Non-LDS considering relocation to SLC....... (Salt Lake City, Ogden: ski resorts, houses, neighborhoods)

[dave1320]

Hello everyone,

My name is Dave. I'm an east coaster from birth and I've recently been offered a position that is opening later this year in SLC. I'm a 38 year old, Agnostic man with a wife and 2 year old little boy. My wife and I REALLY want a change of scenery and this offer is a step up within our organization.

But I'll be honest, I'm reading some horror stories about the LDS and their treatment of outsiders. I'm not so much worried about my wife and I but I don't want our little boy to be treated like the "red headed step child" so to speak. While private schools are not out of the question, I'd like him to grow up within the diversity of the public school system.

The job is near the airport and while I'm used to an east coast commute, I'd like to keep it as short as possible. Are their any area's near the airport or north of there that I might be less LDS influenced?

What about Ogden? I'm guessing I'd be looking at a 45 minute commute from Ogden to the airport? Or am I way off?

I have nothing against the LDS and their beliefs. I don't question anyone's beliefs just as I don't want mine questioned. To each their own as far as I'm concerned. But I want to take in to consideration the life my son will be facing.

I appreciate all opinions. Thank you in advance.

Dave

[kaytidid]

I moved from the east coast almost 20 years ago and it was the best thing we ever did. Although we didn't have kids when we moved here, we have since had two daughters and we are not LDS. My girls are now in their teens and they have a bunch of friends that are and are not LDS. They have never had one ounce of trouble. By the way, my husband and I are also Agnostic and we are in our early 40's.

We live in Stansbury Park, which is located west of the airport about 30 minutes. It is a suburban area on the outskirts of Tooele. It is a very family friendly neighborhood and we have lots of people moving in from all over because it is still growing. The schools are very good. They are top rated in the county.

http://stansburycommunity.org/
http://www.stansburypark.org/

Really. There is no need for concern. Your son will be just fine!!

[CCSLC]

There are a number of great areas near the airport that would be great. Tooele County would work well, Ogden would work, but if you can afford it (and if you're used to the east coast, you might be surprised at how affordable it is) I'd recommend staying in Salt Lake City proper, which actually has a non-Mormon majority. There will be numerous other non-Mormon children, as well as children of every social strata, race, and religion. You don't always find that diversity in other areas of the state.

From most of SLC itself, your commute is unlikely to be longer than 20-30 minutes. From Ogden it will be 45-60 minutes depending on traffic (and, potentially, weather). From Tooele it is 25-35 minutes.

[Katzpur]

I've heard a lot of good things about both Stansbury Park and Daybreak (but have no first hand experience living in either of them), so you probably should check them out. I'm not sure what the commute would be, but there are people on the forum who could give you a reliable idea. I really wouldn't go north of Salt Lake, if I were you. Bountiful is nice (north of Salt Lake) and the drive to the airport is probably only about 15 minutes. If you're looking for diversity, though, it's really not someplace I think you'd be happy. There are numerous parts of the metropolitan Salt Lake City area, though, where you would probably be very happy. No matter where you are in Salt Lake City, your commute to the airport will be under 30 minutes. My suggestions would be the Avenues (in general, the higher you go in the Avenues, the more expensive the homes), the University of Utah or Westminster College area, Sugarhouse/Highland Park, East Millcreek, Holladay, Cottonwood Heights. Of these areas, Cottonwood Heights is the furthest from the airport. I mention it because I'm a native Salt Laker who has lived in five different Salt Lake City neighborhoods in my life, including Cottonwood Heights (for over 30 years). I worked very close to the airport and could always make the commute in under a half hour.

By the way, the horror stories you've heard about the LDS are probably grossly exaggerated. At any rate, as a Mormon myself, I don't believe you have anything to worry about in that regard.

[dave1320]

Thank you all for your responses. Katzpur, I'm sure theirs a little exaggeration in what I've read. It's all in what you make of it.

[UTES]

The Salt Lake Valley is about 50/50 LDS/non-LDS and is considered one of the most Liberal areas of Utah.

I agree with the others that the purported LDS/Gentile gap is not as big as some make it seem. As I like to say, the LDS are people going about their lives just like us. They aren't aliens. If you get along with people where you live now you'll get along with people in Utah.

Bill

[LookingToMoveYES]

LDS people live here? been here 5 years and never even noticed!

[Katzpur]

Originally Posted by LookingToMoveYES

Last year I was driving near the University Campus and saw spray painted "I'm not Mormon, but that doesn't make me a bad person" spray painted across a concrete column. It kinda summed up the Salt Lake City attitude.

Wow. What an adult approach.

I grew up in the Midwest. Back there we made fun of kids for being fat, having asthma, or having a funny name. Out here though, I hear stories of kids being made fun of for just not being Mormon.

And in many parts of the US, the Mormon kids are made fun of "just for being a Mormon."

Maybe it's time we all stopped acting like a bunch of bigoted imbeciles.

