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-Awful Drivers - Utah drivers are the worst i've ever seen. Expect to be tail gated at all times whether youre in the fast or slow lane, whether its clear/dry or puking snow. Maybe they should stop worrying so much about drinking laws and more about educating drivers on how to drive. At times I feel i'm more stressed out from the drivers on the road here than I was sitting in LA traffic. Specially when you see accidents left and right.
The more I drive here the more I wonder if they even teach people how to drive. It's pathetic here and I noticed it the first day I drove into town.
Something that is less annoying but interesting re: traffic is how like 5 cars will go through a light in the left turn lane AFTER it has turned red. Like, the light turns red and 4-5 more cars will enter the intersection, not that they were already in on yellow and just finished through. It's just the corniest and most self centered thing. I had never seen it with any kind of regularity anywhere else but it happens all the time here. There have been times I'm in a rush and maybe cross into the intersection AS it turns red and I'll think "I shouldn't have gone" - then I look in the rear view and 4 more cars went through after me . It's flat out ridiculous. I'm sure UT lifers will tell me how I'm trash for not loving and respecting this entitled behavior, but please just know that it's stupid lol.
i'm not going to pile on about the driving here but there is one little quirk that folks here do right and i find it somewhat amusing. for the most part, when turning at an intersection, people turn into the correct lane. in light of all the other crazy driving i often see this one done correctly. it's the oddest thing.
in my home state, and a few others i've driven in, folks always seem to turn wide if the proper lane is not the one they want after the turn. here, folks often take the correct lane then make a lane change after the turn (without a signal of course )
maybe it's just where i am but it was noticeable to me.
The more I drive here the more I wonder if they even teach people how to drive. It's pathetic here and I noticed it the first day I drove into town.
Something that is less annoying but interesting re: traffic is how like 5 cars will go through a light in the left turn lane AFTER it has turned red. Like, the light turns red and 4-5 more cars will enter the intersection, not that they were already in on yellow and just finished through. It's just the corniest and most self centered thing. I had never seen it with any kind of regularity anywhere else but it happens all the time here. There have been times I'm in a rush and maybe cross into the intersection AS it turns red and I'll think "I shouldn't have gone" - then I look in the rear view and 4 more cars went through after me . It's flat out ridiculous. I'm sure UT lifers will tell me how I'm trash for not loving and respecting this entitled behavior, but please just know that it's stupid lol.
Basically people drive like they're the only person on the road. No slowing down at intersections, nobody lets anybody else merge, eyes always straight ahead. I've been astounded to see how utterly destroyed cars can get from smashups in parking lots - what would be a fender bender anyplace else are frequently a total wreck here. Just amazing. It's a very self-involved, egocentric and childish way to drive.
There have been times I'm in a rush and maybe cross into the intersection AS it turns red and I'll think "I shouldn't have gone" - then I look in the rear view and 4 more cars went through after me . It's flat out ridiculous. I'm sure UT lifers will tell me how I'm trash for not loving and respecting this entitled behavior, but please just know that it's stupid lol.
I'm a Utah lifer, and I've never lived anywhere else, so I really can't make any comparisons. But, I have experienced what you just described dozens of times and every time it happens, I am positively dumbfounded.
Hi there! As a life-long Salt Laker, I found your post really interesting. The only thing I want to comment on is this paragraph. I am a Mormon and I hate so bad to hear people say this. I used to think, "Nah... that's not true. It's just confirmation bias. That's not how it is." Eventually, though, I started to believe it, and I've got to say it sucks! While there's definitely an explanation for this, that's not good enough. I think that when roughly half of the people in any given neighborhood are LDS, the LDS people just don't see any need to extend themselves to non-LDS people moving in. They already know half of their neighbors really well, and it's not like they're trying to make it as us versus them thing, they don't stop to consider how it must feel to move into a new house and not have people make the effort to get to know them. My husband and I decided to change this in our neighborhood about three years ago. We threw a neighborhood backyard pot-luck and invited everyone on our street. There are 12 families (only 4 of whom as LDS). All except one family (who sticks very much to themselves) attend every year. They range in age from 20's to 80's. There's one Asian, one Hispanic, and one Middle-easterner in the group, and everybody looks forward to it every year. On the invitations, I always mention that it's okay to BYOB, and a few people generally do. I wish so much more Mormons in this area would do this. We have some great neighbors and it has been so much fun to get to know all of them better.
Very well put and thank you for fessing up! The take home is that this will happen anywhere and with any culture. People will tend to stick with others who have common interests/beliefs/lifestyles more than those with differences. I'm reluctant to call it a con since it does not bother me and it was just something different than I expected. For anyone with reservations about moving here because of "the LDS thing" I cannot make any argument that it's a good reason not to move here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by throughthelookingglass
Salt Lake City is a city I'm thinking of moving to for many of your pros. I'm in Denver right now but I'm worried about cost of living. The LDS thing is kind of making me look at other cities, but I hope it's not too big of a social thing where I can't make much friends.
As mentioned above, absolutely no issue. I would not let that hold you back. There's very little mingling between non-LDS and LDS (for better or worse). If you go out to a brewery downtown or in Sugar House, you'd never /QUOTE]
Moderator cut: orphaned quote
I'm sorry but last I checked not the environment nor my lungs had a political agenda. They aren't liberal or conservative, they just like clean air to be active and do outdoor activities. I'm all for big business, just not when it takes precedence over public wellbeing (which SLC seems to be teetering on). I would hope my opinion matters here since all of the state's outbound propaganda is targeted to people like me: "Life elevated", "Be outside", "Explore Nature", yadda yadda... but then you get here and see this otherwise beautiful city, surrounded by big mountains and open landscapes trapped in smog. It's the first thing I hear from anyone that comes to visit me in the winter.
