I am sitting on a stack of points for the western USA for elk, deer and antelope in Wyoming, Utah, Nevada and Arizona.

We have a little over 4 years left on our contract in Europe. So we don't have to move.

I was offered a promotion at one of the military bases near Salt Lake.

I am not a Mormon.

I cuss regularly, drink, have a beard often.

We are Catholic, there are plenty of Roman Catholic churches in SLC.

I have never been so concerned about a move before, but I need a location that is close enough to my parents to spend sometime with my Dad before he dies. He has stage 4 COPD, and recently went from stage 1 to stage 4 in the time since we came to Europe.

Question:
Is the juice worth the squeeze?

Choices:
The Mormons will ruin my career
1 or 2 years should be fine.

 

quote:

Originally posted by Big Wonderful Wyoming:
I am sitting on a stack of points for the western USA for elk, deer and antelope in Wyoming, Utah, Nevada and Arizona.

We have a little over 4 years left on our contract in Europe. So we don't have to move.

I was offered a promotion at one of the military bases near Salt Lake.

I am not a Mormon.

I cuss regularly, drink, have a beard often.

We are Catholic, there are plenty of Roman Catholic churches in SLC.

I have never been so concerned about a move before, but I need a location that is close enough to my parents to spend sometime with my Dad before he dies. He has stage 4 COPD, and recently went from stage 1 to stage 4 in the time since we came to Europe.

I lived in Smithfield, Utah for a few years (near Logan), was not especially eager to leave. We did not have school-age children, mostly interacted with adults and didn't have social problems. Non-Mormon friends of ours still live in the area, have been there since early 80s when we were there. Hunting is not what it once was, fishing is ok once you find the out-of-the-way places. Idaho and Wyoming are close, a fair number of Utahns hunt/fish out of state. I'm going to guess you're headed for Ogden, not a bad choice. There is a monastery uphill from there that makes nice bread and there used to be a good gunsmith in Roy. Utah peaches are spectacular in mid-September, get them fresh from Santaquin or Delta. The Catholic church has the best lot in Logan, for what it's worth.

The time with your father may be painful at times, but can't be bought. I'd vote for "go".

I’ve spent a considerable amount of time in southern Utah over the last 8 or 10 years. I’ve had a vacation home there for over 35 years. I drink, cuss, and freely speak my mind (as do a lot of locals). Also, I’m not Mormon and have no plans to be. With that said, I have met some of the most sincere, friendliest, patriotic and great Americans, one can imagine. I got my daughter to move there 2 years ago from California and she loves it.

I’ve made several friends there and it would be my top choices of states to live. The only concern is if someone had to go out and get a job, it might be challenging. It wasn’t for my daughter and her husband. They are both working and doing well. Utah has changed a lot in the last 20 years. The Mormons have lightened up and they have accepted other cultures and faiths.

I have always said “You Mormons need people like me to reinforce your message”. They usually chuckle and agree.

Thank you gents.

My wife is a master teacher credentialed in California, our kids are all 6 and under and she homeschools them. This deal with all these schools getting shot up and kids dying is enough for us to rethink her career plans. I don't know that my kids will ever attend public school.

There are a lot of videos on YouTube and comments on the internet that lead me to believe that we would be ok, but it would suck.

A friend of was a Methodist minister in Salt Lake, and joined the Navy to be a chaplain. He told me I'd probably deal with a lot of bullshit, and my wife and kids would not have a huge number of friends outside of our own church.

The town we would live in is 85% Mormon, the other options are about the same.

I had a lot of Morman friends when I was younger.Of course I did not live in Utah.I really do not know what the problems could be.Stay away for talking religion and politics and you should be golden.

I was hoping to hear from someone who currently lived there.

I’m a Mormon. Born and raised here, 5 generations.

Some of my best friends are not “Mormon”

Your career will not be “ruined”, trust me.

I own a business and we hire Mormons and non Mormons.

