Several of our non-Mormon neighbors have retired there, and they say that they love it. They say they like not having to live with snow, yet they can tolerate the heat. Our neighborhood here is beautiful, with nice non-Mormon people, and upper middle class, low crime rate, close to the city, recreation, the university, the arts, great hospitals, and--yes--there's a temple here. The only thing we don't like about this place is the Mormons here--but St. George is even more Mormon-infested.
The non-Mormon couples retired to St. George as a couple, leaving their children and grandchildren in SLC. Their reason was that the husband wanted to play golf. At first, the wives hated it, but now they love it. Two of the husbands have died, in the last few years, but, so far the widows have remained in St. George. They say that they have friends there, and are "settled" there. I don't question them, out of politeness.
Go figure! Are there other reasons the non-Mormons want to stay in St. George, which is dominated by Mormons?
I can't understand the Mormon couples wanting to retire there, either. If Mormons were so family-oriented, why would they leave their families to go live somewhere else?? Their adult children can't follow them there, because of very limited job opportunities there.
What do these old people do in St. George? My divorced cousin, who never had children, retired there, and she works in the temple. She walks her dogs in the desert. That's it. A man friend drives his razor around, and has 4 girlfriends. My 90 year old uncle had several girlfriends, too, but no hobbies.
Is this living in exile? Do Mormons move there to do penance?
Is the real reason is that they can live there, on a fixed retirement, and still afford tithing? I'm wondering if they are too proud to admit that they could no longer afford their SLC houses. All of them seemed to have lived extravagant lifestyles, before retiring, and had house-cleaning crews and gardeners. They are and were snobby neighbors, and very much into social climbing. IMO, isn't St. George, like, coming down several notches?
I have stayed in St. George, on several occasions, because I was forced to. I sincerely tried to make the best of it, but after one day, I was ready to move on. The wide open spaces started to close in on me, and I felt "stranded" there, suffocated by heat and boredom. I have been many places, and that was the one place I didn't like. Well, Baker is a pretty bad place to have your car break down, and, of course, city slums are worse, but no one brags about living there, the way they brag about living in St. George, Utah.
Someone please tell me WHY.

Some people simply want a change of scene when they retire. A friend of mine explained it: She had lived all her life in one area and was ready for someplace new.

If you have family in the SLC area, St. George isn't *that* far away. You can go visit for a weekend.

Probably the biggest reason is the snow. SLC can get some serious snow. As people get older, many of them don't want to deal with it. That is why east coast people often maintain a second home, and/or retire to Florida or the southern U.S.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/17/2017 09:16AM by summer.

"If you have family in the SLC area, St. George isn't *that* far away. You can go visit for a weekend."

Neither is Mesquite NV, so if I was inclined to retire to a warm desert environment, I would move the extra 20 miles south..

Mesquite is not nearly as pretty as St. George is. It's also far away from amenities that are within a short drive in St George.

Mesquite has plastic palm trees when you drive in from the I15.

Tacky.

It is where local St Georgians drive for close entertainment, casinos, liquor stores, etc.

Nevada has no state income tax, but that is a trade off for services.

Housing prices are around the same as St George, without the views.

Different strokes for different folks. Glad you enjoy the place you live. I don't think the cost of living is much different than the Wasatch front.
Oh....and they do have yard maintenance and cleaning services in St George too.
Not having to deal with the cold and snow is the main draw I presume.

mankosuki Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Different strokes for different folks. Glad you
> enjoy the place you live. I don't think the cost
> of living is much different than the Wasatch
> front.

It's not.

http://www.bestplaces.net/cost-of-living/st.-george-ut/salt-lake-city-ut/80000

Housing costs less, food and utilities cost more.

St George may be one of the few retirement destinations for the Rocky Mountain west. Its location is desirable for those who have family up the Morridor. The weather is conducive to making it a snowbird haven in the wintertime, where the well-to-do afford maintaining two homes instead of one.

Like anywhere, USA, there will always be social climbers in any city. Not everyone is there to do that. People who retire there love its climate, its beautiful scenery, and outdoorsy environment.

Housing exists for most budgets, from the fixed income people to upper class.

