Alpine or Heber City Utah? (Salt Lake City, Provo: 2009, big home, high school)

[iamhadley]

We are looking to relocate our family to either Alpine Utah or Heber City. WE want a more earthy experience for our children. Can Anyone help us decide? Our children are teenagers and I think they would enjoy a small mountain town. I would somewhere green and majestic. Thanx, by the way we are moving from Las Vegas.

[chazcrew]

Alpine is a beautiful, upscale city surrounded by foothills, with good schools and big homes. it is somewhat secluded, but is only a 15-minute drive from the freeway, with easy access to both Provo and Salt Lake City, and numerous smaller towns in between.

Heber is more secluded, less upscale, and would probably give you more house for the money. I don't know about schools, but if you're looking for a rural experience, you could find one around Heber. It's colder in winter, and you can't get to either Provo or SLC without going through a canyon, but it's only 15 minutes from Park City, so there is shopping nearby.

I guess it depends on what you're looking for. Both are nice areas, but they have different vibes and very different locations. Will you need to commute for work? That would have a big impact on the decision.

[iamhadley]

Thank you chazcrew, good info/ Is alpine more foothills and not so much big mountains? The mountains in Heber are very pretty. My husband would have to commute but just to provo. I dont know iff I would like my teenage drivers to have to drive the canyon if they wanted to go to provo often.

[aussie_american]

Basically Heber City and Alpine are on opposite sides of the Wasatch Range so you should be able to get a home with wonderful mountain views either way. The main difference is that Heber City is in a valley and Alpine is in the foothills surrounded by Lone Peak (11,253ft) and Box Elder Peak (9,373ft) with views of Mt Timpanogos (11,749ft). I live in a suburb next to Alpine and I would say if you are looking for a lifestyle that has the convenience of being close to a big city without the feel of a big city, with wonderful mountain and valley views, and easy access to outdoor activities such as hiking, mountain biking and skiing then it is a great place to live. I don't know much about Heber City (I've only driven through it), but I would imagine it offers good access to those outdoor activities too, it's just a little more rural in setting and a bit further from Salt Lake City if you're looking to access those "big city" faciltities such as major airport, concerts, city shopping etc. Heber does have pretty easy access to Provo through Provo Canyon. You will have to deal with some winter snow in both locations which can close roads for part of the day. You will find quite a bit of factual information about both cities by searching on the internet, but really the best way to get a feel for these places is to pay a visit. You might also consider other "cities" (really more like suburbs) located along the foothills between Alpine and Provo, such as Cedar Hills, Pleasant Grove and Orem. Good luck with your move

[chazcrew]

If I were commuting to Provo, I'd choose Alpine over Heber, hands down. Provo Canyon can get hairy in the winter sometimes, and that would be quite a commute to drive every day. As Aussie said, Alpine is right in the foothills, so the big mountains are right there. No shortage of mountain views in either city.

Alpine runs into Highland, which runs into Lehi, American Fork, and Cedar Hills, which runs into Pleasant Grove, which runs into Lindon, which runs into Orem, which runs into Provo. So while each is a separate city, they're all connected. If you want something rural and isolated, then Heber would probably be closer to what you're looking for. But I wouldn't want to make that commute.

Come visit, and check out the towns in the foothills (from Alpine down to Provo). See if the area fits your requirements. It's really pretty, and the towns do still have a small-town feel, even though they all run together now. I live in Cedar Hills, and I think it would be a good option for you to look at, too.

[Ron.b]

Originally Posted by iamhadley

We are looking to relocate our family to either Alpine Utah or Heber City. WE want a more earthy experience for our children. Can Anyone help us decide? Our children are teenagers and I think they would enjoy a small mountain town. I would somewhere green and majestic. Thanx, by the way we are moving from Las Vegas.

We went through the same process 9 years ago and looked hard at both Alpine and Heber City. I work from home, but have family in Utah County and considered the trips we would take back and forth. We chose Heber City and we have never regreted it. Some friends of ours moved to Alpine and we constantly here of the traffic and localized bottle-necks that really slow things down in the morning, but particularly in the evening. We have loved living here and the weather is fabluous. A few weeks in the spring we appreciate Utah county's warmer weather and we go there and play golf and shop in it, but the rest of year we are so glad to be here. The evening cool off so nicely, the winters bring more snow, but we enjoy with constant fires in the fireplace. The commutes to Provo are actually enjoyable--driving down Provo Canyon. The winter is not as enjoyable to commute and we avoid driving down unless conditions are clear. The area has a real sense of community and with one high school we all seem to cheer more often for the same team! We have a new $60 million dollar high school opening in 2009 and a new 130,000 square ft recreation center that will open in the first quarter of 2009. Yes, we still have rodeos, derbys, Swiss Days and sheep dog contests, but we love it for what we are. We have friends who come to golf, or to cool off and they all say they wish they could live in such a beautiful place. A Wal-Mart is being built, so we won't have to go down into the valley as often, but we can get to BYU game in 30 minutes and the SLC airport in 50. If you have the ability to come--you should--you never look back! All the best to you.