I'm not trying to be this blow in who criticizes Utah politics but a fresh outsider's perspective should be valued and welcomed anywhere, specially since this state seems to care about attracting people like me (tech employers bringing their business here). You want big dirty industry in UT? That's fine, if it needs to exist in this country, this is a great state for it! I just hope no one here supports that taking place on the 1% of land where all of the population lives which unfortunately happens to be a severe inversion bowl.
Call those politics what you want. Once you move here (assuming you like being outside and active) then we can talk about this, until then, or if you live indoors 24/7, we can't really have this conversation.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ksman
Industry emits only 10-15% of the particulate matter that makes the air unhealthy. Vehicles emit more than half. That's why the focus is on vehicles.
I seriously have 0 education on this and need to read up more, but I did read that Kennecott emits 1/3rd of the valley's bad air and a local doctor friend was telling me over dinner the other night that add in the refineries and together, a handful of companies account for about half? Can anyone confirm this?
Overall:
I really only have 1 major con (the air quality) for an endless list of pros that keeps on growing. This is a great place to live period. Nowhere is perfect and most places i've lived in are far worse. I just wanted to share what I like and dislike about living in SLC.
Last edited by SouthernBelleInUtah; 12-09-2017 at 09:27 PM..
Salt Lake City is a city I'm thinking of moving to for many of your pros. I'm in Denver right now but I'm worried about cost of living. The LDS thing is kind of making me look at other cities, but I hope it's not too big of a social thing where I can't make much friends.
My daughter who is able to work anywhere for a small firm in Denver moved to Salt Lake from Boulder. She loves it, not in the least because she is a rock climber and outdoor athelete. She's made many friends in Salt Lake who are the same type without regard to religious or ethnic/racial preferences. She lives in a mixed, older neighborhood (I forget the name). Her next door neighbors are LDS, and they have become quite close in terms of helping each other out when my daughter or her neighbor are out of town, or need another set of strong hands.
I moved to SLC from Florida 7 months ago and I'm never going back to Florida . We LOVE it here!
On another note, I read quite a bit about Utah drivers and didn't want to believe it. I really wanted to keep an open mind; but, I have to say, I have truly never seen anything like it! There is not a whole lot of "road hospitality" here (Salt Lake particularly). I also commute to Park City every day and, even in the middle or slow lane driving at the speed limit, drivers almost plough me over. I'm very curious why this is such an epidemic.
I moved to SLC from Florida 7 months ago and I'm never going back to Florida . We LOVE it here!
On another note, I read quite a bit about Utah drivers and didn't want to believe it. I really wanted to keep an open mind; but, I have to say, I have truly never seen anything like it! There is not a whole lot of "road hospitality" here (Salt Lake particularly). I also commute to Park City every day and, even in the middle or slow lane driving at the speed limit, drivers almost plough me over. I'm very curious why this is such an epidemic.
I think someone earlier summed it up well. People drive as if they're the only person on the road. I'm a speed limit slow lane cruiser so I think I'm away from most of the stress except:
1) Most people here don't seem to know the concept of trailing distance. I don't know if they are tailgating on purpose to get you to speed up or just don't know better. They're also on their cell phones half the time I look back and catch a tailgater in my mirror. I'd just hate to be in a serious wreck for following the rules and driving how you're supposed to.
2) Most people tend to never let you over which in the land of freeways and 8 lane avenues sucks. It's surprising because people otherwise are so friendly. So again, this might not be intentional, they might just lack drivers ed or know better.
I'm no expert but it's probably a combination of drivers ed and enforcement. I've lived in 8 other cities throughout the world and SLC has the fewest police of any of those. Aside from around downtown, I see one once a week, if that, and it's never for traffic related work.
If they want to lower traffic related fatalities on the road here I think there's a lot of other places to look before lowering the BAC limit.
I'm no expert but it's probably a combination of drivers ed and enforcement. I've lived in 8 other cities throughout the world and SLC has the fewest police of any of those. Aside from around downtown, I see one once a week, if that, and it's never for traffic related work.
All the police are setting speed traps on the Legacy Highway from North Salt Lake to Centerville. The straightest, flattest, passenger vehicle only, brand new Highway with a 55MPH speed limit is beyond belief. If you hit 60 you're toast.
I seriously have 0 education on this and need to read up more, but I did read that Kennecott emits 1/3rd of the valley's bad air and a local doctor friend was telling me over dinner the other night that add in the refineries and together, a handful of companies account for about half? Can anyone confirm this?
Not true. You may be thinking about toxic material releases which has been in the news recently. Mining is by far the top source on that, but it has little to due with our air quality. Here's a recent article.
As far as bad air during winter inversions, it's the particulate matter that is unhealthy. The Utah DAQ website has a lot great information as does this UofU site.
I really only have 1 major con (the air quality) for an endless list of pros that keeps on growing. This is a great place to live period.
I couldn't agree more! I'm so glad I moved here and don't want to leave.
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. It's flat out ridiculous. I'm sure UT lifers will tell me how I'm trash for not loving and respecting this entitled behavior, but please just know that it's stupid lol.
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