Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Northern Utah for retirement

The main difference between Cedar City and St. George is about 50 miles and 3000 feet. It gets cold and snows in Cedar, and seldom snows in SG. You can look at the pretty snow on the surrounding peaks and hills, but you don't have to drive in or shovel that white schidt. OTOH, summers are hotter in SG, but you can deal with that by getting up early and getting out and doing stuff before it heats up. Cools down a lot overnight, and early mornings are beautiful. Cedar City gets windy, which bothers some people.

The Mormon influence is very real, but it's what you make of it. The LDS church and its members dominate all facets of life, social, political and economic. For the most part it's benign, just an overwhelming presence. We've never felt mistreated or discriminated against, at worst just ignored by most of our Mormon neighbors, but are good friends with a few. I wouldn't say they are unfriendly, but with their church such a big part of their lives, and large families, a job if they aren't retired, they just don't have room in their lives for new friends. They tend to socialize among themselves, and I've heard, but can't verify, that the church discourages close friendships with non-Mormons. Having children adds another element, and I would give careful thought to moving if I had school age children. Again, nothing first hand, but I've heard lots of stories about non-Mormon kids having a tough time in school and socially. The LDS church just completed a temple in Cedar City, which in that church is a big deal and an indicator of the LDS presence and influence in an area.

Cedar City (Iron County) has an unsupervised range outside of town that goes out to 1000 yards. Concrete pad, uncovered, and a few benches. St. George has a few ranges, but all specialized except one county range which is very nice, supervised by NRA RSOs, 24 benches and covered. 200 yards max. www.redcliffsrange.com. Of course some folks shoot in the desert.

Anyhow, JMO, after six years in SG. Not utopia, but we like it. Lots of California transplants, but the ones I know are conservatives who were glad to escape. Their real estate equity and pensions allow them to live very well here. You can buy a nice house for $300K or so, but prices are going up.

The "big city" is Las Vegas, about a two hour drive down I-15 from SG. I've never been to SLC, likely won't go unless the VA sends me. There is a VA medical CBOC in SG. Mesquite, NV, is about 45 miles from SG, casinos with buffets and a big discount liquor store. Parking lot always full of Utah plates

Paul

Tracy..Northern Utah is certainly nice, good climate, a bit more conservative than where you are. Its got a lot going for it except the Mormons...they will instantly ostracize you and your daughters. Handsome people, but steeped in institutional ignorance.

If you're bringing your own income with you look up Salmon Idaho way.

Never heard that one before.

I lived in a hotel working in Logan 5 days a week for the last half of 2018. Heading back on Labor Day as a kickoff to another several month project. If I didn’t have family ties in KS/MO, Logan area would be on my short list, or at least all of Cache Valley.

Yes it is full of Mormons. They’re nice people. Nobody pushed their views on me. I didn’t push my views on them. Works out well.

I liked Cache Valley more than the west side of the mountain (Brigham City, Ogden) because everything was more green versus desert like. Irrigated alfalfa makes it green I guess. I first went to Logan in 2004. 15 years later the growth has been crazy. Lots of new sub divisions sharing fence lines with old established dairy farms. Sub divisions will eventually win out for total valley control, just a matter of time.

Logan doesn’t have Smith & Edwards, where Ogden does. It’s worth your stop there just to say you’ve been to an “army surplus/hardware/gun/fly fishing/housewares/farm/ranch/clothing store.”

Saw one of the biggest muleys in my life driving to the airport one morning in the canyon south of Logan. Skylined in the top of a hill with sun coming up behind him. Would have s loved a good camera with good lens right then.

Saw lots of turkeys and a few pheasants around the outskirts of town. Hiking in the hills east of town flushed a few grouse. Coworkers know the elk hot spots but they’re tight lipped as expected.

Eating establishments were enough for us to find variety 4 or 5 nights a week for 6 months. But that’s coming from a rural area where a Texas Roadhouse is s higher end restaurant.

Housing costs are high for me, but anything is high after living in SWMO. Coming from California they’ll likely be cheap...

