Is St. George, Utah, a Great Place to Retire

Yolanda's review and the 30 positive things about St. George look like they were written by different people. Perhaps she was just having a bad day when she wrote the main review.

What a depressing piece! I wonder why Yolande even moved to St. George in the first place. It seems to her it was a mismatch from the beginning. One should spend time in a community one is considering moving to. Thank God she is just renting and I hope she likes Tennessee, however, she needs to be careful to not repeat the same mistake. She needs to spend more time in TN before moving that is for sure.

I love how Yolande put herself out there in this piece. It's great when someone realizes that they made a mistake and can be open about it. After trying to make it work, it clearly wasn't going to. When I commented to her that I thought the piece was pretty negative, she volunteered that there a lot of good things about the place - it just wasn't for her. Thanks for sharing!

Hi Reviewers,

Sorry my piece seems negative, I do apologize for that. I outlined the good and bad. I will think through my frankness for future reviews more carefully to avoid giving bad impressions. I believe in providing the 411 and the 911. I work full time, therefore can't stay any where nor pay for 2 places at once for long periods. My job doesn't permit it nor does my single income. I plan my visits very carefully to make the most of it and get what I need. Unless you live some place you can't really tell by visiting/vacationing what the place is really like. I visited prior to moving here several times in 2020. Given flights are difficult into SG, I drove each time 20+ hours round trip alone, including the moving trucks for my final moves. CA traffic is brutal 24/7 and Las Vegas is no better. There is only 1 freeway in and out of UT through those states - the 15. I moved myself from So. CA to UT solo because moving trucks and movers were hard to find. It took several months to complete it in between working full time. That's 400 miles 1-way, it's an exhausting long boring drive through vast desert states with spotty cell coverage.

It was time to leave CA and I wasn't letting anything stop me. This is my 7th interstate relocation in 40 years. I wanted to make sure I clicked with the people, and did but there isn't enough here to keep me interested. SG has served its purpose and it's time to go. I'm not ready for this type of rural life style. I'm still active. I like to be closer to a large city for amenities and entertainment. Housing was way over priced which is why I'm renting. I tried buying but the cash buyers were making it impossible by driving up prices. I got tired of trying. It's much worse now with prices vs the rates.

I moved here in 3/01/21 so I've been here long enough to make the observations I made. I believe in presenting all of the facts rather than picking and choosing. There might be something important someone else is looking for that they do/don't want to deal with. They need to know so I share all details. I do hope my explanation helps to alleviate some of the disappointment. Not all places are for all people. Some times you don't know until you live there. Most of my neighbors that moved here when I did left and either stayed in UT, or left the state for almost the same reasons.

TN is 2K+ miles away and a 120 mile 1-way trip to Las Vegas airport to get to there. That's a full day of traveling from point A to B. There are 7 new home communities I am planning to see there, along with looking for a rental or resale that suits my needs. I won't be there longer than a week. That's enough time for me to get a feel for the people and the place. The real deal experience won't happen until I actually live there, and get a chance to really explore life in TN. I'm hoping to move there in 2024. So far what I found just doing research on TN is what I'm looking for. A big city but not huge metropolis that makes living in it a nightmare. I want 4 true seasons again. I want to live near the city but not in it. Putting 300+ miles on my car once a month is not conducive to my needs just to shop in stores not in my area.

I strongly suggest if you're able to stay in St. George for any length of time, you do it prior to moving here. I know way too many people that did what I did, then got here and didn't like it only to pack up and move back to the state they came from, or relocate to another state. There are no night clubs or bars, no lottery, liquor is not sold in stores but in state liquor stores, no 7-11s or most things you'd find in a mid size to large city. That's why we don't have a lot of crime, and young people are bored here. I don't need the things I mentioned except for the lottery.

I'm an avid lottery scratcher's fan. I can only play the draw games in AZ because in order to play scratcher's you have to have an AZ address and driver license to claim any prize over $600. Otherwise you're out of luck so I can't buy them. I know nothing is perfect and you have to sacrifice some times. But I live by the old saying: you can't miss what you had until you don't have it anymore. There's a lot about my prior life style that I miss, and have done the comparison. I can live without maybe 3 things but they have to be very minor. I don't want to give up everything I enjoy just to live some where. I'm still young, vibrant and healthy. I am not ready to retire, not sure I ever will. Thank you all for your honest feedback, I appreciate it more than you know! I'll keep it more upbeat next time. (smile)

Yolande - I very much appreciated your candid descriptions and opinion of life style in SG. I always prioritize access to health care and doctors near the top on our list - after all their services are needed for aging issues. If you cannot have access to basic services and things you enjoy doing at a particular location - then there is no point to move there. We've gone on vacation to some lovely areas - but observed the reality of living there would not meet our life style preferences. It's that Reality Check that matters.

This is a classic example of failing to check out a place thoroughly before you move there. On our travels, we passed through SG twice and even that was enough to learn much of what she says and to reveal SG was not for us. I'm concerned that her planned move to TN may end up being similar.

After extensive car trips throughout most of the US, we decided to spend a month living in and exploring both AZ and CO as potential permanent moves. While we enjoyed both (especially CO), our time revealed that neither was suitable for us. Some say even a month isn't enough because the environs still remain new and interesting to you. In the end, we decided to stay in our long time home in NC, and when we did finally find the right place to move (10 years after the AZ and CO stays), it was only 8 miles (20 minutes) away in the same county. Five months here in Fearrington Village has convinced us we made the right choice. We are comfortable and happy here.

