Thoughts on Multiple Utah Locations - Provo, Logan, and SLC (Salt Lake City: environment, real estate)

[coloradocutter]

I am thinking about grad school at Utah State, Univ. of Utah, and BYU among other places. My husband is in real estate investment/development but he travels a lot for his job, and works from home, so he does need an airport within at least a few hours drive, but that's about it. We live in Colorado and love it there and the sun, but not a lot of options for school for me. How is the whole sunshine factor? Comparisons to Colorado. We also like to be near the mountains - i.e., we like living near Boulder much more than Ft Collins where the mtns are smallish. Maybe that's wierd, but hey, I grew up in middle of NC, so I guess I have my needs. Some more lakes would be nice.

We live to hike, ski, and backpack - scuba diving is our travel destination. Reasonable cost of living is important, but Boulder area average home price is around $375-$500K, so surely would be cheaper. We have pretty good savings in place also, so within reason we could buy a home.

We are not LDS, but doesn't really bother me as long as no one is going to have a problem with me not believing that way - I respect their views and as far as I am concerned as a Christian, we are still more similar than we are not. I am fairly liberal, but mostly over environmental issues, hubby is uber conservative - ex military.

Also looking at grad school at U of Montana in Missoula, and Univ of Nevada at Reno if anyone has any thoughts Don't think I could handle Washington because of rain.

Thanks for your thoughts.

[Western Man]

Originally Posted by coloradocutter

I am thinking about grad school at Utah State, Univ. of Utah, and BYU among other places. My husband is in real estate investment/development but he travels a lot for his job, and works from home, so he does need an airport within at least a few hours drive, but that's about it. We live in Colorado and love it there and the sun, but not a lot of options for school for me. How is the whole sunshine factor? Comparisons to Colorado. We also like to be near the mountains - i.e., we like living near Boulder much more than Ft Collins where the mtns are smallish. Maybe that's wierd, but hey, I grew up in middle of NC, so I guess I have my needs. Some more lakes would be nice.

All three of these are good places to live. And, for what it's worth to your husband, real estate development is big in all these areas (though perhaps a bit less so in Logan), so if he wanted to get involved in some of the local action in that field, he could.

There's plenty of sunshine in Provo and Salt Lake. I don't know Logan as well as I know the other two, but I'm sure there's plenty of sunshine there, too. We never see overcast days for much more than a week at a time, and usually only about five days or so a month. And cloud cover normally means rain or snow here, which is always quite welcome. The paper this weekend is predicting drought for the coming year due to our unusually mild and dry winter.

The mountains are present in all three places, but in my opinion, they feel smaller in Salt Lake than in Provo or Logan. Also, Logan is a bit more enclosed by mountains that Provo and Salt Lake. In Provo and Salt Lake, the high mountains are to the east, while to the west are the lowlands (and therefore, the lakes) and beyond those, some smaller(-looking) mountains.

I don't know what lakes are like in Logan. In Provo, we have a freshwater lake you can see every day. It's broad and shallow — broad enough that occasionally people will disappear in it and never be found, but shallow enough that the people usually jokingly say that if your boat capsizes on the lake, you'd better stand up. The lake has become rather dirty-looking in recent decades. Carp have been introduced into the water system, and they've eaten up all the vegetation on the lake bed. As a result, there's nothing to hold the dirt on the bottom in place, and it circulates up into the water, making the lake somewhat ugly when you're right down next to it. I remember it looking bluer twenty years ago than it does now, even. But from a distance, when the evening sun shines of the lake into your eyes, it's really quite pretty (unless you're driving toward it, in which case you're just frustrated by the inability to see small children that might be running out into the street).

In addition to that lake (Utah Lake), there are a number of smaller reservoirs in the mountains to the east. These are common recreation spots for people in the area as well, and tend to be quite a bit more enjoyable than the natural lake.

In Salt Lake, there is, of course, the Great Salt Lake. It's salty. No really. Saltier than the ocean. As a result, it smells pretty bad. It's also not as enjoyable for recreational use for that reason. It's not as saline as Mono Lake in California (if you know Mono Lake), but it's still pretty bad. That being said, though, it is gorgeous to look at. Especially when the sun is setting behind the hills just beyond it and you get a brilliant orange sky to the west, maybe with some tufts of bright pink streaking across it, and the light playing on the surface of the water as the lake wind chops the top of the water and lifts the flocks of playing gulls before streaming through your hair on a cool summer evening. It's also amazingly huge, which is, in my opinion, breathtaking in itself.

