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Old 11-25-2012, 05:13 PM
 
39 posts, read 88,267 times
Reputation: 35

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Greetings,

My husband accepted a position at the SLC airport. We're looking to relocate in January. We drove around the Layton area and liked what we saw. We have 3 kids. All school age. 14, 12, and 9. We currently live in Henderson, NV but we want more of a small town, community feel for our family. We are non LDS. This seems huge. And honestly, this is our only fear with the move. Will our kids be shunned because they aren't LDS? Will we have a hard time fitting in and finding friends? What will life be like? We go to church every Sunday. We are Christians. It's important for us to find a good church that we can get plugged into. We have been doing research on the web, and we're getting conflicting stories. How much of a role does the LDS church play in public school? According to the information on the web, kids attend church before and after school. Will my kids be able to find a group of friends who don't practice this daily routine? What do you suggest for schools? How are the public school ratings? Coming from Henderson, we're hoping to make a step up in education. Being from Alaska originally, we like the climate and the scenery that the area has to offer. We enjoy hiking and being outdoors. Any and ALL information will be greatly appreciated. Are there things we should be aware of before making our move?

Thanks so much everybody!
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Old 11-25-2012, 06:10 PM
 
Location: Salt Lake City
27,857 posts, read 29,668,262 times
Reputation: 13048
Quote:
Originally Posted by drichards702 View Post
Greetings,

My husband accepted a position at the SLC airport. We're looking to relocate in January. We drove around the Layton area and liked what we saw. We have 3 kids. All school age. 14, 12, and 9. We currently live in Henderson, NV but we want more of a small town, community feel for our family. We are non LDS. This seems huge.
To whom?

Quote:
And honestly, this is our only fear with the move.
Who on earth have you been talking to?

Quote:
Will our kids be shunned because they aren't LDS?
No.

Quote:
Will we have a hard time fitting in and finding friends?
No.

Quote:
What will life be like?
That's hard to say. Life will likely be pretty much what you make it.

Quote:
We go to church every Sunday. We are Christians.
I suspect this will be an issue only if you make a point of telling your LDS neighbors and co-workers that you're Christians and they aren't. I can assure you that won't go over well at all.

Quote:
It's important for us to find a good church that we can get plugged into. We have been doing research on the web, and we're getting conflicting stories.
That shouldn't be a problem. Virtually every Christian denomination you can think of, plus a number of non-denominational Christian congregations have an active presence in the Salt Lake City area. There will probably be fewer choices in Layton, but even if you were to have to drive all the way to Salt Lake City every Sunday, it wouldn't be a huge deal.

Quote:
How much of a role does the LDS church play in public school?
None.

Quote:
According to the information on the web, kids attend church before and after school. Will my kids be able to find a group of friends who don't practice this daily routine?
High school students can take LDS religion classes as an elective (during school hours, off school property). This program is called Seminary, and no high school credit is given for the classes. Kids sign up for Seminary the way they'd sign up for art, music, dance, debate, drama, or any other non-required class. It's not as if the entire student body is going to be leaving school to go to Seminary, leaving your kids behind. They'll have some friends who have orchestra during 3rd period and others who have Seminary during 3rd period. It's absolutely not a big deal. (It's a not a problem that even exist for Elementary age kids.)

Quote:
What do you suggest for schools? How are the public school ratings?
What grades are your kids in? We'd probably need to know that before we can give you much more information.

Quote:
Coming from Henderson, we're hoping to make a step up in education. Being from Alaska originally, we like the climate and the scenery that the area has to offer. We enjoy hiking and being outdoors. Any and ALL information will be greatly appreciated. Are there things we should be aware of before making our move?
You should be just fine. You are much, much, much too worried about the religion issue.

Quote:
Thanks so much everybody!
You're very welcome. Here's a thread you may wish to browse through. It's kind of long, but I think it should address most of your concerns. If you don't read any other post on the thread, I would suggest this one.

