While I know it's sooooo Mormon cliche, I really wouldn't mind living in UT. Maybe not Provo (though I'm not entirely opposed to that), but somewhere in the general vicinity. Close enough that I could take my affordable yoga classes, go to performances, or take or audit a class at BYU. Close enough to go hike mountains. Close enough to be able to can peaches with my two sisters who ended up in the area after I left (story of my life!). I want to live near family so badly, and UT seems the most reasonable place of all of the locations of my siblings. In my family there are two kids (and my parents and grandparents) in AZ, two in UT, and two in NY. And then there's me here in TX, smack dab in the middle of the country, too far away to conveniently drive to anyone, all by my lonesome.
Too bad it's most likely never going to happen since Matt is so opposed to the idea. And he's the one who'd have to find a job that suits him. It really is too bad.
11 comments:
Provo is home for me, so in many ways I wouldn't mind going back. At the same time, though, I'm not entirely thrilled at the idea of raising my children there. Not that it's a bad place. It's a lovely place. But at the risk of sounding like a bad Mormon, the main reason I don't know that I'd want to go back is because there are so many members of the church there. It really made growing up there very difficult at times. But at the same time, though, I'd really love to be closer to family. All of my family is still in Provo, except for one brother in nearby Colorado. Blake's family is in Texas. And here we are, in New York, clear across the country. It's hard to be so far away. Blake says that we should settle for the middle, close to both of our families, and by his calculations, that means Omaha. Honestly, it kinda makes Omaha slightly appealing to me.
Lindsay, I grew up in Snowflake, AZ which is kind of like a mini-Provo. The majority of the kids I went to school with were Mormon. The good kids and the bad kids were usually Mormon. Matt grew up in San Fransisco area so his experience was totally opposite mine. There are definitely pros and cons to both.
Les, you don't have to convince me!
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If I were to live in Utah I would want to live close to either BYU, the U or maybe SUU. I've realized that my favorite wards are always heavily populated by students and other university-connected folks.
Also, we wouldn't have to deal with stupid fire ants! Dean just got bit AGAIN!!!!
I was TOTALLY opposed to living in UT, and came kicking and screaming and resentful.
I love it.
Overall, that is.
And I get to hang out with your sisters, since I don't have any of my family here either!
We both spent a long time here at BYU and swore we'd go away and never come back. Neither of us grew up in Utah and were leery of settling down here. But then family members ended up here, and especially when my mother-in-law settled here we really felt that we should be here. We'd rather live in Salt Lake, but Utah County is a better choice for us due to family issues (MIL can't drive). I've actually grown to really like Utah and we love Orem. I'd prefer Provo, but we've found a great neighborhood in Orem and are now buying a home.
If I had my choice I'd live close to the ocean, but after a few years away we both decided that proximity to family is more important to us and that we'd rather spend our vacation time and money visiting other places instead of always visiting grandparents (assuming that someday we'll have vacation time and money). There are some things I'm still getting used to and some things I don't like about living here, but there were things I didn't like about living in other parts of the country. Another big adjustment to me has been the different culture of the Church here; I miss things like having missionaries serving in our ward and having more members who are recent converts. Oh well--there's no perfect place in the world I guess.
We would love to have you here! Amanda and I are going up the canyon to have a cookout and birthday party for Amanda. What does Matt NOT like about UT?? I was against coming, but now that I am here I can't see myself any other place!
Yeah, we like Utah too. We'll probably live here for a while, unless an awesome opportunity out of state comes up. What about Matt's family? Are they all still in CA?
I don't know about UT, but your husband's company does have a location in Tucson. I know you think it is too hot, but hey, it snows on Mt. Lemon. You might want to check it out sometime when you come to AZ.
What didn't YOU like about the idea of living in UT, J.? I bet it's some of the same things Matt doesn't like. He doesn't want to be a "UT Mormon family". You know, meaning if someone finds out he's Mormon and says, "Oh, are you from UT?" He also said since he lived there for years for school he's just kinda done with it. He also says it's boring, but I don't know what the heck he's talking about since there's WAY more stuff to do there than here. He just plays computer games in his free time anyway, so I don't understand that complaint!
I agree with everyone above, there is good and bad about every place. All I know is that when I hear people say, "I wish that I could raise my kids in a neighborhood like the one I grew up in, where it's safe to let your kids ride their bikes around the block..." that I am pretty happy to be living in a nice neighborhood in Utah where we can do just that! We have never had that anywhere else. But I am glad to have lived in lots of other places and to have experienced life outside of the mainstream mormon culture.
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