Unita mtns (Salt Lake City, Provo, Ogden: how much, hotel, school)

[onthamove]

does anyone live in the unita mtns east of slc? are there any jobs up in there? or is that area stictly forest with very few people.

[jazzlover]

Well, onthamove, I see from your "handle" that you made it from Kentucky to Colorado (Evergreen, right?). I hope you're not looking for greener pastures already(?).

As to your questions about the U-I-N-T-A's (yeah, lots of folks misspell it), they are supposedly the largest east-west oriented mountain range in the country. There is not much settlement in the Uintas themselves. In fact, a good chunk of the range is designated Wilderness. At their very western fringe (really more in the mountains of the Wasatch Front) are some of the smaller communities serving as bedroom communities for the resort town of Park City (Kamas, Coalville, etc.). Most of the other towns near the Uintas are either north of them in Wyoming (Evanston, Green River, Rock Springs--Evanston is my favorite of these), or south of them in the Uinta Basin (Roosevelt, Duchesne, Vernal, etc.). A number of those communities are booming with oil and (primarily) gas drilling. Those industries are recruiting a lot of workers these days--ones who can stand the hard work, isolation, sometimes less than optimal living conditions, odd hours, and harsh outside working conditions. If that fits you, you probably could find a pretty good-paying job there. None of those towns are the "snow-filled" paradise that you seemed to be looking for in Colorado, though. Most of them sit out in the high desert. All of that said, the Uintas are a splendid mountain range--generally much less despoiled or crowded than the ones in Colorado. Utah (outside of the Wasatch Front cities and resorts) and Wyoming are much different culturally, though, than the Front Range or resort areas of Colorado. Personally, I prefer them to what's now the norm in much of Colorado.

[onthamove]

yea colorado has become to crowded no longer the true west, i am thinkin about lake tahoe as well its hard though being 18 making all these possible different moves u dont wanna go anywhere where it wud be hard to get a decent job or even worse far from a college or tech school so once i do wana go back to school i can go to one, so many places to choose from but there really is not one right place, if i had say 15 or 30k i'd be a nomad for 2-3 years and live in all the different areas i want to live, money is the only limiting factor

[outnabout]

Originally Posted by jazzlover

As to your questions about the U-I-N-T-A's (yeah, lots of folks misspell it), they are supposedly the largest east-west oriented mountain range in the country.

Actually, they are the ONLY east - west oriented mountain range in the country. And it also has the highest point in Utah...Kings Peak.

Goodluck findin that 'perfect' town. The west has been discovered, but there are still some sweet-spots!

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by onthamove

yea colorado has become to crowded no longer the true west, i am thinkin about lake tahoe as well its hard though being 18 making all these possible different moves u dont wanna go anywhere where it wud be hard to get a decent job or even worse far from a college or tech school so once i do wana go back to school i can go to one, so many places to choose from but there really is not one right place, if i had say 15 or 30k i'd be a nomad for 2-3 years and live in all the different areas i want to live, money is the only limiting factor

I think I said something to that effect in answer to one of the your posts about 4 months ago . . . As to Lake Tahoe, if you think Colorado is no longer the "Real West," you can forget Lake Tahoe. It lost that charm decades ago.

Get this right: Just about ANYPLACE in the Rocky Mountain West that is in the mountains is not going to be cheap, and wages are not going to match up very well with living costs. That's just the hard facts of the way it is.

If you want a place as close to the mountains as you can get and still be in a bigger area with jobs and education opportunities, you should consider Salt Lake City. It has all of that--and, since I know you are a snow lover, SLC gets more snow than Denver and it usually stays around longer.

If you want to be in a smaller to medium sized community in/near mountains with a college or trade school nearby--you could consider places like Logan, Provo, Ephraim, and Price (Utahns could undoubtedly suggest some more) in Utah; Gunnison, Alamosa, Glenwood Springs (way pricey), Durango (also way pricey), or Leadville in Colorado; Pocatello, Idaho Falls, Sandpoint, or Moscow in Idaho; Missoula, Billings, Dillon, or Bozeman in Montana; LasVegas or Santa Fe (way pricey) in New Mexico; Laramie in Wyoming.

All of 'em have their tradeoffs and probably none would meet your exact needs. You are taking a hard road to your goals. That's not wrong, but it won't be easy, as I kind of surmise you are finding out.

[powerlumina77]

hey Jazzlover- I'm a snow lover who just moved to Ogden over the summer. Do you have an idea of how much snow Ogden gets a year, in comparison to SLC?

I've read that the average is 60 inches or so, but people around here say it has to be much less than that.

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by powerlumina77

hey Jazzlover- I'm a snow lover who just moved to Ogden over the summer. Do you have an idea of how much snow Ogden gets a year, in comparison to SLC?

I've read that the average is 60 inches or so, but people around here say it has to be much less than that.

Check Weatherbase and compare the averages. They quote 57.9" for SLC and 76.9" for Ogden for "normal" averages. Problem is, for the last several years, weather has deviated a whole lot from normal in most of the Rocky Mountain West. What appears to be a long term drought is still with us in many parts of the region. I don't live in Utah, but most places in the region have also been warmer than normal (global warming?) for the last few years. It's been a long time since I've seen a really rough winter in these parts. Way back in the '70's, we had a few dandies.

PS--For onthamove, I forgot to mention Ogden as a college town. Sorry about that, Ogden. I was having a "senior moment."

[onthamove]

yea, its sucks everyone just came in and took a huge dump on the west not wat it used to be or atleast it seems more like a modified version than wat i was expecting, thats what i get for watching jeremiah johnson until i actaully believed the west was still wild

[onthamove]

yea i have been to a lightening place in las vegas nm, sorta cool i spent the night there once in a hotel........bigboy hail no kiddin golf ball sized comin down really hard and fast to bad it wasnt snow

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by onthamove

yea, its sucks everyone just came in and took a huge dump on the west not wat it used to be or atleast it seems more like a modified version than wat i was expecting, thats what i get for watching jeremiah johnson until i actaully believed the west was still wild

Want wild? Go to Alaska. That's still got it. If I was younger, I'd go there for an "adventure" for a few years. Of the lower 48, Wyoming is closest thing to "wild West" that you will find. There, and may be a few places in Nevada--far away from Vegas or Reno. Same in rural Montana, Utah, Idaho, or New Mexico--away from the bigger cities and towns. Problem for you is most of the "wilder" places in all of those states are in desert or plains areas, not in the mountains. And then there is that "making a living" thing . . .