Easiest commute to downtown? (Salt Lake City, Provo: real estate, crime, hotels)

[hopingwind]

Hi, we are looking to relocate to Utah and are looking for a city with (in no particular order)

1) easiest commute
2) affordable
3) great schools
4) fun things to do (community centers, museums, etc...)

any suggestions?! thanks!

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

How about jobs? Do you have one, where is it, or are you hoping to get one?

[hopingwind]

We are hoping to get a job in downtown slc (sorry, thought i wrote that!)

[DreamworksSKG]

What about park city ? You'd be about 20-30 miles from Salt Lake CIty and could commute on I-80

Not sure how the winter driving would be though?

Park city is a mountain resort town and I'm sure has good schools and would be a fun place to live

Saratoga Springs might be a good location for you as well
Saratoga Springs, Utah
Saratoga Springs, Utah - City Information

Also south of town you'd have

Pleasant Grove, Orem and Provo
all interesting communities

OREM
Orem City - Orem City

Pleasant
Grove -
Pleasant Grove :: Utah's City of Tree's - Pleasant Grove :: Utah's City of Tree's

Orem UT
City of Provo, Utah ::
Provo and Utah Valley | Utah.com

Park City UT
Park City, Utah
ParkCity.com | Park City Utah Guide | Hotels | Resorts | Vacations | Real Estate and more
Park City Mountain Resort

North of town you might check out
Farmington UT
Farmington City, Utah ::

Kaysville
Kaysville City :: Welcome To Kaysville

Ogden UT
Ogden Utah Home Page

[MrAnderson]

For the easiest commute you wouldn't want really any of those cities mentioned above. You'd basically want to live in SLC of course. It's the hub of the state, and of course would be the easiest commute if you were living there. It does have some bad parts though.

The closest suburbs would be Bountiful, just north of Salt Lake, or some of the suburbs along the eastern benches along the mountains which include Cottonwood Heights and Holliday.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

Park City is very expensive as a place to live. The other places are mostly hicksville in terms of anyhting cultural, unless you like the church art and history at BYU.

[Zionide]

Originally Posted by MrAnderson

For the easiest commute you wouldn't want really any of those cities mentioned above. You'd basically want to live in SLC of course. It's the hub of the state, and of course would be the easiest commute if you were living there. It does have some bad parts though.

The closest suburbs would be Bountiful, just north of Salt Lake, or some of the suburbs along the eastern benches along the mountains which include Cottonwood Heights and Holliday.

I agree---why not just live in Salt Lake City? The schools there are as good as anywhere in the state, if not better as far as some of the charter schools go (Salt Lake Art Academy, for one); there are areas as affordable as the nice suburbs (even nice areas less expensive than much of Cottonwood Heights, Holladay, or Bountiful); and 95% of the valley's museums and cultural attractions are in Salt Lake.

[MorticiaA]

Park City is a hella expensive. The commute up and down I-80 can be really bad in the winter. It's also a bad one because there are no alternatives to I-80. If I-80's bad, you are stuck. I agree, look @ the Salt Lake area and southern Davis county.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

To the OP: I think you need to visit to understand how different SLC is from many other cities. We don't have a big downtown with many highrises. Most of the city is 1-2 story buildings, pretty spread out. There's no reason to live 30 miles away.

[hopingwind]

Thank you for your replies!! Yes. I have visited SLC many times. my husband is concerned about the crime there (i am sure you find more in a big city than the suburbs) and finding a city with a good family friendly atmosphere. (again probably more in the burbs than the city)