Likely moving to UT in a month... (West Valley City, Sandy: renting, HOA)

[TampanianTransferer]

Still waiting on the moving company to contact us in the meantime I figured I'd ask a few questions.

Cable/Internet providers in SLC? Is it strictly comcast or satellite (I hope not as my experiences with comcast were atrocious).

Water quality seems to be as unsure here as other parts of the country; hard water, high iron content? It varies here in Florida from town to town but if it's bad it's really bad. My brother couldn't wash white clothes at his house or they would turn orange, local well in his area likely at fault so obviously a less common occurrence but I figure I should plan for the worst.

Garbage pickup? Recycling? I think I've looked at a few houses and seen the city issued rolling cans that AZ and Ga have so perhaps I should donate my cans and recycling bins?

Cell phone coverage? We currently have AT&T for another year so we r stuck but anyone know of any issues? Does inversion mess with the signals?

Since this is such a quick turnaround I am stressed to the max, I could only imagine how hard this would be if we didn't get the company to foot the bill and provide movers. the wife leaves for training on the 7th and it'll be up to me to coordinate the movers and getting our two dogs and two kids out to SLC.

Whew I'm tired just thinking about whats about to happen..

If I may have forgotten anything you believe would be helpful and necessary I would love your input and help.

Thanks so much,
Chris

[eggalegga]

Cable/Internet: Comcast is your only cable choice here in the SL valley. But Qwest (local phone company) can offer internet and you could get satellite from Dish Network or Direct TV. I'm not sure which satellite provider Qwest contracts with. Comcast also offers local phone service and internet.

Water: I live in Taylorsville and our water is pretty hard. I use a filter on my fridge but I don't have a water softener. There are hard water deposits on surfaces that can be cleaned off with cleaners/chemicals as part of your household cleaning routine. I've never heard of laundry problems with our water here. There are several water districts within the valley. Just depends on where you're going to live. There are so many water/sewer districts. Here's my guess as to which ones you might have in the Avenues area:

Salt Lake City Corp

Jordan Valley Water

Salt Lake Suburban Sanitation District

Garbage: Salt Lake City corp is my guess as far as your garbage & recycling go. I'm in SL county so mine's different. County has large, plastic garbage cans on wheels for both garbage & recyling. Look at the link to see what the City has.

Cell phones: AT & T, Verizon & TMobile, and Sprint all provide service here in the valley. I've had Verizon for 5 years and only had signal problems once. My neighbor has AT & T and her issues seem to be more phone related that cell service. I think your AT & T cell phone should work well here.

Rocky Mountain Power is the power company but Murray City has it's own power I think.

Questar is our natural gas supplier. The majority of homes here are heated with natural gas.

There are several dog parks here in the valley but since my dog is blind, she's better of just running around the yard.

Maybe there's some helpful info here.

People are quite friendly here. Your new neighbors will hopefully help you through your adjustment.

[skibarbie]

Take a deep breath and relax! Think of the fun road trip for you, the kids and the dogs too! Moving can really be a lot of stress but try to think of it as an adventure-and the fact that you have some relocation help too.
Any chance that you can stay til your kids are out of school and then come out? I would think that your wife could look around for the next month or so and then you all could decide where you want to land instead of feeling all of the "pressure" of a quick decision?
Anyway, we are in East Millcreek, Verizon had very poor coverage and we are with AT&T but that was 2 1/2 years ago..
Comcast does not come to my "area" so we have Direct TV and are OK with it but do not love it.
Quest is our Internet provider and they stink but we have no choice due to our "area" again....
We too are in an unincoporated area of the county so they pick up the Recycel bin every other week, trash 1 time per week. No glass recycling but they take most everything else. We have found 1 drop off place for glass-and the county gave us an extra recycle bin for free.
We did get a water softener installed and love it, plumbing for hard on the cold side in the kitchen is pretty standard in most homes. I love the taste of the hard water and love the cleaning of the soft but you can jump off that bridge when you get there...
Good luck with the new adventure and I know you will love Utah!

