Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
To the OP: You can pretty much disregard the following post as it's inaccurate in too many respects to even bother with. It's also written by someone who has probably never lived a day in Utah.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Aerorick
It is amusing how many post here with questions about moving to Utah who preface their backround as "liberal", non-Mormon, love the outdoors and have kids. They then tend to enumerate what their looking for e.g. friendly neighborhoods, good schools and not wanting to be "bothered" by people knocking on their doors. They also never seem to be too concerned about where in the entire state they move to as long as it meets their criteria. To anyone in such a fortunate position to be able to consider a move anywhere they want without having questions about employment, cost of housing, transportation and taxes I envy your position. But I would consider other states for at least a couple of reasons. The High schools in Utah have a low graduation rate nationally (31st). There are only three Universities for the entire state. And one is private and relatively exclusive. There is only one airport with more than four destinations available. Wages are low and some would argue are kept that way as a matter of policy to attract business to the state. Unions are rare and are commonly regarded as the reason for all things unholy in the world. Pretty much the same for democrats. Cost of living is low by many standards but as they say you get what you pay for. If there are states thought of by the rest of the country as 'third world' status this would be one of them. Many here like it that way. But if you are still thinking of Utah as a destination come on in. The more from the "outside" the better. The old, white, grey-haired males who have run this place for the past hundred and fifty years and are trying to keep it the way it was in the 40's and 50's are dying off. And most of the young people who have anything to offer as far as education and certified skills have left to where they can make a living.
It is amusing how many post here with questions about moving to Utah who preface their backround as "liberal", non-Mormon, love the outdoors and have kids. They then tend to enumerate what their looking for e.g. friendly neighborhoods, good schools and not wanting to be "bothered" by people knocking on their doors. They also never seem to be too concerned about where in the entire state they move to as long as it meets their criteria. To anyone in such a fortunate position to be able to consider a move anywhere they want without having questions about employment, cost of housing, transportation and taxes I envy your position. But I would consider other states for at least a couple of reasons. The High schools in Utah have a low graduation rate nationally (31st). There are only three Universities for the entire state. And one is private and relatively exclusive. There is only one airport with more than four destinations available. Wages are low and some would argue are kept that way as a matter of policy to attract business to the state. Unions are rare and are commonly regarded as the reason for all things unholy in the world. Pretty much the same for democrats. Cost of living is low by many standards but as they say you get what you pay for. If there are states thought of by the rest of the country as 'third world' status this would be one of them. Many here like it that way. But if you are still thinking of Utah as a destination come on in. The more from the "outside" the better. The old, white, grey-haired males who have run this place for the past hundred and fifty years and are trying to keep it the way it was in the 40's and 50's are dying off. And most of the young people who have anything to offer as far as education and certified skills have left to where they can make a living.
There is literally so much bad information in this post I think the poster meant to write it on April Fool's Day, but got his calendar dates crossed.
Here's what he has wrong:
1. "There are only three universities in the state."
WRONG. These universities are all in Utah: Brigham Young University; University of Utah; Utah State University; Weber State University; Utah Valley University; and Southern Utah University. Not bad for a state with a population of under 3 million. BYU is private and run by the LDS Church. The others are all public. That's six total universities.
2. "The high school graduation rate is 31st in the nation."
A few of your other comments require explanation because of the distortions that appear in them.
Yes, Utah has only one major airport. Again, for a state with a population of less than three million people, it shouldn't shock anyone that there is one major airport (Salt Lake International). As a side note though, it is now possible to fly from Ogden, Utah by jet on Allegiant Airlines to Phoenix/Mesa, Arizona.
Unions are rare here, but that's a national trend. The reality is that unions are dying just about everywhere in the country. I'm not saying its a good thing. Its just a reality and Utah shouldn't be held out as some kind of anti-union purgatory.
I dislike most the fact that the state is pretty much a "one-party state" (Republican). However, to be fair if you lived in Vermont, you'd think that's a one-party state too (Democrat). The same would be true of Hawaii (Democrat). Some regions of the country fall more into one political camp than another. The Republicans are very strong in Idaho and Wyoming as well as Utah.
I think I shall avoid your posts from now on. They are literally so inaccurate as to be meaningless.
Mark, the median income in the southern half of the state is significantly below the number in that chart. Wages are very low in my county. I have my own business so it's not really an issue for me beyond the fact that most of my money and sales come from out of state. As a business owner, I can vouch for the fact that there are those who pitch the relatively low wages Utahns are paid as a reason businesses should locate to the state.
Mark, the median income in the southern half of the state is significantly below the number in that chart. Wages are very low in my county. I have my own business so it's not really an issue for me beyond the fact that most of my money and sales come from out of state. As a business owner, I can vouch for the fact that there are those who pitch the relatively low wages Utahns are paid as a reason businesses should locate to the state.
