Moving from Kauai to Cedar City, UT (Sandy, St. George: houses, job market)
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Thanks for your reply. Hawaii is soooo very expensive and LA has changed just tooo much!! We don't feel we can raise our child on Kauai without both of us working. I love my career as a teacher, however, I have seen too many situations where a parent at home would have supported a better environment. Anyway, we had both been through Northern Utah before and loved the crisp, fresh winter feel (even though we are sun lovers at heart). Southern Utah seems a little more tolerable with warmer summers. We also want a "small town feel". Ironically, seems Cedar City has fewer markets than Kauai...not a really big deal, but interesting enough. What we truly want is to own a home and live in a safe neighborhood with good schools. Thanks again for the feedback.
Hi I saw your posting about you moving away from kauai it seems that we are in the same place but rather me and my wife are looking to move to kauai. Im also in the trades as a painting contractor looking for work on the island. Im trying to make connections with people in the trades, I was wondering if you could steer me in the right direction. Im going to be bringing all my equipment and I have experience in all finishes and in running my own crews. Me and my wife are looking for a slower pace of life than we have now in san diego. My wife worked for a church for 6 years with the jr. and sr. high students. And I led a sr. high boys bible study. We would like to be involved somehow with a youth group and a church. If you have any advice for us please let me know.
Kauai is a beautiful place....very expensive. Still a lot of work, but slowing some. Rates are competative, but then again with the high cost of living you don't see the financial gains. Anyway, Calvary Chapel (on Kapaa bypass road) is a great place to start...lots happening there with youth programs, very active men's and women's groups (the men meet weekly and sometimes up to 70 men attend) a college, UTurn for Chirst, Mom's in Touch and much more. Kauai Christian Fellowship is another youth oriented church with many community ties as well. There are many in the construction field/contractors in both churches. This is a start. Good luck with the move.
I just moved from Cedar to Heber City about 6 months ago (Heber is 20 minutes south of Park City). I hate to say it, but I have regretted moving ever since. Cedar has so much to offer. Pretty decent climate, great recreational opportunities (lush mountains and red rock scenery), low cost of living, nice people, low crime, and cultural activities with Southern Utah University. As far as scenery is concerned in and around Cedar, it is fairly pretty but quite desert-like. It all depends on which direction you are facing. If you are facing the mountains to the east, it seems a lot greener because of the evergreens on the mountains. However, if you are facing west and northwest, it is very desert-like. However, after a 30 minute drive up the canyon, there are plentiful streams, lakes, and lush meadows, as well as red rock scenery at Cedar Breaks. Kolob canyon, which is part of Zion National Park, is only 20 minutes to the south of Cedar on I-15.
As far as the climate is concerned, Cedar City is probably the most mild of any other place in Utah. In the winter, the average high is 42 and the average low is 18. Compare that to SLC at 37/25. Cedar has a lot less snow/fog/inversion so there are many more sunny days than in northern Utah. The skies are generally clear and blue during the winter, except for maybe 7 days out of each month when its snowing. Even when it's cold, St. George and golfing weather is only 45 minutes away. As for the spring and fall, both seasons are mild and start sooner and end later than northern Utah. The summers are fairly mild (compared to the rest of the state) with the month of July averaging 89 for the high and 58 for the low. Because of the high elevation, nights are cool and it takes a while for it to reach 89. Even when it does reach 89, by the end of July and start of August, the monsoonal moisture kicks in and the afternoon thunderstorms (which occur almost on a daily basis) drop the temperatures significantly. Cedar City gets significantly more thunderstorm activity than northern Utah. During the spring, the southwest winds blow practically all day, but only at 10-20 mph. It's not nearly as bad as people make it sound. So overall, the climate is mild compared to most other locations in Utah. That being said, the humidity is extremely low and dry skin and bloody noses can be a problem.
There are a lot of good doctors in Cedar for such a small town. A lot of professionals move to Cedar because of the family atmosphere and mild climate. I would have no problems at all having a baby at the hospital there. I have lived in numerous states and in several large cities and the health care in Cedar is great. That being said, some complex procedures require patients to travel to St. George (only 45 minutes away) or Salt Lake.
When I was there, the housing market was really inflated. Ironically, since I moved away, prices have dropped significantly. It wouldn't be hard to find a new or nearly new 3 bed/2.5 bath home for $200,000 or less.
It's definitely true that the shopping there is not very good. However, St. George has decent shopping 45 minutes away and Vegas is 2.5 hours away.
Wages are low and jobs are hard to find. However, there are increasingly more manufacturing/industrial jobs because of low costs and Cedar's proximity to Vegas, California, and a rail line. Jobs centered around construction work are not plentiful due to the somewhat depressed housing market. That being said, I think things will change shortly as more and more retirees are moving there and jobs are increasing.
