Best Catholic Place to Live

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dhalsim2 said:
My wife went to Christendom in Virginia and my sister-in-law went to Ave Maria in Florida. I can see how the surrounding areas might be excellent places to live.

Utah clearly isn’t Catholic, but I didn’t mean it as a joke. When I went on vacation there, I was impressed by the family values, respect for others, sense of human dignity, etc. Even if they aren’t Catholic, the community seems to be very compatible with a Catholic lifestyle.
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Hello - I have a son at Christendom College and we live in Utah. 🙂

You are right that Utah is family-oriented and there is a sense of decorum here that we did not experience in other places.

However, we are currently looking for a more Catholic place to live. We are heading to Texas in a couple of weeks to check things out there.

My son thinks Virginia seems like a nice place to raise a Catholic family.
 
lax16 said:
You are right that Utah is family-oriented and there is a sense of decorum here that we did not experience in other places.

However, we are currently looking for a more Catholic place to live. We are heading to Texas in a couple of weeks to check things out there.
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What don’t you like about Utah that would make you want to leave?

Let me know how things go in Texas.
 
It doesn’t matter where you go, he’s not going to change all of a sudden to be a devout Catholic like you and your wife. He’s at that age where most of what he’s going to learn comes from the outside world from his peers or role models. Kids are kids wherever they are, Catholic or otherwise. He’ll never be surrounded by perfect Catholic children. Let him go through what he has to go through, just lead by example. Maybe he feels as if you’re choking him and wants to breathe a little/explore modern and secular culture. Maybe he wants to relate to kids his age better.
 
How can we be the salt and the light to the world if we hide ourselves away from the people who need that salt and light?

This life is messy, and it is easy to think about moving to a “Catholic” place, yet we are called to be in the trenches helping to transform the world for Jesus…hard to do if we only live among other Catholics. 🙂

A wise man once told me, “do not make a move unless God transplants you into something new or to some new place.” Imagine if all the Catholics in the world moved to one country–how does that help the billions that will no longer see the witness and truth of Jesus found in the Catholic faith and Church?
 
Perhaps there are a few pockets in the world where the community life among Catholics is strong and positive exposure overwhelms negative influences. The trouble is that places are often in flux these days as families move in and out of neighborhoods, and a place that seems ideal today when Jimmy is in first grade might looks vastly different when he’s about to enter high school. That being said, I’ve either experienced firsthand or heard about a few places, such as South Korea (the Church has been flourishing quite a bit there in recent years), Michigan (I always seem to encounter solid Catholic folks from there, but don’t know if they’re more dispersed community-wise), and Denver (in spite of the, ahem, recent legal changes, there’s supposed to be a strong Catholic community there too). I’m sure there are others, but that’s pretty much all I know of 🤷

As far as just visiting is concerned, dream honeymoon spot right here: portugal-live.com/portugal/azores/when.html
 
I think it’s perfectly valid to desire to live near a strong Catholic community. Not everyone can be, or wants to be, a lone wolf.

We lived in a very secular area before, in a parish where we were the youngest members. I have other issues with our current area, but the parish is full of children and young couples, and the parish schools are not just Catholic in name only. If all other things were equal, I would absolutely choose the thriving Catholic community where my children would have a plethora of good Catholic role models.
 
AClaire11 said:
I think it’s perfectly valid to desire to live near a strong Catholic community. Not everyone can be, or wants to be, a lone wolf.

We lived in a very secular area before, in a parish where we were the youngest members. I have other issues with our current area, but the parish is full of children and young couples, and the parish schools are not just Catholic in name only. If all other things were equal, I would absolutely choose the thriving Catholic community where my children would have a plethora of good Catholic role models.
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Of course, it is an important decision to make sure children are filled with Catholic role models, the best to any parent’s ability. My point is that we cannot wall ourselves off from the world because we are called to be the salt and light of the world.
 
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