Non-mormon family looking to relocate to Lehi (job transfer, schools) - Utah (UT) - Page 3 - City-Data Forum

DP525 · 06-22-2006, 03:46 PM

Thank you all again for you input. Just for those who might be following this thread, I have applied within my company for the Lehi position. Currently I think I will check out Sandy and the other south-Salt Lake areas when I go to visit next week. My kids are young (oldest is seven) so I hope they won't be affected by this much. I will only have a two year comittment so if we don't like it we can move.

Barbee · 06-23-2006, 12:06 AM

I'm sure you and your children will do just great in SLC. SLC is the modern Silicone Valley and this is what you do. Alot of people don't have your skills and opportunities. You are very fortunate to have the ability to 'write your own ticket'. I'm sure you worked very hard to get where you are and it wasn't easy. Things worth having are rarely 'easy'.

Just remember that children are by their own nature 'cliquish' if it's not Religion, it could be race, sports, music, weight or intellect... there will always be those who will and those who will not accept them. It's real life and a part of growing up. [Just imagine an LDS in Rome! LOL] At some point all children need to learn that it's about 'character', real life experiece is the best teacher. [Being LDS, Catholic, Islamic, Hebrew or Athiest does not assure good charater, by any means!]

Myself, I was a Gringo who grew up in Miami. My Spanish is an abomination but I turned out okay. Sure! I was shut out of some cliques-even professionally! But we had our own cliques too. We are all guilty and all victims-depends on your focus.

Focus on the bad, and it will be a bad experience. My philosophy is: "A few wilted leaves of lettuce in the salad is not going to ruin the fancy dress-up dinner w/ my family." [Believe it or not, it will for some. I feel sad for them.]

Congratulations, Dear, I'm sure you made the right decision.

DP525 · 06-23-2006, 09:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barbee

I'm sure you and your children will do just great in SLC. SLC is the modern Silicone Valley and this is what you do. Alot of people don't have your skills and opportunities. You are very fortunate to have the ability to 'write your own ticket'. I'm sure you worked very hard to get where you are and it wasn't easy. Things worth having are rarely 'easy'.

Just remember that children are by their own nature 'cliquish' if it's not Religion, it could be race, sports, music, weight or intellect... there will always be those who will and those who will not accept them. It's real life and a part of growing up. [Just imagine an LDS in Rome! LOL] At some point all children need to learn that it's about 'character', real life experiece is the best teacher. [Being LDS, Catholic, Islamic, Hebrew or Athiest does not assure good charater, by any means!]

Myself, I was a Gringo who grew up in Miami. My Spanish is an abomination but I turned out okay. Sure! I was shut out of some cliques-even professionally! But we had our own cliques too. We are all guilty and all victims-depends on your focus.

Focus on the bad, and it will be a bad experience. My philosophy is: "A few wilted leaves of lettuce in the salad is not going to ruin the fancy dress-up dinner w/ my family." [Believe it or not, it will for some. I feel sad for them.]

Congratulations, Dear, I'm sure you made the right decision.

Perfect! You state it very well. Thanks!

Chunk · 06-24-2006, 12:16 PM

I was raised LDS and moved to Utah and I was treated badly by everyone. Even the kids I went to church with were not my friends. It was the worse experience of my life. I wasn't a jock or a musician so they didn't help. There was no group I could associate with. When I was raised in Socal before that kids didn't care. It was a shocker and that is one of the reasons I hated Utah so bad. I'm over it now but it still haunts me and a reason for my depression for 6 yrs. There is a difference between Utah mormons and the rest of the world mormons. Its changing but I have to warn you. Utah is a nice place to live but make sure you check on your kids. Goodluck.

coolcats · 06-26-2006, 10:10 AM

My wife changed junior high schools here in the Salt Lake Valley and had a terrible time making friends at her new school. She was and still is LDS, so that was not the deciding factor.

I moved to Iowa in 4th grade and did not make friends, which was very hard for me since I had good friends at my old school in Washington. By 6-7th grade, my confidence was shot and I was the kid who got picked on by some of the cliques at school and to a lesser extent even in my LDS ward in Iowa. Fortunately, I started to make friends by high school and had a good group friends by the time I graduated.

Bottom line, I think a certain proportion of kids will be cruel to other kids. They will seek out weaknesses or differences they perceive – be it religion, clothes, sports etc. I never went to school in Utah, so I don’t know how big the LDS-non-LDS factor is. But the bottom line is kids can treat other kids badly for innumerable factors no matter where they are.