I would highly recommend Cedar. The people there are friendly, although perhaps a little reserved and shy. The schools seem to be decent and the University is top-notch comparatively. I worked in government and the government officials seem to have the best interests of the public in mind, although they are a little backwards-thinking sometimes. Almost everyone I have talked to that has lived in Cedar has loved it. Good luck in making your decision.
aloha mama42, my name is hueimo. live in Honolulu and planning on moving to Utah due to similar reasons like you, mainly due to the high cost of living in on Oahu. I was wondering if I could ask you some of your experiences moving from this paradise island to Utah, as I'm really trying to find some Hawaii people in utah. thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the very thorough discussion!! This really helps. If I might ask, what made you want to leave Cedar? You have confirmed a lot of what our research is showing us....Cedar is a great place to live and raise a family!! Thanks for the endorsement. It has been hard to get a perspective on this other than what our research shows....especially being so isolated here on Kauai. Anyway, with that said your side note on employment looks like a little red flag. We get mixed reviews on the ease of finding jobs....my husband runs his own construction/home remodel business here on Kauai and is busy. We anticipate that he will be comuting to St. George for the majority of his business. Some people have said that if we aren't mormon we might have a hard time finding/getting work. This just doesn't sound right. We are Christian, hard working and enjoy people no matter what "religion", etc. Seems this is more important....are we missing the marK?? Afterall, with a new baby on the way and my being a stay at home mom (I'm going to put my teaching career on hold for this one!), employment is an issue. Do you have anymore feedback on this? Also, you mentioned the thunder storms...I enjoy the diversity of weather....on the other hand, we have skitish 9 year old dog who isn't quite as confident in these kinds of conditions....can you expand on the "daily" thunderstorms....are these the rockem', bangem', scare my dog to death kind of thunder storms???
I wish I could help you....we are still here on Kauai and in the process of making this move. Maybe the forum can fill you in on some of our questions. Good luck to you!!
Wow, moving from the climate in Kauai to this high desert area might be a shock to the body. I moved here from southern California (Huntington Beach) more than 6 years ago. You deal with the dryness for about a month or more but then you get used to it, after all, it is the high desert. We lived in Cedar back in the early 90's but had to leave and knew we would return someday. Oddly enough my brother moved to Kauai a few years ago from southern California! His wife works for price club/costco and was offered a position when they opened a new store on the island. I don't get to talk to him much so I am not sure how they are doing. They are in the Kapaa area.
As you can probably tell from my username I live in the Parowan area. We sold our home in Cedar a few years ago and moved to Parowan to buy a large property we could not afford to buy in the Cedar Valley area. I was born and raised in soCal, but I think I was always a small town girl at heart. I love little Parowan and I especially love the schools here, more so than Cedar. It is sometimes more difficult for the kids to adjust to and fit into the schools here if they are not LDS(we are not). After a year or so my son has fit into a good group of kids at Parowan high school. My daughter attends SUU(I graduated from SUU a few years ago, great university!). In soCal my kids were just another kid in the thousands, here they are one in a few hundred. I know my son's teachers and his grades are e-mailed to me daily. I didn't get that kind of service in soCal!
I personally love the four seasons. Yes, the winters will be cold but it is just another thing you get used to, unless you are spoiled and don't have an open mind. I have friends who visit and they are amazed at the beauty but say that they could not handle the cold winter, it is all an individual thing. I will take the weather over the soCal crowds and lifestyle any day.
The summers are mild but warm. Not over 100 very often if at all. And yes, with the spring come the winds. I love the thunderstorms in the late summer and fall, bring them on! I guess if you think your dog might be too traumatized by the thunderstorms and that would affect your decision, I don't know what advice to give about that. I have 4 dogs and one does hide more than the others, the thunderstorms come and go, then they recover. Life goes on.
We run our business from home, but my husband has to commute to California once every month, he is a business consultant and we have serviced the same companies for many years. I think business for the construction trades has slowed with the economy, but most are still making a living. To me a handy man or painting business would thrive no matter where you are if you are skilled at what you do. Just a few years ago we couldn't get anyone to do anything because the contractors in all trades were too busy to give you a call back. If you did get a call back, they often did not show up to give you a bid. It was crazy.
kt76 gave you a great post full of good info about Cedar City. If you want to have some variety in your shopping experience you will have to visit St George just 40 or so miles down the hill. I am not much of a shopper, but what I cannot find in town I can find on-line. Thank goodness the cost of housing has come down with the economic issues, it is more realistic and affordable for everyone, including local people who were priced out of the market for a few years. For your baby birthing needs(congrats) there is a beautiful new hospital and I think some pretty good health care providers.
When I lived in the city(Cedar) I never had any issues with my LDS neighbors or with the missionaries. They are really good neighbors to people who don't bring their big city attitudes with them.
Hope I was able to address a few of your questions. Let me know if I can be any further help and good luck with your move.
I'm completely new to postings online and coincidentally was looking at some demographics on a little town in the State of Washington and was so impressed with this web site I decided to check out my own town Cedar City, UT. I hope that I can add a bit of useful information. I am a general contractor and work primarily in Cedar City, Parowan, New Harmony and Cedar Mountain. I have a lot of call for remodel and small construction projects but pass on many of the requests because of the work load on new construction. The new construction is slowing, but still relatively strong. <REMOVED ADVERTISING LINKS> Anyway my wife and I have three children from 17 months old to 8 years old and love our wonderful community. We are mormon and strong values and families are paramount and this community is very welcoming and supportive. Many of our friends are from other faiths. As with anywhere its alot how you look at things. We recently returned from a wonderful vacation to Kaui and the Big Island which is why your posting caught my eye. The seasons are diverse here which is true to high desert weather but I love it. Even when its uncomfortable there are exciting things to do. Wish you the best. <REMOVED ADVERTISING>
Last edited by coolcats; 04-26-2008 at 08:21 PM..
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