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

I live in SLC itself and have no water problems - very clear and fresh. Garbage, trash, and yard waste cans on wheels, provided by the city. Pick-up is once a week. In the Spring, they do a neighborhood pick-up day or large anything except construction debris (used to be Spring and Fall but Fall got cancelled due to economy).

I love comcast, no problems to speak of, unless someone hits a pole. I had Qwest DSL and landline(they contract with DirecTV) but it had more problems than comcast, also slower. DirecTV was terrible - in one light snow, my TV was out for the entire night. The DSL had to be re-set at least every other day by unplugging it and the landline had a lot of noise. Comcast's digital phone is superior.

Find a house first and then inquire about all the rest. Oh, and many older houses have garages off the alley but no connection to the house.

[4thesport]

TampanianTransferer, I'm in the same process as you are right now!

I'm moving from Arizona to SLC. My husband and daughter will join me shortly after once we can secure a perm place to live. I will be in temporary housing for a bit. Moving is so stressful so I definitely feel your pain!

[RedDot]

Originally Posted by TampanianTransferer

Since this is such a quick turnaround I am stressed to the max, ...

Whew I'm tired just thinking about whats about to happen..

If I may have forgotten anything you believe would be helpful and necessary I would love your input and help.

Thanks so much,
Chris

Not sure if you got my DM of a week or so ago. As a recent xfr to UT I went through pretty much all the same things you went through (including having a wife have to come out first to start her job) and would love to help you any way I can.

Ping me via DM and we can connect that way!

You'll love it. Utah is AWESOME!

sdg

[Bob-O]

So somebody already answered your other questions. Here are some hopefully helpful tips on things to try.
1. The Red Door is an amazing martini bar.
2. Murphys, and Piper Down are good public houses (pubs).
3. Get a four wheel drive, all wheel drive, or use good snow tires if you will be living in the avenues. VERY STEEP streets.
4. Red Rock Brewing Co, and Squatters serve excellent food as well as micro-brews. Utah has some quirkey liquor laws, and I believe this results in the creation of world class breweries.
5. If you like the Avenues check out the Sugar House area. I get the same vibe from both of these areas.
6. if people tell you 90th or 106th south they are talking about 9000th, 10600th south. Add a hundred to everything when people tell you directions.

[Katzpur]

Originally Posted by Bob-O

6. if people tell you 90th or 106th south they are talking about 9000th, 10600th south. Add a hundred to everything when people tell you directions.

Or read the OP on the Getting Around Salt Lake City thread.

[BuckeyezRule]

Okay, here goes my experience. I am a married SAHM to 2 wonderful kiddos. We moved here from Ohio in late Dec. 06. My kids were 2 & 3 at the time. We bought a home in West Jordan way out west. It is 5000' in my driveway. I can see downtown from my bedroom window & mountains on every side. You can hear a pin drop at night, heck, most of the time in our neighborhood. It is a little windier out here, but not so bad. IT IS DRY here, as in, not humid. So, be prepared for that. You probably won't notice (my husband doesn't) but I did. lol However, I'm so used to it now, that when I go back to visit Ohio, I get way hot when it's 50 out from the humidity. Either way, we LOVE it here! Hubby was offered a big promotion to move somewhere else, & I begged to stay. I have no family here, & knew no one moving. Now I have more friends here than back in Ohio from the local Mom's group I'm on. I love hiking in the mountains, & we go on bike rides as a family here. There are so many things for families to do here. Oh, &, even being from a place w/ snow, I'm still a chicken sh** to drive in the snow & I do fine out here.

It's all in preference. I am the type who loves the 'burbs & the quiet, folksy area we live in. I know my neighbors & really just enjoy it here. =) Good luck on your move!

[TampanianTransferer]

We are getting really close to game time and still haven't found a house in our criteria, (it's starting to feel like SLC is pet un-friendly). I figure the best way to find house with 7 days to go would be to expand my search in the city.

So my new question is this; Which part of town would you NOT suggest living in? We've been mostly concentrating on Sandy, Draper, and Daybreak but are thinking about checking out West Jordan, Riverton, and Lehi.

Again all input is very much appreciated...

Again we have two kids (2yo and 6mos), 2 dogs and the wife will work in Draper off I-15.