u/Sharp_Variation_2701

If you read my history, this has been a very hard/special/important decision based on a lot of factors. Leaving my relationship following household dynamics that changed after his elderly dad moved in, step kids, dreams of moving out west, etc.

This has been a long time coming, I’ve wanted to relocate back out west for over 20 years and now it’s really happening.

I’m excited, but it’s bittersweet. I had to give up things to get here, but ultimately feel it’s the best decision for my daughter and I. She’s also excited about the move (I let her pick where we moved then went down the rabbit hole researching for months).

We’ll be there end of Sept, wondering what established hiking groups there are (I started one here where I live and got up to almost 300 members, so I’d like to find the same sense of community).

I also Kayak, would love recommendations of where to go.

Any fun events for families, where to look to meet people with similar interests, Facebook groups, etc.

Any info is appreciated!

Hi! I’m in the process of leasing an apartment at Grandview Apartments in St. George and I’m hoping to hear from anyone who currently lives there or has recently moved in.

The leasing office has offered me a $3,437 one-time move-in concession (8 weeks free rent). In several emails, the leasing office specifically told me that the concession would cover September and most of October, with only a few prorated October dates not covered, which they indicated would amount to a relatively small balance.

However, I just received the lease and haven’t signed it yet, and the Concession Addendum specifically states:
“One Time Move In Concession of $3437.00 — 9/2026 only.”

That wording has me a little confused, so I’ve emailed the leasing office asking them to clarify how the promotion will actually be applied. The way it’s applied is extremely important, as I won’t be able to physically move in until late Sept due to coming from out of state, so signing heavily relies on this particular promotion being applied to the first 8 weeks.

In the meantime, I’m curious if anyone here has received a similar move-in concession/promotion from Grandview:
-Was the concession applied entirely to your first month’s charges and consecutively after to cover the first 8 weeks?
Or was it handled some other way?

I’m particularly interested in hearing from people who had a similar “one-time move-in concession.”
I realize the leasing office is the ultimate source for confirming my specific agreement, and I’ve already reached out to them. I’m just trying to understand how they’ve handled these concessions for other residents before I sign the lease.
Thank you!

Hey everyone! I posted a little while back asking about different areas around St. George because my daughter and I are relocating from WV. Thanks again to everyone who chimed in, it was incredibly helpful.

I think we may have finally found a place and if everything goes through, the schools would be:
Tonaquint Intermediate (7th grade)
Dixie Middle (8th–9th)
Dixie High (10th–12th)

I’d love to hear from parents, students, teachers or anyone familiar with these schools.

A few things I’m curious about:
-Overall school culture
-Teachers and administration
-Bullying (every school has some, but is it handled well?)
-Sports, clubs, and extracurriculars
-How welcoming the schools are to new students
-One thing I’ve wondered about throughout this move is the LDS influence. We’re not LDS, and while I have zero issue with that (and have heard St. George has become much more diverse), I’d love to hear from other non-LDS families. Has it affected your kids socially, or has it mostly been a non-issue?

My daughter will be coming in as a brand new 7th grader from across the country, so naturally I just want to make sure she’ll have a good chance to make friends and feel like she belongs.
I’d really appreciate any honest feedback - good, bad, or somewhere in the middle. Thanks!

Hi everyone,
I’m relocating to southwestern Utah and would love some input from people who actually live there.

A little about me:
Single mom with a middle-school-aged daughter.
I work remotely full-time, so commuting isn’t a concern.
I’d ideally like a 3-bedroom place so I can have a dedicated home office.
I have two older, well-behaved cats.

I’ve been researching St. George, Washington, Hurricane, and Cedar City, but it’s hard to get a feel for what day-to-day life is actually like.

A few things about preference:
I absolutely love hot weather. The hotter, the better.
I’m very outdoorsy. Hiking, camping, kayaking, national parks, and exploring are a huge part of my life.
One of the biggest reasons I’m drawn to the area is the red rock landscape.
I’m not religious and I’m pretty middle-of-the-road politically. I don’t mind living around people who are religious or have different political views, I just don’t want my life to revolve around either. I’m looking for a community where people are generally respectful and friendly.

