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i'd just like to add that it is entirely possible (though admittedly uncomfortable at times) to survive without a car.
i complain about the transit system constantly, but really it is one of the better ones out there, and i use it on an almost daily basis. if you wanted to go this route though, you would need to strategize a whole lot (where you live, work, shop, school, etc, how long it takes to get from place to place...).
but this can be a lifesaver. monthly bus passes are $80 for nonstudents, which is too expensive if they are trying to encourage people to use mass transit, in my opinion, but still doable.
further, it is refreshing sometimes to climb on the bus and know that someone else has to deal with traffic, stupid drivers, long stop lights, etc, and you can just sit back and read.
in the end, it is all subjective and it depends on the individual.
others have thoroughly covered the other aspects that you asked about, but if you want to know what utah's crown jewel is in my book, it is the outdoor sports opportunities. even if you don't know how to ski or rock climb, and don't have a boat to put on lake powell or flaming gorge, there are hiking and camping possibilities that rival anything in the rest of the world, and some of them are close enough you can take the bus...
Greetings. I have checked the SLC forum and I couldn't find a post that answered my questions specifically. I am a single (divorced) mother of three children. We are a former military family so we're used to moving. We have lived in Chicago Il, a few cities in Indiana and a few suburbs around and in Dallas, Texas. Although I enjoy Dallas, I would like to give my children a more "rounded" experience. We are used to snow and extreme heat. We would like to live near mountains, be able to go horseback riding, snowboarding, enjoy a good hike and be near a real lake. We are also used to diversity. SLC seems like it can offer these things and more.
My questions are:
1. Will I encounter racism/discrimination/bigots? - some threads say no, but keep in mind that I am a single, black, divorced (did I forget to mention closet agnostic?) mother of three.
2. I have looked at the job market but I'm still not sure about it. I have worked as a nanny - I LOVE children, and a police officer/dispatcher. Is there hope of me finding a decent job there?
3. Education is my TOP priority for my children. Will I be able to find a great school for my children? How are the afterschool activities i.e. sports, music, art programs?
4. We are very family oriented and like to be involved in our community. Are the suburbs a better option?
5. Although I haven't read anything about "drive-by" shootings and gangs, I do know that not everything makes the news. What are the major crimes in SLC?
6. Will I be able to find a 2 or 3 bedroom apartment in a SAFE neighborhood within my budget - $900-1100 per month for rent?
7. Is having a vehicle mandatory or is public transportation an option?
Thank you to those who take time to answer my questions. I'm not looking for a perfect city, just a really good place to raise my children!
Here's my opinion:
1. No, but you may feel a little bit "alone". The African American population is very small. There are more African immigrants than African Americans here.
2. Competition for LE jobs is fierce here. Most have to pay their own way through the police academy before applying to even get a shot at a job. Dispatcher might be a little easier, but the pay is pathetically low. Likewise for a entry level patrol cop.
Children are one thing that UT has in abundance. Getting a nanny job shouldn't prove too difficult.
3. Public schools in UT are not so great. Not horrible, but not really great.
4. The suburbs are going to more peaceful, yea...but also more closed-minded. Civic affairs in many of the suburbs seems to revolve around church and you might not find acceptance into neighborhood affairs if you aren't a member of the dominant religion.
Downtown SLC itself would not be too bad to live in but it is usually pretty expensive. There are lots of community programs and groups centered around SLC itself to get involved with.
5. There is a gang problem here, although it's pretty small compared to other large cities. We get a murder every 2-3 days it seems in the Salt Lake area. South Salt Lake, West Valley, Taylorsville and Glendale/Rose park are the areas usually thought of as "gangland" here.
6. You shouldn't have too much trouble finding a decent place to live for $1000-1200 a month.
7. Public transit is getting better but it still sucks in Salt Lake. I think owning a car is mandatory to live here. Plus, there are lots of outdoor activities surrounding the Wasatch front that you would miss out on without having your own vehicle.
We get a murder every 2-3 days it seems in the Salt Lake area.
Are you kidding me here? Every 2-3 days? That's insanely exaggerated.
In 2008, there were a total of 40 murders along the Wasatch Front (Deseret News, Jan. 1, 2009)---and Salt Lake City had just 13. So for the Wasatch Front, that's a murder every 9 days. "Every 2-3 days" is 3x the reality. And if by "Salt Lake area" you mean Salt Lake City and not the Wasatch Front, it's a murder every 28 days.
Seriously people, don't throw around numbers without at least some basis in fact.
I think you will be fine. There has been a military presence with Hill AFB there. So, communities like Layton, Clearfield and Ogden have a relatively high number of Black residents. Ogden has always had a Black community, as has SLC. There was an army Base in the Millcreek area that brought some "diversity" to the area too. Can't forget the many Blacks that came to work in mines about a century ago too.
Here's some institutions in the Black communities of Ogden and SLC, along with other info.: Home (has been there since 1908)
We are non-Mormons and have lived in the suburbs since relocating to Utah 19 years ago. At the time I had four children at home. Even then, we didn't experience the discrimination against non-LDS that we were warned against, and diversity has increased since then. I think the expectation of discrimination is stronger than the actuality of it, and that goes for the racial aspect as well. I haven't seen anywhere near the level of that as I saw on the East Coast in the late eighties, and it cut both ways.
Assuming you decide to move here, the advice to find the job first was good. However, last I knew, Utah was #5 in the nation for unemployment and I believe that meant there are 45 states with worse.