Your daughters will be social outsiders if they are not Mormon. That is a bad situation for teenage girls. Uprooting teenage girls from their friends is traumatic at best. When I was a kid we lived in NW Utah from 1962 to 1967 so maybe things have changed.

second this emotion!

that's toooo funny.........I'm not Mormon.......two adult daughters living in GA & AZ are

The Church people know me for the UPS guy that delivered their packages for 25 years here in Podunk

They also know I'm not interested....they gave up a long time ago........

Podunk is a small farming town....Manti Forest Range with 11K' Skyline Drive to the west

To the east.....San Rafael Swell amazing high desert with millions acres of BLM property

Of course a non Mormon will 'fit in' a larger city easier than a smaller town......

Northern Utah......beautiful......too much winter for me.....too close to all the traffic.....people.....etc

Look at Richfield......nice quiet town......very close to any outdoor activity known to man

I-15 has easy access.......or I-70......Fish Lake Forest....Dixie Forest......Henry Mountains...all close

The Big 5 National Parks if that peaks your interest......good luck in your move !

https://www.go-utah.com/Richfield/#



plenty of places to go to Church in Utah

South Dakota sounds about like what you are looking for.

We need GoodGuys, Montana is open.

Things have changed..... some.

Mormons still stick together, have their own scout troops, and will generally have their social structure built around their church. Kids will sometimes deliberately reach out, "make friends" with gentiles, and then drop the friend like a hot potato when their proselytizing attempt falls on deaf ears.

It CAN be tough on a teen to have the coach bench them in favor of a fellow church member with less abilities. It can be tough on kids to lose friends (that weren't real friends). Then again, those are pretty decent life lessons. Logan IS largely Mormon, as high as 80%, with much of the rest catholic (Mexican). It's a concern, but I live and work behind the Zion curtain, and have no problem with it.

Ranger, Logan is a really, really nice little town, and all this talk about winters is bull. Come up river an hour to Grace where I farm, and I'll show you winter! Logan will have snow cover for less than 30 days a year, generally.

Another town to look at is Pocatello. Similar climate to Logan, university town, good schools, and the LDS percentage is less than 50% of Logan. Housing prices shot up 20% this year, but still very reasonable by Vacaville standards. Fishing on the Snake (Trout, smallies), Bear River (walleye, trout, smallies), American Falls Reservoir, or up into the Teton and Henry's Forks and hang out with the fly-fishing snobs....

oh really? the legislature here has raised taxes 6 years in a row, despite having budget surpluses in each of those years. We are now taxed on all online sales, as always groceries, and I am sure the legislature is already plotting the next tax increase. My jordan school taxes have went up 17.3% in the last 2 years.

the Mormon deal is way way overplayed. OF course I am a member myself. The church teaches us to be nice and welcoming to others regardless of faith. If a member is not they are not living up to their beliefs. As for kids. when it comes to school in my area it seems like the entire school none of the kids there are members. at least most don't act that way. which I am not very happy about honestly. I would say in school being a non member is not going to matter one darn bit. Of course parents who are members want their kids to marry other members. But to say kids are told not to be friends with non members. Well that does exist but I would say its pretty rare these days. Besides I would say half the people aren't members. The half that are, aren't practicing, so really you are down to 25%. That number is dwindling we have a huge influx of people from the rest of the west, california, oregon, washington etc. They are coming for tech jobs and other things.

I think non members develop this complex around here, I call it self ostracation its imagined judgement that they think others have toward them. This comes I think from the fact about half my neighbors I see every week at church. I know them, they know me. In my neighborhood of 200 homes I know half the people in the entire subdivision. This is extremely rare if you live somewhere else in the country. In texas I knew 5 neighbors but only on my street. compare that to here and its way different. I think non members feel that way because we don't know them, and they don't know us. but that doesn't mean people aren't friendly if they just got to know them. get over the imagined judgement talk to some of your neighbors and you will fit in just fine. OF course every area has a holes.

as burley boy said, idaho isn't really a low tax state either. but I would say this idaho for me is a step back in time 15 years. its refreshing to see it. Lots of farming up there, and the people seem more old fashioned. at least that is what I see in southeast idaho. but I think overall the tax burden is going to be a bit less in idaho. Utah isn't cheap when I moved here 20 years ago from Texas. I found out real real quick it was way more money to live here than texas. but as much as I complain california is too oppressed. I feel oppression when I go there.