It's become a growing retirement community. Kiplinger ranks it as a top retirement community on par with other national retirement locales.

"The Beehive State is a particularly sweet spot for retirees. The low living costs help offset some unfriendly state tax laws—Utah is one of the few states that taxes Social Security benefits, for example. And even with income levels for older adults about average for the U.S., the state has the fourth-lowest poverty rate for people 65 and older.

Utah's outdoor recreation options are also sure to keep you buzzing through retirement. There are five national parks, seven national monuments, five national forests and 43 state parks to host all your hiking, climbing, boating and skiing desires. No wonder the state ranks fifth in the U.S. for the overall health of its 65-plus population, according to the United Health Foundation. St. George—on the Arizona border, west of Zion National Park and north of the Grand Canyon—is a nice location for active retirees."

http://www.kiplinger.com/slideshow/retirement/T006-S001-best-states-for-retirement-2016/index.html

Wow.
Thanks, people.

So, there are some positives about St. George!

Now, I feel less sorry for the people whose spouse has coerced them into living there. It's their choice. Yes, it's healthy to be outdoors, and to be active.

I have to go to St. George for 4 days for business next week, and I'm now looking forward to giving it a chance! There won't be time to go to Zion or Bryce or the Shakespeare festival in Cedar. Those are all worth seeing and doing.

None of these retirees grew up in the desert, and they do seem to enjoy the "change". Maybe they aren't pretending, after all. I'm probably the one who is spoiled, growing up by the beach, and spending summers in Montana. The desert was something we had to cross, in order to get where we wanted to go.

Perhaps people can become accustomed to the heat. I'm the one who can't tolerate it, and consider 100 degrees too hot to exercise, too hot to go outdoors, so hot it drains your energy. I love downhill and cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, with my family, and snow hikes in the forest with my dog, so I'm outdoors almost every day in the winter. Our family lived in Sweden, when I was a teen.

I think the St. Georgeites like to make a grand entrance back to SLC, to grace us with their presence, and have their families make a fuss over them. They like to brag, in general. Maybe they're on their "second honeymoon," down there. I'm not married, so what do I know.

The non-Mormon retirees don't have jobs, so they don't have to deal with Mormons in the workplace or in the schools, which is where they are the most annoying. The "snowbirds" aren't active in the community, so they don't care what goes on politically. No gangs, very little crime, that's another plus.

I'm beginning to understand....

My husband doesn't want to move to southern Utah for one main reason.
We watched a documentary on tv regarding filming of a John Wayne move titled: The Conqueror. It was filmed near a nuclear test site, and unbeknown to the crew, the set was contaminated by nuclear fallout, as was Snow Canyon. Researchers became interested in testing the soil and winds in the filming area after it was found that 91 of the 220 cast and crew had developed cancer, including John Wayne and Susan Hayward. The researchers tested not only the set area and Snow Canyon, but also other areas which are a fair distance from the filming site. They discovered that strong crosswinds have moved and continue to move contaminated soil throughout the southern Utah area, and that the radioactivity will continue for hundreds of years.

The radioactivity level isn't what it once was when Nevada Area 51 was conducting nuclear operations decades ago. It's still a lingering problem though, that hasn't been completely eradicated.

When the government was doing its testing it waited for the winds to go in the direction of St George before detonating its bombs. If it was blowing in the direction of Las Vegas, they put the tests on hold. The government took advantage of the Mormons patriotism, unleashing it in their direction. Maybe it felt at the time they wouldn't notice? http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/06/AR2007020601606_2.html

A professor from Dixie State has wrote a book on the subject, and updated it in 2013. https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwbooks/article/Daniel-Miles-Releases-Radioactive-Clouds-of-Death-Over-Utah-Downwinders-Fallout-Cancer-Epidemic-Updated-20131007#

Sorry Amyjo, but NO atomic tests ever took place at the spot known as Area 51. That was where they tested secret planes.

The Nevada Test Site where they did test bombs is at Mercury, NV, which is NW of LV, off of US95. It is right after Indian Springs.

Thanks for the info. The site is 18 miles SW of Area 51.