[MisfitBanana]

I grew up Mormon in Oakland, CA - stopped going to church when I was 18, and moved to SLC about six years ago when I was 27. I have family here (many of whom are non-LDS), and I have a teenage daughter.

When I first moved here, there were little annoyances that got me. Like how repair places, mechanics, a lot of restaurants (non-chain ones), etc. will be closed on Sundays. Open Houses were held on Saturdays instead of Sundays. Dentists, doctors, and mechanics will often only be open Monday to Friday, 8am-5 or 6pm. It basically means you have to take time off work to go to the doctor - if you're salary, not a big deal, if you're hourly, it sucks. Additionally, it's assumed by the schools that there's a stay-at-home mom. If your wife stays at home, that's not a problem. If she works, she (and/or you) should expect to have to take time off work fairly regularly for school recitals, parent/teacher conferences, and hire a babysitter for the very frequent teacher workdays where they don't provide any school care (at least in California, on teacher workdays they would hold "after-school" all day). A lot of extra-curricular activities (like sports teams, karate classes, art classes) start before or right at 5pm, which makes it difficult for a working parent to get their child to on time or at all. I work with a few people who moved here from the East Coast, and they were surprised, and annoyed, by many of these same things. Utah has "quirks" that have been 100% influenced by the majority religion.

I was able to shrug almost everything off, and not worry about it much. However, over six years, it's gotten more and more annoying. I honestly don't know how non-LDS are able to live outside of SLC or close suburbs. I think I would go nuts. My non-LDS relatives who were born here, and have lived here all their lives, feel the same way. They go about their business, but frequently have little moments of sheer frustration by how the LDS religion dominates the culture here.

I also think that there IS some exclusion if you're not Mormon. I'm not Mormon, but because my parents are and my daughter and I lived with them when she was young, she got into the habit of going to church and continues to go to this day. And frankly, it's a good thing - not because of the religion (which I don't believe in), but because of the community. Mormon children get together twice a week - for church and for mutual activities (youth activities), and as they get older, they often will go to saturday night dances as well. I think it's fairly natural that children who are used to getting together 2-3 times a week will naturally form cliques and be comfortable around one another. There are Mormon summer camps as well. Basically, your kids might not always feel welcome, or they may feel like they're being excluded from a lot of activities with their friend group, when really it's just that their friend group is participating in religious events and they aren't.

There are friends of my daughter's who grew up Mormon but were in an non-practicing family, or who are not Mormon. Surprise, surprise! At the ages of 12-14, they're asking their parents if they can go to church. And it has everything to do with wanting to be included in the all the church activities their friends talk about at school. That alone tells me that yes, children do end up feeling excluded.

This may be something that you, but probably more so your wife, will also experience. If your neighbors/co-workers are Mormon, they will have their activities during the week as well. Visiting home teaching, various clubs (book club, quilt club) - it can be easy for a non-Mormon to feel excluded in the same way that the children can. It's not that Mormons are actively trying to exclude anyone, it's more that their church-related activities take up a lot of time in their schedules, and they're not likely to invite a non-LDS member along.

Basically, Mormons are the majority in Utah. Living in SLC or a close suburb (like Midvale or Bountiful) isn't as bad as the rest of the state - there are a lot more non-LDS in the city, but that doesn't exactly mean much when society's views are (and have been for the entire time Utah has been a state) incredibly influenced by the Mormons. Additionally, on the City-Data site for SLC, Salt Lake City County is listed as having 83% of the population as adherents to the church. So don't be too fooled when people tell you that the majority of people in SLC aren't Mormon - SLC County isn't that big and a lot of people from the suburbs work and/or play in the city, so you are, most of the time, going to be surrounded by people who are mostly Mormon. The Church (that's how it's referred to here) influences everything.

Having nothing to do with Mormonism - the schools aren't great here (elementary, middle, high). Utah ranks 42nd in the nation for education. There are large class sizes (I don't think any of my daughter's classes have had less than 30 kids in them, from 2nd grade to 7th grade), and not enough funding.

THE GOOD:
The scenery is fantastic. There are a lot of outdoor activities. You're not far from the desert (goblin valley is pretty awesome, arches nat'l park, etc.) and you're maybe a 15-30 minute drive from a bunch of ski resorts. There is a lot to do here. Additionally, Utah is very small business friendly. We love our mom and pop stores and restaurants. The colleges are pretty good. The Utes have some good teams (go gymnastics!).

FULL DISCLOSURE
I'll say that while I am able to brush off most of the Mormon-influenced quirks of Utah, enough has gotten under my skin that, along with my desire to live in a smaller city, I'm hoping to move out of here within a year or two. I started coming to the forums to figure out whether Oregon, Washington, Montana, or Wyoming would be best for me. I know - I've really got it narrowed down. There is no perfect place, but for me at least, there's gotta be something better than SLC.

[TCAS007]

I read so many horror stories about agnostic people. I am concerned that you come here to cause trouble and question my religion.