Moving from Des Moines, IA to Salt Lake City

[kaytidid]

I am originally from NJ and we don't get nearly the ice storms here that we did back east. I think the lower humidity plays a good part in that. The DOT is really great at keeping up with the snow removal and the majority of the time they are out spraying the roads with a salt solution before an expected snow storm.

[mattsk42]

BEFORE a snow storm? Wow, that's really cool. Sometimes we don't even get a plow after snow here. USUALLY we don't have smaller side roads plowed/dirt-ed after snow. Salt basically isn't used at all.

[BlessedBlogger]

Hi,

I was just there (last week) looking for a single family house to rent with my husband as we're moving there from the east coast for his job. It was a beautiful area, the weather was lovely, most of the people were very friendly and polite and prices for some things (like gas) seemed lower.

That said, we had a hard time finding a house to rent. Our budget was $1500 and it's just us and two cats and we have an excellent credit score and rental history. We contacted loads of people over Trulia, Zillow, KSL, Craigslist etc and the vast majority of them never responded. We were only there for a couple of days so we didn't see a ton of houses but the ones we did see were really run down, dirty, in questionable neighborhoods and surrounded by wasps. We only saw two houses that were clean and relatively modern. One was in West Jordan, the other was in Taylorsville. We found them through a real estate agent, though most of the real estate agents we talked with were not super friendly. When we asked if a house would be cleaned, new appliances installed (say, something made after 1980) and the carpets replaced they looked at us like we were crazy and said they'd clean the carpets and that was it.

If I could do it over again, we would have contacted some real estate agents ahead of time and would have done more research on which areas of the city were nicest/cleanest. I'd spend more time looking at houses in Sugar House, The Avenues, Millcreek, Taylorsville and West/South Jordan. I would have also tried to schedule a longer stay so we could have looked at more houses.

If you want to stay around $1000 and live someplace clean and modern, you should consider an apartment, townhouse or condo instead. I don't want to discourage you, I'm sure there are some lovely homes/neighborhoods but housing is at a premium in SLC and competition is stiff. All the houses we looked at and even remotely liked already had one or more people in line for them. If you have any questions feel free to PM me! And good luck on your move.

[SusVelo]

Originally Posted by mattsk42

BEFORE a snow storm? Wow, that's really cool. Sometimes we don't even get a plow after snow here. USUALLY we don't have smaller side roads plowed/dirt-ed after snow. Salt basically isn't used at all.

That's surprising, in Des Moines they regularly treated the road prior to a storm depending on temps and expected weather system.

[disastermouse]

Originally Posted by BlueFlower226

Hello

My husband and I are researching a few cities and trying to figure out where we should move to. We are seriously considering Salt Lake City. We have been living in Des Moines, Iowa for about a year and a half and miss the outdoor adventures we used to have while living on the west coast. Utah would be a fun place to explore! My husband took a trip to Bryce Canyon last year and loved it!

We are in our mid twenties. My husband would be transferring with his job. I'm am working on my Bachelor's in Business Administration and have experience in banking and insurance. I will be looking for a job when we get there. We have no children and aren't planning to have any for at least another 5 years. We will be visiting Salt Lake City next month to check out the area.

We would like to know:

1- How are winters in the Salt Lake City area compared to the Des Moines, Iowa area? Iowa winters are very long and cold with a lot of ice. Our snow will stick around for a long time before the temps raise enough to melt it.

2- Would we be able to find a small house to rent in a safe area of town for $1000/month? My husband's job will be near the University of Utah. Are there safe, affordable areas to rent about a 20 minute or less drive from that area?

3- Is it possible to use public transportation throughout most of the city? We have 2 cars, but it would be nice to have the option to take public transportation to work most days.

4- What are some things you like and don't like about living in the Salt Lake City area?

Thanks!

