Upscale SLC areas with many NON-LDS people? (Sandy, Draper: high crime, house)

[jhwest]

The Jordan landing area is great. It has everything nearby you could want as far as shopping, restaurtants and movies. Also only 20 minutes to the airport. Lots of housing nearby, though most of it will be smaller (for Utah that means under 3000 s.f) and newer.

[stycotl]

catrinac, i am not sure if you have already noticed this or not, but i'm gonna comment anyway, just in case. many of the posts here claiming that there are non-lds-friendly areas is coming from *non-lds*, which leads me to believe with reasonable confidence that if they like it, probably others will as well, and that they are not merely trying to deceive and lure others into the state to share in their misery.

[stycotl]

oh, btw, good guess on the mileage, cc. i was gonna guess 40, and i live in the area. i'm gonna go find a dunce cap and sit in the corner...

[lemon&lime]

what I'm saying. Just because other people like Sugarhouse or Park City is NOT a valid reason to move to Utah. Those areas are so small and can only offer so much. If a person wants a truly liberal experience they are going to need to live some place other than Utah, period. I do not think this is really arguable. People who want a "liberal" experience in Salt Lake can probably have one but what is the point. I live downtown but have worked mostly at jobs way far south, near Draper and Sandy. I spend my days surrounded by Mormon nutcases. I am not that liberal either! It's just not worth it, in my opinion.

Originally Posted by stycotl

catrinac, i am not sure if you have already noticed this or not, but i'm gonna comment anyway, just in case. many of the posts here claiming that there are non-lds-friendly areas is coming from *non-lds*, which leads me to believe with reasonable confidence that if they like it, probably others will as well, and that they are not merely trying to deceive and lure others into the state to share in their misery.

[stycotl]

ok, my bad. i thought you were implying that all of these people were trying to deceive the op into moving odwn here despite whatever miserable problems they were having. i will admit that utah is --over all-- far from liberal, but i still think that calling us a bunch of 'nutcases' is pretty overdramatic and exaggerated. aaron out.

[marimari123]

We lived in the Olympus Cove area for many years. It's in the eastern area of Holladay right off of the freeway (we were at 3500 East 4500 South). We're not LDS. I think most of our neighbors were not LDS because none of our neighbors ever even talked about religion. In the 10 years we lived in OC, we never had a single missionary come to the door. The neighborhood is quiet. Great schools. Close to everything without being TOO close. We absolutely loved loved loved living there.

For the most part, no one ever really talked about religion or tried to get us to convert or anything pushy like that. That's more of a stereotype than anything.

But there will be a few things noticeable if you come from another state (we moved from California to Utah). Liquor can only be bought from state owned liquor store...not the grocery store like Cali. If you're a big drinker...and ummm..well...we kind of are it's a big change to live in Utah. Also, it was definitely different for us to see that so many people have lots of children. I mean...it's a great family friendly city...we just were surprised to see so many children.

Anyway...I hope you enjoy SLC...we loved it there and unfortunately had to move because of our work.

Regards,
mari

[BuckeyezRule]

I live about 10 mins from Jordan Landing, due west, & love it! I am NOT LDS, but everyone, except my 1 neighbor in our allotment IS LDS (or so I've been told) & we haven't had any problems. Everyone is very friendly. =) As for pushing to join 'the church', we have had the missionaries come to our home probably about 20 times or more in the past year. My fault, really, as I can't be mean & just say 'go away', I listen to them, even though the chances of me becoming LDS are nil. It is very nice & quiet out here. My neighbor, who is LDS, shoveled my drive this past week! If you have kids, you'll most likely find other kids close in age to yours. My neighbor has a daughter 1 mos older than my daughter, & my across the street neighbor has twin boys 3 weeks older than my son. Lots of playmates & SAHM's to bond w/. =)

[therewego]

Originally Posted by BuckeyezRule

I live about 10 mins from Jordan Landing, due west, & love it! I am NOT LDS, but everyone, except my 1 neighbor in our allotment IS LDS (or so I've been told) & we haven't had any problems. Everyone is very friendly. =) As for pushing to join 'the church', we have had the missionaries come to our home probably about 20 times or more in the past year. My fault, really, as I can't be mean & just say 'go away', I listen to them, even though the chances of me becoming LDS are nil. It is very nice & quiet out here. My neighbor, who is LDS, shoveled my drive this past week! If you have kids, you'll most likely find other kids close in age to yours. My neighbor has a daughter 1 mos older than my daughter, & my across the street neighbor has twin boys 3 weeks older than my son. Lots of playmates & SAHM's to bond w/. =)

Great information. WHat are the home price ranges in that area? Sounds like a great option. Thanks!

[BuckeyezRule]

Originally Posted by therewego

Great information. WHat are the home price ranges in that area? Sounds like a great option. Thanks!

Low end, I'd say is 200K, higher end 300K, although probably closest to 250-275K. They're building some nice condos near us, although I'm not sure what the prices are of them. There is an elementary & a middle school in our allotment, & I've been told by the city that they are going to be building a high school in the allotment too, in a vacant field, close to the middle school. So, my kids could easily walk to all the schools. =)

[toyduck]

Aves., UofU, Sugarhouse, Park City, and SunCrest

Depends on what you want.

Aves/UofU/Sugarhouse are more urban ( I looked here but I felt it was too expensive for what you got. Old house (with character) close to small shops)

Park City (I lived in old town for two years, fun but too expensive to buy. Tourists got very old after awhile. At first it was like I was on vacation when I was not working, then the same small boutique shops got old. 70% of the homes up there are vacation homes so they are only used a few times a year. I don't have anything against people with a lot of money but I do not have this kind of wealth, so keeping up with the jones would be very hard here. I think raising kids here without a decent bankroll (250,000 a year) would be just too hard when explaining the inequities of life. But if I was scrapping by I would rent here and use their fantastic school system for an us against them type battle. All and all a good area but sometimes second home owners have entitlement issues (for example parking infront of the door at albertsons and running in for something instead of parking like a normal person, making everyone exiting the store walk around your running g-wagon suv) put me off on the city after awhile.

I now live in SunCrest (I love the house, am above the inversion, quiet, park city type feel. But I am not married or have kids so it is too sleepy at times. Draper is very nice but is mostly big box chain stores, which I shop at primarily but miss the character of the little guy.)

If I had to do it again I would move to SunCrest if I wanted a nice house that didn't have a lot of maintenance or with a family (especially a young family) and the Aves if I were single. I like SunCrest for a family because it is so far removed you don't have to worry about traffic and kids out playing, there are even a bunch of trails for them to explore. The covenences are restrictive but make the area nice, catch 22 type deal. The views are awesome and I can't tell you how cool it is to grill in the backyard and be staring at lone peak, or walking to a overlook and watching the sunset and the lights of the city come on.

I have enjoyed my stay in UT (four years) but am now planning on moving on. I can't really figue out where the best place to live is, Utah is actually a great place. I love the outdoors and the resorts in both summer and winter. The access to National Parks is amazing, etc.. But for me, I think that people here get married too young and are not free thinking enough. I think that I enjoy a culture where ideas, and challenging ideas is more fully embraced. The SLC library does a great job with their lecture series but it just does not seem to be enough, so I'm looking at mid-sized University towns like Austin, Madison, Burlington, Eugene, Fort Collins etc..

Hopefully this long rambling post helps. UT is a great place if you want outdoor adventures in some of the american wests most beautiful places, or have a family you want to raise with traditional values, all wrapped in a economically thriving area. If you are single without a partner you will most likely spend a few years here, have a great time, then move on.