There were secret nuclear tests conducted at Area 51 however.

"In her explosive new book, Area 51, investigative journalist Annie Jacobsen reveals top government secrets about what really happened at the site and how she first heard about it. She also reveals for the first time secret nuclear tests that the government has kept hidden for decades....

and a nuclear space rocket meltdown."

http://www.thedailybeast.com/americas-secret-nuclear-test-revealed-in-area-51-by-annie-jacobsen

"Seeking a place to test the U-2 in secret far from the prying eyes of would-be spies and the public, Johnson settled on Area 51, a remote site in the uninhabitable Nevada desert that had served the military as a remote place to test weapons for quite some time. Nellis Air Force Base, a few miles north of Atomic Test Las Vegas, and the AEC's (Atomic Energy Commission) Nevada Test Site (NTS) composed overU-2 1,300 square miles used to set off hundreds of atomic explosions during the early days of the Cold War. Tony LeVier, the pilot assigned by Johnson to find a suitable location, found several remote spots, but chose Groom Lake because of the mountainous perimeter it furnished a dry lake bed that would provide the ultimate runway. Located within Area 51 of the Nevada Test Site, the base came to be known simply as "Area 51".

Nuclear tests from the 50's into the 60's caused several evacuations from Area 51. A bomb with the code-name HOOD, part of the 1957 Operation Plumbob, caused substantial damage at Watertown, the code-name for Area 51. Construction was completed by July 1955, and on the 24th the first U-2 prototype arrived from the Lockheed Skunk Works Headquarters in Burbank, California by a C-124 transport plane. On August 4 the U-2 made its first flight."

http://area51specialprojects.com/groomlake.html

Because Dad was so well-positioned with the gov't, we were allowed to get closer to the tests than most civilians. Dad didn't want us to miss anything historic and was warned that concussion was the only danger.

So, we stood out and watched.

Twenty-six bombs were detonated while we lived on the California side. Among them, Shot Simon and Dirty Harry.

My Dad and siblings remember light that was white beyond what they could imagine, and later, doctors coming to our home with iodine.

I remember being so sick that I couldn't cry, just hoping someone would come near my hospital crib in Las Vegas, which someone did and put his hand on my back.

In 1953, Dad got us out of there.

Many of our kids have spinal birth defects.

I am so terribly sorry.

***I'm commenting as a private citizen and not as a Federal Govt employee. My comments are my opinions only, and do not change Fed Govt policy in any way, nor am I speaking of behalf of the Federal Govt.*** <-- blame the Hatch Act for that disclaimer.

Sometimes I have to verify that a veteran who claims a radiation-related disability was on a ship in the Marshall Islands. If I can't find logs or stamps on medical documents from bases or ships known to have been there, or those the DoD denies were there, I try to find photos or other supporting documents that prove otherwise. Maybe we should stop making things harder on these disabled people. It blows my mind that many children have been deemed disabled/helpless, but we turn a blind eye to how the children's disabilities are often directly related to the parent's service.

Much like Agent Orange exposure, the DoD has been a bag of dicks about admitting that certain things happened in certain places. And the VA has been an even bigger bag of dicks saying "we need more proof" before service connecting Blue Water veterans of the Vietnam War.

Love her or hate her, Hazel O'Leary exhibited true courage when she declassified Cold War-era documents that proved people were used as guinea pigs during nuclear tests.

I wish you and yours well, and I am glad that your father moved you.

John Wayne and Susan Hayward were both smokers, which was a separate risk factor for lung cancer, but I understand there was a higher than expected incidence of leukemia and other cancers (not linked to smoking) among the film crew of "The Conqueror".

Pardon my ignorance, but when St. George gets hot (100+ F), is it dry heat a la Las Vegas/Palm Springs, or can it be humid monsoon heat like AZ gets in summer? My guess is it's a "high desert" type of climate, mostly dry and with little monsoon. I remember a family camping trip years ago that took in St George (late August) and we had monsoon-type thunderstorms and lots of rain. Don't know if that was freak weather, or typical.

I believe St George is a dry climate.

Its humidity level is low. It does get some severe thunderstorms.

