My Family is ALWAYS sick! Will a move to Southern UT help? (St. George: rent, new house)

[alicenevada]

I am almost in tears. My family is CONSTANTLY sick, it seems. Actually it MORE than just SEEMS like it. I live in middle Tennessee which is a gorgeous area and we have 20 acres of beautiful land and a new house that we built in 2005. But since we've lived here, especially (we are coming from a slightly less rural area about 20 miles away), my kids and myself are ALWAYS sick. I kept a running record since Jan and we have been sick every month except for July and August (when my son wasnt in public school). I know kids will bring stuff home from school no matter where you live but I also know that the mold count, air quality, and foliage around here keeps us sick longer!

My husband and I have visited Las Vegas several times and adore the climate there. We found out about St. George thru a relative and love its proximity to Las Vegas and the weather reports we've heard. We love dry heat! But before we take the plunge, I guess I need to talk to others who have had severe allergy/ sinus problems themselves and have been positively affected by a move that area.

Also, I hear that the housing market has become more a buyers market lately. Is this true? What is the average home price right now?

Anyone? Anyone?

[Blondie-Rabbit]

Oh did you come to the right forum. We lived in Brentwood just south of Nashville on a 5 acre place. My son never had a problem with allergies or asthma before we moved to TN. He was continually sick there. In fact we made at least one run a month to the hospital for medical interventiosn on his behalf. TN. is known as the greenest state in the USA for a reason. It breeds allegens and the humidity is what really exaserbates the problem. We moved out West after 3 long years of the medical problems that seemd to hit only my son and hubby. In a dry climate the problems disappeared. It is not just Utah, but the low humidity that is found out this way that eliminated our problems. It's not to say that there are not allergens. Hubby and son both have bouts of seasonal allergy attacks, but no more major asthma problems. I can deal with the allergies, just not the asthma. The deserts also have lots of molds and such that can be blown about by the winds that we get. Things bloom here as well. Some people come here and find they have allergies they had never experieced before. You just don't know what the triggers are. For us the West was the best move we made.

[alicenevada]

Thank you so much! You're right, that's EXACTLY what I needed to hear. I am at the end of my rope. My 2 month old son has had a cold for almost a month and I have had to take him to the doctor and the ER numerous times because he has been running a fever sporadically and of course, because of his age, the doctors always want me to bring him in...which is no easy task since I'm 45 minutes away from the hospital. We love the rural life and the beautiful acreage but I am so determined to do something, no matter what it takes. We also love the desert so moving out that way would not be uch of a sacrifice, really. Of course, one hates to build a new house only to sell it and uproot kids etc, but for the greater good, I'm more than happy to try it. I mean, good lord, I've spent 1800.00 out of pocket this year alone and owe at least another 2000.

My husband has several skills including plumbing, electric, painting, and pinstriping. I don't think it will be difficult for him to find a job no matter where we go. Does anyone know where we could go (online) to find info on jobs that might be available to him?

[Blondie-Rabbit]

The jobs here pay crappy wages with or without benefits. Construction related jobs are still to be had, but they are dwindling. My neighbor is upset that he could find work locally but now has to drive to Enterprise ove an hour away to find a construction job. You will have sticker shock over the prices of housing here. It is over inflated and in a lot of cases fradulently appraised at the over inflated prices. In another couple of years you will see the prices start to fall to reality. Even just land is obscene.

I think it is a great place to live, but we can afford it.

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by alicenavada

I am almost in tears. My family is CONSTANTLY sick, it seems. Actually it MORE than just SEEMS like it. I live in middle Tennessee which is a gorgeous area and we have 20 acres of beautiful land and a new house that we built in 2005. But since we've lived here, especially (we are coming from a slightly less rural area about 20 miles away), my kids and myself are ALWAYS sick. I kept a running record since Jan and we have been sick every month except for July and August (when my son wasnt in public school). I know kids will bring stuff home from school no matter where you live but I also know that the mold count, air quality, and foliage around here keeps us sick longer!

My husband and I have visited Las Vegas several times and adore the climate there. We found out about St. George thru a relative and love its proximity to Las Vegas and the weather reports we've heard. We love dry heat! But before we take the plunge, I guess I need to talk to others who have had severe allergy/ sinus problems themselves and have been positively affected by a move that area.

Also, I hear that the housing market has become more a buyers market lately. Is this true? What is the average home price right now?

Anyone? Anyone?

I'm not commenting directly on St. George because I don't live there and don't intend to, but I can comment on allergies. Like it sounds like with you and your son, I am a long-time allergy sufferer, and I have lived in the Rocky Mountain West all of my life. My advice is to bite the bullet and have you and your son tested for for reaction to allergens. If you are considering a move to another place, you may want to be tested there, by an allergist familiar with the local allergens. It may save you a lot of heartache later if you and your son are tested--if you don't, you may later find out the hard way that you and/or he are as allergic to your new environment as to what you are leaving. My allergist also tells me that people with severe allergies may improve when they first move to a new location, then become increasingly reactive to the allergens found in the new place. I relocated a few years ago, and that is exactly what happened to me. I am now on immunotherapy with those lovely weekly injections.

Drier environments do tend to reduce moisture-loving molds and some plant pollens, but desert environments can have their own molds, and many desert plants are prolific pollen producers. Then, of course, there is the dust.

[alicenevada]

Yes, we would definitely rent before we made a potentially permanent move.

I am concerned about the job situation. I would assume that my husband's skills would be able to find work anywhere. But perhaps not. Of course, he doesnt need to work in new construction...interesting.

[Oremmomma]

My brother moved his family from Northern Utah to Las Vegas (about 7 years ago) then to Washington, UT (suburb of St. George).

He has a lot of environmental allergies, including pollutants. He has found they have subsided in both areas.

In Las Vegas, they found the schools too violent for their kids, and they like Washington better.

However, rain in that region tends to come in a three-day deluge. Since there isn't much rain most of the rest of the year, gutters and drains tend to overflow. They had a leak in their roof they didn't know about and ended up with mold and mildew, which set off my husband's allergies when we visited them.

I don't know about the current housing market. When I was a kid, St. George was largely a retirement area, but there are a lot of young families now. They've had a lot of growth recently, and Washington, in particular, has a lot of new housing.

In terms of construction employment, I don't know about St. George (my brother is a teacher). Las Vegas is supposed to be good, with the constant casino building. My husband has two cousins (one welder, one sheet-rocker) who both worked consistently there, but left for more rural settings.

[SLCPUNK]

Have you had your house checked for mold spores by chance?

[alicenevada]

Well, our house was just built in 2005 so it's still a very new house. But we have been checking closely for mold in our basement and stuff. We are currently taking steps to make our basement more inhospitable for mold.

[SLCPUNK]

Brand new homes can have mold too. It only takes overlooking specific steps while building and you can end up with mold. Best of luck.