East Coast to SLC (Salt Lake City, West Valley City: big house, transferring to, neighborhoods)

[mco77]

Hello everyone!! I'm new to this board but have spent A LOT of time going over the many posts related to the Salt Lake City area. My wife and I are going to make the jump from Boston, MA to the SLC area and I was hoping I could hit some of you up for some information. Basically, our situation is this.......I work for the DoD and will be transferring to Dugway Proving Grounds later this fall and while I realize living in Tooele would make the most sense for us, we are both "city" people and think it's insane to drive more than a few miles to get a decent cup of coffee. That being said, what's considered good places to live west of the I-15? I realize the east side is the "best" part of town but I've gotta keep my commute somewhat realistic plus I don't have 350K to drop on a house over there anyways. I've seen several posts saying West Valley City and Magna are pretty sketchy. Is this really the case? What about the area east of the airport? Any comments would be greatly welcomed. Thanks all!!

[Elder_Shawn]

You would enjoy the west bench area of Salt Lake City. There are places to get coffee in Tooele too, but probably not up the same standards you have come to expect in Boston. My wife and I were in Boston for the 4th of July last year and had a blast! The parking situation and the costs associated with it were mindblowing to say the least. You'll never have to worry about that again here in SLC! Most places offer free parking! Do not...I repeat do not look for house just east of the airport! Check out the area around Tooele and Stansbury Park. If that is too country, check out all the new communities going up on the mountain.

[coolcats]

Here are my opinions as I went through the house hunt and neighborhood decision last year. The area east of the airport and west of downtown have a reputation as one of the worst neighborhoods in the area. The neighborhoods are called Rose Park and Glendale respectively. That being said, the "ghetto" in Utah is nothing like the bad neighborhoods in LA or DC etc. I think a person could probably live there just fine, but there is always a chance something bad could happen. There is actually some decent newer housing in Glendale and Rose Park, but the area's reputation might keep the appreciation down. Plus I would worry about the schools in the area.

There are areas of West Valley that are pretty bad. Those are the older areas near I-15 and I-215. You can pretty much tell about the area by driving through and noticing the condition of the houses.

Magna, in my opinion, is less "ghetto" and more "hick." You see lots of pickup trucks and cowboy hats. Old Magna was a mining settlement from the early 1900s and looks pretty decayed, but that's only a few blocks of the town. There are some nice new neighborhoods being built far enough away from Old Magna. In fact Kennecott Land announced that its second urban hub for its 50-year West Bench Master Plan will be in Magna. That would totally revitalize the area and property values already increased quite a bit just because of that announcement.

I live in a new neighborhood of West Valley within eyesight of the Magna township limits (mostly horse properties several miles away from Old Magna), and I actually think its great. I've never seen anything suspicious in the year we've been here. The neighborhood is nicely designed with trails and greenspace. I can go jogging early in the morning and hear the roosters crowing and be out by the horse fields just by turning the corner from my house. Of course, I'm not an urbanite, so I like those things. I am also only 11 miles or 20 minutes from downtown in rush hour.

If you are into city life, you might want to consider living in the Avenues area of Salt Lake. It's easy access to the freeway to head west. Plus you would be going against traffic. It's also pretty religiously diverse for Utah. If you choose to live in Salt Lake, you will add 30 miles one way to your commute versus if you lived in Tooele. If you choose to live in West Valley you will add 20, and in Magna you will add 15 miles each way.

A couple of other things to consider -- I hear the interstate 80 along the south shore of the Great Salt Lake between Salt Lake and Tooele can be pretty dicy in the winter. I've not had to drive it, though.

Also, I don't know your GS grade, but the Avenues is pretty expensive. In Tooele big houses with big yards for much lower prices are the norm. But I wouldn't expect to find much gourmet coffee in West Valley, Tooele, or Magna. Starbucks probably, but ecclectic urban coffee houses no. I'm not a coffee drinker so I can't say how Salt Lake's compare.

Probably your best bet would be to spend a few days driving around before you start your job. I can give you directions to drive through my neighborhood if you would like.

[frogamigo]

Hmm. I don't think there's anything very "bad" about the West side, it's just sort of boring and horribly developed. Downtown West Valley is a strip mall. Well, Rose Park and Glendale are not good neighborhoods, but that is different. I am not very familiar with the 'burbs but if you go there you may as well live in Tooele, it seems. Hmm. *Think pooh-bear think*

I used to commute from the Holladay area to my work in West Valley. The nice thing about that commute is that, once you get past downtown, it is CLEAR SAILING on I-80 Westbound. I mean, there is just nobody out there. I don't think the commute is bad at all. (It's regular-level yuck until the interchange.) SR-201 was bad, but it was under construction... they just opened it, don't know what it's like but I think it'll probably be nice. Although I never had a problem with it.

Sorry, rambling. Anyway. If you're in SLC proper then you might want to go onto the East side area, just anyway. I like Sugarhouse, but I never looked to buy a house there. You can get java there for sure. If you want to be closer for a shorter commute, then I would go with Magna, or Tooele. They're putting in a huge development on the mountain on the W. side which should be "nice", I haven't followed it closely so I am not sure, but it might end up a subdivision-y place.

I don't blame you for looking at the commute. SL Valley has overall decent traffic, we take it for granted. But driving an hour a day is still an hour less time to spend doing something else!

- Chris

[mco77]

Thank you both for taking the time to give me your opinions. It's greatly appreciated.

[mco77]

Oops!! Make that "thank you" to the three of you.