Any Mormons move TO Utah? What was that like? (Salt Lake City: job market, school)

[Strawberry Love]

We are investigating the LDS. I'm also very interested in moving to Utah.

I am wondering what it would be like to move from a place with few Mormons to a place that is filled with Mormons???

Was it a good fit?

Thanks.

[MorticiaA]

I moved from Los Angeles to Utah when I was 16. Culture Shock!

Utah has all the same problems everywhere else does. Here you will find the wide range of Mormons from super conservative to jack. You will see non-Momons do wonderful things, and you will see Mormons do awful things, and vice versa. Here in Utah there are areas which are very liberal (Salt Lake City and Park City) and extremely conservative (Provo and most of Utah County.)

[Tim Tim Tim]

well if you are mormon itll benefit you. As much as people dont want to admit it, it deffinatly helps you in the job market.

[Strawberry Love]

Sounds good to me.

I guess I'm hoping to find a sense of community.

[westcoastvp]

Originally Posted by Strawberry Love

We are investigating the LDS. I'm also very interested in moving to Utah.

I am wondering what it would be like to move from a place with few Mormons to a place that is filled with Mormons???

Was it a good fit?

Thanks.

Just wondering what you mean when you say you're investigating the LDS?

[Strawberry Love]

I've met with some missionaries and attended some services. Doing some reading...thinking...

Typical stuff if you are interested in a religion.

[Lamborgotti]

Obviously the main difference will be that you have so many more LDS acquaintances than you would somewhere else. If you want to get married to someone who is LDS, for example, this is the best place to find someone because of the variety (which is a big part of why so many out-of-state mormons attend BYU) of different LDS people here. I think you'll definitely find a sense of community, but you will also see some things that disturb you. Like I said, there's a lot more variety here than somewhere else, so you'll it may also be a little discouraging to be around mormons who aren't exactly good examples. I've been to congregations out of state a number of times, sometimes I feel like the fact that they're smaller is unfortunate, and sometimes I feel like they're lucky and get it better than we do. So, you never know.

As for jobs and stuff, social capital is one of the best things about being LDS in Utah. It's sort of like an enormous network of people who are all connected in some way, and sort of have a sense of mutual trust and understanding that just doesn't exist in other communities. That won't necessarily give you an advantage over other people, but once you get to know people you'll realize there are a lot of connections to take advantage of.

[sytematical]

I moved to Utah from the east coast when I was 10. I was a mormon. I was shocked by the differences in the church. In New York the LDS church was very hands off like most other churches. In Utah they won't leave you alone. The control the boy scouts (I thought this was weird because in Long Island its done through the school/separate organization). They won't leave you alone. They are very overbearing. I ended up leaving the church and never looked back. I'm agnostic now and don't even consider myself Mormon period. You'll notice right away in how entrenched the church is here by how many churches you see, there is literally one every few blocks as opposed to the 45 minute drive I was accustomed to in Long Island.

With that said, if you are looking to increase your involvement in the church and would enjoy more church events, then this is the place for you.

[Strawberry Love]

I was kinda wondering about that...funny you mentioned Long Island. That is where I grew up also.

I'm in the greater NYC area now and every religion here is very laid back. No one checks up on you. No one bothers you. In fact, I've even left churches that I attended for years and no one even bothered to call and find out what happened to us. I find that to be too hands off.

I cannot imaine what it would be like to live in a place with everyone similiar. I'm not used to people being on top of me at all and checking in on me. I guess it'll be like going from one extreme to the other.

I was simply hoping to find a sense of community for my family.

However, your point is well taken. Thank you for sharing. Maybe if and when we do move, I should consider moving to a more mixed area...I might be more comfortabable there.

[Strawberry Love]

Originally Posted by Lamborgotti

I've been to congregations out of state a number of times, sometimes I feel like the fact that they're smaller is unfortunate, and sometimes I feel like they're lucky and get it better than we do.

Interesting observations. I do know exactly what you mean. I'm in a very small Protestant denomination now and sometimes, because you are such a minority, you really have to be devout in order to continue.

I'm not interested in getting married as I'm already married to a wonderful man for 18 years But I'd like my kids to have a sense of community and grow up in a very family oriented place. We don't really have that here.

I started looking into the LDS and then you can't really read about the LDS without bumping into Utah. I started reading about Utah and thought "this sounds perfect for us".

We have not converted to the LDS yet and we are a few years away from moving but these are the things that you turn around in your mind.