Good place to live for single non-lds male moving to Salt Lake City (Beaver: fit in, apartments)

[rlayton]

I expect to be moving to Salt Lake City within the next month or so. I know the Salt Lake area a bit but have never lived there. I am a 29 yr. old single man and non lds and would like to know where I should move to. I don't want to be surrounded by the "Leave it to Beaver' families and feel out of place. It would be nice to be in a more open minded more diverse area where there are single women. I make good money but don't want to spend too much on rent for awhile. I am recovering from a fairly damaging layoff and want to keep piling money in my bank account instead of the landlords account. I also want to live in a safe area of course. I travel often and would have to leave my home unattended often for weeks at a time. Does anyone have any advice they could share with me?

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

The Irving Schoolhouse Apts on 2100 South are in the heart of Sugar House. You can walk to almost anything and 2100 South is a major east-west street. Just a few blocks from the entrance to I-80. Sugar House is considered one of the more liberal and diverse areas of the city.

[dmorris]

I would definitely explore the avenues and around the capitol. If I was single and working, that area would be my first choice. You have a mix of students and young professionals throughout the bottom portion of the aves. There are plenty of apartment options with many price ranges to choose from. As you move up the aves, you get more of a family feel but the bottom aves are more your age range and your stage in life. I stayed on H street this summer and loved being able to walk to the restaurants on South Temple while going on hikes up city creek. I love that SL offers a bit of urban but one can feel like they are in the middle of wilderness in minutes of the urban scene. Will you be working in the downtown area? I also really like 9th and 9th - it doesn't have all the choices the aves do in regards to apartments but I always am able to find rentals available. Best of luck!

[trail_blazers_7]

I too am a non Mormon single male in my 20s. I've been living in salt lake for about 4 years. The downtown area where I currently live is nice. Not a lot of bars but a few good ones at least(I'm just assuming you drink). Liquor laws in ut are silly at best but you'll get used to it.
The east side of downtown is pretty nice, basically from 200e up to the university and from 400s up through the avenues is home to a lot of young single non lds types. The area immediatly west of downtown (west temple out to about 400 w) is another good option. There's been lots of gentrification in that area so the rent can be a little steep, but it's trendy for salt lake young adults at least.
Sugarhouse used to be really neat before the granite block was torn down for a development that never got started.
If you're looking for diversity I'd suggest the Glendale/poplar grove area west of downtown and I-15. Mostly Latino working class in that area. It isn't the bad neighborhood people here will make it out to be, I've left my car there unlocked for the night and never had any problems. It is a little on the ugly side tho but you won't find cheaper rent anywhere else in the slc area.
The liberty park area is mostly single family homes and most of them seem to be for rent if you're at all considering roommates.
Anywhere north of I-80 and east of about 1500e is going to be middle class Mormons raising kids but if you stay close to the downtown area you'll find lots of appealing areas!

[trail_blazers_7]

Oh just thought I should add a couple things about ACTUALLY living here...
First, I've lived all over the us (Chicago, Boston, LA, Seattle, Portland OR) and salt lake has a VERY sheltered and closed off feel to it. The police here are oppresive (I'm a generally law abiding person with a good job) and I still get stopped and cited for ridiculous things. The roads are in generally poor condition and are occupied by lunatic drivers in mini vans shuttling their 9 kids to soccer practice. The entire state shuts down at about midnight during the week and 1am on Fridays and Saturdays, oh and you can forgt about anything aside from chain stores and restaurants opening on Sundays.
Salt lake is really a nice city but sometimes it can feel really boring and isolated.
I've enjoyed my time in salt lake and I'm glad I moved here but I'm planning on moving soon (LA or Orlando) and I never plan on returning.

[rlayton]

Thank you for the advice. I think I might just look around the downtown area and points East. To answer your question Morris, I won't be working in the downtown area. I work from home when I am home which is great but on the other hand is difficult socially (part of the reason I want to live in a single social area), and I fly all over the place about 40% of the time. I do miss having work buddies haha. I appreciate the mostly positive responses. Reading and hearing from Utah people is always interesting. It seems so many in Utah have an inferiority complex because of the ultra conservative stigma that comes with the area. Instead of being proud of Utah people complain about it cause it isn't as "cool" as LA or NY. Well most places aren't as exciting as those places and that is nothing to apologize for. I have lived all over the place and even lived for a year or so in Oman on the Arabian penninsula. Utah is a great place. Just hope I can find a place to fit in. Thanks again.

[hilgi]

Originally Posted by rlayton

It seems so many in Utah have an inferiority complex because of the ultra conservative stigma that comes with the area. Instead of being proud of Utah people complain about it cause it isn't as "cool" as LA or NY. Well most places aren't as exciting as those places and that is nothing to apologize for. I have lived all over the place and even lived for a year or so in Oman on the Arabian penninsula. Utah is a great place. Just hope I can find a place to fit in. Thanks again.

Great point!

[ChazPollincock]

Hey...I am in pretty much your same boat here. 29, male and non lds looking to get out to SLC and looking for an area that would be good for a pseudo young professional. Let me know what you come up with and how the search ends up. I probably won't get out there for the next few months.

[rlayton]

My move is taking a little bit longer than I thought. It keeps getting put off another week then another week. You will probably beat me there.

[MrAnderson]

Most of SLC should be your cup of tea. Downtown, Sugarhouse, Avenues, Central City, Marmalade. The ghetto part is the west side (Rose park, Glendale)