I will be glad to help you and prove the critics wrong. I’ll show
you my hunting area and welcome you to our great state. This offer
goes for anyone else as well.

I live in northern Utah and love it here. You will too.

By the way, my cousin works at the vase and loves it.

I was out through Utah last fall as part of my annual 2 to 3 month "pilgrimage" to Wyoming. I hate big cities and when we went up through most of Utah after a 10 day elk hunt near Flagstaff, AZ it was one solid city all the way up that freeway until we got less than an hour from Idaho. Good luck if you move there because of that and the huge Mormon influence there is on that entire state. I guess you'll have to live there to decide whether the latter is good or bad, but I'll stay right where I'm at even though I'm free to go anywhere at any time. However, the only place I would probably move to out west is good old Wyoming and for me my lengthy trip out there every year is satisfying enough!

I do not know if you are talking about hill airforce or out by dugway, but I live in northern utah as a non mormon. I'm from cache valley which is where Tomp lived. I drink and smoke. It is not as big of a deal as most will make you think. I have never known anybody with six wives or all that stuff. We are all pro gun. The town I live in has 326 people living in it. Several people in town work at Hill, but we are to far away from Dugway to commute. If you are thinking about really making the move feel free to pm me. If money and time allows you are more than welcome to come out,stay at my place or a hotel and I can show you what to expect. Like Tom said the best church would be in Logan. I work in Logan and it is 20 minutes away. We also have a 50 dollar bounty on coyotes if you like making money shooting. Let me know, or not. Always followed your posts so know your a good guy. Buzz, Myles, Blake, or Tabor should vouch that I am almost normal.

quote:

Originally posted by Topgun 30-06:
I was out through Utah last fall as part of my annual two month "pilgrimage" to Wyoming. I hate big cities and when we went up through Utah form a trip down to Arizona it was one solid city all the way up that freeway until we got within an hour of Idaho. Good luck if you move there because of that and the huge Mormon influence there is on that entire state. I guess you have to live there to decide whether that's good or bad, but I'll stay where I'm at and the only place I would move to out west is good old Wyoming!

Topgun:

You seem like a nice guy and I have no idea what this Mormon “influence” is.

I live 30 minutes from Wyoming. I’m there every week. There are great people in Wyoming.
Having said that, I’ll take Utah! Yeah, I’m a little biased I guess.

Stop in next year for lunch, and maybe I can change your mind about this state. We can even
critize the practices of SFW

BigWonderfulWy:

I’m a school teacher as well. There are great, safe schools here.

quote:

Originally posted by Jason P:

quote:

Originally posted by Topgun 30-06:
I was out through Utah last fall as part of my annual two month "pilgrimage" to Wyoming. I hate big cities and when we went up through Utah form a trip down to Arizona it was one solid city all the way up that freeway until we got within an hour of Idaho. Good luck if you move there because of that and the huge Mormon influence there is on that entire state. I guess you have to live there to decide whether that's good or bad, but I'll stay where I'm at and the only place I would move to out west is good old Wyoming!

Topgun:

You seem like a nice guy and I have no idea what this Mormon “influence” is.

I live 30 minutes from Wyoming. I’m there every week. There are great people in Wyoming.
Having said that, I’ll take Utah! Yeah, I’m a little biased I guess.

Stop in next year for lunch, and maybe I can change your mind about this state. We can even
critize the practices of SFW

BigWonderfulWy:

I’m a school teacher as well. There are great, safe schools here.

