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My company was recently awarded the new datacenter project at Camp Williams south of SLC and has asked me to go and help run the project. I've been gathering as much intel as possible via the web and do not have the luxury of checking the place out in person before making a decision to commit. A little about us:
I work in construction, the wife stays at home with the kids. We're both active but not outdoorsy fanatics since we live in Washington DC and summer can be brutal. We’re also parents, so that has certainly cut into the nightlife or carefree excursions.
Our 7 year-old son plays hockey and does dive team in the summer, planning on swim team this coming summer. He is also showing an interest in football recently and loves going on long bike rides. He loves Legos and cars and trucks, his brain’s always churning away because he loves solving problems.
Our 5 year-old daughter is a little pink girlie-girl, but not yet into any organized sports. Soccer now as afterschool, but we see gymnastics on the horizon. She’s into Barbie and American Girl dolls, loves to color, paint, and draw, and has one heck of an imagination sometimes.
Our 5 month old....well he just does what he's good at right now...look cute, eat, sleep, and take out diapers like clockwork.
I'm a recovering workaholic, hoping a change of scenery (and a little more control over my own workload) may change that. We're looking for a nice suburban neighborhood to rent or possibly buy a 4-5 BR home since we'll be there for about 3-4 years. Both kids are smart and advanced in both math and reading, so we're looking for a school that will continue to challenge them...we don't want them getting bored and tuning out. My wife likes taking the kids for long walks to a playground, or to the library, and will certainly miss the "free" attractions DC has to offer (museums, etc). We’re also Catholic (not necessarily regular practitioners and certainly not devout), so we’re somewhat nervous of what appears to be a 50/50 chance of living in social isolation depending on what neighborhood we might land, so any advice on that front would be greatly appreciated.
We’re intrigued by the possibility of living in the Salt Lake City area for a couple years due to the scenery, the weather (need a break from humidity), the proximity to national parks, snow sports, and the overall notion and sense of adventure associated with heading west after spending our lives between NY, NJ and MD/DC/VA. That said, we’re not going to the parks every weekend or skiing the slopes either, so I want to make sure the time in between is as enjoyable as possible
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I don’t care if I drive 10 minutes or an hour to the project site, I just want my family to be as happy as then can be by ‘checking all the boxes’ or at least as many as possible.
I'm a recovering workaholic, hoping a change of scenery (and a little more control over my own workload) may change that. We're looking for a nice suburban neighborhood to rent or possibly buy a 4-5 BR home since we'll be there for about 3-4 years. Both kids are smart and advanced in both math and reading, so we're looking for a school that will continue to challenge them...we don't want them getting bored and tuning out. My wife likes taking the kids for long walks to a playground, or to the library, and will certainly miss the "free" attractions DC has to offer (museums, etc). We’re also Catholic (not necessarily regular practitioners and certainly not devout), so we’re somewhat nervous of what appears to be a 50/50 chance of living in social isolation depending on what neighborhood we might land, so any advice on that front would be greatly appreciated.
I came West about 3 months ago from NJ and recently my family has joined me, I'll try to give you a bit of insight.
Coming out West will definitely help you recover from your addiction to work. On the East coast, many people, especially men, have their self identities tied up in their jobs and their incomes. You won't find that out here. By 5pm, most people out here seem very anxious to get home. They would rather spend time with family or outdoors then stay long hours, even if they're being paid overtime. The general impression I've gotten, even in a highly professional work place, is that people really value their at home time here. I don't believe you'll feel nearly the pressure to put in long hours out here.
As for a house... I was surprised how much more expensive homes where here, especially if you like the higher end amenities. Due to the demographics of SLC, you'll find a lot of large homes (square footage and bedroom wise) but you won't find the nicer homes you do on the East Coast in the same $300k price range. Our mortgage went up over $100k for our home out here but the taxes are $600 a month less so we're saving about $200 a month total... just be prepared for that sticker shock. There are a LOT of homes available but you'll have to be selective. People tend to try to value their homes by the bedrooms versus the upgrades so you'll see people with laminite wood floors, vinyl flooring in the kitchen and bathrooms, and fermica counter tops trying to value their home just like the 5 bedroom across town with the granite, hardwood, and stone flooring. Also, finding a nice flat yard can be challenging in some of the communities due to the mountain slopes.
The schools here are only adequate. They do have a number of private schools available if your kids are advanced and I don't believe they are all that expensive. I know my wife and I have already started those convos about what to do with our daughter based on what we've been told about her.
