Non-mormon family looking to relocate to Lehi (Sandy, Layton: high school, live in)

[Grblpwr]

Originally Posted by coolcats

Just curious if you ever have longings to go back. I was living just up the road from you in Chantilly. I miss the nice trees, and the great job opportunities, the relative proximity to the ocean, but other than that, I haven't looked back. No more 5:30 a.m. traffic jams, no more $350,000 2 bedroom condos etc.

So far no longing to go back. While I do miss the trees and the pay (boy do I miss the pay), the beautiful mountains, lack of humidity, light traffic and low cost of living here (relatively) more than make up for it.

Did I mention the lack of humidity? The wonderful, wonderful, non-sticky lack of humidity.

The think I miss most about Manassas was being able to hop on the METRO and be in DC touring the museums and monuments anytime I felt like it. It was a great, cheap way to spend the day.

[crybaby]

Originally Posted by DP525

It takes about 20 minutes to get to IMFT from Daybreak. The reason we didn't pick Suncrest is it is much higher than the rest of the valley. Yesterday they had snow when we were clear. It would be cooler there in the summer but you pay for it in the winter.

Jordan Landing is about 10 minutes from Daybreak and has many "big box" stores. The Sandy Mall is about 15 minutes away. The District will be another huge shopping center and is across Bangerter from Daybreak...so within walking distance. It already has several stores and a huge theater open. Daybreak itself will have its own shopping area with small shops and restaurants but isn't done yet.

So can anyone tell me where exactly Daybreak is? Is it in South Jordan, West Jordan? My family is moving to that area within the next 2 months, and I've heard a lot about Daybreak, I would like to check it out. IMAWORKINONIT cracked a joke about finding out where all the new transplants for the IM plant have moved, and maybe that's not such a bad idea! Does anyone know in which communities the majority of them have moved into?

[DP525]

Daybreak is at the far western edge of South Jordan a couple of miles north of Herriman. The main entrance is at Bangerter Highway and 11400 South.

[aussie_american]

Originally Posted by crybaby

IMAWORKINONIT cracked a joke about finding out where all the new transplants for the IM plant have moved, and maybe that's not such a bad idea! Does anyone know in which communities the majority of them have moved into?

My husband currently works for Micron in VA. He has trained a number of the IMFT people. Most of them seem to be locating themselves on the Utah Valley side of the mountain. Two in American Fork, two in Cedar Hills, one in Pleasant Grove and one in Traverse Mountain.

We are probably relocating there early next year. We have been looking at Cedar Hills, Highland, Traverse Mountain and Draper. I can't speak from experience, but from what I've read on these boards and what I've seen looking at houses online if commute time is a concern, you want to avoid anywhere west of I15. If you live in the Salt Lake Valley (Draper, Daybreak, South Jordan) you will be closer to more shopping, cultural offerings and will find a lower percentage of LDS (if that is important to you) but you will have a worse commute. If you live in the Utah Valley east of I15 you will find the opposite. Housing prices seem to be pretty comparable either way.

One other thing we have been considering is renting for 6-12 months to "get a better feel for the area" before we decide exactly where we would prefer to live. Of course real estate prices have been on the rise in this area (partly due I'm sure to IMFT) although in general the US housing market is slowing down, so it is hard to predict whether waiting 12 months might make finding a home more costly.

Something else someone suggested to me to consider would be if the tech industry had a downturn, (or something adverse happened with IMFT) would there be sufficient other jobs/industry in the Utah Valley to sustain the housing market there? SLC has a bigger population and is more diverse so perhaps a house in that area would be better for resale.

[thwrosdlton]

I personally think tech jobs had little to do with the rise in home prices in Utah the last 1.5 years. It had more to do with families from other parts of the country looking for affordable housing and investors chasing the next big deal. There was a housing boom in many parts of the country during 2002 to 2005, but prices in Utah remained pretty flat until the 2nd half of 2005 when St George was a red hot market. Investors have been moving north from AZ and LV as those markets have cooled the last year and quickly driving up prices in UT. I'm guessing the average Utah family can't afford a new home now without a toxic mortgage.

