anyone in st george ?

[goofball]

i have come back around full circle - i hate stupid snow and cold. its evil. so in an effort to regain my own private nirvana have decided by summers end we aer outa here ! hadn't really considered st george because i thought it was higher up and more mountainy climated. silly me... turns out it is pretty jason friendly from the stats. end ramble.

so how is cost of living there ? are apartments reasonable and varied ? i want this to be hte final move (until jr. is on his own anyway) so maybe will look at buying ? another thing that kept me uninterested was i heard it is big retirement area and big mormon. nothing against either but i am atheist and not yet on oxygen. those are actually very big reasons for moving as well - good environment for my son. it is too rough here for him and i worry some. only 4th grade and the cops have been to his class a few times to deal w/ theft, vandalism, and threatened rape. not where i want him to be. any kid attractions like water parks or museums ?

any other general info as to the flavor of the place would be much appreciated.

thanks.

[tanya]

i have come back around full circle - i hate stupid snow and cold. its evil. so in an effort to regain my own private nirvana have decided by summers end we aer outa here ! hadn't really considered st george because i thought it was higher up and more mountainy climated. silly me... turns out it is pretty jason friendly from the stats. end ramble.

so how is cost of living there ? are apartments reasonable and varied ? i want this to be hte final move (until jr. is on his own anyway) so maybe will look at buying ? another thing that kept me uninterested was i heard it is big retirement area and big mormon. nothing against either but i am atheist and not yet on oxygen. those are actually very big reasons for moving as well - good environment for my son. it is too rough here for him and i worry some. only 4th grade and the cops have been to his class a few times to deal w/ theft, vandalism, and threatened rape. not where i want him to be. any kid attractions like water parks or museums ?

any other general info as to the flavor of the place would be much appreciated.

thanks.

I love the weather in St. Geroge.... I live on the east side of Zion, but I go to St. George all the time. It is one of the fastest growing places anywhere. Housing use to be well priced, but its going up. Older people love the warm weather and move there, but it's also a college town with lots and lots of young people. It is very mormon, but that too is changing as new people move in. I noticed a lot of Mexian have been moving in lately. I think its a good place to raise children. You could move in one of the smaller areas as well.. like Santa Clara or Ivins.

[Win]

I live about 25 mile NE of St George and have only been here two years. Housing is a big problem in the area. Prices have risen to the point that the average worker can't afford to live here. I don't know what you do for a living but be prepared for high housing costs. I think this will start to correct itself as home sales have really declined.

There are some developing areas that may be more attractive than St George. Try Hurricane, LaVerkin and Washington. These are East of St George and closer to Zion and other parks. Tanya mentioned other towns which are West of St George and a little more developed.

I think of St George as a "city" and I think it has some "city" related problems. Crime being one. Be careful where you move, neighborhoods are changing.

Good luck, it's a big decision.

Win

[Ratman]

http://www.thespectrum.com/apps/pbcs.dll/frontpage

Here is a link to the local paper. Check the ads for real estate and rental pricing. Read the forum section for community discussions.

I love it here. I'm retired but not on oxygen. Being situated on the edge of the Mojave Desert and the uplift of the Colorado Plateau gives many options. If it is too cold I head into the desert. If it is too hot I head into the mountains.

Most of the people moving to Washington County are not of the predominate faith and many "Gentile

[savanna3313]

When/If i ever do retire, I would love to be one of those "snowbirds". Live in the SL area during the hot months and in the St. George area during the winter months. These last few weeks of below freezing temps and horrible inversion have really gotten to me. I've lived here long enough to have experienced the inversion before, but this seems worse than anything I've ever seen so far. How about it locals? Does it ever get worse than this?

I say we put a trip together and head down to New Orleans for Mardi Gras in February. I will be happy to be a tour guide but I cannot guarantee that I will bring you all back alive.

[Cirrus2000]

I remember that when I was in Moab last spring, there was a lively discussion around the table at the Arches Book Company (I love their coffee) about the cost of housing in St. George. It had the highest increase in home prices in the entire state. Yikes.

On the other hand, when considering what I will do when I win the lottery, a vacation home somewhere in the area is a pretty high priority (after the airplane and the townhouse near Whistler.)

