Relocation to Salt Lake City (Sandy, West Jordan: house, safe neighborhoods, to buy)

[TM726]

My husband and I are considering a relocation from the Detroit area to Salt Lake City. As a fitness professional, the fast food & lazy lifestyle does not leave many prospects for him in terms of job. Are there good prospects for fitness professionals in this area? We are looking for a health conscious area with ample outdoor activities, gyms, and healthy & organic foods. I am a teacher and am curious about the educational system in the Salt Lake City area. Currently, I am a teacher at an International Baccalaureate school and would like to continue in a similar school. We also have a 7 month old son and are interested in an area that is family friendly with a younger population. As I am certain the city itself is more expensive, what are the suburbs that are best for young families, but still in good proximity to Salt Lake City. What are the best features that Salt Lake City has to offer? What is the downside of living in Salt Lake City?
Thank you in advance for you help!

[irman]

Originally Posted by TM726

What are the best features that Salt Lake City has to offer? What is the downside of living in Salt Lake City?

Please do not think, that I feel you should stay away, but ....

Why in the first place did you consider Salt Lake City ?
Even with all the *mostly negative* comments about the religious impact here.

Something does not add up !!!
People live here and they hate LDS people or they hate the LDS lifestyle.
Well, maybe *just can not stand it* ....

What is it really that keeps those people here ?
This is a free country, and nobody MAKES you stay here ?????
Why, for heavens sake keep that negative attitude ?

I think I answered *the downsides* ....

Best features ??
Up to you !!!
How will you adapt !!
The LDS people will surely NOT adapt to your lifestyle !!!

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

Salt Lake City is fairly spread out and the whole valley is family-friendly. After all, the LDS have lots of children (I know several women who had 10-12 each), although the younger generation seems to have 3-4. The downtown is not like other big cities you may be used to.You really need to make a visit.

The suburbs are mostly contiguous so you have to check to see where you are, as most street names continue; for ex, State St is the same name as it passes through SLC, South SLC, Murray, and Sandy.

As to fitness, there are tons of outdoor nuts so there are a lot of gyms (seems like a lot to me anyway) and massage therapists.

As to teaching, there is one IB program at West High School. The state has laid off some teachers due to the budget, they are not paid as well as teachers in other states, and the class sizes are very big. At least that is what I gether from the news as I don't personally know any teachers. I do know a teacher's mother and she talks about how her daughter has to buy a lot of supplies for the classroom or the kids wouldn't have anything.

[Zionide]

For outdoor enthusiasts and the fitness-conscious, it's hard to beat the Wasatch Front. Men's Fitness this year rated SLC as the #1 healthy lifestyle city, thanks to the huge number of outdoor recreation options available just minutes from downtown. Even in the winter (in addition to the winter sports, of course), there are a ton of gyms and fitness centers.

Regarding organic/healthy foods, there are a handful of Whole Foods in town, and most the grocery stores have organic sections. I find more of those in the downtown area than in the suburbs, but even Sandy stores have some organic items. There is a HUGE "foodie" community here, including a chapter of "Slow Food" (Slow Food Utah). The Farmer's Market each week in downtown SLC is very, very popular, and there are a dozen or so vegetarian and vegan restaurants, particularly Sage's Cafe, Vertical Diner, and Omar's Living Cuisine, which is entirely raw food. In short, we certainly have our share of terrible fast food (though some local options, such as Cafe Rio, are freshly made and much better than the naitonal chains), but I don't think you'll have trouble finding healthy, delicious foods here.

I don't know where you are in Detroit, but I think you will be stunned at the cleanliness and safety of the entire Salt Lake City area. Downtown is more expensive overall, but there are some very affordable areas in Central City and even west Sugar House---as affordable as the suburbs but without the commute. In fact, many suburbs (Sandy, Bountiful, Holladay, Draper) are more expensive than downtown, though you of course get bigger lots and sometimes larger homes in those areas.

The school situation is less ideal... as SoBelle said, West High (in downtown SLC) has an IB program that is well-regarded, but Utah teachers are generally paid less than their counterparts in other states. Yes, cost of living is pretty reasonable, but that doesn't make it okay. That said, there are some excellent public high schools here. Because you mentioned IB, I'll focus on high schools. Besides West, East High and Highland High each have their strengths, depending on your academic focus. In the Granite District (just south of SLC district), Skyline, Olympus, and Cottonwood are well-regarded, Cottonwood in particular for its AP program and its Academy of Math and Science charter school. The Jordan and Canyons districts are even further south and have recently split (Canyons was part of Jordan), so we'll see how the quality is this coming school year.

If you decide you can afford the city (crunch the numbers---you might be surprised), the most family friendly areas are Yalecrest (expensive for Utah), Federal Heights (expensive), and parts of Sugar House (affordable) and Central City (very affordable). The Avenues has many families, as well, though that neighborhood is a little older in population. Rose Park, a neighborhood west of downtown (west was traditionally less desirable), is recently gentrifying and has some charming homes on adequate lots in very safe neighborhoods, and the location can't be beat. You can also visit Zillow.com and see median population ages for various neighborhoods. I think you'll find younger families in the western neighborhoods and in Central City.

