Vernal or Price?? (Provo, Park City, Junction: fit in, hotels, home)

[avilawalker]

My husband is a general surgeon, and he is considering jobs in both Vernal and Price. We are LDS, have school-aged kids (4 boys - sports are important), and plan to stay for good. We're leaning towards Vernal, but Price seems to be a better location, less isolated. Vernal is 2 hours to Park City and 3 to SLC. Price is 1hr to Provo, and 2 hrs to SLC. We're a little bit worried about the high schools/sports/extracurricular activities. We are skiiers and like to camp (nothing major). However, my husband is not a hunter/fisherman type and doesn't drive a pick-up truck. I can fit in anywhere. Any ideas or advice???

[momof2penguins]

I have only driven through Vernal (so keep that in mind), and I have to say that it reminds me of Rock Springs, WY, which is a big boom town right now. There are a lot of oil field workers who come and stay at the hotels, so all the prices on everything are jacked up.

I live in Price, and I love it here. This is the 3rd time hubby has moved me to a new state and I told him I'm not leaving. lol. It's only about an hour to Provo from here, which has plenty of good shopping. There are plenty of places to camp in both spots, I would think. We camped almost every weekend this summer down here in Price.

I don't know what to tell you about the sports, my kids are only 6 and 4, so I don't have any experience with the high school yet.

[dembonz]

I have lived in Vernal for the past year but grew up just across the boarder in Colorado. Vernal is indeed an oil town and the prices of everything seem to reflect that fact. It is filled with good people though. Other than the oil field, I would say that the medical field is where the jobs are and the only other people making any money. You have a huge span of ages here so the medical field never gets bored.
The downsides to Vernal are that the shopping is limited. We have Walmart, K-Mart, and hopefully a soon to be Costco. There are two main grocery stores, Smiths and Jubilee. As for places to eat, in my personal opinion, we are lacking. Two or three Chinese places, Wingers, Golden Corral, BJ's, a couple Mexican (Don Pedro's opened recently and it's the best in town), Stockmans, and of course, your normal sprinkling of fast food places.
The upside to Vernal is that it is only 10 minutes from Steinacker Lake (nice beaches and camping) and 40 minutes from Flaming Gorge. If you water ski, you'll be happy with that! There are many beautiful camping and hiking areas within an hour of driving. If you love the outdoors, you will always be able to find something to do here. We don't have any ski slopes nearby though. The winters are cold, but not miserable and the summers are hot (not usually above 100) but not as hot as the city. The summer is the fun time to live here. The town really tries to go out of its way to do things. We have the open theater at the fairgrounds where plays and concerts are held; parades; rodeos; Pioneer Days; county fairs and contests; they even having singing-offs in the "town square!" If I remember right, my nephew also said that they have mud ralleys! There are pioneer and dinosaur museums (different places of course) and walking parks and kid parks. In the winter they have Winter Daze with a lot of different activities including a huge gathering with a program and troughs lined up so that you can roast marshmallows. A brand new recreation center was just completed last year as well. It has a couple pools, basketball courts, walking path (the city park has a walking path as well), weigh rooms, a rapelling wall,...everything except a racketball court! We do get a few noteworthy people who come through for concerts. Michael Murphy, Bar-J Wranglers, Vocal Point,...I can't think of the other names but some of them have been on the radio nationally.
People are friendly and very kind hearted...but it IS Utah and not the "mission field" so they don't get in your face very much because they are busy with their own stuff. It took quite some time for us to fit in with our ward and we're still not really one of them although we're getting there slowly. We've lived in the mission field for over thirty years so it has been quite the adjustment being in the land of Mormonville. But! We are not "get in your face" type people either so I'm sure most of the problem is ours!
It does take three hours to get to Provo, but it is a beautiful drive and simply because it is so far away, it makes it special and fun to go. Grand Junction, CO is also three hours away so there is a little variety although I prefer the Provo direction more.
Good luck in your decision making! We do have a lot of doctors here so your family would fit right in nicely. As for the schools, I don't have any at home any more but I do teach youth Sunday School and I've been impressed with the youth there. They're a good bunch of kids. I know that sports, drama, music, and drill team seem to be the highlights of town. During the summer there are baseball games and tournaments being played all the time at the wonderful park in town. The boy scouts are quite a deal here as well. They take the most incredible adventure trips every year and I'm sure your boys would enjoy that.

[avilawalker]

Thank you for taking the time to answer.....Vernal sounds like a nice place.

[guardenguy007]

VERNAL OR PRICE??? Come see vernal in the summer time you will be moving here....WOW