Logan, UT
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SteveR
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I don't live in Logan but I can tell you a thing or two about living a non-LDS life in a mostly LDS area.
There are a lot of positives along with some negatives about living as a "minority" in the state of Utopia as we call it here. I live in "Happy Valley" (Salt Lake City) where the population is more diverse than in many other parts of the state. Logan is a mix of college kids, farmers and worker bees for various companies in the area.
I don't know the exact mix of faiths but the county is very heavily LDS so Logan would be also. Again, this is not a bad thing but it is different from what many folks outside the area are used to.
Depending on what you consider a positive or negative:
Clean streets (not perfect but better than many places).
Lower crime rates for personal injury, murder, rape, etc. (but about the same for property crimes)
Good medical care.
Good infrastructures for fire-police and local services.
Good water quality
Fair air quality (winter inversions can be tough)
The flip side:
Theocracy where many government officials, fire, police, state representatives, and others are of the predominate faith. It is usually subtle but there is little doubt The Church runs the place.
Liquor laws are...strange. You can get it but there are hoops to jump through. If you want to only drink you have to go to a Beer Bar (3.2 percent alcohol) or join a Private Club. Otherwise you must eat with your drink. No more than one drink on the table at a time. No Happy Hour or other "incentives" to drink. Etc. But, there are some very good local breweries if real beer is your fancy.
Kids have a harder time because many LDS family may not let their kids socialize with non-LDS kids. The upper grades are tough due to the social nature of kids at that age. Some families won't associate with you, although this seems to be more common in the more blue collar areas.
PM me if you want more information on the culture in general.
I have lived here over 15 years and my wife over 30. We raised our 4 kids and they managed to turn out just fine. After a while you learn to laugh it off and go about your life.
There are a lot of positives along with some negatives about living as a "minority" in the state of Utopia as we call it here. I live in "Happy Valley" (Salt Lake City) where the population is more diverse than in many other parts of the state. Logan is a mix of college kids, farmers and worker bees for various companies in the area.
I don't know the exact mix of faiths but the county is very heavily LDS so Logan would be also. Again, this is not a bad thing but it is different from what many folks outside the area are used to.
Depending on what you consider a positive or negative:
Clean streets (not perfect but better than many places).
Lower crime rates for personal injury, murder, rape, etc. (but about the same for property crimes)
Good medical care.
Good infrastructures for fire-police and local services.
Good water quality
Fair air quality (winter inversions can be tough)
The flip side:
Theocracy where many government officials, fire, police, state representatives, and others are of the predominate faith. It is usually subtle but there is little doubt The Church runs the place.
Liquor laws are...strange. You can get it but there are hoops to jump through. If you want to only drink you have to go to a Beer Bar (3.2 percent alcohol) or join a Private Club. Otherwise you must eat with your drink. No more than one drink on the table at a time. No Happy Hour or other "incentives" to drink. Etc. But, there are some very good local breweries if real beer is your fancy.
Kids have a harder time because many LDS family may not let their kids socialize with non-LDS kids. The upper grades are tough due to the social nature of kids at that age. Some families won't associate with you, although this seems to be more common in the more blue collar areas.
PM me if you want more information on the culture in general.
I have lived here over 15 years and my wife over 30. We raised our 4 kids and they managed to turn out just fine. After a while you learn to laugh it off and go about your life.
Rambler
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Logan is a great place. We have some friends there who are LDS. Steve is right about the liquor laws, pretty strange. I don't really agree with Steve about the government. I know enough about the church and about government to say that I don't think the "church" runs the government. But if you were to move there, you have to understand that in a democracy, the majority chooses the leaders, and the majority there are LDS, so they will choose like minded individuals to run the place...thus the strange (to the rest of the nation) liquor laws, etc.