As for parks and things to do... I have not seen a ton, I was actually very surprised by this. You'll see a lot of biking lanes on the streets, bike and hiking trails in through the mountains, and lots of people out walking and running... but in town, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of playgrounds and green space for the kids. You will find other activities around though if you look and most are relatively cheap. I know for my wife and I to take the 3 kids to the zoo on Saturday was $25.
As for social isolation... well, we've only been in the house for 2 1/2 weeks now but within 2 days of me moving in, my 3 nearest neighbors had all stopped by the front door to introduce themselves. We've had 1 visit from the local church elders which would have been fine if it hadn't been 8:15 as we were putting the girls to bed. I will admit the neighbors directly behind us are apparently hermits though. We thought for the first 2 weeks they were on vacation then we noticed they do turn 1 light on but they keep the blinds so tightly drawn we couldn't see it. Not sure what the story is there just yet. All in all, I believe if you're friendly, you won't have any issues. If the missionaries come, let them say hi, don't slam the door in their face... just let them do their little song and dance and all is fine, I'm not saying you have to convert, just respect what they believe they need to do (i.e. talk to you). We have been invited down to roast smores and my wife and kids have been invited into the neighborhood weekly playdate. Maybe we're just lucky, but I think you could have similar luck with a good attitude.
I will say this about SLC... to enjoy it, you have to get out. There aren't as many activities around for you to just sit. It's a far more active community and most of the recreation out here revolves around being active. To me, that's great for kids. They don't need more arcades, they need more hiking trails and grass meadows.
Good luck in your move. While ours wasn't voluntary and I can honestly say SLC wasn't exactly a destination on my life plan... the move has worked out for us thus far and we believe we'll be very happy here long term.
careymp1017, after reading your post, I would think that you and your family will love Utah. The down side is being away from everyone that your used to, but there are so many positives it sorta works some balance. I think a move here will be good for your family.
Also, the new data center sounds very exciting, good luck to you on that fantastic new job.
I came West about 3 months ago from NJ and recently my family has joined me, I'll try to give you a bit of insight.
Coming out West will definitely help you recover from your addiction to work. On the East coast, many people, especially men, have their self identities tied up in their jobs and their incomes. You won't find that out here. By 5pm, most people out here seem very anxious to get home. They would rather spend time with family or outdoors then stay long hours, even if they're being paid overtime. The general impression I've gotten, even in a highly professional work place, is that people really value their at home time here. I don't believe you'll feel nearly the pressure to put in long hours out here.
As for a house... I was surprised how much more expensive homes where here, especially if you like the higher end amenities. Due to the demographics of SLC, you'll find a lot of large homes (square footage and bedroom wise) but you won't find the nicer homes you do on the East Coast in the same $300k price range. Our mortgage went up over $100k for our home out here but the taxes are $600 a month less so we're saving about $200 a month total... just be prepared for that sticker shock. There are a LOT of homes available but you'll have to be selective. People tend to try to value their homes by the bedrooms versus the upgrades so you'll see people with laminite wood floors, vinyl flooring in the kitchen and bathrooms, and fermica counter tops trying to value their home just like the 5 bedroom across town with the granite, hardwood, and stone flooring. Also, finding a nice flat yard can be challenging in some of the communities due to the mountain slopes.
The schools here are only adequate. They do have a number of private schools available if your kids are advanced and I don't believe they are all that expensive. I know my wife and I have already started those convos about what to do with our daughter based on what we've been told about her.
As for parks and things to do... I have not seen a ton, I was actually very surprised by this. You'll see a lot of biking lanes on the streets, bike and hiking trails in through the mountains, and lots of people out walking and running... but in town, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of playgrounds and green space for the kids. You will find other activities around though if you look and most are relatively cheap. I know for my wife and I to take the 3 kids to the zoo on Saturday was $25.
As for social isolation... well, we've only been in the house for 2 1/2 weeks now but within 2 days of me moving in, my 3 nearest neighbors had all stopped by the front door to introduce themselves. We've had 1 visit from the local church elders which would have been fine if it hadn't been 8:15 as we were putting the girls to bed. I will admit the neighbors directly behind us are apparently hermits though. We thought for the first 2 weeks they were on vacation then we noticed they do turn 1 light on but they keep the blinds so tightly drawn we couldn't see it. Not sure what the story is there just yet. All in all, I believe if you're friendly, you won't have any issues. If the missionaries come, let them say hi, don't slam the door in their face... just let them do their little song and dance and all is fine, I'm not saying you have to convert, just respect what they believe they need to do (i.e. talk to you). We have been invited down to roast smores and my wife and kids have been invited into the neighborhood weekly playdate. Maybe we're just lucky, but I think you could have similar luck with a good attitude.
