just don't cross paths as often as we would with families whose kids go to public school or who attend the same church we do (which is clear across town). Nobody is out to get us. It's just the way things are.

Good luck with your move.

[Aerorick]

I don't have any problems with Cedar City. I just don't go there if I can help it. We live 30 miles away and do our shopping in St. George of which is 37 miles away. Foster, it sounds like you and your family will have a splendid time there. In fact it's tailor made. In my opinion Cedar City is a modern day attempt at LDS utopia. And if it can succeed without the economic input, ideas or experiance of the outside world, more power to it.

[CedarCityUtahRez]

Foster, I would very much like to get our kids together for a playdate and meet you, too.

I was so excited to move to Cedar City...being somewhere with wonderful, conservative values and family-oriented people. From reading this board, it may just be that some people in our neighborhood and some other areas are nice, but very strict in certain areas of their personal faith. I was really wondering (for a time) if this was something that was encouraged (to try to only associate with only other LDS families).

I have a wonderful friend, who happens to be LDS, and we have so much in common with our values and how we raise our children. She has been so kind and understanding and really helped us with some of the feelings of isolation (and she let us know that it can and does happen...but that we will still have and be friends. I think that any religion is likely going to have some members who (in trying to faithfully follow) maybe, inadvertantly alienate those who are not of the same religion.

Our family is not going to sick back and whine, though...we're going to just keep trying to make friends and live life, happily. Yes, we have to try harder...but it will be OK.