I just saw dutch's post, I can't disagree anymore with the comments on coaches and kids dropping friends that way. I have NEVER EVER seen that. and if it was known members of the church would come rushing in to the defense of the non member kids and parents.

Logan and the Cache Valley are great spots.

Utah State University is a very fine school, with a very reasonable price tag, if your daughters want to go to school there.

It's higher elevation than where I live, so it's colder in winter. It's harder to grow tomatoes there, but it can be done.

The North end of the valley, Smithfield on up, is very pretty and puts you close to good turkey hunting. Eden is a beautiful small town on the south end of the valley.

Don't believe the nonsense about being socially excluded. The recipe is simple: Make the first move Have a visit with you ward's Bishop. Explain that you don't have the slightest interest in becoming members, and don't want visitors, but you would like to socialize. Your family will then get invited to the 4th of July breakfast, the Christmas party, and the (many) other social events. Your daughters will be invited to Girl's Camp in summer. My next door neighbors are wonderful Baptists, and their kids are in and out of my house and yard all summer, and I make it a point to be sure the mom and dad are invited to social events. So far, they don't have a snow blower so I usually do their walks and driveway when I do mine.

Logan gives you good access to Bear Lake, which is a big summer recreation spot. Of course, there is Bear River, the Upper Provo, and good access to Mirror Lake and some really beautiful high country surrounding it.

Farther south, Payson has a nice climate, good access to Payson Lakes, and good access to Provo for more shopping. Price is a coal mining town, to the east, and that revenue source is drying up, so the town's economic base is going away. Mt. Pleasant, Ephriam, and Manti are sweet spots with Manti LaSal National Forest just to the east, but they don't have the population to support major medical facilities or shopping centers.

St George is the banana belt. It's hot there right now, but in November the extra warmth is appreciated. If you can get a house that buys electricity from Dixie Power, your air conditioning bill will be very reasonable. During the Civil War, cotton supplies were disrupted,, so they were growing and weaving cotton there.

Ogden, lol......pretty sure he said limited gang bangers. I retired from Utah DOC after 25 years. Care to guess where most of the prison population came from?

Just so you know:

I really don't know of anywhere in WY that is not cold in the winter, some are just colder & windier than others.

Other than that, it's a great state that will remain relatively free & conservative for a while yet, I think.

MM

That aint no schit!!

Let me guess: east side of Ogden. Still, there are some outstanding areas in town and nearby.

South Dakota is nice. I would like to move there, but grandkids are here!

I would give considerable consideration to whatever change you make on how this change would effect your kids. If they don't adjust well for whatever reason, lots of the reasons you will be moving to the place will be overtaken by what your kids will be going through.

I grew up in a Mormon town. I am not Mormon. As a group, they are a friendly, nice, and have many positive traits. But you will be forever an outsider. You will feel it. And while being an adult and a veteran, you surely have developed thick skin by now. You will be fine. But your kids on the other hand haven't. Especially being daughters and girls really need to fit into the "crowd" more than boys do. They will feel being an outsider much more than you will. And they haven't developed the skills to deal with it. That was my experience.

My sister and her family lived in SLC for years but left there because of this very reason. Her daughter really felt it. My sister likened living there to be a minority living in a place that is overwhelmingly a closed society.

My daughter lived in SLC for last summer as she was out of college for the summer. She lived with my brother in law and his family. She too felt feeling like an outsider in SLC. She opted not to go back this summer.

But Utah is a beautiful place. That is for sure.

By the way, Snowflake was settled by Mormons. It is still a Mormon community. They have a Mormon Temple there.

I have family all over the west. Traveled and spent much time in all the places mentioned above.

If I were you, but with not knowing your career and financial picture which in itself could be a huge factor, if I had to place a finger on a map for you of the places mentioned above, it would be Pocatello or Idaho Falls.

Just my opinion. Good luck.

Sorry if I have offended anyone regarding my comments regarding the Mormon religion.