Some questions I have:
Which town has the best overall quality of life?
Where would you choose if you were raising a family?
Which area gives you the best access to the red rock scenery and outdoor recreation?
How welcoming is the community to newcomers who aren’t LDS?
Are there areas or neighborhoods you’d avoid?
Is Cedar City worth considering over the St. George area, or would I regret being farther from everything?
Anything you wish you knew before moving there?

Hi everyone,
I’m relocating to southwestern Utah and would love some input from people who actually live there.

A little about me:
Single mom with a middle-school-aged daughter.
I work remotely full-time, so commuting isn’t a concern.
I’d ideally like a 3-bedroom place so I can have a dedicated home office.
I have two older, well-behaved cats.

I’ve been researching St. George, Washington, Hurricane, and Cedar City, but it’s hard to get a feel for what day-to-day life is actually like.

A few things about preference:
I absolutely love hot weather. The hotter, the better.
I’m very outdoorsy. Hiking, camping, kayaking, national parks, and exploring are a huge part of my life.
One of the biggest reasons I’m drawn to the area is the red rock landscape.
I’m not religious and I’m pretty middle-of-the-road politically. I don’t mind living around people who are religious or have different political views, I just don’t want my life to revolve around either. I’m looking for a community where people are generally respectful and friendly.

Some questions I have:
Which town has the best overall quality of life?
Where would you choose if you were raising a family?
Which area gives you the best access to the red rock scenery and outdoor recreation?
How welcoming is the community to newcomers who aren’t LDS?
Are there areas or neighborhoods you’d avoid?
Is Cedar City worth considering over the St. George area, or would I regret being farther from everything?
Anything you wish you knew before moving there?

My boyfriend’s (M41, me F40) elderly father (M73) recently moved into our home. He has mobility issues and likely some cognitive decline, and my boyfriend has become his primary caregiver.

The hard part is that this wasn’t really a decision I felt included in. We were still trying to build a foundation as a blended family (I have 1 daughter, he has 2), and we’re still relatively early in our relationship. I honestly didn’t sign up for becoming part of a caregiving household this soon, and if I’m being completely honest, I don’t think this is the life I want for myself.

To my boyfriend’s credit, I truly see that he’s trying. We recently planned a hike together after having zero quality time together alone for the past couple months, and arranged a caregiver, but the caregiver canceled at the last minute. I know it’s not his fault. He tried to find someone else but couldn’t, so I went alone. I actually had a wonderful day by myself. Later he apologized, took me to dinner, and has started setting boundaries with his dad. I know he’s making an effort.
The problem is that the overall situation hasn’t changed and likely won’t for a long time.

Our plans now revolve around whether someone can stay with his dad. I no longer feel comfortable in my own home. I avoid walking through common areas because his dad frequently comments on me (for example, asking why I don’t smile enough while I’m literally just sitting on the couch watching TV). I feel watched and judged in my own house, and it’s changing how I live.

I don’t resent my boyfriend for loving his dad, and I don’t blame his dad for getting old.
I’m just struggling with the reality that this may be my future if I stay. I don’t know if love is enough when the lifestyle itself isn’t one I want.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? Were you able to find a healthy balance, or did you eventually realize your lives had become incompatible? I’m looking for honest experiences from people who’ve actually lived this

I’ve been with my SO for 2 years, and I honestly think I’m reaching my limit.

I have a BD12. He has two daughters, SD11 and SD7.
This isn’t about expecting kids to be perfect. My daughter isn’t perfect. His older daughter isn’t perfect. Kids make mistakes. They push boundaries. That’s normal.

What I’m struggling with is the combination of my SD7’s behavior and my SO’s inconsistent parenting.
SD7 always seems to need to be the center of attention. If something isn’t about her, if someone else is getting attention, if she isn’t included in absolutely everything, or even if two adults are simply having a conversation that doesn’t involve her, she inserts herself. If she isn’t able to redirect the attention back to herself, it often turns into whining, screaming, demanding, arguing, hitting/punching, throwing things or a full-blown meltdown. It feels like the entire family adjusts to keep the peace instead of expecting her to adjust to the situation.

