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I'm 30 and starting to re-evaluate my life (it's been fun). I'm starting to think about other cities I'd like to move and SLC is on my short-list. From what I understand, it offers the outdoors activities (which are extremely important to me) that CO does but in closer proximity and with less congestion. First question - how close are the surrounding lakes/rivers? I love lake camping and fishing. I also love the forest-feel more than anything so I'd like to have as much of that as possible.
The main things I don't like about LA (that I'd like to avoid in a new city) are:
High cost of living (but I guess any area in UT compared to LA will be better in comparison)
Selfish people/materialism/toxic work environments in sales-type jobs
Smog/traffic
Show-off mentality
Increasingly less-safe and growing homeless population
My main questions -
Being 30 and moving alone I'll obviously have to get a new job and restart my social life. I understand that SLC has a low employment rate and strong job market. How are the jobs that focus more on the social end of the spectrum? My experience is in real estate and I'd like to have a job in which I can transfer my skills and still make enough to support a future family.
On the social life topic: how is it for someone my age? Looking at Denver I like the social/outdoors/brewery/dog-friendly culture they seem to have. How does SLC compare? I've heard there are some quirky rules around alcohol consumption.
How are the schools? I'm not Mormon and don't plan on raising my kids as such. How accepting are the schools/general population in SLC to non-Mormons?
Finally, if I chose to commute and live outside of either main city, what would be the best peripheral cities to look at that might offer a better cost of living and less congestion? I like the ability to get out and meet new people but I'd prefer my home life to be quiet and peaceful and am ok with a bit of commute to work if it gets me more of what I'm looking for.
I'm 30 and starting to re-evaluate my life (it's been fun). I'm starting to think about other cities I'd like to move and SLC is on my short-list. From what I understand, it offers the outdoors activities (which are extremely important to me) that CO does but in closer proximity and with less congestion. First question - how close are the surrounding lakes/rivers? I love lake camping and fishing. I also love the forest-feel more than anything so I'd like to have as much of that as possible.
The main things I don't like about LA (that I'd like to avoid in a new city) are:
High cost of living (but I guess any area in UT compared to LA will be better in comparison)
Selfish people/materialism/toxic work environments in sales-type jobs
Smog/traffic
Show-off mentality
Increasingly less-safe and growing homeless population
My main questions -
Being 30 and moving alone I'll obviously have to get a new job and restart my social life. I understand that SLC has a low employment rate and strong job market. How are the jobs that focus more on the social end of the spectrum? My experience is in real estate and I'd like to have a job in which I can transfer my skills and still make enough to support a future family.
On the social life topic: how is it for someone my age? Looking at Denver I like the social/outdoors/brewery/dog-friendly culture they seem to have. How does SLC compare? I've heard there are some quirky rules around alcohol consumption.
How are the schools? I'm not Mormon and don't plan on raising my kids as such. How accepting are the schools/general population in SLC to non-Mormons?
Finally, if I chose to commute and live outside of either main city, what would be the best peripheral cities to look at that might offer a better cost of living and less congestion? I like the ability to get out and meet new people but I'd prefer my home life to be quiet and peaceful and am ok with a bit of commute to work if it gets me more of what I'm looking for.
Thanks for any feedback
I believe I already addressed some of your concerns on another thread. At that time, I didn't pay much attention to the things you said you don't like about living in LA. Now that I've read them, I've got to say that the smog in Salt Lake City would be a definite con in terms of moving here. For that reason alone, you may wish to cross us off your list. Otherwise, you'd probably like it here, but we have a few months a year (Dec-Feb) where our smog is absolutely horrendous.
I believe I already addressed some of your concerns on another thread. At that time, I didn't pay much attention to the things you said you don't like about living in LA. Now that I've read them, I've got to say that the smog in Salt Lake City would be a definite con in terms of moving here. For that reason alone, you may wish to cross us off your list. Otherwise, you'd probably like it here, but we have a few months a year (Dec-Feb) where our smog is absolutely horrendous.
