How is the church activity in wards around Sarasota, FL. I am considering to move the family there for a job change. My TBM wife hopes that it is strong which is her main concern, not school systems, community or economy. I on the other hand hope that it is like most other places outside the emerald city, and the church is slowly withering away to nothingness. We are currently in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia, and the church has 2 wards which is rumored to become one ward again in the near future. Maybe 50-60 people attend sacrament.

I'm over on the other side of Florida. The cult is spread pretty thin here. Transplants, especially those with jobs and/or education, are prime targets for leadership.

When I left last year, there were over 500 names on our ward list, and maybe 100, on a good week, coming to church.

Your mileage may vary, but over here, it's pretty easy to pretend they don't even exist.

Just saying the words "Florida public schools" is pretty depressing for any parent. In our town, there are a handful of public schools (magnet schools) that don't suck, and the only way to get in is through a random lottery. We're lucky- we actually got our kid into kindergarten at one of them! I guess that was Mormon God's way of smiting us for leaving his One True Cult.

Private schools in town are all "christian."

But, back to the main concern- from what I've seen, Mormonism is really in trouble here.

The magnet schools are really great. My son went to one. I'm now wondering what to do with my 6th grader because I don't want him to go to public, and as you said, the private schools are all Christian.

I'm also on the east coast of Florida and the church is struggling. I don't know about Sarasota though. From what I've seen, the only place in Florida that the church is still doing okay is the Orlando area.

I think you should go into the administration and ask just what is required in the Christian school.My daughter went to one in VA many yrs. ago and all it entailed was a Thurs. morn. chapel...where the kids sang songs, the pastor gave a short message on a character trait usually, honesty, responsibility, etc. Can't imagine most are very different. This one was Lutheran and we aren't even Lutheran. I doubt she recalls much about it. But I loved the singing and often attended. And the school was challenging also.

I'm in the Orlando area, and my ex-mo niece is in Miami area. In both these regions, most people know NOTHING about Mormonism. The wards are poor and sparse, and the only converts are Haitian refugees looking for welfare.

A TBM nephew and his wife moved to Florida last year for work. They moved back to WA state as soon as they could, largely because his wife felt out of place at church (and was not working). She was the type who derived her social life from church in the northwest where there are members from every slice of society, as opposed to primarily from the lower end of the socio-economic ladder.

Of course, I cannot specifically address the Sarasota region.

I'll agree with a previous poster that Florida has some really good magnet schools, and those are the way to go if you have school aged kids. Definetely don't want your kids in the regular public schools down here.

I don't know; I couldn't even find the local ward if you asked me to.

Does that answer your question?

It depends on where you are, but I will compare my experience in Ohio to Florida and say there aren't more Mormons here that I'm aware of, and if there are, they keep that shit to themselves.

After my resignation, I've never heard another peep from anyone at church.

I saw a map, once upon a time, that showed the concentration of mormons nationally by county. Liberty County, in the Panhandle, has a similar proportion of mormons as Idaho or Arizona. I remember digging to find the explanation for that, but I don't remember what it is. Part of the reason is because the population of Liberty County is pretty sparse, so a few more mormons than usual and you've got weird spike in the graph.

I wouldn't worry about it. Sarasota is really nice; mostly populated by snowbirds from the midwest. Find private or charter schools if you can. At least investigate the local public schools. While the vast majority of them are pretty bad, some are very good, so don't close your mind completely until you have all the facts. Do not base your decisions about your children's education on a few opinions from random people on the internet.

Or a neighboring state because that is the only place you will find Mormons in abundance.
Nowhere else you'll see a trace unless you look very hard.

I live in the Gainesville area. It is known politically as an oasis of blue in a sea or red... college town, gay pride week, liberal population with good schools and nice bike paths (and also higher taxes).

My neighbor two houses down is Mormon. There is a church on the other side of town. I also see missionaries walking around from time to time. I don't think you will be pestered by the Church in Florida, but you should do some homework on your neighborhood.

Some basic info:
http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/statistics/unit/sarasota-florida-stake/

Also:
http://cumorah.com/index.php?target=countries&cnt_res=2&wid=231&wid_state=271&cmdfind=Search