One example that really bothered me happened recently. My SD11 showed me text messages where SD7 told her to “go to hell.” Why? Because BM had taken SD11 somewhere one-on-one while SD7 happened to be at a friend’s house. She wasn’t intentionally excluded. She simply wasn’t there. SD11 was laughing while she showed me the messages, but she had tears in her eyes. It was obvious she was trying to hide how much it hurt.

Another example happened when their grandfather moved into the house. SD11 gave up her bedroom to make room for him. She was excited to redecorate her new room and told this was her reward for making such a huge sacrifice. Later she quietly told me that SD7 ended up getting almost everything she got too because it wouldn’t have been “fair” otherwise. It felt like SD11 couldn’t even have one thing that was just hers.

Then there was my SO’s birthday. I brought his cake upstairs with the candles lit, everyone sang Happy Birthday, and before he even had a chance to blow out his own candles, SD7 leaned over, blew them out herself, and laughed.
My SO immediately sent her to her room and told her she wasn’t getting any cake.
I remember thinking, “Finally. He’s holding a boundary.”
About 20 minutes later, he went into her room, talked with her, and she came back out and had cake anyway.

That pretty much sums up what I struggle with. Consequences are given, but they rarely stick.
To be fair to my SO, he isn’t completely permissive. He does discipline her. The problem is that it’s incredibly inconsistent. And I feel that she doesn’t listen to him because she has zero respect for him. Consequences often turn into conversations, conversations turn into negotiations, and eventually he gives in. Over time she’s learned exactly how long to push, argue, cry, or negotiate before the answer changes. From my perspective, she’s learned what works, so she keeps doing it. I also know my SO is under a lot of stress, and he’s just defeated at this point, but this was happening way before I ever came around.

The difference between how the girls are parented is impossible for me to ignore.
If SD11 does something relatively minor, she’s corrected quickly and firmly. If SD7 does the exact same thing, or something much more disrespectful, it usually becomes a discussion about feelings, gentle parenting, or trying to reason with her. The expectations don’t feel equal.

Ironically, the one person SD7 consistently listens to is me. I honestly can’t think of a single time that I’ve had to repeat myself or escalate. I don’t yell. I don’t shame her. I am extremely direct and firmly tell her that her behavior is unacceptable and that she has two choices: participate respectfully or don’t at all. I also always plan to back that up with action, but I never have to because she always listens to me. She might pout or be unhappy about it, but the behavior stops immediately every single time.
That’s part of what’s so frustrating. It tells me she’s capable of controlling her behavior when a firm, consistent boundary is set.
This happened repeatedly on a family vacation with his parents and extended family. Every time she started demanding attention, interrupting people, or melting down because something wasn’t going her way, I found myself stepping in because no one else would.

What surprised me was what happened with SD11. She watched those interactions all week. Since then, we’ve become even closer. She has started confiding in me more and opening up about how unfair things often feel. She sees the difference in how she’s parented compared to her younger sister, and I often find myself standing up for her because no one else seems to. It breaks my heart because she’s such a good kid, and I worry she’s learning that keeping the peace means accepting unequal treatment.
My BD12 has noticed the difference too, without me ever bringing it up. As a mom, that’s hard because I don’t want my daughter thinking this is what healthy family dynamics look like or feeling like she has to accommodate someone else’s behavior just to keep the peace.

SD7 does see a therapist about once a month, but from what I’ve been told, those sessions generally go well. That makes me wonder whether the therapist is seeing the same behaviors that happen at home or getting the full picture. Whatever the current approach is, it doesn’t seem to be changing what we’re dealing with day to day.
At this point, I honestly don’t think my biggest issue is SD7 herself.
I think she’s learned that these behaviors work because they’ve been reinforced over time.

My biggest issue is the inconsistency. I don’t know how any child can learn boundaries when the boundaries keep moving.
Has anyone else been in a relationship where the parenting differences, not just the child’s behavior, became the dealbreaker? Did anything ever change? Or did you eventually realize that incompatible parenting styles were too much to overcome? With SO’s dad moving in and all the adjustments that created, I’m finding it harder to deal with the step kid dynamic and often feel like I’d rather just leave, but I don’t want to disrupt my BD’s life or abandon SD11.