1. Winters in the valley are mild. You should have no problem coming from Iowa.

2. Yes, you can find a nice place in SLC for <$1000! Easily. (Edited: I didn't realize you were looking for a house and not an apartment. Apartments are easy to find and I seem to remember that Townhouses/Condos weren't much harder...but an entire house for <$1k might be trickier. On the upside, every apartment I had except one was a pretty nice place for the money.)

3. Public transportation is definitely an option, especially if you live near the light rail lines.

4. Things I liked: A lot more subcultures than you would ever expect and a lot more eclectic people than you might believe. A delightfully more developed restaurant and bar scene than expected and a thriving microbrew culture. Navigation is a breeze, for the most part - the grid system lets you know pretty much where everything is and it's not hard to visualize how to get there. You're into the outdoors, you say? Welcome to heaven! The slopes are great for skiing and snowboarding in the winter and downhill mountain biking and hiking in the summer. The city really is a great place for bicyclists! Also, in general, be prepared for a lot more sunny days than you got in Iowa.

Things I didn't like: Crazy liquor laws. Shockingly 'innocent' and somewhat tame coworkers (mostly LDS). Be prepared to not fit in because you're married without kids. Family is HUGE in SLC and people may look at you askance for not having them.

I'm having a hard time thinking of much else I didn't like throughout my various years living there. I'd probably move back if my girlfriend wasn't opposed to the idea. The LDS 'overculture' can be weird, but the 'non-members' tend to get along since they have a singular cultural 'enemy' that unites them.

[BlueFlower226]

Originally Posted by disastermouse

1. Winters in the valley are mild. You should have no problem coming from Iowa.

2. Yes, you can find a nice place in SLC for <$1000! Easily. (Edited: I didn't realize you were looking for a house and not an apartment. Apartments are easy to find and I seem to remember that Townhouses/Condos weren't much harder...but an entire house for <$1k might be trickier. On the upside, every apartment I had except one was a pretty nice place for the money.)

3. Public transportation is definitely an option, especially if you live near the light rail lines.

4. Things I liked: A lot more subcultures than you would ever expect and a lot more eclectic people than you might believe. A delightfully more developed restaurant and bar scene than expected and a thriving microbrew culture. Navigation is a breeze, for the most part - the grid system lets you know pretty much where everything is and it's not hard to visualize how to get there. You're into the outdoors, you say? Welcome to heaven! The slopes are great for skiing and snowboarding in the winter and downhill mountain biking and hiking in the summer. The city really is a great place for bicyclists! Also, in general, be prepared for a lot more sunny days than you got in Iowa.

Things I didn't like: Crazy liquor laws. Shockingly 'innocent' and somewhat tame coworkers (mostly LDS). Be prepared to not fit in because you're married without kids. Family is HUGE in SLC and people may look at you askance for not having them.

I'm having a hard time thinking of much else I didn't like throughout my various years living there. I'd probably move back if my girlfriend wasn't opposed to the idea. The LDS 'overculture' can be weird, but the 'non-members' tend to get along since they have a singular cultural 'enemy' that unites them.

It was hard to find a house to rent for under $1000/month here in Des Moines. There is a lot of competition for rental houses here too and prices are going up. We were patient and jumped on anything that came up and matched what we were looking for. I don't need a garage and an old house does not bother me. We are renting an old small 2 bedroom 1 bath house now for $850/month. That is a really good deal for Des Moines. We moved around a lot when my husband was in the Navy and are good at finding rentals, so I'm not worried. We will stay in a crappy month to month apartment until we find a little house to rent if we have to. We've been in touch with a realtor out there and she said we can find a small house to rent in our price range. It will just have to be small and older like the one we're in now.

Won't fit in for being married and without kids? We get that here in Des Moines! I've been harassed by co-workers over it before. People like that are everywhere. I do understand that family is a big thing in SLC though, so this will be something to think about. We have a couple of LDS friends living in SLC now. They are very nice people.

I love the feedback I've been getting about winters out there! I really wasn't sure what to expect. Thanks for the info about getting around and outdoor activities! Did you ever do any star gazing when you lived out there? It's something I'm really interested in and I've read that Utah has very clear skies.