You did and thank you for responding. That was a general thread and I figured I might get more specificity here. Is the smog bad enough to negate all of the positives about SLC based on what I'm looking for? I'm used to smog in LA but clean air would be a nice change
You did and thank you for responding. That was a general thread and I figured I might get more specificity here. Is the smog bad enough to negate all of the positives about SLC based on what I'm looking for? I'm used to smog in LA but clean air would be a nice change
Honestly, for me it isn't, but for a lot of people it is.
What we get is smog caused by a temperature inversion. The question is, how severe does it have to be before it affects you? If we had an inversion continuously between December 1 and February 28, that would be a 90-day inversion, which is at the low-end range of your "all winter" scenario. Well, we don't. Inversions are common throughout that 90-day period, but are worst from mid-December through mid-February, which would make a 60-day inversion. Even that doesn't happen. Immediately following a storm, the air will be absolutely clear and the skies will be as blue as can be. This kind of weather generally lasts for two to three days. Then, the inversion starts to build up and the skies become hazy. This lasts for another two to three days. The inversion intensifies until it's impossible to see the mountains from downtown or downtown from the foothills of the mountains. After another two to three days, a storm comes in, bringing more snow and starting the whole cycle all over again. I'd say that one of these cycles typically runs between 7 and 10 days, which would result in somewhere around 50-55 total days of some sort of inversion. These numbers are based solely on my personal experience, but I'm 73 and have lived here all my life, so take my answer for what it's worth. I'd be interested in hearing what other Salt Lakers have to say on the topic.
You did and thank you for responding. That was a general thread and I figured I might get more specificity here. Is the smog bad enough to negate all of the positives about SLC based on what I'm looking for? I'm used to smog in LA but clean air would be a nice change
Let's put the smog in perspective. What people refer to are the "temperature inversions" that occur in winter. You should search this forum about that, cause it's been beaten to death. In short, the cycle is this: In winter weather comes through in waves. There will typically be a storm cycle lasting 3-5 days when the mountains get snow (and maybe the valley too, but just a tiny fraction). Then clear weather returns and the inversion begins as pollutants are trapped in the SLC valley. This builds for a week or so, getting progressively worse. It can be bad. Then the cycle repeats. During inversions the weather in the mountains is glorious.
This is a huge deterrent to some. But understand that it isn't constant, it's more like alternate weeks from late Dec through Feb. Some years are worse than others. The skiing is so damn good and so close that nothing could deter me from being here in the winter. It's beyond world class.
If you're 30 I wouldn't entertain ideas about living outside SLC proper. There's lots going on and you'll find like-minded people. Farther out (which isn't very far) things transform into soulless suburban sprawl, strip malls and chain restaurants filled with screaming kids. Don't bother with that until kids enter the picture. Also, study a map and note distances. The are really is quite small. Compared to anyplace else, EVERYWHERE here is close to outdoor stuff.
If you don't need to work in SLC proper, but can work in Park City, then live up the canyon and come down for big entertainment. Park City will get more snow, but also is out of the inversion. Another option is to work in Ogden (30+ min north of SLC), and live in Morgan, UT which is a small town near the trees on I-80. It's about a 20 minute drive down to Ogden. Morgan is a small town, so you'd need to go into Ogden and SLC for major paid entertainment. But, has excellent access to mountains, rivers and lakes, and is also outside of the inversion zone, so no smog to speak of.
Honestly, for me it isn't, but for a lot of people it is.