I am only speaking from what I've heard on MM from guys that live all over the state of Utah regarding the Mormon "influence". It essentially does involve the SFW and the higher ups that I'm told are all Mormon and the people that follow in their footsteps that, again from what I'm told, is the Mormon faith in that you follow your elders and do not question them. I have no idea if that is true and I have nothing against any religion. I do have a big hard on against the SFW leadership and the way DP and his cronies have taken over the state by getting so many on the Wildlife Board such that they run the state and the DWR to the detriment of the common man. Mind you now that I'm not talking about all the great blue collar workers that do all the "on the ground" grunt work, but rather the top echelon that is living off the backs of the Utah taxpayers. I seldom see any positive comments about the SFW other than from a few diehard members that for some reason can't seem to figure out that selling our wildlife to the highest bidder and taking 200 premium tags out of the draws so the rich can be first in line doesn't seem to bother them. It sure bothers me and the majority of people that I read making posts about the SFW and it's attempts to gain a foothold in other western states that are being closely watched. So far they have been held at bay, but yet they still are attempting to infiltrate into other states and Idaho was one of the recent ones. Wyoming has essentially had enough of their BS and their ranks have dwindled, especially after their main chapter in Cody discontinued their affiliation with SFW due to all of their money going back to SFW in Utah with no transparency as to where it went from there. It sure wasn't going back to Wyoming to help in any projects from what the resignation letter stated!

You don't have to convince me on the beauty of Utah since I've seen most of it over the last ten years. However, the way the state is run and especially the way that SFW has taken over the DWR to the detriment of the common man is another discussion.

I am a non Mormon in western Canada.

I lived and worked in Park City for a year in 2000-2001. I had lots of Mormon friends. I found them to be very inclusive.(Of course you are going to run into a mormon from time to time who is a pain in the ass, same as anywhere else.)
Generally they will welcome you and help you find your way around.

Don't worry, there are a wide variety of Mormon types.
One of the best cigar stores I have been into is on the main street in SLC.

Utah is a wonderful state with fascinating history and beautiful country. ( You must read about the Mormon gunfighter, tracker and body guard for Brigham Young. His first name was Porter Rockwell.)

Go there! Good country. Good people. You may even learn some new cuss words.

PS. I am sure you will fit in fine there and make lots of friends.
Here is something about the Mormon Gunfighter that I just pulled off the web for fun.

"The Bad-Ass Mormon Gunslinger of the Wild West - io9 - Gizmodo
https://io9.gizmodo.com/the-ba...-wild-west-472536260
Apr 13, 2013 - Religion and gunfire—it worked for the Boondock Saints, but one man, Porter Rockwell, made this combination a reality during the 1800s. An ardent Mormon, Rockwell resorted to violent means to defend his leaders and people, but the gunslinger also served as a U.S. Marshal and displayed a generous ..."



You know in the mid 1800's the Mormons took on the US Army and whopped 'em with a brilliantly cunning maneuver. That's another good story.

Thanks Gents,

We will surely consider it.

you won't even notice they are there.
it isn't 1963.

Just stay away from Hildale, UT and Colorado City, AZ.

M

I moved to Utah in 1988 to accept a job as a geologist for the U.S. Forest Service. I love the area, so I retired here. I live in Price, about 120 miles southeast of Salt Lake. Most of Utah is sparsely populated. Over 80% of the population is located from just south of Provo up to the Idaho border, along I-15 and the Wasatch Front. I worked in Ogden for 5 years but kept my house in Price because I did not want to retire in a big city. Ogden is not bad for a big city. Once you get away from the Wasatch Front we have some good hunting and fishing. We have a lot of varied country from desert to 13,000 foot mountains. Most of it is really beautiful. Where I live I am between the desert and mountains at about 5,800 feet so I have the desert for the winter and the mountains for the summer. I think the cost of living is reasonable.

I am non-Mormon but it had no impact on my career. Most of the Mormons are good people, they just have different religious views. You choose your friends and who you want to spend time with. Please feel free to PM me if you want more specific information. I would be happy to show you and your family some of the geology, wildlife, and archaeology of southeastern Utah.

I lived in Provo( home of BYU ) from 1978 to 1982. I was one of the VERY few non Mormons on the medical staff of Utah Valley Med Center. I never experienced any discrimination and really loved the area and state. You have to realize that like Christians, most are not Bible thumpers out to convert you. And there are a LOT of jack Mormons who drink and smoke, etc...

