Looking for info... running, etc...
Looking for info... running, etc...
60% of Utah are Human Beings. The rest are members of a non-Christian cult. So you can be free in Utah even though it's dangerous with guns everywhere. Logan is a sleepy town. Not crowed atall. The flatlands are pretty boring.
You're going to get the following responses:
1) It's very nice
2) Watch out for Mormons! Mormons everywhere!
3) Boring town
4) White trash problems (meth, etc)
I've lived in Logan for almost 10 years (migrated here from the midwest for grad school). It's a good place to run for 9 months of the year, but winters are brutal. Either take up skiing or buy a treadmill for those months. It is a very good place for trail running, miles and miles of single-track and good terrain, beautiful mountains. A lot of people here run, but there's not a big running "scene" (clubs, training groups, etc). There's a few decent-sized races here in town that are pretty competitive and well-managed, such as the Top of Utah Half, and Top of Utah Marathon. Ragnar Wasatch Back starts here in Logan as well. But most of the good races are in Salt Lake, which is about 75 minutes away, kind of a pain. The valley is at 4500' elevation, and the local mountains top out at about 10000', so there's a little bit of altitude here, but not like Flagstaff or even Boulder.
As far as the culture, I'll withhold comment, but feel free to email me if you want to know more.
The homes dont seem so cheap.
Homes do seem pricey. Pretty there.
My friend spends his winters there and I've visited a few times. Beautiful area, lots of outdoor recreation, close enough to other parts of Utah/Wyoming/Colorado/Montana/Idaho that you can get away easy. The Mormon population won't accept you if you aren't one of them, and there are a few tweakers (but nothing more than any other small city).
rolo wrote:
The Mormon population won't accept you if you aren't one of them
This statement bothers me. I'm a Mormon but I've never experienced the Utah Mormon culture. Is it really that bad? 90% of my friends aren't Mormon and they accept me without question. They don't pressure me to drink, they ask me thoughtful questions about my beliefs, and I never feel judged. Are Mormons not good at doing the equivalent when they're the dominant presence?
sdfdsfsldfkj wrote:
rolo wrote:The Mormon population won't accept you if you aren't one of them
This statement bothers me. I'm a Mormon but I've never experienced the Utah Mormon culture. Is it really that bad? 90% of my friends aren't Mormon and they accept me without question. They don't pressure me to drink, they ask me thoughtful questions about my beliefs, and I never feel judged. Are Mormons not good at doing the equivalent when they're the dominant presence?
I've noticed if members of large organization (religious or otherwise) have a lot of members/support in their immediate area that they become exclusive, somewhat judgmental, and not willing to accept those with dissimilar beliefs. However (such as in your case) you are a member of said organization but don't reside in a large population of other members there is more of a willingness to venture out and friend others outside your group. I guess it is just human nature? I'm sure there are exceptions but that is what I have observed.
sdfdsfsldfkj wrote:
rolo wrote:The Mormon population won't accept you if you aren't one of them
This statement bothers me. I'm a Mormon but I've never experienced the Utah Mormon culture. Is it really that bad? 90% of my friends aren't Mormon and they accept me without question. They don't pressure me to drink, they ask me thoughtful questions about my beliefs, and I never feel judged. Are Mormons not good at doing the equivalent when they're the dominant presence?
I've noticed if members of large organization (religious or otherwise) have a lot of members/support in their immediate area that they become exclusive, somewhat judgmental, and not willing to accept those with dissimilar beliefs. However (such as in your case) you are a member of said organization but don't reside in a large population of other members there is more of a willingness to venture out and friend others outside your group. I guess it is just human nature? I'm sure there are exceptions but that is what I have observed.
sdfdsfsldfkj wrote:
This statement bothers me. I'm a Mormon but I've never experienced the Utah Mormon culture. Is it really that bad? 90% of my friends aren't Mormon and they accept me without question. They don't pressure me to drink, they ask me thoughtful questions about my beliefs, and I never feel judged. Are Mormons not good at doing the equivalent when they're the dominant presence?
