Living in Moab (Price, Monticello, Junction: sale, for rent, homes)

[Journey Carver]

Recently visited Moab--gorgeous--how is it to live there year 'round?

[markg91359]

I read most of the comments about Moab for the first time today. Interesting. I can say this. A friend and I tried to open a business in Moab a few years back. It didn't work out. I won't blame Moab entirely for what happened. We had other other things we were doing and could only put in a limited amount of time.

Still, I left town with some hard feelings. I felt that most of the town was very cheap. We had continual requests for free services. We had people who promised to pay if came down to see them and than showed up without any money. We dealt with others who meant well, but just weren't able to afford what we did. No empathy from them at all for the fact that we had to pay overhead for an office, phone, and other support services.

I got the idea that many of the locals survived on freebies they managed to con out of people who moved into the community with a little bit of money.

I love visiting Arches and all the scenery around Moab. Living there and engaging in productive work is difficult to impossible.

[kansan-at-heart]

Moab is a great place to live! I have lived MANY places over the years and have still managed to live in Moab for 35+ years and am not tired of it at all. It has such a great mix of people--rednecks and liberals, old and young--you name it, Moab has it. It is not "exclusive" in the way that a town of its size might be in the Midwest or eastern part of the country because people move in and move out--partly because a lot of the residents are government employees, but also because people leave for other reasons and can't resist returning.

Moab's major drawback for some people is that the nearest major shopping area is 110 miles away (Grand Junction, CO). For some of us "non-shoppers" that is a distinct advantage. So far, we have been able to fend off a Big Box like Wal-Mart, and the current economic climate doesn't make that look like a reality very soon. This means that our local business are all very viable--and we have good ones--and we don't have boarded up store fronts like so many towns our size have--at least in Utah, and probably elsewhere. We have one discount store--Alco--which has most of the regular sale items that stores like Target have, etc., two good supermarkets and a drugstore that has an incredible selection of so many things you could never find at a big discount store. Our main lack is a good shoe store, but shoes aren't what you need to buy constantly, and most families go to Grand Junction frequently enough--just for an outing or maybe a doctor's appointment--that needs like that are taken care of. We have several outdoor stores that do sell good sandals, hiking boots, etc. We have a wide selection of eating places, including four or five really classy ones, and have Burger King, Wendy's and McDonald's for those who must have fast food. Things are booming here, as we are building a new elementary school, a new pool/recreation center in the City Park and a expanded medical facility that will include both a more comprehensive hospital and an extended care facility, which is sorely needed.

The cost of homes is currently very high and there are practically no places for rent-- the ones that are available command a pretty steep rent just because of scarcity. Moab has overbuilt, however, and I look for housing prices to drop some as financing tightens up.

Schools are not outstanding though probably no worse than many other places, and the non-big-city class sizes make it possible to keep tabs on what is going on in the schools. We do have some extremely gifted and conscientious teachers and no schools are so bad but what a student can learn if he/she applies himself/herself and parents take an interest.

As has been mentioned in other posts, the canyon country scenery is world-class and we have our own mountains--the LaSals--just 40 miles more or less from town.

The distances that are given in Moab's site for towns nearby are grossly inaccurate--I can't imagine where they got those figures. For example, Monticello is 55 miles to the south; Price is 110 miles to the northwest, and Gateway and Glade Park, Colorado are not anywhere near each other, except possibly as the crow flies--and are quite a ways from Moab, though you can reach Gateway more easily by going over our mountains in the summer. We are 250 miles from Salt Lake which probably sounds like a lot to non-Westerners, but it's an interesting drive and Salt Lake is an easy city to find one's way around in, plus there are many cultural things available there--concerts, the Utah Symphony, Ballet West, etc.--that make the trip worthwhile.

I have always found the people here very friendly. We have a new, wonderful county library that was voted Best Small Town Library of the Year in 2006 by Library Journal. It is a home-away-from-home for many people and has an excellent children's section, lots of good DVDs and VHS, audiobooks--you name it, it is available or they will get it for you.

Sorry this is so long, but I really can't say enough good about Moab. If anyone has questions that this diatribe doesn't answer, I will try to respond to those.

[jollygirl]

great post kansan-at-heart. I am new to Moab and your post has been encouraging and uplifting.