That's the problem with averages. I've given you average figures. I suspect that in practically any state that you would go to you could find similar regions with the same kinds of problems. Nothing wrong with bringing that up. My objection is with a poster who believes Utah is "unique" for that problem. Its obviously not if we have the 14th highest household income in the country.
I disagree with "iamamormon" ...Depending on where you live, there can be prejudice for being not mormon, don't let anyone tell you that isn't the case (I would stay away from Provo, Orem, American Fork, Lehi and other areas in Utah County). Most places in Salt Lake County are pretty diverse and the population of Mormon's within the county is either at 50% or quite possibly lower as plenty of mormons that live in SL County no longer practice. I live in Draper, and I have heard of some people having issues with Mormon children being rude to their non-mormon classmates, but adults are usually pretty civil and will in most cases be kind to you and a lot of times won't even bring up their religious beliefs to you. I only once had an issue when I interviewed for a company in Provo and they told me "they didn't think I would culturally fit in"...I then looked everyone I interviewed up on Linkedin and they all graduated from BYU, not only they, but everyone include their sales people throughout the country had graduated from BYU...So they were right, I would not fit in culturally! However at my current employer, 97% of the people I work with are LDS, and I have made some great friends with many of them and some of them (my mormon friends) have warned me of places not to go as they even think the mormons in those areas are closed minded and shallow. Overall, you will learn to accept it, or make it an issue, its much easier to just accept it for what it is.
As far as the job market, it really depends on what you do for a living or what you want to do. The tech industry is the best segment of the job market in Utah with Ebay, Adobe, EMC and other expanding or opening bigger facilities with more open jobs. Gaming is another hot market for Utah with EA Sports in Downtown. The outdoor industry is pretty good here too with Amer Sports in Ogden, BlackDiamon/Gregory Backpacks in Salt Lake County, Rossingnol in Park City, and quite a few smaller outdoor companies on the Wasatch Front.
Park City is excellent, but I have had some friends that previously lived in PC and they didn't like it as they said people were not out going, they kept to themselves, and really were not friendly. They have since moved to Sugarhouse and absolutely loves living there. If you live in Sugarhouse, Sandy, Murray or even Downtown, you are only 20-30 minutes from EPIC skiing/boarding. This winter sucks so far, so maybe we need you to bring some of that moisture so we can have some more snowfall.
I have lived in Big Bear, San Diego, Los Angeles and Portland, and I prefer Salt Lake City over any of those areas. Big Bear is nice, but its isolated. Denver is nice, but its really not that close to the mountains (45-60 minute drive) unless you live in Boulder, which if I had a choice of Boulder vs. SLC, I would choose Boulder, If I had to choose Boulder vs. Park City, I would choose Park City. Steamboat as someone said earlier is EPIC, BUT....there is not employment...
In Summary, If you want a place with beautiful women (I believe Utah has some of the most beautiful women in the USA), great skiing within 30 minutes, affordable living, 300+ days of sunshine, EPIC snow conditions (98% of the time), no traffic, great beer (yes we have breweries, check out EPIC Brewery) and a Whiskey Distillery (High West Distillery in Park City), with a very good job market, then Salt Lake City is your place...
I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with Utah, especially Salt Lake and Park City. We have a thriving counter-culture, so I don't think you'll feel isolated culturally. We have more than our fair share of local bands, some cool night spots and really engaged people for almost any interest, especially for our size. I think most of the cultural concerns people have about living here are overblown, though you might have a bit to get used to with our more stringent liquor laws.
The big benefit of living here, for me, is the outdoor resources. You've already mentioned skiing, and Park City isn't the only place with resorts, they're all less than 30 minutes from SLC. Southern Utah and the Uintahs are awesome for hikers and campers, too. And our job market is awesome, with really low unemployment and a burgeoning tech sector. You'll love it here.
Traditionally: Beatniks, punks, hippies, communists and groups that 'buck the trend' of the prevailing culture. There should be no surprise that Utah breeds quite a lot of that - It's very traditional, but also very nice. This means people can safely express their rebellion without being lynched.
As an aside, I live in London, England and I was quite impressed with Salt Lake City.
Before anyone starts making comparisons between London and Salt Lake City, I should point out that I was not comparing the two: Merely pointing out that as a Londoner, I was still able to enjoy the things that Salt Lake City offers. It was surprisingly vibrant and clean.
Location: God's Gift to Mankind for flying anything
5,921 posts, read 13,856,642 times
Reputation: 5229
Quote:
Originally Posted by TempusFugitive
Traditionally: groups that 'buck the trend' of the prevailing culture.
OK, good enough for me, because this explanation does NOT state that those cultures can not live side by side to each other, or ... ?
Even I, who love living here, march to a different drummer.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
