We Got House! Currently we're renting a large apartment that is, however, in a dump of a building with neighbors from hell in a not-so-great neighborhood. Last week we zoomed to Salt Lake to see if we could do better there. Many rental houses and a quick consideration of becoming house owners (*gasp*) later, we're happy renters of this little house:
For just two-thirds of what we're currently paying for rent we got a ton of extras, including a backyard and two fireplaces. I've never lived in a house or had either garden or fireplace. I'm excited, like, big time. Especially since everyone we've talked to says that our neighborhood is awesome. I can't wait to discover its awesomeness (although I do dread the cross-country move).
Two
Utah is the most conservative state in the country, and the most conservative county in the most conservative state is located less than fifty miles outside Salt Lake. Or so Jon Krakauer writes in his description of Mormonism, Under the Banner of Heaven, a book I'm reading so that I have a reply ready when the next person tells me a polygamy joke the minute I say we're moving to Utah. What I'm learning is that the Mormon church condemns polygamy as an outdated custom practiced today only by a misguided few who have been excommunicated by the church. I suppose that's good news. What's bad news is that Mormonism appears to be a religion based, in part, on the complete submission of women and children to their husbands and fathers. The biggest threats to the Mormon church, according to the LDS apostle second in line to become LDS president, are "the gay-lesbian movement, the feminist movement, and the ever-present challenge from the so-called scholars or intellectuals."* This really bothers me. I'm a scholar, feminist, and gay rights advocate. Throw "pro-choice" and "environmentalist" into the mix, and you know where I stand politically. If the views of ordinary parishioners really match the official positions of the LDS church, I worry that living in Salt Lake, where half the population is Mormon, will require a lot of adjustment on my part, and not because of the mountain climate.
*Boyd K. Packer, cit. in Krakauer.
Three
While cruising the streets of Salt Lake in search of "For Rent" signs, I ran into and talked to four people. All of them were very nice. The first was an older gentlemen who gave me a tour of his garden and invited Conrad to visit often and play in his treehouse. (Conrad can't quite roll over yet, and climbing trees will have to wait for a few years.) The other people were women and--yay!--knitters. All three mentioned the knitting group at Blazing Needles, a LYS that's just a twenty-minute walk from our house. I was given phone numbers and invitations to meet for tea. Despite my second paragraph misgivings, it does seem like SLC is going to be a fun place to knit.
Yay for your house! It looks very inviting. I hope you have much happiness in Utah. The politics/ general way of thinking would terrify me, too, since I would describe myself just like you do. The knitters sound promising, though.
ReplyDeleteWow! That was fast. You like jumping right in with both feet, don't you? (HA!) I completely relate to your concerns about the politics of the area. But I really think that it is like most things: it sounds worse than it really is. I read Miranda's blog (http://mirandawalker.blogspot.com/) and though she is Mormon, she doesn't seem like the kind of girl who'd subscribe to the patriarchal conservatism (aka: bullshit) you describe.
ReplyDeletePlus, Dooce (http://www.dooce.com/) lives in SLC, so that's a big check in the "pros" column.
Also: the description of your political stance is echoed over here, too. Only I'd add "dirty socialist" to my list.
Hey, I forgot to add: you're going to have to change your profile on Blogger, now. You can scratch "procrastinator" the list.
ReplyDeleteYour house looks very inviting. What a change in life for you to move over there! but then again - you gotta take a deep breath and jump every once in a while - it IS worth it. (at least for me it has been...)
ReplyDeleteI hope you like living there - at least the knittingscene sounds really promising. (and hey - I would not worry too much about the politics/religion - we have a whole country now in a situation where "True Finns" came into political scene with a bang - and they're agenda is extremely conservative - anti-immigrant, anti-EU etc. Fortunately we have a parlamentary system where 1 party does not hold too much power - in any case it is kinda scary to see how many intolerant people live in this country as well....) Oh I wonder off-topic again - but what I wanted to say is that I hope you enjoy living in SLC!
I must say -- Mormon politics suck, and yes, it's an anti-feminist culture, but Mormons are really, really nice neighbors. I had Mormon friends growing up, and they are just about the most hospitable, positive, upbeat people on EARTH. So while the underlying culture is not really my thing, the superficial experience is delightful!
ReplyDeleteAlso, there is a very engrossing and odd culture of Mormon mommyblogs that I got sucked into when Charlie was first born (hilariously parodied by the late, great "Seriously So Blessed!" blog).
And also also! Isn't SLC's mayor, like, a Socialist or something? I seem to recall reading something about this, some radical and awesome thing he did. Maybe about gay rights? Or something? I am too lazy to look this up, but I definitely remember SOMETHING...