PROS and CONS of Salt Lake City (and Utah) for prospective transplants (Provo: apartments, rental)

[cinnabon]

Originally Posted by silvad242

Pros:
per capita bars = very low)

Most definitely one of the biggest cons. Are bars so important? no, but having more nightlife downtown would be really nice, just to be able to walk around down there in the evenings without it feeling creepy because no one is around.

[Lu128]

Since you all are discussing the pros and cons of living in Salt Lake, you seem like experts and I'm looking for a little bit of advice. What is the safest place to live? I know it's MUCH safer than NYC or many other metro areas (it IS also smaller), but I know there are some less desirable places to live. I've heard West Valley and Rose Park (which is where?) should be avoided. Some suggestions?

[skibarbie]

As Cinnabon replied-there really are not many "unsafe" places to live in the Salt Lake Valley. If I were going to buy a home though, and depending upon where my job was located,,,,I would go further east than State Street.
Yes, there are safe areas in WVC and other western side burbs but, I had to think about resale values-even thought I told Mr that this is the house that I am dying in! Some parts of the of the valley have better reputations than others-like Federal Heights instead of Midvale..
Where are you all going to be working?

[Lu128]

I will be working in downtown Salt Lake. We are also looking at this home as a potential investment property - to rent it out, esp. to college students, when we upsize. I can't believe that there are no unsafe places as even my small town of Idaho Falls has some serious crime. I know there are gangs in SLC as well as real crime (see Salt Lake City Crime Map - Showing Crime in Salt Lake City, UT - Crime Statistics - Crime Alerts - Crime Stops Here for some examples).
Even if there are no unsafe places, there are surely some places that are safer than other...

[Zionide]

If your home is really an investment, and renting to college students is a goal, you'll want to be near the TRAX line or the University campus. There are other college campuses (LDSBC, SLCC), but the U of U is really going to be your best bet.

All the areas served by the east/west TRAX line or near the University are considered very safe. And homes in Central City, in particular, are quite a steal!

[silvad242]

I suggest staying away from West Valley City, Kearns, and South Salt Lake. I know people who have lived in all three of these places and all have complained to me about feeling unsafe. Of course, this is just hearsay, so people that live in these places, please don't gang up on me and call me names or anything.

[silvad242]

Originally Posted by cinnabon

Most definitely one of the biggest cons. Are bars so important? no, but having more nightlife downtown would be really nice, just to be able to walk around down there in the evenings without it feeling creepy because no one is around.

I understand your point of view, but I personally have never been interested in a 'night life' scene. I stand by my opinion that for me and my family the low bar count is a good thing.

[5280milehiguy]

We'll you chimed in didn't you?.....but we are talking about having an adequate "entertainment district" in the confines of downtown Salt Lake City to generate an economic boost, to attract larger and more prosperous conventions, to generate an image that Salt Lake isn't so stiff, to have a place for skiiers to spend money in Utah at night as well as during the day, to have a more walkable downtown, one where you can walk down the street at night among other people.

So if we need to attract more bars to achieve this purpose, let's do it.

Originally Posted by silvad242

I understand your point of view, but I personally have never been interested in a 'night life' scene. I stand by my opinion that for me and my family the low bar count is a good thing.

[5280milehiguy]

I have to agree with this assessment. This is a terribly large con on living in the SL Valley. Inversion time is quite depressing!

Originally Posted by yellowsnow

Study up a little on the inversions in the Salt Lake Valley. They have been going on forever, as far as we know. I've seen pictures of the inversions dating back 100 or so years. And they used to be worse when everyone used coal for heat. Even though the population was a lot lower. You could take all the cars out of the Wasatch Front and there would still be inversions/pollution in the Winter.

[youngblood_760]

cons- just go on craigslist and look at the apartment listings.... MUST BE UP TO LDS STANDARDS... you get the picture