Moving to St. George - advice needed (Cedar City, Santa Clara: ski resort, transplants)

[Celesteren]

It looks like we're finally moving to St. George. My caregiving duties, sadly, are over, but it also means I can finally retire so we can leave the Los Angeles area. Having lived here my whole life, I don't know how to begin moving someplace else.

1. I'll have to work from home for a while. Even living in a major city, the internet where I live is a bit slower than I need for work. How is the internet speeds in given areas?

2. I know the housing market is probably hot there (as it is here) and we don't want to be rushed into buying something we won't be happy with since - hopefully - it'll be our last home. We had thought about renting a house, but my guess is people won't want short-term tenants. We're thinking buying an inexpensive trailer/mobile home/manufactured home to live in while we search. What downsides/upsides do we need to be aware of?

(We can't live in an extended care hotel - we have a very loud, very persistent cat who is used to being an indoor/outdoor cat and who is NOT going to be happy about being kept inside. I think it would be unwise to share walls unless they're totally soundproof.)

If anyone reading this has moved recently, please feel free to give me the benefit of your experience. This is scary and exciting all at the same time.

Thoughts, please.

[mysticaltyger]

I don't have any advice, but thanks for asking the question. i'm considering a move to the area, too, so I'll be interested in the responses.

[forzalugano]

Couple hours to Las Vegas, and right near the National Parks is nice. Lots of the dune buggy crowd rent in the summers, prices are going up quickly. Brian Head ski resort is less than an hour away too, and Cedar City with the University is about 45 min.

[CVee]

Been here part-time since 2005.

Traffic has gotten crazy brutal. So many Californians relocating here. And rude people coming in. We never used to have horns blasting. Now hear that frequently.

Internet here is fine these days (didn't use to be).

Pros - Lots of services, nice restaurants, etc.

Cons - Rude people coming in from California; crazy traffic.

My suggestion to you - consider Ivins or Santa Clara nearby St. George. Not quite as crazy. Or Mesquite, 50 min. South of St. George. Nice laid back town. Lots of pleasant people; lots of Seniors.

[kcoliver]

We moved here in 2005, from California) yes there has been crazy growth (mostly from California). My biggest problem now is that many Californians come here and want to change things. Why did you move here? I know why I moved and it was due to rude people and awful pricing of homes! Also way too many regulations as well as taxes.Yes it's way hotter here than it was in California (we lived in Huntingon Beach), but we did get used to the heat!



Mesquite is more expensive than St. George, and the pot problem has become a major issue. Mesquite does not have any real shopping, and the medical situation is ugly. Few doctors and bad reputation at the small hospital. Lots of seniors here in St. George. Think about the move and stay here awhile before moving (maybe rent even with cat)

[Celesteren]

Thanks for the responses. We're moving on June 7.

We're moving because we don't want what California offers anymore - traffic, wall to wall people, and ever increasing cost of living. We have NO DESIRE to bring California to Utah, so no worries there.

PS - we're not rude. :-)

[RationalExpectations]

Regarding internet speeds for work, how fast do you think you need? Sometimes, the issue is not internet speed where you live but rather a choke point at your employer.


What size house (for purchase)? What is your price range?

[kletter1mann]

Originally Posted by Celesteren

Thanks for the responses. We're moving on June 7.

We're moving because we don't want what California offers anymore - traffic, wall to wall people, and ever increasing cost of living. We have NO DESIRE to bring California to Utah, so no worries there.

PS - we're not rude. :-)

This raises an interesting question in my mind. OP's reasons for leaving CA seem pragmatic rather than ideological. By ideological I mean along the lines of occasional posters here ranting the about restrictive gun laws, losses of freedom, etc etc. in CA and seeking the liberties that they perceive in UT.


So, how would a non-idiological transplant from CA bring California to Utah? Simply by their voting? Bidding up real estate cause it's so much cheaper than CA? Biden/Harris signs on the lawn? Complaining about relative standards of food/restaurants? To be clear, this is posed not towards the OP by rather those locals who find all the transplants and their bebaviors objectionable.


[Sidebar comment on rudeness: disagreement, complaints and speaking out in general is often perceived in UT as rude. Don't believe it? Go to a cell phone store and see how the other people in line react when you vocally reject the clerk's offer of a non-fix and tell him he needs to do better. They'll be mortified and the customer will be considered rude. Cause in UT nobody wants to stick out. This example isn't mine. I've had 3 transplant friends all recount exactly the same thing in the phone store!]

[cedarite]

[Sidebar comment on rudeness: disagreement, complaints and speaking out in general is often perceived in UT as rude. Don't believe it? Go to a cell phone store and see how the other people in line react when you vocally reject the clerk's offer of a non-fix and tell him he needs to do better. They'll be mortified and the customer will be considered rude. Cause in UT nobody wants to stick out. This example isn't mine. I've had 3 transplant friends all recount exactly the same thing in the phone store!][/quote]

True. I had a neighbor imply they were going to shoot me for complaining about their endlessly blaring outdoor sound system. They were outraged and called me all kind of names for daring to complain. But it was multiple times every day, you could hear it through our whole house and we were tired of it.

In Southern Utah, there's an expectation that you are supposed to let locals run roughshod over you and let them fleece you without making a sound. The "don't rock the boat" sentiment can get extreme. Victims get blamed, for instance in accidents and even in murder cases. When a transplant was murdered by a local young man who entered her home a few years back, there were actually social media responses questioning what the woman had done to rile up the killer she had found in her own home after he broke in.... "Don't judge until you know both sides of the story" even if the person murdered another.

People who seek restitution are considered "greedy" and people who get upset about a well connected local's kid trying to bomb a school are dismissed with condemnations about not forgiving, who didn't do stupid things as a kid, etc. It's not as bad as it was 15 years ago, but the letting certain people get away with absolutely everything is still part of the culture. It enables some pretty heinous stuff, including fraud. Victim blaming is actually a thing here, pretty much no matter the circumstance. The person who gets fleeced in an investment scam gets blamed for their greed leading them astray, almost as if the ********* is delivering righteous punishment for the sins of their victims. Like if something bad happens to you, you somehow deserve it.


On the flip side of this, Utahns do have a great willingness to help in an emergency and do snap into action in a pretty amazing way. Whereas in some places, people will stand back and gawk, Utahn's will kind of reflexively come to peoples' aid. So on balance there are positives that will make the "how can they let people get away with that" sentiment get outweighed. At least for me. Still, the victim blaming makes me cringe at times.

[kletter1mann]

Originally Posted by cedarite

[Sidebar comment on rudeness: disagreement, complaints and speaking out in general is often perceived in UT as rude. Don't believe it? Go to a cell phone store and see how the other people in line react when you vocally reject the clerk's offer of a non-fix and tell him he needs to do better. They'll be mortified and the customer will be considered rude. Cause in UT nobody wants to stick out. This example isn't mine. I've had 3 transplant friends all recount exactly the same thing in the phone store!]

True. I had a neighbor imply they were going to shoot me for complaining about their endlessly blaring outdoor sound system. They were outraged and called me all kind of names for daring to complain. But it was multiple times every day, you could hear it through our whole house and we were tired of it.

>>>snip<<<

Still, the victim blaming makes me cringe at times.[/quote]We see a form of it on this board all the time. How often has somebody posted that their kids were ostracized or whatever and then dismissed in some way?