Utah is currently The Number 1 State that people are moving to.

As a single long haul truck driver in the early 70's. I got thru and to Utah often, spent much time in SLC.

My favorite times was opening weekend of deer season. The best hunting was downtown in the bars!!
I've never met a Mormon male that believed it. Mostly because their eyes and minds are closed and also they're gone to the hills hunting.

In business I dealt with a self professed "high priest in the Mormon church". Like nearly everyone I've dealt with that's professed their religion no matter which it was. He was a damned liar and crooked SOB.

George

I hope your dad gets well and fast. He needs you around, more than the doctors and medicine. Spend as much time with him, take him hunting or cruising the woods and relive past memories.
Family is priority, everything else is not.
I don't live there, but hunted there. I have a friend that retired in the Beaver area and loves it.
The Utah people are friendly, respectful and hard working. Their morales and values are to be admired. THere is not many places better, to raise a family.
You will not have problems accessing remote back country for whatever pursuit.

quote:

Originally posted by mlfguns:
I hope your dad gets well and fast. He needs you around, more than the doctors and medicine. Spend as much time with him, take him hunting or cruising the woods and relive past memories.
Family is priority, everything else is not.
I don't live there, but hunted there. I have a friend that retired in the Beaver area and loves it.
The Utah people are friendly, respectful and hard working. Their morales and values are to be admired. THere is not many places better, to raise a family.
You will not have problems accessing remote back country for whatever pursuit.

Thank you mlfguns.

I’d be glad to hunt with you!

What a great thread, this is AR at its best. There are some very kind and generous offers . jc

My brother has a house in Park City. I use go there just to ski but decided one day to charter a duck hunt on the lake. Tons of waterfowl. Great state and lots of fun stuff to keep you busy other than hunting. We have lots of Mormons in NC and they are some of the nicest people that I know. Great to hang out with because they will not raid your liquor cabinet!

Other end of the state, but I lived near Kanab for several months back in my hippy days. Beautiful country. We kind of wore the road out going to the Az border and the first bar/beer joint. My opinion is that it depends on what or how you want to earn your living. Going with the Mormon flow will make it a lot easier. All that said, Southern Utah is not a hot bed of Mormonism and a great place to live.

Of course, anyone who can't get along in Texas is going to have a problem where ever they plop down IMO.

Jason P, thank you for your kind and gracious words, likewise.

I'm born and raised west of Hill AFB and retired from the Air National Guard. As a Mormon, I'm part of the majority here but don't think there is as much of problem being Non-Mormon as you might think. My wife is also an educator and there is a strong home school community here as well, even though our children are in the public school system.

If your contract is at Hill or one of the small Army locations north of SLC, shoot me a PM and I'll answer any questions you might have about the area.

Thank you all,

I didn't end up taking the position in hopes of ending up closer to Cheyenne.

Family and I are headed back to see my Dad in a few weeks, hopefully not for the last time.

BWW - Based on your intial thread starter, I think you might be overthinking this. I fully understand a move is a big deal, but it’s not like you are thinking of Kandahar. I am not a Mormon.

I'd be more afraid of not being Baptist in Abilene Texas than Mormon in Utah.

Plenty of Mormons here in MT, I’m surrounded ...
They can be inclusive but so can Baptists, Catholics etc.
Many here are my good friends and I do give them shit from time to time
That being said, I went to SCI this years and spent three days ( including hotel stay ) there with my good friends ( Mormons)
Best times as I stayed away from drinking ( out of respect) and felt great every morning (.no hangover )
Utah is great state

Having lived in Idaho with a number of LDS friends, I can only add one thing. When you go fishing you have to take two "Saints" with you. If you only take one, he'll drink all your beer.

SLC is one of my favorite cities in US. Some of the best breweries in that town. Town extremely clean by the way. Good hunting. Good skiing. Good stream fishing. Low crime. What is not to like?

