Brown, Interracial Couple Moving to Vernal (to rent, house, neighborhoods)

[SWATgirl]

I am half black and half white and my husband is Mexican. He has a job offer which requires us to relocate to Vernal. This is going to be VERY difficult for me because I have spent most of my life in Houston, TX which is a huge and diverse city and I am a city girl. I really need some moral support, if anyone has some to offer.
I have read and researched enough to where I feel like I can reasonably conclude that racism is a problem in Utah. Some people deny that there is a problem, but perhaps racism is not very noticable when you are not on the receiving end.
I have no choice about moving to this location. I am trying to look on the positive side- I don't have to worry about getting car-jacked and the summers will be nice and cool (comparatively), but I am really nervous about the race and religion issues that will arise in this new state.
If anyone has some words of advice on how to deal with issues that might arise or any supportive comments I would be really appreciative. I hope I am not going to have to hide out!

[SWATgirl]

By the way, I am not trying to upset anyone by saying that Utah is a racist state or anything. I have been discriminated against and have experienced racism first hand in other parts of the country, even in Houston! But hopefully you can be understanding as to why I might be concerned with this issue. I am really looking for positive feedback; something to allay my fears, ya know?!

[Lisa_from_Debary]

I wish you the best. Make sure you buy you some WARM clothes, you will be seeing some weather like you never got in Houston.

[Calibelle]

I don't think you will have a problem. I had two roomies back in the day, who were both from Vernal. One was Native American, one was Mexican American. They loved Vernal, and returned there often. They never mentioned that they had issues there. As you mentioned.... racism is everywhere you go, but it is more down to the individual person, not Vernal as a whole. Just keep a good attitude, and if you feel someone is acting racist toward you... please don't judge Vernal as a whole. I think you will really like it there, I know my roomies did!

[brucep]

I've been in Vernal 5 years--I'm a white male, non LDS. I've had some rudeness/unpleasantness toward me from Mormons but I shrug it off anymore and just see it as their problem, not mine. It doesn't seem to be as much of an issue anymore (maybe I've put on a Mormon shell?). I work with Mormons, of course, and like some of them very much. Though the LDS do seem to have pretty narrow minds on many subjects I think that the "Mormon concerns" are usually more fear than reality. Of course this opinion is coming from a white male. Coming from a city you may go crazy regarding "stuff to do"--outside of church there doesn't seem to be much of a social scene at all here. The main events in town outside of church evolve around livestock, loud trucks and mud, and cars ramming into each other. No art galleries, very little music, very little visual aesthetics in neighborhoods. As far as racial mix goes there are very few black people, more Hispanics all the time, many Native Americans but still predominantly white. My workplace has hired a couple of blacks since I've been here and I believe they were treated well--they didn't stay but it wasn't because of anything that happened at work. I suspect you will be able to make Hispanic friends. I don't think you will have to hide out. While I don't think you'll necessarily be welcomed like an old friend I think it will be because of who you aren't (LDS) and not who you are--I don't think you'll be treated badly, I just think you won't be treated at all, unless you want to join THE church. There are a few other churches here (Baptist, Catholic) so if you did join a non-LDS church I think you would make friends. On the other hand, the area is changing rapidly, lots of "outsiders" moving in because of the oil boom. So the "social climate" might be changing, I don't know. I'm an outdoors person so really don't have much to do with "town folk" except for work and shopping. Though the town itself isn't really pretty it is in a pretty area. There's great hiking and exploring to do throughout the whole area. In fact, it's a day off so I'm getting out there. Good luck!

[Rrprinze]

I agree. What is Utah really like? I'm moving to Utah from California. Are the people really racist? I'm an African-American of light skin complexion. I've been to Utah before and rarely see Black people. However, I have seen more and more Latinos in SLC County and Utah County.....

[harveyclan]

I'm looking to relocate to Vernal from Vegas do to work but am concerned with bringing my family. Wondering hows the drug problem if any, schools things to do. Can anyone help with a little info. Also where to look for a house to rent.

[toby04]

Bruce said it well!
Harvey, you may want to start a new thread with your question, may get more response for your different topics.

[Moonlight melvin]

I think there is a problem in Utah with stereotypes. Not every black man is a drug dealer....not every mexican is illegal...etc.

Utah has it's own way of doing things as far as racism is concerned. Very sly and phony. People can sure be nice to your face, but behind your back is a whole different approach.

On the news this morning, 2 black men were shot and killed early this morning in SLC. They speculated and said the area was not a bad area, so these guys were probably not from the area...and the reporter said they dont know if it was a drug deal gone wrong. Yes, because black people cant live in a nice area and of course when something does happen, it's because they are definately involved in bad things. If you dont know, stop throwing out possiblities, miss news reporter

[coolcats]

Your post smacks of being ill-informed.

The shooting was at 1000 West 500 North -- the heart of Rosepark. Definitely considered a bad area -- the worst in Utah actually.

Furthermore, where did you hear the race of the victims? News reporters do not report the race of people. They might show pictures or give names, which may let the viewers learn for themselves.

But even if the reporter did say that was a nice area and the victims were black (which I don't think happened, but let's pretend it did), how in the world could you extrapolate that to make the whole population "sly and phony" based off of what one reporter did?

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