LDS issues aside, Logan is a beautiful area with lots of outdoor activities within a very easy drive. Homes are pretty reasonable (friends are trying to get us to move there), energy and cost of living seem reasonable, and all the people I've met while there were extremely friendly, warm, and open, and no one I met was really pushy about church stuff either. DW and I like it so much there that we may eventually bite the bullet and move there...but that is a long way off and would require a lot of restructuring of my muni strategy...Its "California or bust" for us first.
R
LDS issues aside, Logan is a beautiful area with lots of outdoor activities within a very easy drive. Homes are pretty reasonable (friends are trying to get us to move there), energy and cost of living seem reasonable, and all the people I've met while there were extremely friendly, warm, and open, and no one I met was really pushy about church stuff either. DW and I like it so much there that we may eventually bite the bullet and move there...but that is a long way off and would require a lot of restructuring of my muni strategy...Its "California or bust" for us first.
R
Thanks to both of you for the great information. We haven't been to Logan yet, but we think we'll check it out as a possible place to move. We live in a great place for all the outdoor activities we do on a daily basis (downhill skiing, sailing, kayaking, hiking, mountain biking), but we get an average of 20 feet of snow a year, the assessments for our very little (and very remote) district are getting out of control, and with gas prices it would be nice not to have to drive 65 miles to town. So. . . what about the weather. Obviously it snows, but not 20 feet, so that's okay. Are the summers a decent length or short? How about fall and spring? I've read that LDS members tend to try to convert? Have you found this to be the case?
SteveR
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Weather...it DOES snow over 500 inches a season in the mountains so Logan should get a fair amount of this due to elevation and location (east for the Great Salt Lake)...yes we do get lake effect snow.
Summers are hot...tripple digits most of July-August...upper 90's June and September. Logan might be a shade cooler due to elevation (~4700 feet).
Spring and Fall tend to be short with rapid changes in temperature...even during the same day. Example: it was 90 on Tuesday...today it is in the 40's rain in the vally and snow in the mountains.
LDS question...
Most religions want to increase membership and missionary work is one way it is done. The LDS church is very big on inceasing membership in many different ways. So in this way they are not much different. I have never been pushed or hounded by any missionary from any LDS church. A polite No is usually all it takes for them to go away.
As for the government....unless you live here and follow the various things that go on with the city, county and state one might conclude there is a true separation of church and state...I would disagree this is 100% true here. I could cite many examples but there is no reason to belabor the point.
I would strongly suggest you visit the areas and spend some time there. It might be THE place for you or it might not. Only you can decide that but you really should experience the place (rent for several months) before moving there.
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Rambler
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Well, have to agree with Steve. You would have to live there to REALLY know about separation of church and state. We have been there several times in the past few years and didn't really get the feeling that the church was running things, but you would have to be there a while to know for sure I guess.
Also agree with Steve about the missionary work. A polite NO is usually all it takes. But, even though you don't want to convert, these people are good people and most of them are very friendly. If you have a group of friends, many of whom are members, then church topics will inevitably come up in conversation, but IMHO they won't force it on you.
Again, I second the idea of renting there for a while, but it seems real estate continues to go up there even while the rest of the nation is pretty stagnant, so you could probably get out pretty easily even if you bought, FWIW.
R
Also agree with Steve about the missionary work. A polite NO is usually all it takes. But, even though you don't want to convert, these people are good people and most of them are very friendly. If you have a group of friends, many of whom are members, then church topics will inevitably come up in conversation, but IMHO they won't force it on you.
Again, I second the idea of renting there for a while, but it seems real estate continues to go up there even while the rest of the nation is pretty stagnant, so you could probably get out pretty easily even if you bought, FWIW.
R
We would definitely rent and NOT sell our house until we are absolutely sure of a place. We are looking at a few other places as well, some we've been to, and will probably post questions on a new thread about those places as well. As I ask questions and read answers I'm beginning to get a little more clarity of what we're looking for, and at this point, I mean a LITTLE. It's a process I've just started, and I don't act impulsively. I am interested in places with other retirees who like doing some of the things we do. After 30 years at high altitude the idea of "community" is beginning to gallop ahead of other things. It is a pleasant surprise.
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