Anyone from Salt Lake City here?

[zen]

Bit of a general question, but I'm curious as to what the place is like. My wife and I are planning a move to the US in the next 5 years or so, and having received a pile of books and guides to Utah, it seems like a nice place considering we love the outdoors. And Utah has some of the most spectacular country in the whole world.

The strict liquor laws don't bother us as we don't drink much, and the Mormons (although a minority now I think) don't bother us as we're atheist and happy to ignore them.

I have heard very good things about SLC, although I've never been there myself. I've visited other parts of the US extensively (San Diego, San Francisco, New York, New Orleans, Orlando).

Pros and cons anyone? Good neighbourhoods and bad neighbourhoods? Living in SLC or somewhere further out (but still commutable)?

 

[Zman5225]

We lived there for almost 6 years North of Salt Lake City in a town called Layton Utah. I would LOVE to go back. You get 4 seasons and the summers aren't to bad either to be honest. The elevation is high there so it might take some getting used to, and you get sun burned fast. People are really nice because of the religious based community.

If you enjoy the outdoors, that is the place to be! You can do something outdoorsy year round no problem at all. Plenty of lakes around the cities and within driving distance so you can just hang out. The actual Salt Lake is junk and nasty because of the Salt density so you won't be doing anything on Antelope island (the island in the middle of the lake) but like I said plenty of other lakes. They do have the Utah Jazz there and BYU for college football to help entertain. Fairly small size population for a "big" city, very easy to commute in downtown with their rail system.

I wouldn't call the Mormons there a minority. The population is still supposedly around 45+%. To be honest though I only ever had 1 or 2 visits. Some jobs there they will ask you if you are Mormon (illegal to do but they do it.)

As far as good neighborhoods, I don't recall very specific ones but as far as cities go Ogden Utah is up North and has a good sized hispanic population and the city is older. Layton and Clearfield are very nice and close to an Air Force Base. Bountiful, and Jordan and Provo are fantastic smaller cities very close (10-15 mins from Salt Lake.)

For a better view of stuff including crime data and goodies like that, check out this link

http://www.city-data.com/city/Utah.html

click on the individual cities to see more data, even temperatures

Hope that helps some. Like I said, I would LOVE to move back. 6 hours to Vegas to for a quick trip getaway for some adult fun.

 

[P-Worm]

and BYU for college football to help entertain.

I think you mean the Utah Utes for college football.

I have lived in Salt Lake City my whole life (nearly 25 years now) and I absolutely love it. The city is clean, the people are nice, and if you want to spontaneously go for a hike, there are plenty that are a quick drive to the starting point.

I wouldn't be worried about the Latter-Day Saints (Mormons), they don't usually go 'knocking' in Salt Lake due to the high number of members already. However, you will probably be assumed to be a member my many of your neighbors. Not that that's a bad thing, but they mights start talking about things like 'their ward,' 'their mission,' their 'Elders quorum,' and other terms that you probably aren't familiar with.

I actually served my LDS mission in England (London, Bristol, and Reading) and I can tell you that the whether is much nicer in Salt Lake. You might actually see a blue sky here.

Anyway, I think you'll love it here. If you have any questions, just ask.

P-Worm

 

[zen]

Thanks for the replies! That's really useful, and I appreciate the time you guys have taken to post your thoughts!

I guess it's always tricky to just randomly pick somewhere in another country to live, but we've already done it once going from New Zealand to the UK. It's all part of the fun, right?

If I can get some blue sky, some nice seasons, and some wide open countryside, I think I might be happy I love the UK but coming from New Zealand I miss nice weather and S P A C E !

That city data link is great, thanks!

 

[dmr727]

The drinking rules are strange, but they're better than they were, and they really don't inhibit anyone from drinking anyway. I go to SLC every month or so for my job, and I like it well enough. I love how the ski slopes are just a short distance away - in fact most of the time I stay up in Park City while I'm there.

 

[LumbermanSVO]

I'm in Salt Lake every few days and like the whole area, with the exception of the drivers.

I don't know much about living there but the people seem really friendly.

 

[Stampyhead]

Although I'm originally from Canada I actually lived in Salt Lake City for a good portion of my childhood. It's not a bad place at all, and if you like the outdoors you'll really love it there. Salt Lake is in a valley surrounded by mountains and there are a lot of canyons with great hiking. If you like skiing it's definitely the place to be in the wintertime. If you're able to you should maybe take a trip out there at some point and get a feel for the place.

 

[SLC Flyfishing]

I've lived in Salt Lake City my entire life as well (28 years now) save for a small time in Portugal. I absolutely love this town, it's large enough to have plenty of things to do, yet small enough to not be dangerous. There is crime here, but I've never experienced it myself.

Like others have said there's plenty to do here if you love the outdoors, The National Parks in the south of our state are unrivaled, and Yellowstone is a short drive north. The local canyons have all the hiking, biking, fishing and camping you could ever ask for.

The local population is about 45% mormon, but there are neighborhoods near the downtown Salt Lake City area that are quite nice and have a lower density of Mormons, that being said, I think you'll find the Mormons to be some of the best people to have as neighbors.

You should come out here to SLC for a visit sometime, we'd love to have you and I think you'd find it hard to leave.

SLC

 

[LumbermanSVO]

There is crime here, but I've never experienced it myself.

When I'm in town I park at the company terminal near Bangerter and I-80. If I have the time I'll walk to a bar I like near the baseball stadium, I walk along California to get there. Some people have expressed great concern that I would walk through such a "rough" neighborhood. This has always amused me because it seem pretty tame to me. I guess when you live in such a mellow city you idea of a rough neighborhood is a little different than others.

For reference, I used to work at a stereo shop on 34th and Central in St. Pete, FL. Now THAT was a rough neighborhood.