Family areas in SLC (Ogden, Bountiful: house, high school, university)

[RockyMtnr]

Originally Posted by hiker4

Hi, my husband, 15 month old son, and I are thinking of moving to the SLC area from Phoenix, AZ. Both of us grew up in small suburbs of larger cities. We are looking for an area that will give us that small town, community feel in and around SLC. We currently commute in the Phoenix area about 30 minutes each way. We would preferably like only a 15 minute or less commute to the downtown area. We want a great school district (preferably public) and an area that will have a community. We are not LDS and we want lots of opportunities for our son for sports, play, education, etc... Does SLC have these kind of family friendly areas. We are both teachers so we won't have a huge salary between the two of us so finances will be an issue where we relocate. Any suggestions and help would be greatly appreciated.

If you haven't been there, the SLC area will give you a few surprises.
First, the area you mention does not exist. Used to - decades ago - up until about 1970.
If it is small town then, it will be traditionally LDS. There are some exceptions - for example, Huntsville, UT above Ogden; Grantsville to the west of Tooele.
Once you move out of the urban area, the schools aren't so great - although Huntsville did used to have a good elementary (no middle or high school). Ogden, however, while being lower-percentage LDS-wise is a different sort of place for Utah - kinda like somebody towed Cleveland over to Utah.
Sugarhouse is very crammed in and exploding right now - used to be a nice little get-away for a non-LDS single type.
Here's the deal. You're moving to Utah. You're going to have to deal with LDS. It's not so bad - some differences and problems for some - but once you start moving to areas with higher non-LDS percentages, the infra-structure goes straight in the dumpster! So, adjust - and stay outta Provo as it is their "Heaven on Earth" as is the "Dixie" area (St. George). Price (the town) is your next bet - if you like mining areas. Moab is your next best bet - if you like 100+ degree days for much of the year, desert-scapes and running the Colorado - and since I mentioned it ... that's a wise choice for someone fearing the LDS influence ... but it is a small town ..... and - Hey, I'm barking right up your tree, aren't I?

[jhwest]

I wouldn't count on charter schools, if I were you. They are incredibly hard to get into. Our charter, Channing Hall (in Draper) has a waiting list of over 1600 families (not individual students). My neighbor sends her kids to American Preparatory Academy (also in Draper). They have over 2000 on their waiting list. And students are picked by lottery (unless they are siblings) so there is no rhyme or reason to who gets in.
Better just to start out with a school you like.

[ellhr]

Hmm... I would skip Bountiful (also skip Kaysville)

North Salt Lake is better as a non-LDS.

Layton, Draper/Sandy - all good areas further out. Really they are all nice, but I am also thinking of a non-LDS person/family.

[BuhByeCalifornia]

jhwest...amazingly, my dd got into her charter school (Legacy) our first try...my ds didn't unfortunately but hopefully he'll get sibling priority for next year. The day after both kids started school, we got a call from the other charter school (Wasatch Peak) saying BOTH my kids got in...we may have just been super lucky but I don't think it's nearly as congested here in NSL / Bountiful as it is in Draper.

ellhr...

Bountiful / NSL is kind of all the same area it seems...and it's much closer to downtown than Layton, Draper and Sandy.

I haven't been here very long and we ARE LDS but we're not your typical "Utah" LDS family...I'm of Filipino descent and my dh is Caucasian so my kids are obviously dark hair, and dark eyes. People probably don't assume I'm LDS since I don't fit the blond hair / blue-eyed stereotype.

I can tell you that the people in Bountiful / NSL have been nothing but super nice to me...seriously almost everyone I make eye contact with gives me a smile and my neighborhood consists of the most down-to-earth, accepting people I've ever associated with.

If you want that small town feel, I think it definitely exists in Bountiful...the tellers at the bank know me by name, and I'm always running into friends at the gym or at the market.

There are definitely people who have lived in Bountiful for generations but there also seems to be an influx of relocators especially with the new communities / new construction that abounds in North Salt Lake like Foxboro as well as the new homes around the Eaglewood Golf Course.

[BuhByeCalifornia]

Oh...yes...I forgot to add - my youngest dd (3 years old) goes to a co-op preschool at a gal's home in Bountiful...the teacher is AWESOME.

If you decide to come here, I can give you her contact info as she's already accepting registration for next fall.

[SkiUtah76]

Hiker4: My wife and I moved to Draper, Utah from Southern California and have looked at several other areas since moving to Utah. We are also not LDS, and have found the Sandy/Draper area to have the best of both worlds (suburbs with the ease of the big city). If you live on the Valley Floor in Draper or Sandy it will only be 20 minutes from Downtown and about 25 from the airport. Traffic in SLC is not like Phoenix, Vegas or Socal, it is much easier. The Jordan School district is average, and the voters recently made the decision to split the school district East/West (of I-15). The majority of taxes come from the Eastside, so once the split happens the Westside School District will stuggle (even though they have most of the newer schools).

Sandy, Draper, Murray, Cottonwood and Sugar House are all nice areas with character. Draper is one of the fastest growing areas, with many new companies relocating (IKEA, Art Institute, Intel Corporation, Ebay, 1800-Contact, CSC, and many more). If you are a sports fan, Real Salt Lake (pro-soccer team) is building a new stadium in Sandy, and many new commercial businesses are moving there as well. Sandy/Draper is close to both Little & Big Cottonwood Canyons.

The Avenues in Downtown SLC is very nice, but what you get for your money (Real Estate wise) is not worth it. All the areas just east of down time towards the University of Utah are very nice, but again the cost per square foot are higher than average.

Hope this helps.

[hiker4]

Thanks for all your advice. I definitely think the North Salt Lake area is what we are looking for. So, the traffic in Salt Lake isn't to bad? The traffic in Phoenix is terrible. I live about 15 miles from work and sometimes it can take up to an hour to get home.

Is the university considered right downtown?

Thanks again

[BuhByeCalifornia]

The U of U is in Salt Lake but east of Temple Square (the very center of downtown). Maybe 1 - 2 miles east of Temple Square if even that.

The University is right up against the mountain and is about 9 miles from where I live in Bountiful (I'm on the very south end of Bountiful and border NSL)

From Foxboro, it'll probably be around 10 - 11 miles away.

I don't know what the traffic is like in downtown Salt Lake during rush hour but in the middle of the day, I'll drive into Salt Lake and I feel like it's a holiday because there are hardly any cars on the fwy!

But I Google mapped directions to the U from my house and it doesn't even have me going on the I-15 at all...I just take hwy 89 south to Temple St and head east.

It's funny, last Saturday we hired a photographer who lived in Salt Lake to take family pics of us in our house under construction in North Salt Lake. She arrived a FULL HOUR early because she thought it would take her longer to get up here! And this was during a heavy snowstorm!

Another nice thing about living up here (since you'll be working at the university), this area is definitely U of U country...lots of Ute fans and alumni live in this part of the state (as opposed to Utah County - Provo, Orem, American Fork) where there are mostly BYU fans / alums.

[hiker4]

Does Trax go to Bountiful, Foxboro area? Would it be quicker to go to the U of U using Trax?

[sp2007]

No Trax only goes from Sandy to downtown and then east to the U.

But there are express buses and someday the FrontRunner commuter rail could take you from Bountiful to downtown where you can link up with other mass transits (like Trax).