Ok! I appreciate hearing the good, the bad, and the ugly about potential locales. How about an article on the most popular Tennessee communities and comments to help Yolanda and others with their search? (And if we’re making a wish list, I’d love an article and comments from people living in coastal communities from Oak Island NC south to Hilton Head SC.)

While I certainly respect the author's opinions and agree with some, my wife and I love SG! I think it's very important to visit anywhere you're considering retiring to and forming your own opinions, Google has it's limitations. As members of the 55+ crowd we've been researching and visiting several of the warm, sunny areas in the southwest we're considering retiring to over the past 5 years and just returned from a 25 day road trip through 8 states spending 5 days in SG, our second trip through SG. Our biggest concerns with SG are the rapid growth and water supply. What's it going to be like in 5-10-15 years? We're not fans of big city life and enjoy the outdoors. I think SG with all of the natural beauty and outdoor activities in the area would work out pretty well for us but understand it's not for everyone. SG isn't at the top of our list but definitely top 3 or 4. We're planning on further exploration of our favorite areas including SG over the next couple of years before making our decision as we want to get it right! Cheers!

Thanks for your perspective Jay. Looks like you have done a great job of researching various places that might work for your retirement. That's the way to do it. There is a great place to retire for everyone - you just have to find it!

As stated, congrats on doing it right, Jay! Your example of the potential water situation is just one aspect of the ideal "future planning" that can help make retirement a success. While we felt we had covered all the bases, nevertheless my wife and I frankly got surprised by the effects of aging. We were fortunate to have the wonderful stable base we had planned (and re-planned over and over) fwhen aging caught up with me. You can read about aging and may think you have it covered, but regardless age can be very problematic. And aging can be extremely different and hit at different times for each individual. We likely all know people in their 80s and even 90s who just seem immune to age. But only a few actually live that. At 50, 60 and 70, many of us enjoy a good, healthy life and most likely sort of assume that will always be our situation. Good retirement planning now and continuing through your retirement, is one of the best protections if age should impact you negatively at some point. Some plan for aging by choosing the CCRC life, but planning to keep yourself in a good retirement situation can take many other forms.

Any info about Heritage at Stonebridge in Las Vegas, NV? They appear to be building homes in the West Summerlin community. Thanks.

Editor's Note: Thanks for asking. I haven't been able to find much out about Heritage at Stonebridge. It seems like the homes are being built but there is no website that I could find. I will post your comment and see if anyone else knows about it. Las Vegas is the nearest big city to St. George.

Homes at Heritage at Stonebridge are being built by Lennar. I hope that helps in your research.

Thank you Richard for the heads up about Heritage at Stonebridge. I just added it to Topretirements. Thank you again for your help, it's great when a member points us in the right direction for new communities to include on our site. Here is the link to Heritage at Stonebridge

Here is their link

https://www.lennar.com/new-homes/nevada/las-vegas/las-vegas/heritage-at-stonebridge

My husband and I moved to a 55+ community in the Shenandoah Valley six years ago. Love our home and many of our neighbors but there’s a very conservative, alt right, element in the area that scares me.

My experience is that many of our neighbors are older than we are - early 70s - and run rings around us. They bike, kayak, play pickle ball, dance, and more. It’s tough to get an exercise lane st the pool. I laugh when others say they don’t want to live around “old people”.

I see my article is stirring up convo. Love it! I've lived in 7 states over 41 years and lots of cities within those states. I'm not naive. I left home at 19, never looked back. Google isn't a viable search tool, it's for vacations. I use multiple tools.

Jay is right about the water issues in SG. It's a Southwest problem. So are fires. The desert is very dry, hot and windy which stirs fires. Short term visits don't guarantee a great place to live. I'm not retiring unless like RichPB states - age affects me differently. Nothing is guaranteed.

St. George is a very proud patriotic town for anyone needing to know, even with the transplants coming here.

I really appreciate Yolanda's honesty about SG. There is nothing worse than moving to the wrong place as we age. At least she is still working so she has the ability to meet and have co-workers. It is so important to be near people we can meet and make friends with. I lived in the wrong place for five years. When I first moved to Tucson I loved it there. I had been vacationing there for years and thought I knew the place. The first two years were great. Then Covid hit. We could not travel to see our family back in Mass for three years. It was brutal. That plus the extreme heat in summer when no-one lives there for 6-9 months at a time. There is literally no community of people there due to the heat. Everyone leaves and only returns in January until March or April. I cannot tell you how lonely that is. We ended up moving back to Mass to be near our family. Although we could no longer afford to move to the city we were from we found a lovely condo in an over 55 community in Amherst MA. Shopping is close by, there are five colleges here which makes for great restaurants, stores, book stores and concerts. Lots to do. Fabulous rail trails. Plus most everyone lives here year round unless they are snowbirds and leave for a few months in winter but they are part of the community and this is their main home. We are so happy to be back in our home state. Plus she is right about prices. After covid prices went up here in Mass substantially. Even over 55 places are now in the $600's and up. That is a lot plus condo fees. Our place here in Amherst was over priced too at $340.000 but we were able to swing it. Much higher and we would not have been able to. I cannot imagine being stuck in Tucson forever. Thank you Yolanda for your honesty. it is much needed as moving far away becomes less of a viable option for retirees.

My wife and I were discussing changes since retirement. I'd like to offer one more item to consider when retiring. We moved from an area surrounded by corn and soybean fields to one covered in trees and vegetation. My wife's allergies, and mine to a lesser degree have flared up and are of longer duration. We hope our bodies acclimate to the new array of allergens soon!