Mentality of Utah (Salt Lake City, Park City, Kanosh: mortgage, real estate, income)

[Ohioan86]

I know that Utah is a very "Red" state and that around 60% of the state's population are Mormon (Members of the Church of Latter-Day Saints), however I want to know just how conservative are they? I was in Utah about six years ago and found it to be a BEAUTIFUL and friendly, family-oriented state, however I always hear how bad it is to live there. Is Utah changing since so many ppl have discovered places like Park City and because of the 2002 Olympics and the Sundance Film Fest?

[outnabout]

It's still bad!

[coolcats]

Originally Posted by outnabout

It's still bad!

Yep ... so bad it's the fifth fastest growing state in the nation. You have identified the best attributes of the state already. It's like any other place with its pros and cons. I'm just curious ... what constitutes a "bad" place to live in your opinion?

[mark6052]

if i did not like a certain areas politics or the peoples type of lifestyle, i would not want to move there regardless how nice or beautiful the land scape. i will not move to portland, seattle, or california, for many reasons. why would you want to be so aggrevated, or confrontational with those that live there first?

[zblondieone]

If I would compare Ohio to Utah I would say Ohio is alot faster than Utah in life style. I have relatives in Canfield Ohio and compared to Utah-almost the same. However the people-I feel are somewhat rude in Ohio compare to say Kanosh Utah.....yes, I was a Kanosh girl-grew up on the farm, raised in the church but not by choice. As an adult now a Christian. People in Utah would do anything for you but family does come first. Very old fashion life at times which I think this world needs more of. Great place to raise kids but they do go out of state to College if they can find a way instead of BYU and usually don't come back. I live in Palm Springs California and cannot wait until we retire and move to another state. Might be Utah again..........

[Snowbird]

It IS beautiful, friendly, family-oriented and safe. There is more outdoor recreation, cultural events and fun to be had than you could imagine. The economy is good, and unemployment is low. The politics tend toward blind devotion to the Republican Party outside of Salt Lake City. Inside SLC politics can be just as blindly devoted to the Democrats. However, we just passed one million people in the area, the pollution is killing my eyes today and we don't fund the schools enough. So is it bad?? I guess that depends on your situation, but if you come with a bad attitude, then it will most certainly be bad. Let us get a good mass trasportation system in place and the school class size down first, then check back.

[SergeantL]

I note that someone indicates Utah is bad. I don't know what the posters criteria was, but you should go to http://www.governing.com/. This organization rates state, and many local governments. You will note that Utah is only one of two states to receive an "A" level governmental rating. Those Mormons must be doing something very right.

[hicmt]

Utah is not bad. They have a very young population, children are a way to heaven, very family oriented and some people there still blush when they see things that are in bad taste. This is a culture that teaches self-reliance, old-fashioned values and the beehive is their crest. The beehive is the way this culture operates, but the queen bee is in reality the president of the LDS church the focus of everyday life is on the Church, it is in the center of downtown. Where the bad comes in in the culture encourages segregation, Mormons over here - non Mormons over there. I did live there in SLC for 30+ years and moved to a less populated state where I don't have the stigma of being non-Mormon. I do miss the cleanliness of the city and the predominate non-smoking atmosphere. It is difficult to have a close relationship with the "brothers and sisters of pious", some are truly friendly but the religion teaches to be suspect of "outsiders". If you are willing to entertain the possibility of conversion you will be the true "best friend" of the local ward, if not, there must be something terribly wrong and they weren't interested anyway.

[trailrunner1516]

If you're worried about Utah being too conservative, just move to the more diverse areas like Salt Lake City or Park City. At my company, LDS (Mormons) are actually a small minority. However, even in other areas, it's still not a "bad" place to live...if you accept others, they will accept you. The influence of the LDS church makes Utah safe, clean, and family friendly. Those are certainly not negative qualities, whatever your politics or religious persuasion might be.

[Laty]

Originally Posted by outnabout

It's still bad!

I agree. Not only that, Utah business people are shrewd businessmen. They like to get rich at the expense of other people. Employees have no "say" when they were fired since employers were protected by the State goverment to attract business in the areas. Employers get tax breaks and allowed to pay less to their employees. This is very common in the construction business who employed Mexican workers at the construction front while the big bosses collected big bucks. Lots of people get rich doing this way especially among Real Estate, Mortgages and builders.

Utahns were big families - wife stayed home. With one income big family, money coming out is higher than money coming in. End result- Utah is # 2 bankrupt state in the nation.