I don't know how people cope with that other than to stay indoors when it's crackling outside.

The Virgin river sometimes gets flash flooding. People who live near there need to be on the lookout as the flash floods come out of seemingly nowhere.

It also gets some spectacular sunrises and sunsets. There's still enough open country left it doesn't feel like it's been taken over by the growing population yet.

AfraidofMormons: "If Mormons were so family-oriented, why would they leave their families to go live somewhere else?? Their adult children can't follow them there, because of very limited job opportunities there."

You answered your own question: "Their adult children can't follow them there", translate, 'No kids sponging off their parents, plus, no baby-sitting for their grandchildren.'

They'd rather 'work' in the temple.

If I had a house in St George and a house in hell, I'd sell the house in St George and move to hell. J Golden Kimball

In the late 1800s and early 1900s had family there trying to farm and ranch. Heat killed the livestock. Floods wiped out the structures. They came to their senses and left.

If I had to move there, I'd look for a home with solar panels so it wouldn't cost a fortune to run the air conditioning.

TBM sil calls SG a "hotbox" and refused to go down there in the summer.

My father moved there with two sycophantic daughters and their families. He controls everything, just like he always wanted.

We moved to St George from Alaska, big change for sure. Since we are raising our grandchild, one reason was safe schools and low crime. Outdoor recreation and being able to drive anywhere, vs at least a 3 hour flight to Seattle also was good. Too hot in the summer, temps just now cooling off and becoming pleasant. Our immediate neighbors are not Mo, but we have had our moments getting invited to stuff. We may move on after she graduates in a few years, the politics can drive you crazy. Luckily there is a local wine club for monthly comic relief.

I don't do well in heat, but my boyfriend and I needed to go down to get his dad's pickup in MESA. His father had died and it is a fairly old pickup with very low mileage and nobody in the family wanted it, so his mother gave it to my son. (It's great by the way.) She wanted it out of the driveway, so in July 2016, we went down there to get it. OH MY HELL! The heat made me ill and I wasn't out in it that much.

Even his family count the days between March and October like we in the North count the days from December to April. They stay in the house. They go from their car to the house, to the store, to the office, and that's about all the time they spend outdoors.

I had friends who lived there for several years and they had to get up to walk at no later than 5 a.m. My friends got up at 3 a.m.

I'll take the snow any day. I want to retire to Alaska.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/17/2017 07:50PM by cl2.

I can't understand why anyone would choose to live on the Wasatch Front

I would love to live in St George. Open spaces, warm weather, proximity to Zions NP. For those that call it hot, come live on the East Coast for a while with the brutal humidity. Even Phoenix in the summer is not as bad.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/18/2017 02:17PM by Atari.

As one who hates the cold and spent too many years in Northern Utah, I can certainly understand why people live there. Especially the mormons who not only don't mind the mormon infestation but prefer it. I'm sure many non or ex mormons like the beauty and recreational opportunities of the area and/or had no idea how bad the infestation was when they moved there.

If I were going to choose somewhere in Utah to retire, it would be Moab. As the signs say there, "It's Utah, but not really." Even though you still have the stupid nonsensical Utah laws surrounding liquor and other things. But the only reason I would choose to live anywhere in Mo-ville would be if any grandchildren were there.

Hey, it's got a Costco now; what's not to like?


As a kid, I thought there lots of fruit orchards in the St. George area--now, nuthin'. Am I crazy?

Long ago there were orchards because of a nice long growing season. The Santa Clara and Hurricane areas especially grew a variety of fruit. Most of those orchards are subdivisions now. The booming population has its downsides but has also brought lots of shopping and restaurants and Costco.
Magazines that rate such things often rate St. George as one of the best small liveable cities in the US.
Still an overabundance of Mormons but it is in UT after all. Plenty to see and do in the area that doesn't involve "the church".

There's a river near St. George, and skinny-dipping might be done there without as much notice in other places...

just sayin', of course :)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/18/2017 06:48PM by GNPE.

Too hot in the summer and not that warm in the winter, I don't get the appeal. They very rarely get snow, but with all the Mormons, coupled with the cold wind and occasional freezing, it's not ideal.