Move to Colorado.

Or Oregon or Washington or California.

WHY Utah?????

I think you and your son could love Park City and would be accepted by Mormons and non-Mormons alike. If you are a positive person, tend to see the good in people, and get a long with your neighbors now, you will have the same experience in Park City. If you tend to look at the negative things in life, and don't like your neighbors now, you'll probably find the same in Park City.

Park City is a big enough city, with enough people moving in from all over the world, that I don't think your son would have a hard time being accepted.

of the towns you are intereted in:
boulder is a city. the univ brings great diversity and cultural opportunity. it also has the problems for kids that big cities have.
golden is ok. has a bit of a western/cowboy town feel. on the edge of denver so again lots to do.
i liked evergreen a lot years ago. you are close to denver but it feels like you are living in the mtns.
littleton is actually just a part of denver.

Beachbum~
You touched on what I was thinking while reading this whole tread. Picking up and moving away from home and friends to a new area can be rough on a child, especially right before high school. I realize families do it every day because of work or familiy issues. But to just pick up and move because of your retirement doesn't make sense to me...only because of your son.

Gpaul...does your son ski?

You mentioned Olympic Soccer Programs and good swimming teams, so I gather that's his interest. If he's a talented athlete, and already in good programs, I would stay put until he's out of high school. Then...move to the beautiful state of Utah or Colorado or wherever you feel is best for you.

For now, I'd consider your son's needs.

That said...your son may love skiing as much as you and excited about a possible move and I'm totally wrong. Skiing is a fabulous family activity. Or spend a little more time researching an area that offers Olympic Soccer Programs and/or good swimming teams.

Best of luck to you and your family whatever you decide. ;)

More things to consider as interests for an athletic son, the Utah Olympic Park offers junior development programs for ski jumping, bob sled, skeleton and luge. We also have an Olympic size ice rink where speed skating and hockey are coached.

Add those to the headquarters for the USSA Ski and Snowboarding Teams and you have some opportunities that aren't found many places. Many of our local kids are now competing and winning on a world class level.

Park City High does have a swim team and soccer is big here too.

I just wanted to add my own observations that this thread has held up quite admirably for this site. It could have disintegrated very quickly, as many of our threads do. Nice going, Fodorites!

Or is it that the Lounge threads tend to get nastier faster?

G - I also wonder why you don't just choose Colo, Tahoe, or Bend? Sounds like your worst fears would not even be an issue in those places.

Happy New Year everyone!

1. HAPPY NEW YEAR and ALL THE BEST!!!!!!!

2. My apologies for not replying sooner....

Okidoki, let's see:

BBQBOY- Oregon IS great for skiing, but IMHO too remote, rains too much, and not big on Soccer. We had looked at Sacramento,CA, but it's 2.5 hrs. drive to both Skiing and Frisco, and ideally no more than 45 minutes is the way to go. Also, CALTRANS is a real B**** in winter!

DAYLE- great "real life" exposé, & one of our top 5 is The Canyons, fntastic! BUT, does PC, or SLC Valley have a GOOD OSP (Olympic Soccer Program)? And do the swim teams compete nationally? Yep, our son is that good in both sports, thank God!

VIRGINIA- did look at Summit Cty. but "too much winter for too many months". Aspen and Glenwood Springs are great, but somewaht "isolated", IMHO.

DWOODDON- your suggestion of Gtown,CO will be heeded, but I expect it pales to Park City.... Tks!

TXTRAVELPRO- great "good neigbors" take, it makes sense!

BEACHBUM- he is all for the move, as long as his friends can come visit, he spends Xmas with his Grandma, etc. Actually, he's only 9 so this is not an issue, YET....

He LOVES skiing, is already better than us, and is hemming and hawing about boarding, which will happen when he's 10, want to make sure he really masters 2 planks before leaving it probably forever.

VIRGINIA- TKS for CO advice, right on the $. I'm leaning towards Evergreen, but have to make sure they have GOOD swimming and OSP.

I'll be opening a similar thread on the CO forum, sans the LDS "issue" (in quotations 'cause I don't really think it's that much of a big deal, especially after all the views expressed here).

My take based on all your thoughts: Park City and some areas in SLC/Valleys are perfectly OK for non-LDS (maybe better once we consider the "niceness" of these people).

SO, it boils down to this: How GOOD are the OSP and Swimming programs there? I know all else will work out. In fact, he may become a champion winter sportsman, or return to Gymnastics, he was the national champion at age 6!

Anyway, MUCHAS GRACIAS and wish you a great 2008.

PS Keep the suggestions coming, PLS!

There is no Colorado forum. The state box is just for searching. If you want to repost, just do it in the US forum with your new question.

Happy New Year G,

I don't think our local soccer and swim teams are on the level you seem to be looking for. Of course there are always leagues with more competitive players in all sports.

Some of the world's best skiers, boarders, skaters, mountain bikers, and other winter and outdoor sports are from Utah. Again, the Olympic Ski and Snowboarding team is headquartered in Park City, and now the US Speed Skating team has moved to SLC, where they practice at the Olympic Oval ice rink (fastest ice in the world).

So, who knows where a 9 year old will end up? Or, even his parents!

Thanky happytourist & Dayle.

I just discovered that SLC has a MLS team, the Real Salt Lake, building a beautiful new stadium in Sandy. Ergo, they may have a good OLS or other intense soccer program for kids....????

BTW, any areas in sandy that are less LDS than others? For the record, I now think this is not a major issue, but better safe than sorry....

Does anybody else find this a really weird thread?

Dreamer2, yes I do.

Gpaul~ Oregon is "too remote"... too remote from exactly WHAT?

I mean you're considering Utah and Colorado here!!! Now them's da boonies
:-)

dreamer2 and suze,

PLS don't hinder my queries, they are for 2 VERY IMPORTANT issues for us: good weather for skiing in winter and equally good weather for the other 3 seasons, AND my son's future in soccer and swimming (maybe winter sports as well). Of course EDUCATION, MORALS, savoire-faire, etc. are equally as important.

Something I forgot to mention, us old folk want to "give/pay back" to the needy; that is, our new "jobs" during retirement will be volunteer work, whatever is needed, part-time.

Gracias.

Gpaul, we have good friends who are Greek Orthodox and live in Park City half-time with their kids. One child is in high school in another state and one has now gone to college. In Park City they have friends from many different places and there is a Greek Orthodox church. Many Mormons, naturally, but lots of other faiths as well---and there's a beautiful RC church very close to Deer Valley. Our friends do not live there full-time, but plan to when they retire completely. We've visited them several times and feel that the Park City area is non-Mormon enough to be cosmopolitan, and Mormon enough to be safe and fun... does that make sense?

Good luck with your plans!

Yeah Suze, that's the funniest comment on here so far.
Utah is about as remote as you can get, unless you want to ski North Dakota:)

Gpaul, since the Olympic soccer program is so important, I think you would have been better served posting a question about that, as this post wouldn't have been necessary if they don't have such a program. Also, you are not going to get as many responses about that because most people won't click on this topic. You should post a separate question about your sports system requirements and then move from there.

bliss

I did not realize I was "hindering" anything with my comments.

I understand your stated priorities but when you say things like the entire state of Oregon is "remote", I think it's fair to call you on that because it is simply not true.

All I've got to say, Gpaul, is that you've got one smart kid if he's starting high school at 9 years old. Congratulations!