Thinking about moving here but........ (Salt Lake City, Boulder: fit in, neighborhood, place to live)

[parks71]

All this Mormon stuff has me a tad scared not to offend anyone. We live in Florida now and looking to move close to the mountains for skiing and snowboarding and mountain biking. SLC seems to have the best location for this but all the Mormon talk has my wife and I thinking about Denver instead.

Here in Florida, its common for women to walk around in tank tops and I hear people will actually come up to you and tell you that you shouldnt wear that in public? I dont like being told what to and not to do when its perfectly legal. Is it not as bad as people say or should I forget Utah all together and look else where?

[kaytidid]

No, No, and if you want to.

No it isn't as bad as people say. No you aren't told what you can and can't do (except for breaking the law, of course). If you want wear a tank top while smoking a Marlboro and drinking a Bud Light, no one is going to say anything to you. Really.

If you like Utah, then give it a chance. It does take some getting used to, but there isn't a "Mormon Police" running around deciding if you are a "mormon law breaker" or anything. If you don't think you will like it, there are 49 other states to choose from. However, each one has its own idiosyncracies to deal with.

BTW- I am not LDS and moved here 14 years ago, never knowing anything about Mormons or that Utah was the "mormon" state. I have loved every single minute of it here. It isn't perfect, just perfect for me.

[dcisive]

That's pretty nuts considering many of their own children dress that way. Frankly for every ultra conservative Mormon I've seen I probably see 10 that aren't. You are not likely to EVER hear that from a resident Mormon....they are typically NOT that forward in the first place. Believe me I see teens during the summer at the mall that could nearly be arrested for indecent exposure of just about every sacred body part you can name. So that should be the LEAST of your concerns.

[lolagranola]

ditto Katyidid
(been here 7 1/2 yrs, "non", staying!)

[DP525]

If there is any "policing" going on, it is only amongst themselves. Salt Lake is diverse enough no one would even bat an eyelash at a tank top or short shorts.

I moved from CO and am not LDS. The two areas are very similar but I would have to say if you are moving for the mountain activities, you should choose Salt Lake. The slopes are much closer and the mountains are more "in your face". You have to drive quite a ways into the Colorado Rockies from Denver to hit the ski areas. Here, there are several with 30 minutes.

But just keep in mind Utah as a whole is generally more conservative than the Denver or Boulder areas in Colorado. Salt Lake City itself is very diverse and liberal but the suburb areas around Salt Lake do tend to be more conservative.

[Katzpur]

Originally Posted by parks71

All this Mormon stuff has me a tad scared not to offend anyone. We live in Florida now and looking to move close to the mountains for skiing and snowboarding and mountain biking. SLC seems to have the best location for this but all the Mormon talk has my wife and I thinking about Denver instead.

No other city can beat Salt Lake when it comes to outdoor recreational activities. Seriously. I don't know where you've been hearing "all the Mormon talk," but it sounds to me as if it is very much exaggerated.

Here in Florida, its common for women to walk around in tank tops and I hear people will actually come up to you and tell you that you shouldnt wear that in public? I dont like being told what to and not to do when its perfectly legal. Is it not as bad as people say or should I forget Utah all together and look else where?

Nobody's going to tell you how to dress! Trust me on that. Some parts of the city are more culturally diverse than others, but with a minimal amount of effort you should be able to find a neighborhood where you'll feel right at home. Plus, you won't have to drive an hour and a half to get to the ski slopes.

[markg91359]

Don't worry about things like being told what you can and cannot wear. I doubt if you move here that anyone would ever say a thing to you like that. It does take some getting used to for many out-of-staters when they move to Utah. If you drink, the liquor laws seem a bit funny. Hard liquor is only obtainable in either state run liquor stores or by the drink at some restaurants and private clubs. Another comment that many people make who come here is that it can be difficult to make friends. The LDS segment of the population is not deliberately unfriendly. However, family and church committments take up most of their time and they don't do much socially with non-members in my experience.

On the plus side, few states have the recreational opportunities and outlets available in Utah. You have olympic quality skiing. You have five national parks. You have Lake Powell in the south with hundreds of miles of shoreline. Salt Lake City has a world class symphony, an NBA basketball team, and a top notch ballet company. If those things are to your liking, you will probably find Utah a great place to live.

[parks71]

wow, its sounds like heaven there, really. I like the fact the slopes are so close and I love mountain biking and it apears to have tons of trails close by. I think were going to go there in march and visit it. It is so much more appealing being so close to the mountains than Denver.

What are these liquire laws you guys are talking about?

[mitsuturbo]

If you can handle it snowing an average of 9 months out of the year and temperatures ranging from 100+ to below zero, then salt lake isn't too bad as far as climate. (yes, it has/can/does/will snow during all months except June, July and August.. thank you wikipedia)

The religious people there aren't mean spirited, and don't speak out if you don't fit in. I noticed that the more reserved folks in slc are VERY passive aggressive toward those that they do not care for (especially the older crowd). It's VERY easy to offend people there during regular conversation. I'd never met anyone who was actually appalled at the use of the words damn, hell, or píss in conversation, until i moved to SLC. Be VERY careful what you say in the workplace in SLC.. you never know who is eavesdropping (and it happens a lot) and if they might be offended.

There are definitely parallel cultures in SLC, and it's easy to see after you've been there a while and made friends, most of your friends are either LDS, or they're not. Very rarely did i meet circles of friends that had more than a couple self identified LDS members, and they were definitely not the "easy to offend" type. However.. the friends i had that were LDS, had a lot of LDS friends, and usually didnt mix their lds circle with the non. Now, that's just MY experience, and i'm a bit misanthropic, rebellious, totally agnostic and can be seen as abrasive at times. It's pretty easy to meet cool people and hang out in SLC, and it's easy to find people to do things with.

Oh yeah.. and get used to not doing ANYTHING on sunday, as 90% of everything is closed. It seems a lot of retail outlets close earlier than they do in other cities.. the night life there isn't quite what it is other places, but it's not terrible either.

[parks71]

yeah, thats what im talking about, who cares if you cuss as long as its not around kids. Does it really snow 9 months out of the year???? First time hearing that one.