Prices are starting to level off and even drop in some parts of Utah so it's probably smart to rent for awhile to see how the market shakes out.

[Fitzy]

Well, we're on our way. The movers come on THursday and Friday. THe kids and I will stay here while my husband goes to his orientation. We'll all be in Utah on the 17th.

I need to know where to live. I'm looking for a school district with a good elementary TAG program. My husband doesn't want to long of a commute, and of course we want reasonable housing prices!

Someone point me in a good direction! (please)

[cslaughter1]

I am a member that recently moved to Utah. The majority of my friends, childhood friends and adult friends have been non-members and most of them were Asian or black. So when I read these posts about ALL Mormons being discriminatory, its a joke to me. Unfortunately there are bad people of all faiths but to stereotype all people because you ran into those bad apples is wrong.

I used to live in Texas (for 10 years), and I had a Southern Baptist group come to my front door and rudely tell me that I did not have Christ in my heart because I'm LDS. BTW, Mormons are Christian. I believe in Christ 100%. So should I have felt discriminated in Texas because I'm not southern baptist and ran into some bad apples? Of course not! I chose not to let those few bad apples make me feel unwelcome in my Texas neighborhood and I met many nice people there - both LDS and not LDS.

Most LDS people are very kind and friendly. Many do not push their religion on non-member neighbors although they may invite you to church and activities but how hard is it to say "no" if that's what you want. The only time I mentioned church to my non-member friends is when they asked me a question about it.

I would avoid the small towns in Utah and southern Idaho. For the simple fact that there may be more discrimination in these towns because these children have grown up together and formed their cliques. You would run into this in any small tight-knit community. I'm sure a Mormon moving into a small town of strong baptists, catholics, or whatever would face the same thing. I ran into this in a fairly big suburb in Texas.

[Bodog]

I would consider somethign close- the a.m. commute can be a real bear, both north and south. We chose Spring Creek Ranch in Lehi, because it is within 3 minutes of I-15, but you can get to the East side where IMFT is without getting on I-15. It is close to a lot of open space and there is a natural creek in the community, but just over the freeway on the east side is a movie theater, Super WalMart, Target, Costco, Home Depot, etc.

If you don't like the west side, Traverse Mountain seems OK but the lots are really small, in the range of .1 to .15 acres, and it is a little "hilly" if you have kids who want to ride their bikes around. But, it is close to hiking in the foothills. It is a bit of a drive to grocery stores and the rest.

[StuckinLehi]

With school age children check out the Charter schools. Coming from the east coast my first and 8th grader went back in time two years. the charter schools seem to be better and the parent input is welcomed and required.

[desertdawg]

Wow I just started reading this thread today and wow I only read to page 10 and I wanted to post before I have to go so I skipped to the end I hope my input will help I have lived in Ut all my life as a nonmorman but I allways played with and hung out with both nonmormans and mormans alike I dont belong to any religion but I do believe in god yes I know now you will call me agnostic anyway I am now 38 and I loved living and growing up in Ut and Ill never move I have 2 boys and they are both teenagers and they like it here too they have plenty of friends LDS and non LDS girlfriends too I think Utah is a great place to raise your kids and if you dont like it its simple go away I have seen all the early post that say some of them were picked on by the mormons yeah so was I by a few so what other kids picked on me that were non mormon too and some LDS parents wouldnt let there kids play with me that didnt make me feel bad for me it made me feel bad for there kids you could tell they felt terrible about it and the local bishop told me that those parents were wrong for doing that and had a talk with them that just taught me that just because you belong to a religion and look down your nose at someone doesnt make you right it just makes you stupid I wish I had more time to waste but I dont so see you in the funny pappers