May soon be moving to Utah (Ogden, Layton: fit in, low crime, chapel)

[mountainfaith]

Hi you all. My hubby recently found out he may be getting a job transfer/ relocation to Utah. So, I've been reading a lot of these threads and other Utah websites as well. It's still up in the air I guess, but we're hoping to know something firm in the next week or two. And I'm hoping they'll soon fly us to the area, so I can get a good feel on it, and check out the area. I know that's important to do.

A little general info. about my family:

We're a born-again Christian, homeschool family. From what I'm reading, with us being a stay-at-home mom family, we'd fit in just right there.

I absolutely love nature and have craved living out west after having vacationed in western states for weeks at a time. I love mountain views and parks, etc. I know my family would enjoy all that once they've experienced it, too. My husband has already visited there in the past and he said it was a very nice, clean, and beautiful area.

We're concerned about the cost-of-living tho'. We are a single income family, and now live in a small, country type area w/very inexpensive housing costs for new built houses. So, do you have newer housing that is affordable for move-in families? We'd need to be somewhere near the Clearfield, UT area. Are all those areas like Layton, Kaysville, Farmington, etc... considered part of the Ogden metro area? How are the outerskirt suburbs or nearby cities of Ogden? I don't see the north or NW of that area mentioned much. We'd want to have a house where the yard is pretty level, but with clear mountain views. Wouldn't want to move all that way and not even have the constant views. haha. Looks like having a bigger yard is hard to come by. I figure the silver lining w/that is that there's infinite amount of land, parks to visit as we need it.

Does the Ogden metro area have everything a family would need w/o having to travel to SLC even? That would be great! We'd love to have things close by. Our kiddies have been in so many activities from soccer, to ice-skating, to Cub Scouts, 4-H, etc etc. So, we're looking for an area where that would all be EZ to find. Also, looking for a low-crime area, which seems is much of the area there. So much that is talked about on this site seems to make the area more a benefit - the moral lifestyle values there. So, that's a big plus for us, too.

We're the silver-lining type, so if we move there, we'll be moving with a very positive attitude. We'll enjoy all the incredible, breathtaking mountain, canyon views, and enjoy all the activities, and look forward to making new friends again. We're the type that can fit in EZ, so not concerned about that. Just want to make sure we'll find those similar to us as well. Looks like lots of people are moving to Utah right now, so that in itself is a neat thing, as so many of us would be newby Utahns at the same time then.

Well, I'll ask more after I get some answers from this post. Enjoyed reading the great posts here. What a great place to learn about Utah!

Looking forward to chatting w/ya.

mountainfaith

[mountainfaith]

With all the newbies moving in, are other churches on the rise? While we're non-denominational, we're looking for a good sound doctrinal GARBC or Southern Baptist, or very similar.

[askslc]

Mountainfaith-

I can't speak to many of your questions, as I am in Salt Lake. We moved here a couple of years ago and met people from quite few faiths. My guess is you will have very few problems finding people from the Southern Baptist, evangelical, etc. faiths. We got the feeling when we moved, that since the LDS church has such a large following here in Utah, many of the other groups work pretty hard to provide other opportunities. I wouldn't worry about that piece one bit.

-askslc

[mountainfaith]

Thanks for replying so quickly. Your answer was good news for my family. Thanks!

mountainfaith

[chazcrew]

The Ogden area sort of melds into the SLC area, with Farmington, Kaysville, Bountiful, etc. in between. I think up to about Layton/Clearfield is considered the Ogden area. But all the cities are right next to each other, and you won't have trouble finding city programs, cultural events, etc. anywhere around there. Housing is, unfortunately, getting quite expensive. Since you don't have to travel into SLC, you have a few slightly more rural options that might make it easier to find something affordable. My only advice is, don't move right into Ogden itself if you want low crime. It has quite a problem compared to other cities. North Ogden is okay, and I think some of the outskirts of Ogden (though I'm not sure exactly where) are okay, but the city itself is just -- well, scary. I don't want to offend anyone who lives there......

I think you'll easily find several churches in the area that you could possibly join. I don't think that will be a problem at all.

[mountainfaith]

Thanks. I appreciate you taking the time to go over that. Yeah, we're more a rural family, but subdivisions will be fine if we have the beautiful mountain view and lots of parks real close.

And yeah, we'd much rather live on the outskirt cities, then go into the city for the museums, and fun stuff like that. But I was just researching Layton, and it's looking pretty good for family activities. Cost of living is hopefully more affordable there. Anyone live in Layton and find it's a safe and great place for your family? Is everything you need pretty much right in Layton?

I was shocked to find out these cities, like Ogden and the surrounding cities have a much bigger population than I expected. At least that means there should be LOTS to do and choose from and many different people to meet. So that's cool!

Thank God for computers, cuz this is fun researching. And the nature pics are just breathtaking. I hope you all don't take all that beauty there for granted. Wow!!

[coolcats]

You could maybe look north of Ogden at Brigham City or even Tremonton (the latter being probably at least a 30 minute drive though. I think the housing is cheaper up there). Contrary to what some people think, there are plenty of different churches, you just might have to drive farther to them if you lived in rural areas. Ogden itself has quite a few. But hey, growing up in Iowa we had people who drove 45 minutes one way to our LDS chapel

[mountainfaith]

How far of a drive (time-wise) is the Brigham area from Clearfield? Of course I don't know anything about Brigham either. Any info is greatly appreciated. Would it still have all the family & sports type activities, etc. right there?

[LlasaLost]

Hi! You might want to go on the 3W-utahrealestate-(you know what comes next) which is a good MLS site and check out the Cashe County listings. Of course you need to understand that Utah get's cold in the winter--and the Cashe Valley is even more so. Check out the listings with a good map by your side to give you some orientation.

As to various churches: they're all over the place; not as numerous as the LDS, but they do exist, especially in the larger areas (this weekend, just in abt a 3-mile drive off the freeway we drove by a large Baptist church, a non-demoninal church, and a very large Lutheran church). Good luck on your move.

[mountainfaith]

Yeah, one of the 1st things I did was do a lot of weather comparison. Hey, I'm gonna start a thread on that, cuz I know of a super helpful way for people to compare their local weather to the new possible place they may be moving.

I found out that your area is about the same as here, but surprisingly a tad warmer at times in fall & Spring, then about 5 degrees warmer for summer. We only have maybe a couple mths. where we might be a degree or 2 warmer than you. We just assumed it being in such a mountain area, it would be much colder. So, it was a pleasant surprise to find out the opposite. I'm thinking the desert region helps keep you warm enuf and maybe the the lake and the mtns. have some protective affect the way you're situated there.

However it is, the weather works out for us. So, that part passed on our list. The BIG difference is that you get A LOT of snow compared to us. My kiddies would love that part of course! We get snow, but not so much. So, it's fun when we get the more rare big snowstorm, as long as we know ahead and the electricity stays on!

I do like that many here have posted saying the snow doesn't stay on the roads long in SLC area. How about the Ogden metro region? Are there ice problems much? As long as ice and snow isn't a problem on the road that would be great. It can stay in the yard, just not the road for driving.

BTW, if the Cache Valley is colder, I couldn't do that. I don't like colder weather. Cold is hard for me as it is. But since we have about the same weather, it wouldn't be a change for me. Except that you have another plus of low humidity and at times being a few degrees warmer even. Awesome!