In my experience, areas with a large (>75%) population of Mormons tend to be very Mormon-centric and not overly accepting of non-Mormons. I grew up in a small town and had several Mormon friends who were just like you. They were treated like any other members of the community or any other religion. I later lived in a hyper-Mormon community (Ricksburg ID) and felt like they wanted nothing to do with me. Many people were rude or distant to me because my appearance made it pretty clear I wasn't a traditional Mormon (I had a scruffy beard and didn't dress all that nice). I've experienced the same thing in Logan, as has my friend who lives there (his neighbors barely look or speak to him). I hope I didn't offend you by the statement, but I have never felt welcome in towns with a dominant Mormon presence. The same would probably happen in an ultra-religious Baptist community as well, so I don't think it's limited to Mormons. I have nothing against Mormons and have many who I consider close friends, but in certain towns I would not feel welcome.
Your 75 yo neighbor will likely have six preteen wives. It is too bad that one of the coolest locations geographically is ruined by a cult where the lowlings are gullible near-morons and the leaders are evil money obsessed close minded felonious lying bigots.
rolo wrote:
In my experience, areas with a large (>75%) population of Mormons tend to be very Mormon-centric and not overly accepting of non-Mormons. I grew up in a small town and had several Mormon friends who were just like you. They were treated like any other members of the community or any other religion. I later lived in a hyper-Mormon community (Ricksburg ID) and felt like they wanted nothing to do with me. Many people were rude or distant to me because my appearance made it pretty clear I wasn't a traditional Mormon (I had a scruffy beard and didn't dress all that nice). I've experienced the same thing in Logan, as has my friend who lives there (his neighbors barely look or speak to him). I hope I didn't offend you by the statement, but I have never felt welcome in towns with a dominant Mormon presence. The same would probably happen in an ultra-religious Baptist community as well, so I don't think it's limited to Mormons. I have nothing against Mormons and have many who I consider close friends, but in certain towns I would not feel welcome.
Not offended at all, it just saddens me that this sort of thing goes on with those of my same faith. The funny thing to me is that Mormons in the states tend to put Utah Mormons into their own category and talk about Utah as the "Mormon Bubble" because Utah Mormons tend to be a little oblivious to real life. It just sounds really hypocritical to what I've been taught all my life. I wonder if they even know they're doing it.
I probably wouldn't fit in there either, I have a beard and shaggy hair and I dislike any form of Mormon culture I've come across.
Interestingly, my dad grew up in Logan and I spent a week of each summer of my childhood there visiting my grandparents until they passed away. But I was totally oblivious to the culture. I remember Logan as being incredibly beautiful, though, and I've been meaning to go back and visit. I remember loving the river, hiking through Logan Cave, and driving up Logan Canyon and doing some great hikes to White Pine Lake and a few others. It's one of the pretties places I've been.
Here's a little more about what I believe:
I went to grad school there in the mid 90s. I've heard that some things have changes, such as the town having grown and the air quality gotten worse (top 10 for particulate matter in the usa).
The running in Logan Canyon and along the Deer Fence Trail was fantastic. Not so much in the valley. There are some good dirt roads and irrigation ditches to run along.
With regard to the mormon culture, my wife and I mad lots of good friends while we were there, but most weren´t from the area. We both had jobs in town and worked with plenty of "Utah Mormons" who were completely pleasant to us. I also served in the Utah National Guard while I was there and had the chance to meet plenty of other Utah Mormons there. They will treat you as a normal person once they get to know you. I think it was easy for us to fit in because we are both withe and clean cut, so a lot of people probably assumed we were mormon.
If we were buying coffee or beer in a store or restaurant, we would occasionally get dirty looks, since we were "outing" ourselves. Other than that, it wasn´t much of a problem. My wife was a little more bothered by the mormon culture than I was, but that is probably because In my grad program, I spent most of my time with students who were from other states.