I don't know about reservoirs in the Salt Lake area, but I'd be quite surprised if they don't exist as well.

I don't anything about lakes or reservoirs in Logan.

We live to hike, ski, and backpack - scuba diving is our travel destination. Reasonable cost of living is important, but Boulder area average home price is around $375-$500K, so surely would be cheaper. We have pretty good savings in place also, so within reason we could buy a home.

Hiking and backpacking are fairly easily accessible in all three locations. Perhaps a bit more accessible in Logan, from what I recall of my few times visiting there. And perhaps least accessible in Salt Lake. But good hiking is not far from any of the three locations.

Skiing is slightly less accessible. I don't know about skiiing in Logan, but most skiers in Provo seem to go up to Salt Lake County for their skiing needs. There is public transportation that will take you up there from here in Provo or from Salt Lake (the fare is slightly more than normal fares). Logan is not on the public transportation system, though. Skiiing in Provo is not entirely non-existent, I think. If I'm not mistaken, there is some skiing at Sundance in Provo Canyon. But there's a lot more skiing up in Salt Lake.

Scuba diving would be possible in the lakes and reservoirs, I imagine. A person is much more buoyant in the Great Salt Lake than in fresh water or even than in the ocean. I don't know how that would affect diving — you might have some idea on that. But it is worth knowing, I should think. Maybe there are some local divers here that could give some better tips on that matter.

Cost of living is low anywhere in the area — Provo, Salt Lake, or Logan. I often find it's lower than anywhere else in the West. The only real exception is fresh produce, which is cheaper on average in California than here — but when it's in season here locally, it's dirt cheap.

We are not LDS, but doesn't really bother me as long as no one is going to have a problem with me not believing that way - I respect their views and as far as I am concerned as a Christian, we are still more similar than we are not. I am fairly liberal, but mostly over environmental issues, hubby is uber conservative - ex military.

Not being LDS will be less of a problem for the people in Salt Lake than for the people in Provo. The same goes for being a liberal. I don't really know what Logan is like, as far as that goes. Provo in general and BYU in particular are very LDS and very conservative and somehwat inclined to look down on those that aren't. And I mean the people in Provo and the people at BYU — not the official organizations themselves. Salt Lake has a much wider mix of political and religious views and a considerably higher amount of tolerance in that regard.

However, graduate school at BYU puts a person in a whole different ballpark than just Provo or even BYU. Most of your time would be spent with people who are much more educated and aware of a world beyond conservative Mormonism, and they would be, in general, far more tolerant than the average person in Provo of liberal views and of deviation from the LDS norm. That does vary from field to field, but overall, it's quite fine to not be LDS and to be liberal in grad school at BYU.

I imagine it would be even easier at the U of U or at USU.

In Provo, you will be approached by people who want you to convert to their religion. I don't know how prevalent that is in Salt Lake or Logan. For the most part, no one is more likely to pressure you too overbearingly here than anywhere else, but you won't be able to avoid a certain kind of missionary zeal, either. That can be a real nuisance for some, but it's rarely ever more than a nuisance for anyone. It does seem to help a bit if you're regular churchgoers at some other church. And just about every Christian denomination is available in Provo.

The biggest problem people who aren't LDS confront in Utah in general is if they have children. The kids might have some difficulty making friends in school. For some kids, it can be really tough and quite painful — usually only compounding problems that everyone already has as a kid in school. Furthermore, when kids who aren't LDS do make friends in school, it's often with kids who aren't the kind of kids every parent might want their kids to spend time with, if you know what I mean. This problem varies from place to place and from kid to kid. But if it applies to your situation at all, it might be worth considering.

Also looking at grad school at U of Montana in Missoula, and Univ of Nevada at Reno if anyone has any thoughts Don't think I could handle Washington because of rain.

Thanks for your thoughts.

I don't know Missoula beyond A River Runs Through It. I like Brad Pitt, though!