I sure wish more people would think like your poll questions and not move here because they think Utah will ruin their careers or just stay for 1 or 2 years. Problem is too many come and never leave. Maybe all of us Mormons should be what the bigots think we are and then they would never come.... haha

I'm a Mormon and proud of it. Most Mormons are just solid people, but like anywhere and in any group there are always the few who are not. If you are interested in what they think I can send a couple 18-20 year old young men by your house (anywhere in the world) to give you a free gift and some info on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. : ) Then you can know what they (we) are all about and decide for yourself. I'd just ask you give them a snack while they are visiting you- they don't have much money!

If you guys ever want to help a Mom-- if you ever run across a couple Mormon missionaries then take their pic and text it to their Moms. haha

/

I moved to SLC area over 20 years ago. A lot has changed, but it has always been a great place to live and raise a family. Professionally, you won't suffer in the least.

It would be nearly impossible to hold an elected office in most Utah towns without being Mormom, but as stated in another posts, there are plenty of other states / regions with a predominant religion. I don't imagine many atheists could get elected in the bible belt, either.

It used to be the ski resorts, movie theaters and even shopping centers were mostly empty Sunday mornings. You can still plan some activities around "the church" schedule, but even this changes more every year.

Rural Utah is probably a slightly more closed society, in general, but few people move to rural "anywhere" looking for the high society life. SLC is still not the hub of nightlife, but most people past 30 aren't really looking for the club scene, either.

Not only have I lived and worked in Utah for much of my career now, but I will likely retire here as well. While I've lived and worked from PA to WA and several places in between, I enjoy the western lifestyle found in Utah, Wyoming and Montana, and surrounding states. I would take that lifestyle over living on either the east of left coast.

Bill

I kind of rolled my eyes when I first saw this thread. However, it has been a good conversation due to the good people on this site. I even spent some time talking to BWW. Seems like a good guy.

I’m glad people on here enjoy our state. There is certainly a lot to offer. I’d be happy living in as lot of states but it’s hard to beat home.

It’s good to see a thread with positive discussion!

I am a non denominal transplant that has lived in Logan Utah for 30 years. Every one of my neighbors are of the LDS faith and every one of them are solid individuals. We have had some lively religious debates at times but I've had the same debates with my Catholic and Jewish friends.

Drawing tags can be an issue today and it's not going to get any better. But Colorado, Idaho and Wyoming are not far away. Fishing can be great at certain times of the year. The biggest down side in my opinion is air quality during the winter inversions. It wasn't this way 30 years ago. At times we can have the worst particulate air pollution in the nation due to a number of factors. And like the tag situations it's not going to get any better as the population increases.

We have seriously considered moving a few times however we have a lot of friends in the area, we like the diversity of the area and happily call it home. I have a 17 year old daughter that started her education in a Montessori school, then a private grade school that then turned into a Charter school and is now enrolled in pretty diverse Charter High School. For us it has worked pretty well and we feel her education is as grounded as it can be for our area. She is as well adjusted as any teenage can be, at least I think so.

It is a very conservative state and proud of its history. There are a lot worse places to put down roots.

Thanks Gents!

I live close to Utah, and lots of mormans in Idaho..From what Ive been told, if your not a Morman in business you will be shunned as they prefer to do business with other Mormans?? Well why not?

I have a lot of Morman friends, some Jack and some stern. both drink my beer!..all the same to me, they are good friends..

I moved up here from Texas, so prejudices stayed down South..We all have prejudices to some extent, some admit it some will not

All this stuff is silly IMO, and I have no time to get serious about prejudices..I pretty much judge a man by how he treats me, not into race, color or religion. but I sure as hell don't have to like everyone or agree with everyone because they are black brown Morman or whatever, and I tend to get pissed when someone disagrees with any minority then get called a bigot just for disagreeing,

I could do just fine in Utah.