Thinking about moving to SLC

[kavm]

I find the us-versus-them / LDS-vs-non LDF aspect of the threads on the Utah unfortunate and try to minimize my participation on these forums. That said, the defensiveness with which any adverse experience with religion is received and responded to is equally unfortunate. It is not uncommon for the majority to have difficulty seeing things from the perspective of the minority - and some of that is evident in the comments here. If your experience was different that a negative experience being reported by another, why not let the reader decide what they make of it rather than repeat what you have already shared.

No state is perfect, including this one. And, sharing of negative as well as positive experiences paints a more realistic picture.

[Katzpur]

Originally Posted by kavm

I find the us-versus-them / LDS-vs-non LDF aspect of the threads on the Utah unfortunate and try to minimize my participation on these forums. That said, the defensiveness with which any adverse experience with religion is received and responded to is equally unfortunate. It is not uncommon for the majority to have difficulty seeing things from the perspective of the minority - and some of that is evident in the comments here. If your experience was different that a negative experience being reported by another, why not let the reader decide what they make of it rather than repeat what you have already shared.

No state is perfect, including this one. And, sharing of negative as well as positive experiences paints a more realistic picture.

I agree. It is unfortunate. It's also unfortunate that even when the OP doesn't even mention the dominant religion, kletter1mann invariably brings it up, mentioning the shunning of children (of which he has no first-hand experience) and using the word "weird" to describe Utahns. How on earth does he expect people to respond to that kind of baiting? By ignoring it, those of us who disagree are implying that he's right. I NEVER question the experiences of other people, but as long as he's going to continue to troll every chance he gets, I'm going to present the other side of the issue as I personally have experienced it.

[ejisme]

Positives when living in Utah. Like I mentioned above my wife graduated H.S. in Utah and didn't want to move back. The Air Force saw different and our first assignment was to Hill AFB, so off we went. This was pre Olympics and things have changed greatly since then (visited many times in recent years though, so have seen the differences... mostly good).

Anyway, being at Hill we lived in Layton and Ogden areas. Loved the fishing in the Weber and Ogden Rivers, East Canyon and Pineview Reservoirs. Skiing was great most winters. Did a lot of road biking with friends, some camping and rock climbing too. Lots of concerts and other events in SLC. Great airport for travel, though some foggy winter days/nights made for travel challenges. Played a lot of golf on some fun and challenging courses.

As my wife's love for Idaho fluctuates (she gets the moving bug much more than me) she has mentioned she wouldn't mind moving back to Utah. Oh how the world turns :-)

[moguldreamer]

Originally Posted by kletter1mann

Yet it's impossible to deny that "fitting in" and related aspects of UT culture and Utah life are recurring topics on this board. I don't refer only to shunning in school. I have no personal experience, but it's regularly reported.

When you say "regularly reported," are you referring to shunning in school, or just general "fitting in"?

[moguldreamer]

Originally Posted by Hiruko

People worldwide try to influence their children's associations and steer them in the right direction. Only on this sub-forum and in Utah do some people try to magnify it into an us-versus-them (Mormon versus gentile) conflict while throwing around allegations of "shunning."

I see you've never lived in Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods.

[kletter1mann]

Originally Posted by moguldreamer

When you say "regularly reported," are you referring to shunning in school, or just general "fitting in"?

Both

[kletter1mann]

Originally Posted by moguldreamer

I see you've never lived in Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods.

Interestingly the Westchester county (NY) forum has regular posts on this, both from people seeking them and others seeking to avoid them. It's just an accepted fact of life. Nobody gets offended or defensive by the question.

[Hiruko]

Originally Posted by moguldreamer

I see you've never lived in Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods.

I've lived within several eruvim here in the Chicagoland area. While I do not have any Orthodox friends or co-workers, I have had business relationships and passing encounters with Orthodox Jews. I'm very familiar with some of the concerns that people have with regard to their communities, particularly in New York. That being said, this is not the religious subforum, Orthodox Jews are a significantly smaller population than LDS people, and they have nothing to do with this conversation. But, nice try!

[Brauchmann]

That is so funny you bring up Johannesburg, I lived in Johannesburg between the ages of 5-8 right at the end of apartheid. I remember going to school & having white friends but was discouraged not by my parents but others friends and parents to keep a minimal association with the black kids. As a child you don’t really see differences in people, just whether you like someone or not based on your interactions with them. The world seems to want to generalize us more and more, however it seems that in process we have become more and more predujiced & are looking for more individualized affirmations. Anyway, hope it all makes sense to someone. Enough of my rant, I certainly did not mean to start something. I think Utah is a beautiful state and it is my choice whether I choose to be there or not. I think I still have that choice available to me.