Reno is a nice town. I used to live outside of Reno. The mountains here in Utah feel a lot higher than those in Reno — even the ones in Salt Lake. It also seems to me that it's not as sunny there as here. Especially in the wintertime — lots of rain and snow in the winter, as I recall. And the landscape is browner and duller than the landscape here (despite the increased cloud cover and precipitation). (Speaking of that, I should mention that Logan is noticeably greener than Salt Lake or Provo, and that it's also noticeably cooler in the summer and colder in the winter.)

Reno does not feel quite as urban as Provo or Salt Lake, even though it's bigger than Provo is (and with more traffic). The attitude of the people is more small-towny in Reno than in Provo or Salt Lake. Logan, however, is a bona fide small town. If that makes any difference for you.

Reno is also a friendlier airport than Salt Lake, the way I remember it. It's smaller, too, which can be nice. Of course, I don't know your husband's taste in airports.

[Elder_Shawn]

Don't go to BYU. You'll thank me for it later. Trust me I'm LDS and I avoid that place like caffeine lol.

[coolcats]

Originally Posted by Elder_Shawn

Don't go to BYU. You'll thank me for it later. Trust me I'm LDS and I avoid that place like caffeine lol.

Don't listen to Elder Shawn. He's being what we Cougars call a "yewt". I've gone to both the U and BYU, but will always bleed blue. BYU is definitely different than a state school, but as long as you aren't the wild partying type you would do fine.

I should add though, that the U is also a decent school. To many Cougars and Utes fans are blinded by school spirit to see that both have good opportunities.

[snowstorm]

I lived in Durango one summer and cali another , but I always come back to utah. #1 reason we really do have the best snow in the world (I have traveled extensively for work in snowy areas around the world) #2 You pretty much have awsome rock climbing out your back door,trail running,mtn.biking.
One of my very best friends is mormon and she is great. We are all people and we are all different regardless of our faith/religion ect... If someone is mean or gives a bad vibe stay away from them. Theres sssooo many jackasses out there, just pass'em off. Sorry point being don't stay away because of a faith, I am not mormon and it hasn't effected me once since I moved here.

[mariluna]

Logan has two great Ski Resorts that are within distance Beaver Mountain and Powder Mountain. Definatly has a small town feel I think you may want to take a closer look at the schools in determining your Graduate work. For example USU is high for engineering and agriculture as well as Liberal Arts. While BYU has a more international feel considering all those returning missionaries and so many foreign languages, they also have an awesome Law School (mom and two sisters went there). I am not to sure what the U has as outstanding Graduate Programs.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

I you go to BYU, you have to pledge not to violate their rules of conduct - no alcohol, no coffee, no caffeine. Being seen somewhere using one of those was enough to get you kicked out of school a few years ago. No coffee cups in classes, for sure! I think you would be much happier in SLC, in the Avenues, Sugar Housse, or the Foothills areas. And the U of U is an outstanding school in many departments.

[bob rulz]

Wait, you can't even have caffeine at BYU? Even a lot of Mormons drink caffeine.

And please yes, avoid BYU.

As for lakes near Logan...you have Bear Lake about an hour's drive through Logan Canyon. Rough drive in winter, but beautiful any time of the year. Bear Lake is one of the bluest and nicest lakes you'll ever see. An undiscovered gem, and I hope it stays that way. And Salt Lake City IS closed in by mountains, except by the Great Salt Lake, but the lake is so tucked up there in the corner of Salt Lake that hardly anyone even notices it.

[coolcats]

Originally Posted by bob rulz

Wait, you can't even have caffeine at BYU? Even a lot of Mormons drink caffeine.

Yes you can. You will not get kicked out for having a diet coke. when you go to BYU you agree to abide by the following honor code:

Honor Code - Home

I agree that if that's something you don't want to adhere to for a couple years of grad school, don't go. But if you are ok with it, then there are a lot of good programs. Just don't agree to the honor code and then decide not to follow it.

[MomtoFour]

Originally Posted by bob rulz

Wait, you can't even have caffeine at BYU? Even a lot of Mormons drink caffeine.

When I was there in the early 90s, caffeine wasn't against the honor code, but it also wasn't sold on campus. (All the Coke in the vending machines was caffeine-free.)