Last edited by Katzpur; 11-25-2012 at 06:23 PM..
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Old 11-25-2012, 06:31 PM
 
39 posts, read 88,267 times
Reputation: 35
Thanks for the help! The kids are in 9th grade, 6th grade, and 4th grade. Sorry for the confusion.
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Old 11-25-2012, 09:16 PM
 
Location: God's Gift to Mankind for flying anything
5,921 posts, read 13,780,883 times
Reputation: 5229
No need to be sorry. Makes *you* feel bad. Not good to do that.
Evaluate what Katz mentioned.
Get here, you do NOT have to worry about a job !
Keep an open mind, always smile, even when it hurts.
Accept people as they are, we will accept you, as you are (at least we are supposed to ...)
You will end up living longer.
Lastly, nobody was confused !
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Old 11-25-2012, 11:48 PM
 
14,299 posts, read 14,088,313 times
Reputation: 45408
Quote:
Greetings,

My husband accepted a position at the SLC airport. We're looking to relocate in January. We drove around the Layton area and liked what we saw. We have 3 kids. All school age. 14, 12, and 9. We currently live in Henderson, NV but we want more of a small town, community feel for our family. We are non LDS. This seems huge. And honestly, this is our only fear with the move. Will our kids be shunned because they aren't LDS? Will we have a hard time fitting in and finding friends? What will life be like? We go to church every Sunday. We are Christians. It's important for us to find a good church that we can get plugged into. We have been doing research on the web, and we're getting conflicting stories. How much of a role does the LDS church play in public school? According to the information on the web, kids attend church before and after school. Will my kids be able to find a group of friends who don't practice this daily routine? What do you suggest for schools? How are the public school ratings? Coming from Henderson, we're hoping to make a step up in education. Being from Alaska originally, we like the climate and the scenery that the area has to offer. We enjoy hiking and being outdoors. Any and ALL information will be greatly appreciated. Are there things we should be aware of before making our move?

Thanks so much everybody!
I live just a few miles down the road from Layton.

Davis County is an area that I think is a pretty good place for non-LDS people to live. There's enough diversity in the county that you shouldn't feel alone. Drive along Highway 193 along the south boundary of Hill Air Force Base between Highway 89 and I-15. You'll find about half a dozen non-LDS churches. I imagine these serve the air force population. However, it gives you some idea that even in North Davis County there are more than just Mormons. It might give you some idea of churches you could join.

I think you'll find most of the LDS people you meet will be very accepting of you and your family. LDS Children do not attend church before and after school. It is true that from 9-12 grade LDS Seminary which is approximately one hour or period long is taught and many choose to go to seminary on time they are released from school.

Utah, of course is the home of the church and so it is strong here. About 60% of the population here is Mormon and there isn't any avoiding that. However, some of that 60% is inactive. Others are active, but extraordinarily tolerant and happy to be around non-members.

Your children should be able to make friends who are both LDS and non-LDS.

This is a great place if you like hiking and outdoor sports. Send me a private message and I will be happy to name and describe some trails that you can use.
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Old 11-29-2012, 05:09 PM
 
Location: Bountiful, UT
22 posts, read 48,506 times
Reputation: 34
Quote:
Originally Posted by drichards702 View Post
Greetings,

My husband accepted a position at the SLC airport. We're looking to relocate in January. We drove around the Layton area and liked what we saw. We have 3 kids. All school age. 14, 12, and 9. We currently live in Henderson, NV but we want more of a small town, community feel for our family. We are non LDS. This seems huge. And honestly, this is our only fear with the move. Will our kids be shunned because they aren't LDS? Will we have a hard time fitting in and finding friends? What will life be like? We go to church every Sunday. We are Christians. It's important for us to find a good church that we can get plugged into. We have been doing research on the web, and we're getting conflicting stories. How much of a role does the LDS church play in public school? According to the information on the web, kids attend church before and after school. Will my kids be able to find a group of friends who don't practice this daily routine? What do you suggest for schools? How are the public school ratings? Coming from Henderson, we're hoping to make a step up in education. Being from Alaska originally, we like the climate and the scenery that the area has to offer. We enjoy hiking and being outdoors. Any and ALL information will be greatly appreciated. Are there things we should be aware of before making our move?

Thanks so much everybody!

Here's my experience since moving to UT (almost 6 months now).

We moved from MA & we were worried about the same thing that you are worried about. We settled in Bountiful, which is close to Layton. We looked in Layton, but my husband wanted to live closer to the mountains, since he's a mountain biker.

I don't think that you need to worry about your kids getting accepted by their peers! My 12 yo (7th grade) has made lots of great friends! We are Buddhist & all of his friends, except 1, are LDS. They have included my son in everything that they have done within & out of the church.

Then again, you & your family need to be accepting of the LDS people. My neighbor, who have become my 2nd family, are LDS & it hasn't been a problem! I think that you will find that people will be nice & friendly if you are. I really haven't had any problems since I've moved here!