MoMark · 06-26-2006, 05:20 PM

Personally I don't care what the religious make-up of a community is as long as they don't get in my business. I'm a Southern Baptist who happens to believe Mormons are deceived and not true Christians, but more "Hindu-lite" with Christian terminology, but I'd never berate them or treat them badly just because I feel they are misled. Good people are good people, regardless of their religions and ultimately they have to stand before God on Judgement Day and explain themselves, so it's not my place. However, for children, I'd be more inclined to enroll them in a private school with other Christian children or a non-religiously affiliated school than put them in the Utah public school system simply because of the LDS issue and my not wanting them exposed to such pressure at so young and impressionable an age. But if the job opportunity is good and you think it's worthy for your family overall, I'd go for it without hesitation knowing it's only for two years and might make other opportunities available to you in the future.

Elder_Shawn · 06-27-2006, 04:48 PM

I really miss the Southern Baptists! I've had some of the most violent bible discussions in my life among their followers. Good times!

My wife grew up LDS in Tennessee and found out just how "misled" she was from the majority of Southern Baptists attending K-12. It seems that most geographical areas have a "majority" religion among the school kids. There will always be someone different. I was practically the only non-Caucasian kid growing up, but I treated everyone with respect and received such in return.

DP525 · 06-28-2006, 10:57 PM

Thank you all again for your input. We returned today from our site visit to Lehi. Gosh there are a lot of (LDS) steeples! It seems there is an LDS church every other block! The concentration of churches seemed to be considerably less in Draper and Sandy (but still plenty). We even found a Methodist, First Baptist, and non-denominational bible church up there. But enough of that. What I can tell you is that it is a BEAUTIFUL community! And this is coming from a guy who lives in Colorado Springs. All the neighborhoods are well kept and the streets are clean. All of the people we interacted with in the stores and restaurants were very friendly. But maybe that was because my wife and I have three beautiful blonde-haired children and were probably assumed to be LDS.

We liked it well enough that we have decided to continue with our relocation there. We are looking in the Sandy/Draper/South Jordan/Riverton areas however because we felt we would be just too much outsiders in Lehi. These other areas seem to be considerably more diverse.

Thank you all again for your replies. You have made some very good points about how children treat each other and have helped to calm our fears. We are going to give it two years over there. Hopefully we fit in and love it. If not, it will be on to the next great opportunity!

simple · 06-29-2006, 10:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DP525

Thank you all again for your input. We returned today from our site visit to Lehi. Gosh there are a lot of (LDS) steeples! It seems there is an LDS church every other block! The concentration of churches seemed to be considerably less in Draper and Sandy (but still plenty). We even found a Methodist, First Baptist, and non-denominational bible church up there. But enough of that. What I can tell you is that it is a BEAUTIFUL community! And this is coming from a guy who lives in Colorado Springs. All the neighborhoods are well kept and the streets are clean. All of the people we interacted with in the stores and restaurants were very friendly. But maybe that was because my wife and I have three beautiful blonde-haired children and were probably assumed to be LDS.

We liked it well enough that we have decided to continue with our relocation there. We are looking in the Sandy/Draper/South Jordan/Riverton areas however because we felt we would be just too much outsiders in Lehi. These other areas seem to be considerably more diverse.

Thank you all again for your replies. You have made some very good points about how children treat each other and have helped to calm our fears. We are going to give it two years over there. Hopefully we fit in and love it. If not, it will be on to the next great opportunity!

I'm late in this thread but here's my .02...

I grew up in Price as a non-mormon and I never really felt the influence of the lds church because, well... there just isn't many of them down there. Probably only 1 church every other 8 blocks instead of every 2... haha.

I now live in the Salt Lake Valley and am somewhat happy here. I love the technology (I'm a graphics developer) and the view, but I've never been a city person. I'm counting the days that I get to move back to a smaller town. My wife is originally from Littleton CO and she hates it here. She is concerned about the exact same thing you are.

I've become quite used to how things work out here, but just because I'm used to it doesn't mean that I like it very much. All of the local gov. and media seem to be saturated with lds laws and views. If you can ignore most of it, you can live a pretty happy life... I cringe when I turn on the local news and have to listen to petty events going on with the 'church'. There are more important things going on in the world...

When it comes down to it - lds followers can be pleasant people to be around. I work with a few and they are great people. I just think religion should never be an issue with any kind of social or professional life. It's more of a personal thing and should be kept that way for the most part.

When you get into town, let me know. My wife and I could use some Colorado comapany!

MagpiesMagpiesMagpies · 06-29-2006, 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by simple

I've become quite used to how things work out here, but just because I'm used to it doesn't mean that I like it very much. All of the local gov. and media seem to be saturated with lds laws and views. If you can ignore most of it, you can live a pretty happy life... I cringe when I turn on the local news and have to listen to petty events going on with the 'church'.

Too true. As a non-LDSer, ignoring the social norms peculiar to Utah is the key to happiness. While living in Utah I found it liberating to not be "one of the bretheren". It meant I could enjoy a beer or a cup of coffee without hangups, when my friends of the LDS persuasion had to do it while constantly looking over their backs.

Utah is a great place for non-believers with a sense of humor!

Magpies