Spanish Fork and St. George (Salt Lake City, Provo: rentals, homes, job market)

[ChelseaQ]

Hi everybody!

My fiance and I are looking from moving away from Portland, and Utah is definitely a contender! I've read many threads on this site and have actually found them to be incredibly helpful - being able to hear real thoughts and experiences from those of you who live/have lived there. My question is about Spanish Fork and St. George: Are there many rentals in that area? How is the job market? Nice, family environment? We are not Mormon, but that is not an issue for us. One of my best friends growing up was Mormon, so I actually have some knowledge about the faith. (I honestly felt I really didn't even need to go there, but after having seen so many of the posts on here, I figured I'd just cover my bases, since it always seems to end up discussing that). Anyway, any help on this would be awesome!

[Calibelle]

The job market in St. George isn't much. It depends on what you do for a living. The few people I know who live down there, are computer software/graphic design people. Wages down there also are much lower than in Northern Utah. It does have a family environment, but believe it or not, IMO it has a lot of retirees, and has a very phoenix-y feel to it at times, with the heat, the golf course, etc. It's not very big, and is pretty far away from any big city in the state (Vegas is a few hours from there though). It is close to lake powell, Zion's national park, and Bryce Canyon. There is lots of outdoorsy stuff to do there. But the landscape is very different from what you will find up north in Spanish Fork.

Spanish Fork is more built up than it used to be. It was pretty much farmville out there for the longest time. But still it's mostly suburban and has a bunch of grocery stores, a costco, etc. Not many actual grown up jobs out there. It's about a 15 minute drive from Provo, and there are some companies out in the Springville/Provo area that you could commute to. It has a lot of young families out there. The rent for homes is cheap, but again, it's not super close to any job saturated areas.

Just out of curiosity, why those two particular places? They have extreme climate differences, that's for sure. You are looking at hot hot hot, 118 degrees hot in St. George during the summer months. Spanish Fork has four distinct seasons, with lots of snow in the winter time. There are better places to live that have a smaller feel to them, with better location to a good job market than these two places.

A bit more information such as your budget, what job field you are both in, whether you are hoping for a social scene, etc. Because being non LDS, I know it's not an issue for you, but you would probably enjoy being closer to Salt Lake City. UTAH county (which Spanish Fork is a part of), is like it's own little world. I can only describe it as being one of the only ants in a beehive And I know I will offend some people by saying this, but Utah mormons, are a lot different culturally and socially than in other places. Not EVERYONE in Utah County, or Salt Lake county falls into the stereo type that I am about to describe. But at first, they will be really nice to you. They may bring cookies, or attempt to invite you over, or to a few church functions. Once they realize you have no intention of becoming mormon, a lot of times they just give up. And while they don't isolate on purpose, they do isolate. They just pretty much live their lives, and pretend you aren't there. And fyi, I am LDS, an every sunday fully active LDS member, and I have seen it happen to non LDS with my own eyes. So if you can't handle feeling isolated, most DEFINITELY stay out of any areas of Utah county, where there is pretty much no night life outside of LDS culture, beliefs. The religion is a majority, and it really affects the culture and lifestyle down there. In Salt Lake County, it does also, but not as much as in Utah county. You will find more non LDS to connect with, and hang out with if you stick to Salt Lake or Weber county.

Hope that helps. A little more info such as your budget, what you do for a living, would help you get clearer answers about a good fit for you here in Utah. It's a beautiful state, with much to offer. But there are certain places where it is very tricky to be non LDS. It's so much different than just having a few good friends who are LDS. It's a whole different world here.

[eggalegga]

Those are such different choices. Wonder why those two towns? I'm guessing employment reasons.

St. George can have 2+ months of 100+ temperatures. And it has a vastly different landscape than Portland.

Spanish Fork can get strong canyon winds. It's too small for my liking but my niece (LDS) and her family like it there. She and her husband are both from Orem.