I will say this about SLC... to enjoy it, you have to get out. There aren't as many activities around for you to just sit. It's a far more active community and most of the recreation out here revolves around being active. To me, that's great for kids. They don't need more arcades, they need more hiking trails and grass meadows.
Good luck in your move. While ours wasn't voluntary and I can honestly say SLC wasn't exactly a destination on my life plan... the move has worked out for us thus far and we believe we'll be very happy here long term.
What part of town do you live in? We have parks on every corner where I am.
Your family sounds wonderful. The one thing about Utah that everyone seems to agree on is that we are family oriented. That part should be good.
Youth sports are definitely available. Though I'm not sure how young the hockey teams are as we didn't get into that until our son was older. But soccer, football, and baseball are big. There are plenty of dance studios and gymnastics for your daughter.
If you are interested in catholic schools there are plenty of options. Since you'll be working at Camp Williams you might be interested in living in the south end of the valley. In Draper is St John's the Baptist in the same area as Juan Diego High School. Saint John the Baptist Elementary, Draper Utah
Not saying that the public schools wouldn't be fine as well, just letting you know.
I also wonder where Nemmert lives as I have two parks within walking distance as well as a large natural area very close by besides which I am about 15 min from the canyons.
While there aren't many big parks in SLC itself, there are a LOT of pocket parks every few blocks. Libery Park is pretty big with lots of different activities, including a museum and aviary. On the other hand, if you want the new house areas, you might be limited unless you pick a master-planned development like hilgi did.
Made the commitment last night. My company is going to take care of the move and everything, which was a large source of my anxiety. They have contracted relocation experts that are going to meet us out there and show us properties. South Jordan has popped up a lot for it's schools, but we plan on checking out most of the towns on the south side of the city (South Jordan, Draper, Sandy to name a few.)
Thanks for all the feedback, especially 'nemmert.' Curious as to where in Jersey you are from b/c my wife and I grew up the Morristown area about 45 minutes west of NYC. That's where our roots are and we still have a lot of family up that way.
We'll determine whether we buy or rent after we see the place. There is certainly an inventory of homes available, but I'm on the fence b/c I do not want to be holding a mortgage after we finish our project in 2014. May consider a foreclosure, but that's a longshot. Certainly don't want to live at the end of a road with a bunch of half-finished houses or empty lots. We're looking for an established neighborhood.
Thanks again, but keep posting the advice!! We welcome any and all intel before we land.
Made the commitment last night. My company is going to take care of the move and everything, which was a large source of my anxiety. They have contracted relocation experts that are going to meet us out there and show us properties. South Jordan has popped up a lot for it's schools, but we plan on checking out most of the towns on the south side of the city (South Jordan, Draper, Sandy to name a few.)
Thanks for all the feedback, especially 'nemmert.' Curious as to where in Jersey you are from b/c my wife and I grew up the Morristown area about 45 minutes west of NYC. That's where our roots are and we still have a lot of family up that way.
We'll determine whether we buy or rent after we see the place. There is certainly an inventory of homes available, but I'm on the fence b/c I do not want to be holding a mortgage after we finish our project in 2014. May consider a foreclosure, but that's a longshot. Certainly don't want to live at the end of a road with a bunch of half-finished houses or empty lots. We're looking for an established neighborhood.
Thanks again, but keep posting the advice!! We welcome any and all intel before we land.
MPC
Be careful with those "relocation experts" as I've heard some absolute horror stories about them here. My company has relocated several hundred people over the past few years so there's a lot of folks around that have had experience with those sorts.
Make sure you do some of your own research into what's available and make it clear to your agent what you're seeking. If they aren't showing you what you asked for, find someone new.
South Jordan is great for not only the schools, but also has a lot of local shopping. I felt in other areas we looked you just had to drive too far to get out of the houses into shopping and restaurants. We've been very happy with the choice thus far.
As for NJ... we spent a year in Hackensack, a few years in West Paterson, and then 6 years in Pompton Lakes. We had just relocated to South Jersey, Gloucester county, when the whirlwind of activities occured which ultimately landed us in SLC.
As for buying versus renting... 4 years should be plenty of time for things to recover. Given the options, the interest rates, and the future prospects, I find it near impossible to justify to myself not buying. On the foreclosures, not all of them are new developments full of half built homes. Ours was 3 years old. There's a lot available in developed areas, not just the brand new homes.
Let me know if we can be of any more help. I was quite pleased with my realtor if you'd like a referral.
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It's official - heading west
