Relocation tips???

[sunnydayz37]

Originally Posted by SouthernBelleInUtah

Maybe they sent you to the Foothills area? That is more 70s. My yearly gas bill (averaged on 12 months) is $76/mo. I keep the thermostat at 70 when I am home. Older houses here have 2 courses of brick (air space between) plus plaster on the inside - good insulation!

I just know of what my brother pays here for gas and it is like 600 a month on a 2800 sq. ft. Victorian. Is gas and electric cheaper out there?

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

It's cheaper than when I owned a house in northern Mississippi. Don't really know how to compare rates. And insulation can be a big factor. A bungalow does not have the ceiling height that a Victorian would have. I added insulation to the attic and half my floor space is in the basement rooms (not fully underground, the rooms have windows) and the earth is a good insulator. Most bungalows have a main floor that is maybe 4 or 5 steps up from ground level and then the basement level.

[eggalegga]

Originally Posted by sunnydayz37

I just know of what my brother pays here for gas and it is like 600 a month on a 2800 sq. ft. Victorian. Is gas and electric cheaper out there?

My house is only 1550 square feet and my power and gas bills are nowhere near that high. It all depends on the size of the home, what it's made of, how well it's insulated, the number of people living in the home, the types of sytems used to heat and cool the home, they types of appliances you have, and the costs per decatherm(gas) or Killowatt(electric). The charge for killowatt hour has been 0.075389 since December 2006 on my residential account. I can't speak for everyone else in Salt Lake though. My cost per decatherm has averaged 8.761993929 for the past 28 months. That's as far back as I kept records.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

Originally Posted by SouthernBelleInUtah

Maybe they sent you to the Foothills area? That is more 70s. My yearly gas bill (averaged on 12 months) is $76/mo. I keep the thermostat at 70 when I am home. Older houses here have 2 courses of brick (air space between) plus plaster on the inside - good insulation!

I have 2 gas water heaters (50 gal. each), gas heat, gas logs in the fireplace (not used very often), and a gas clothes dryer. Iheat about 1200 sq. ft to 70 degrees and about 1100 sq ft to 65 degrees unless there's company.

[sunnydayz37]

The price I was talking about is in Maryland...wayyyy overpriced trust me

[Delray]

i'm a early 30-something east coast transplant, non-lds (not biased), married, with children who lives in sandy.
(an older neighborhood at aprox state st & 9400 S)
we moved out here summer of 2005,. and rented in draper for a bit before buying in sandy,.
during the rental period,. we spent a lot of time checking out different areas,.

sandy's nice,. clean,. safe,. easy commute to anywhere,. low property taxes,. good shopping,. easy access to skiing/mountain activities,. etc.
good schools,. great scenery,. unlimited outdoor activities,. etc.

i know some people like this sort of thing,. but as for some of the suggested neighborhoods,. (my opinion)

sugarhouse,. trendy, pricey, tiny, but cute brick houses.
eagle mountain,. waaaaay out of the way,.
lehi,. as non-lds,. i'd say stick to salt lake county,. it's a lot easier to blend in up here.
daybreak,. really nice planned communities on the west side., paths to parks,. ponds,. but with the sense that there's nowhere to park,. and the houses are close enough to reach out your window and tap your neighbor's.
( exaggerated ,. but not by much)
west jordan,. has some nice areas,.
south jordan has some nice areas,.
as does riverton,.

i work in the south valley,. so admittedly,. we weren't really looking too far west,. or in the downtown area,.
but if i had to pick all over again,. i'd opt for sandy,.

Originally Posted by sunnydayz37

Ok, lets narrow this down...whoever has kids and are non lds (but has friendly non biased lds neighbors) and who are transplants and who lives near shopping (again not worried about commute time because I'm sure the commute out there is nothing like the DC/MD region) can you tell me what neighborhoods you live in??? that would help alot better than just throwing towns out there. I am so blind sided when it comes to these areas. I have never been to Utah nor did I have a desire to live there, but I have no other choice since my husband is transferring there (my choice would have been Las Vegas, but what can one do..lol)