Good luck & welcome!
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Old 11-30-2012, 11:24 PM
 
39 posts, read 88,267 times
Reputation: 35
Thanks for the help! Now for schools? Where should we look? Where should we avoid? I have a 4th grader, 6th grader, and 9th grader. Also, how much snow does Layton get? In town? And how long does it stick around? Thanks again!
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Old 12-01-2012, 12:07 AM
 
14,299 posts, read 14,088,313 times
Reputation: 45408
Quote:
Thanks for the help! Now for schools? Where should we look? Where should we avoid? I have a 4th grader, 6th grader, and 9th grader. Also, how much snow does Layton get? In town? And how long does it stick around? Thanks again!
The worst school in Davis County, Utah is probably better than any of the schools in Henderson, Nevada. I shouldn't boast, but the schools here are high quality. The biggest issue the schools face here, by far, is the issue of overcrowding. Families in Utah tend to be large and the property tax base has never really been sufficient to support the kind of schools that many of us would like to have for our children. So, we do the best we can. That best is pretty good. However, one reality to living here is that the per pupil amount spent on children for education may be the lowest in the country. Some of what I say may seem contradictory. However, my major point is that in Utah we have taken inadequate resources and built some very high quality schools despite that fact.

The newer schools tend to be in the west side of the county. The homes on the east side are older, but are more expensive. The schools are also older, but all are very high quality in that part of town.

The two high schools in the area are Layton High and Northridge High. Northridge is a newer school with more facilities and would likely be better when your kids reach high school age. Northridge is very close to Hill Air Force Base.

Layton gets a fair amount of snow. Its not uncommon during late December through January to have five inches of snow on the ground. However, are winters seem to be getting milder. Today, there is no snow on the ground at all and the high temperature was about 60 degrees.
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Old 12-05-2012, 02:19 PM
 
Location: Morgan, UT
8 posts, read 29,328 times
Reputation: 13
In general, not being LDS in Utah isn't too much of an issue but it really just depends on the specific places and people that you are dealing with. I am a 33-year-old female and have lived in Utah my entire life. I have 4-year-old twins who will begin kindergarten next year and raising them in Utah as non-LDS children has been a concern of mine. I actually just accepted a job in Germany and will be there for 3-5 years and am heavily considering not returning to Utah due to the heavy LDS influence in the state. I can only speak from my own experiences, but most people in Utah are very conversative whether or not they are LDS. This is another part of the equation that makes me not want to return to my home state as I consider myself a fairly liberal person and don't share the same political and social ideals as a lot of people here.
As a child, nearly all of my friends were LDS and I would participate in some of their church activities with them but was never pressured to become a member. I was excluded from some activities for not being LDS and was told some a couple of kids that I was going to Hell for not being LDS. This was definitely not the norm but obviously these kids were being taught that by the adults in their lives. It's honestly really hard to say how your kids will be treated but Layton is more diverse than some other areas of Northern Utah as it has a high percentage of active duty military people in the community that are stationed at Hill AFB. I work on base and can tell you that there is a pretty big mix of people and a lot of military members like Utah so much that they decide to stay after retirement.
One good thing though about being non-LDS in Utah, is that Mormons don't shop on Sundays so going out to a movie, mall, or dinner on Sunday is kind of nice because the stores don't get too busy. The only exception to this is the new City Creek mall in downtown SLC that is owned by the Mormon church so it isn't open on Sunday which is too bad because I would love to be able to do my shopping there on a slower day like Sunday. Sorry if this post is totally rambling but I hope it helps you out some.
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Old 12-26-2012, 01:02 PM
 
1 posts, read 8,177 times
Reputation: 12
I think most people on here are pretty accurate. I was a transplant from the east coast, also non-LDS and Christian, and worried about many of the same things. You can definitely find some crazy info online. I found that for the most part the LDS people are good people, the ones that arent...well, there are bad apples anywhere you go. Our kids have made good friends and are doing well. I would recommend trying to get your kids plugged into a church early on though. People out here really understand church obligations, and if you can get your family plugged in early it will take a lot of pressure off your kids when they get invited to LDS events. I felt it was important to make sure my kids maintained a strong religious foundation in my religion. I do think it is important to have a strong base for the kids.

As far as everything else, it is like moving anywhere new, lots of new things to get used to...
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