There is an easy way to determine in what area to live. Every city/suburb has crime statistics and a call to the local police department will get you the information. In fact, you can probably find it on the Internet. The whole Wasatch Front is proactive against gang activity, so it isn't as bad as it is in other cities and states, but does exist everywhere in the Salt Lake Valley. Some areas worse than others. We have recently had a spate of home invasion robberies, but again low in numbers compared with other metropolitan areas. There are very few places I'd be afraid to walk alone after dark (I'm a middle-aged woman), and they are easy to avoid.
All in all, Utah is a wonderful place to live and raise kids. If and when you decide to move here, we'll be happy to welcome you.
1. Will I encounter racism/discrimination/bigots? - some threads say no, but keep in mind that I am a single, black, divorced (did I forget to mention closet agnostic?) mother of three.
We are an Asian family and we did not get openly discriminated upon but you sort of get that feeling sometimes, anyway. Plus, we are not Mormon. You will encounter all sorts of people there in Utah, but generally, they are good people.
2. I have looked at the job market but I'm still not sure about it. I have worked as a nanny - I LOVE children, and a police officer/dispatcher. Is there hope of me finding a decent job there? There's a lot of good jobs at SLC and being near (somewhat) in the base, there's a lot of young families needing nannies.
3. Education is my TOP priority for my children. Will I be able to find a great school for my children? How are the afterschool activities i.e. sports, music, art programs? Hmmm, while their school system is not the best in the country, it is still good compared to others. Not all schools offer after-school programs. Most do not have funds for it.
4. We are very family oriented and like to be involved in our community. Are the suburbs a better option? I believe so.
5. Although I haven't read anything about "drive-by" shootings and gangs, I do know that not everything makes the news. What are the major crimes in SLC? We lived outside SLC and as far as I can tell, SLC is still more relatively safe than other cities. We always stay out there at night and it was always safe.
6. Will I be able to find a 2 or 3 bedroom apartment in a SAFE neighborhood within my budget - $900-1100 per month for rent? I am not too sure.
7. Is having a vehicle mandatory or is public transportation an option? Public transportation is available if you do not have a car. It's quite dependable, too. Most people drive around, though.
Thank you to those who take time to answer my questions. I'm not looking for a perfect city, just a really good place to raise my children!
Greetings. I have checked the SLC forum and I couldn't find a post that answered my questions specifically. I am a single (divorced) mother of three children. We are a former military family so we're used to moving. We have lived in Chicago Il, a few cities in Indiana and a few suburbs around and in Dallas, Texas. Although I enjoy Dallas, I would like to give my children a more "rounded" experience. We are used to snow and extreme heat. We would like to live near mountains, be able to go horseback riding, snowboarding, enjoy a good hike and be near a real lake. We are also used to diversity. SLC seems like it can offer these things and more.
My questions are:
1. Will I encounter racism/discrimination/bigots? - some threads say no, but keep in mind that I am a single, black, divorced (did I forget to mention closet agnostic?) mother of three.
2. I have looked at the job market but I'm still not sure about it. I have worked as a nanny - I LOVE children, and a police officer/dispatcher. Is there hope of me finding a decent job there?
3. Education is my TOP priority for my children. Will I be able to find a great school for my children? How are the afterschool activities i.e. sports, music, art programs?
4. We are very family oriented and like to be involved in our community. Are the suburbs a better option?
5. Although I haven't read anything about "drive-by" shootings and gangs, I do know that not everything makes the news. What are the major crimes in SLC?
6. Will I be able to find a 2 or 3 bedroom apartment in a SAFE neighborhood within my budget - $900-1100 per month for rent?
7. Is having a vehicle mandatory or is public transportation an option?
Thank you to those who take time to answer my questions. I'm not looking for a perfect city, just a really good place to raise my children!
1. No, you will not encounter racism or biggotry any more than you would anywhere else in the nation- few isolated incidents by idiots.
What you will encounter though, is a predominance of one religion (LDS) which is never good (any type of predominance is never too good). Now, I love Utah, and would love to make it my permanent home, however you need to consider that your children may suffer a little. They will be subject to a huge population of mormon children, and as children can be cruel, there are cases of lds not socializing with non-lds too much. I must clarify; I have never met a mormon person I did not like, they are honorable people, nice, accepting, good. However, your child in high school will have problems getting dates. Your kids will often be limited to only certain non-lds friends like them. You need to look at this very carefully.
2. Job market compared to rest of recession nation is decent, but I have also felt discriminated against at job interviews or no response to applications. More so that I did in CA. and i am white.
3. Education is as others have stated, decent. Keep in mind what I told you under number 1, though, after school activities and such, again lds dominated.
4. Suburbs are a horrible option, the more you move away from SLC, the more lds dominated it is.
5. Utah crime is a non-issue. Even downtown people have front doors made of glass and I have never experienced anything bad here. Not to say you can do anything you want; you have to be careful what you do as anywhere in world, but compared to other states UT crime is a non-issue.
6. Since most areas are ok, except for maybe west valley city, you MAY be able to find something in that range if you sacrifice amenities and nice looks. If you want desireable area, very nice, convenient, etc, then it will be more.
7. You will need a vehicle. Unless you want to travel somewhere 1 hour that it takes 10 min with car, you need one. If you are never in a hurry or dont mind public transp., it is not dangerous nor unpleasent, but realistically you want a vehicle.
Hope this helps.
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