Hopefully this will help answer questions about moving here from across country (renting, homeowners insurance)

[Tim Tim Tim]

I just moved here about 3-4 months ago from tampa, fl. I see on this site the same questions over and over getting asked. I dont blame people for asking but maybe with this it will answer a few questions and give some insite to people looking to move here.

Diversity
The LDS church is very big here, obviously. Is it somthing to be worried about? not at all. I am not lds and have not had a single issue. I have not met one lds person who looked down on me or changed the way they acted towards me after finding out im not lds. 99% of them are just flat out nice/good people. Most of the bad things you hear are people who ARENT of the religion who obviously have nothing better to do then bash it for no real apparent reason.

Racism
I was amazingly surprised on how LITTLE racism there is here. The main races here are white and mexican from what I have seen. Coming from florida which is much more diverse in race with 10 times the amount of racism. I was pleasently surprised to see how accepting everyone is here. if your of color, in an inter-racial relationship or anything in between, that would not be a concern of mine at all if I were you.

Cost of living
Comparing to florida where I came from, overall the cost of living is for sure a bit less. auto insurance dropped by about half. Houses are a bit cheaper (although there a bit cheaper everywhere now) but homeowners insurance and taxes are surely alot less then what we were paying. Gas prices are lower (still keep in touch with family in fl. and there paying about 20-30 cents a gallon more). The availability of alternative fuels gives you other options when purchasing a car, the main being CNG (compressed natural gas). Renting is comparable, posibly a bit less but nothing crazy.

General attitude of utahn's
Well it was ranked as the happiest state in the country, that goes to tell a little bit. Generally 90% of the people I have met have been extremely nice. with my job i am at several peoples houses per day so I meet quite a few people. driving is SOOOO much easier, the commute here is my favorite part about this place. pretty much any place in the main salt lake valley is within 30-45 minutes away. thats including going up to the canyons. people here tend to get used to not having to drive far to reach anything therefore they will say that this and that is far, in reality comparing to most other places. its not far at all, everything is just so close here. snow removal is awesome, I drive a low, small rear wheel drive car (everyone says there the worst to drive in the snow) and have not even gotten close to getting stuck yet, I was also living up on the east bench for most of winter where they tend to get a little more snow then in the rest of the valley. my advice is just to buy a decent set of tires just for the really bad days.

Things to do
If you have even done a search on utah and need to read this section you have problems. This place is so full of things to do its rediculous. with summer time there are tons of lakes and rivers to do activities in (sking, boating, wake boarding etc, river rafting, hiking, offroading etc.) in the winter there is obviously tons of skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing etc. If your into hunting and fishing there is plenty of that as well.

so as an overall opinion, I love this place. There are very few things I dont like about it. I think its about as close to perfect as they come. The traffic and commute times are good, tons of things to do, nice people, tons of jobs and opertunities and the best scenery you could imagine. if your into the really big city thing; new york city, miami etc this may not be the place for you. If you want somthing with a bit more of the small town feel but all of the conveniences of a big city then you will love it here

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

Glad you like it! I think you are the type of person who will make friends wherever you go.

[dcisive]

Uhh Tim Tim Tim.....correction please. Utah is the LARGEST consumer of medications relating to depression. This was on the news several months ago and in the national papers. so I have NO idea what pillow you're living under. Perhaps the people are happy or nice as they are heavily medicated. Who knows. Also one of the largest users of cosmetic surgery as well. Sheesh, ya think these folks are happy naturally? I think NOT!

[DC2BE]

Great post tim tim tim..... I think it will help alot of people out... It helped me out, because after I graduate chiropractic college here in Dallas I was considering Utah and Florida to open a practice.

[5280milehiguy]

I don't know what kind of jobs you think are here, but although SLC has one of the nations lowest unemployment, it lacks substantive high paying jobs, unless you're a lawyer or in med field of course.

As dcisive pointed out, depression meds are heavily used here, I have been on them for a bit of time also. Just heard Utah leads the nation in prescription drug overdose deaths also. That's quite worrisome. I have always tried to remain on the meds I've been given but not mis-use them, sad for those that do.

[MontyLaSalle]

Thanks for your post, Tim.

Our only questions are, "What do we have to do to get jobs in Utah?" and "Is it possible to get a job in Utah long distance?" (That is, get a job while you are in another state, but then move to Utah once you have it).

[kaytidid]

It is possible to get a job long distance. When we moved from NJ to Utah 15 years ago, my DH was able to do just that. We sent out resumes and letters of interest to different companies that were hiring (by reading the local paper. Salt Lake Tribune Home Page - Salt Lake Tribune) or just companies that he thought he might like to work for. We stated in the letter that we were relocating to Utah and would be out for a week to interview. We didn't get a lot of response, but one company did and set up an interview with him. About a month before we moved, we came out for a week, he interviewed and got the job. It wasn't a great job, but it was a job. After we moved here, it was easier to look for something a little better.

It is easier to look and research different companies now. Back then, we didn't have internet, so I had the Sunday paper delivered to me in NJ and everything was done by phone or snail mail.

It can be done. Just takes some effort!

[MontyLaSalle]

Good advice, katydid. We're also coming from New Jersey, by the way.

[kaytidid]

Cool! Where in NJ (what exit...haha)? There are several of us on here that came from NJ.

[MontyLaSalle]

Originally Posted by kaytidid

cool! Where in nj (what exit...haha)? There are several of us on here that came from nj.

14c.