Then there's LaVerkin:

[rockgremlin]

Monticello is nice cause it's close to all things on the CP, and the housing mania hasn't hit here yet. Only down side is it too is cold. Other options around here are:

Moab.....if you don't mind paying $330,000.00 for an AVERAGE two bed one bath home.

Blanding which is getting more popular.

Bluff which is also becoming really popular. I have heard it called the next Moab, because it is more and more becoming a resort town. Bluff is pretty comparable in climate to St George I've heard. Correct me if I'm wrong.

[wojo342]

I like Kanab. It is warm, like St George and Moab most of the time, close to the mountains, Lake Powell, Grand Staircase, Zion, Bryce, Cedar Breaks, Coral Pink Sand Dunes on and on. Lots of variety. The people are nice and the schools are good. If I had the chance, I'd move there in a heartbeat. Right now I'm stuck in Cedar City. It's nice too but a little too cold in the winter. I love the summers though.

[tanya]

I remember that when I was in Moab last spring, there was a lively discussion around the table at the Arches Book Company (I love their coffee) about the cost of housing in St. George. It had the highest increase in home prices in the entire state. Yikes.

On the other hand, when considering what I will do when I win the lottery, a vacation home somewhere in the area is a pretty high priority (after the airplane and the townhouse near Whistler.)

Then there's LaVerkin:

After I saw this photo.. when I first started posting (about the same times as you) I looked for it in town. There it was right on the main drag!

[tanya]

I like Kanab. It is warm, like St George and Moab most of the time, close to the mountains, Lake Powell, Grand Staircase, Zion, Bryce, Cedar Breaks, Coral Pink Sand Dunes on and on. Lots of variety. The people are nice and the schools are good. If I had the chance, I'd move there in a heartbeat. Right now I'm stuck in Cedar City. It's nice too but a little too cold in the winter. I love the summers though.

I have never liked Kanab at all, but I LOVE Cedar City. It's just too --- Good Ole Boy oriented and if you are not mormon you are an outsider. Many of the towns people HATE BLM people. It's a tough place to be unless you fit in.

I got my BS in Cedar City. I love the college and the town! The location of Kanab is wonderful though!

[tanya]

When/If i ever do retire, I would love to be one of those "snowbirds". Live in the SL area during the hot months and in the St. George area during the winter months. These last few weeks of below freezing temps and horrible inversion have really gotten to me. I've lived here long enough to have experienced the inversion before, but this seems worse than anything I've ever seen so far. How about it locals? Does it ever get worse than this?

I say we put a trip together and head down to New Orleans for Mardi Gras in February. I will be happy to be a tour guide but I cannot guarantee that I will bring you all back alive.

St. George and the surrounding area is awesome in the Winter. It was so warm there again today!

[goofball]

thanks for all the insight all. much appreciated. i wish there were a few mor good population centers on the colorado plateau ! we used to live in bluff and it was gorgeous and fun, but 350 pop. made me crazy (clinically speaking) after 2 years so up we came. maybe i could handle it now, knowing what to expect. probably wouldn't be able to get the same job back either. moab schools are rough in general is what i heard from teachers. and i am a working man so need to move someplace larger so employment could be gained. w/ benefits. work for comcast right now and like the job, very little respect for the company though. other than benefits which really suck you in and almost cover all teh b.s. and substandard pay for what i do. only other skills i have are my back and a solid background if photography which is hard to make a decent living at. if only i hadn't been born a shifty drifter who just wants to have fun... salt lakes not bad, but teh cold, snow, and pollution kills me ! maybe i will just start "investing" in roulette. i'll be rich in no time !

[tuffchuck2000]

We moved to St. George about a year ago. Our reasons for coming here were about what you are talking about, and wanting to be a little closer to Zion and other places we visited often. We have liked it, although all the growth is taking a toll. From what we are seeing the housing market is a little over inflated, but you just have to keep your eyes open. I had just graduated from college when we moved here. We lived in a pretty decent 2bdr apartment for 4 months (we thought we would be there for at least 6) when we found a house we could afford (3bdr 2 bath). In the last 6 months the prices seemed to have leveled off, and even come down a little. Houses just are not selling like they did 2 years ago. We still will be looking for an opportunity to move to somewhere like you lived, maybe Bluff, or Tropic, but for now we like it here.