Re: Three Work And Location Questions.
 

Utah is primarily mormon, depending on where you live, you may feel somewhat cut off if you are not a mormon. Having said that, I was a sales rep and went to Utah many times, the people were very friendly, but then again I wasn't living there or looking for a job. Surprisingly Utah has one of the highest rates of bankruptcies. If you like animals, Kanab has a big sanctuary and has lots of folks from all over working/volunteering at the sanctuary.

Re: Three Work And Location Questions.
 

Interesting that you should mention this as I have just been reading this on
another forum. :(

We are looking at the St George / Washington areas so may have to look
closely at this potential issue.

While we will not be able to reside there year round, when we are there, we'd
like to feel like it is home and enjoy the neighborhood and community, so would
welcome any other's experiences.

Re: Three Work And Location Questions.
 

Many restaurants in UT do not carry alcohol, you have to go to state run liquor stores to purchase it. That said, UT is family friendly and has lower crime rates. I would live there if I didn't have to work, but it seems that being a non-mormon can present a problem when looking for work.
Feel free to ask any questions.

Re: Three Work And Location Questions.
 

Thanks teacosy, your kind offer is much appreciated which I will come back
on if I may. :thumbup:

This would be a second home just used for leisure time that would start at
around 4-6 weeks a year, hopefully rising to six months a year in later life.

We could live without liquor without any problem, so that would not be an
issue, but we would not want to be considered outsiders, so that is something
that we perhaps need to look closely at.

Re: Three Work And Location Questions.
 

If you don't want snow, you'll need to get off the Colorado Plateau -- it's rather high so some snow is guaranteed. The area is beautiful but you need to be real careful where you choose to live. Some of the communities in the area are decidedly weird. Google "Colorado City" for a read. Unless you're one of them, you wouldn't want to live there.

Re: Three Work And Location Questions.
 

But he does want snow. I guess he's going to have to get rid of the Corvette and get a WRX instead.

Re: Three Work And Location Questions.
 

Certainly a bit more class than a fiberglass bathtub.

Re: Three Work And Location Questions.
 

Park City, Utah is considered to be a pretty cosmopolitan (and expensive!) place, and not far from Salt Lake City.

Utah is stunningly beautiful (Bryce being my personal favorite, but I have yet to visit many of the famous spots (I keep going back to Zion, Bryce, etc).

Utah does not have the high humidity in the summer that the mid-west and east coast suffers, and is rumored to have some of the best skiing in the country. Every time I go there on vacation, I note how beautiful it is and my mind wanders to 'could I live here'. The big problems are - it is very conservative, and (related) very religious/Mormon. If you've read this forum for a while, you'll see how many Brits in the US are struck by how everyone goes to church on sunday, how everyone asks you 'what church do you go to?', etc - and that's in 'other parts' of the US! In Utah, the level of church-going, the influence of the church in everyday life, etc is very strong. If you are mildly non-religious, you may have an issue with this. (I'm strongly non-religious and I could not tolerate it).

I sat in a restaurant and ordered a beer. The server looked at me as if to say, 'why would you want to do that?' and went to get someone else to serve me (I think my server was under 21). In other restaurants, they simply didn't sell alcohol at all. (Note - you can, at least in some counties, buy beer in the supermarket - I did it in 'Panguitch', the town near Bryce).

Utah voted 63% for McCain - one of the highest Republican percentages in the country (although Summit County voted for Obama, and that's where Park City is). That should give you an idea of the 'climate' there!

I would look at New Mexico or Arizona, if you are specifically looking for that 'desert' landscape, and consider that Flagstaff, AZ is not really desert-like at all (you've probably passed through Flagstaff on the way from Phoenix to the Grand Canyon). Santa Fe, NM is a stunningly beautiful town, and the state has quite a bit of interesting geography to see. It's also a much more liberal state. Personally, I'd look at Washington, Oregon, California, but they don't offer that unique landscape you may be searching for.

Good Luck.

Re: Three Work And Location Questions.
 

St. George has become much more diverse in the past decade (I remember going through there 20 years ago on a Sunday and finding it hard to find a place to eat - as everything was closed!). Today it has been filled with people getting pushed out of the Las Vegas and California housing markets and I think it feels more like Vegas (without the filth) than it does Provo.

St. George is also 2 hours from Las Vegas, which is nice if you want a bigger city - some shows, that sort of thing...and it's also a day's drive from California, which is also nice.

How hot are you wanting it to get in the summer? I personally find the heat in St. George oppressive and too much for me. "Dixie" (as Southern Utah is called) is HOT.

What about the areas around Lake Tahoe? You can get a condo, cabin or a house there for similar money as St. George (albeit a bit smaller for the money).

You could also look at Central California - Paso Robles, for example. It's definitely hot in the summer, and you can drive into the mountains in the winter for your snow. It's in Wine Country, which is nice - and minutes from the coast.

I dunno - for my money, I'd probably take the culture and lifestyle of Tahoe or Paso Robles over St. George...but that's me.

I would also recommend with a couple others that, if you haven't already, you check out Santa Fe, NM and Arizona.

Re: Three Work And Location Questions.
 

I don't live in UT, so am going by word of mouth. I see that Provo is one of the most "mormon" areas. Colorado City, AZ (right by UT) is another strongly religious area. Being there for leisure of course is different than trying to make a living.