If you decide you'd better stay in the suburbs, any one of them will be young and family friendly. Holladay, East Millcreek, Cottonwood Heights, and Sandy are probably the most desirable (they are all southeast of SLC---probably at 20-30 minute commute at the most). West Jordan, South Jordan, Draper, Herriman, Bluffdale, and Riverton are mostly very nice as well, but are a ways "out there" for me--they are all way south and a little west of SLC (30-60 minute commute). Taylorsville is very affordable and probably the nicest of the west side suburbs. West Valley, Hunter, and Kearns are less desirable and traditionally lower-income, though they too have some very nice neighborhoods within them. Those four neighborhoods are in the 20-30 minute commute range.

The best things about SLC? So much recreation nearby, the weather (even in winter), the cleanliness, the beauty, the safety, the friendly people, the wealth of cultural options (world-class symphony, opera, ballet, a dozen professional theatre companies, several dance companies, musuems, community parks, etc.), and the relative affordability for all that.

Possible good things: the number of children everywhere.

The worst things? The pollution inversion in early January, the tendency for religion to become involved in politics.

Possible bad things: a stiff drink can be a challenge, though the liquor laws are recently improved; the overall conservative nature; the relative lack of cultural and ethnic diversity, though not impossible if you know where to go; some neighborhoods can be "clique-ish" along Mormon church lines.

Please let us know if you have further questions. Good luck in your decision making process.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

While I like the symphony, it si considred a "second tier" symphony. Not up to the Chicago, Boston, New York standards. And in the opinion of many, inlcuding me who has seen it first hand, Keith Lockhart had a hard time counting.

[Zionide]

Originally Posted by SouthernBelleInUtah

While I like the symphony, it si considred a "second tier" symphony. Not up to the Chicago, Boston, New York standards. And in the opinion of many, inlcuding me who has seen it first hand, Keith Lockhart had a hard time counting.

LOL! I'd noticed that about Lockhart, too! But I never was a fan of his. Looking forward to next season with someone new!

[Katzpur]

About Keith Lockhart, I'll be so glad to see him go. His proficiency as a conductor aside, he just strikes me as SOOOO full of himself. I've just got to share this funny story about him... My mother and I have season tickets. On one occasion three or four years ago, he came out onto the stage with one of his pant legs accidentally tucked into his sock. There he was, standing up there in his fancy tails, looking like he was wearing a pair of pants that was half knickers. He had no idea how absolutely silly he looked. As always, he was so dramatic and overboard, like the audience had come to see him instead of hearing the symphony. The audience was giggling and snickering, but no one on stage said anything to him. They were probably oblivious to it since his back was to the audience most of the time and it was to us that it was the most noticeable. He conducted that way the entire first half of the symphony but when he came back on stage after intermission, he'd fixed himself up. I guess someone offstage told him. Funny, though, he didn't say a thing. You'd have thought he'd come up with a self-deprecating wisecrack, but no. He was much too cool for that.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

His web site last year had a picture of him wearing black leather pants. Puleeze!

[osugirl2]

Originally Posted by irman

Please do not think, that I feel you should stay away, but ....

Why in the first place did you consider Salt Lake City ?
Even with all the *mostly negative* comments about the religious impact here.

Something does not add up !!!
People live here and they hate LDS people or they hate the LDS lifestyle.
Well, maybe *just can not stand it* ....

What is it really that keeps those people here ?
This is a free country, and nobody MAKES you stay here ?????
Why, for heavens sake keep that negative attitude ?

I think I answered *the downsides* ....

Best features ??
Up to you !!!
How will you adapt !!
The LDS people will surely NOT adapt to your lifestyle !!!

Irman,

Possibly I'm missunderstanding your post, but the OP said nothing about LDS anything, just the positives and negatives of living in SLC, because every place has positive and negative aspects. It just seems as though you're attacking her post when she asked questions any person would ask when they move somewhere new.

[cinnabon]

Originally Posted by irman

Please do not think, that I feel you should stay away, but ....

Why in the first place did you consider Salt Lake City ?
Even with all the *mostly negative* comments about the religious impact here.

Something does not add up !!!
People live here and they hate LDS people or they hate the LDS lifestyle.
Well, maybe *just can not stand it* ....

What is it really that keeps those people here ?
This is a free country, and nobody MAKES you stay here ?????
Why, for heavens sake keep that negative attitude ?

I think I answered *the downsides* ....

Best features ??
Up to you !!!
How will you adapt !!
The LDS people will surely NOT adapt to your lifestyle !!!

Such an innappropriate response.

Originally Posted by osugirl2

Irman,

Possibly I'm missunderstanding your post, but the OP said nothing about LDS anything, just the positives and negatives of living in SLC, because every place has positive and negative aspects. It just seems as though you're attacking her post when she asked questions any person would ask when they move somewhere new.

Seriously, WTF?! There was no mention of religion in that, and yet he feels the needs to go off on a tirade about it. And asking about the downside somehow qualifies as having a bad attitude??? That is a perfectly reasonable question.

As for the OP, I think this area would probably fit your needs nicely. People here are very fitness conscious.