What we get is smog caused by a temperature inversion. The question is, how severe does it have to be before it affects you? If we had an inversion continuously between December 1 and February 28, that would be a 90-day inversion, which is at the low-end range of your "all winter" scenario. Well, we don't. Inversions are common throughout that 90-day period, but are worst from mid-December through mid-February, which would make a 60-day inversion. Even that doesn't happen. Immediately following a storm, the air will be absolutely clear and the skies will be as blue as can be. This kind of weather generally lasts for two to three days. Then, the inversion starts to build up and the skies become hazy. This lasts for another two to three days. The inversion intensifies until it's impossible to see the mountains from downtown or downtown from the foothills of the mountains. After another two to three days, a storm comes in, bringing more snow and starting the whole cycle all over again. I'd say that one of these cycles typically runs between 7 and 10 days, which would result in somewhere around 50-55 total days of some sort of inversion. These numbers are based solely on my personal experience, but I'm 73 and have lived here all my life, so take my answer for what it's worth. I'd be interested in hearing what other Salt Lakers have to say on the topic.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kletter1mann
Let's put the smog in perspective. What people refer to are the "temperature inversions" that occur in winter. You should search this forum about that, cause it's been beaten to death. In short, the cycle is this: In winter weather comes through in waves. There will typically be a storm cycle lasting 3-5 days when the mountains get snow (and maybe the valley too, but just a tiny fraction). Then clear weather returns and the inversion begins as pollutants are trapped in the SLC valley. This builds for a week or so, getting progressively worse. It can be bad. Then the cycle repeats. During inversions the weather in the mountains is glorious.
This is a huge deterrent to some. But understand that it isn't constant, it's more like alternate weeks from late Dec through Feb. Some years are worse than others. The skiing is so damn good and so close that nothing could deter me from being here in the winter. It's beyond world class.
If you're 30 I wouldn't entertain ideas about living outside SLC proper. There's lots going on and you'll find like-minded people. Farther out (which isn't very far) things transform into soulless suburban sprawl, strip malls and chain restaurants filled with screaming kids. Don't bother with that until kids enter the picture. Also, study a map and note distances. The are really is quite small. Compared to anyplace else, EVERYWHERE here is close to outdoor stuff.
Thank you both for the clarification. Glad to know it's not constant; coming from LA I'd likely be able to deal with it if it's every other week on average for a couple months. How's the air quality in the non-inversion-heavy months?
Quote:
Originally Posted by ejisme
If you don't need to work in SLC proper, but can work in Park City, then live up the canyon and come down for big entertainment. Park City will get more snow, but also is out of the inversion. Another option is to work in Ogden (30+ min north of SLC), and live in Morgan, UT which is a small town near the trees on I-80. It's about a 20 minute drive down to Ogden. Morgan is a small town, so you'd need to go into Ogden and SLC for major paid entertainment. But, has excellent access to mountains, rivers and lakes, and is also outside of the inversion zone, so no smog to speak of.
I'll check into those thanks! I've heard that most places outside of SLC are predominantly LDS, is that true for Morgan and Ogden?
Regarding air pollution during the temperature inversions, someone correct me if I'm wrong - but I think SLC's air pollution is more than just smog. Los Angeles' air is mostly polluted by photochemical smog. Photochemical smog, as found in Los Angeles, is a type of air pollution derived almost exclusively from vehicular emission from internal combustion engines. These pollutants react in the atmosphere with sunlight to form secondary pollutants that also combine with the primary emissions to form photochemical smog.
While SLC does have photochemical smog (anywhere with automobiles does), I believe SLC has a higher concentration of solid particulates in the the air. That's a double whammy. Those solid particulates can be more dangerous to long term lung health than smog.
Most small towns are predominantly LDS. Morgan would be. As a larger city, Ogden would not be.
Got it, thank you for the clarification. I'll look into Ogden but a predominantly LDS town wouldn't be for me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by RationalExpectations
Regarding air pollution during the temperature inversions, someone correct me if I'm wrong - but I think SLC's air pollution is more than just smog. Los Angeles' air is mostly polluted by photochemical smog. Photochemical smog, as found in Los Angeles, is a type of air pollution derived almost exclusively from vehicular emission from internal combustion engines. These pollutants react in the atmosphere with sunlight to form secondary pollutants that also combine with the primary emissions to form photochemical smog.
While SLC does have photochemical smog (anywhere with automobiles does), I believe SLC has a higher concentration of solid particulates in the the air. That's a double whammy. Those solid particulates can be more dangerous to long term lung health than smog.
Yeesh, that doesn't sounds good. Even though it's only for a couple months a year, it's something to consider if I'm there over a long period of time. Thanks for the info
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