To move or not to move to salt lake city, utah (Sandy: house, job market)

[Lemonade-on-a sunny day]

We currently live in Dallas, tx. Have been here for 10 yrs...originally from Los angeles, ca. And never really got used to Dallas nor its scorching hot summer weather....have been contemplating moving back west for past two years...(not Los angeles because cost of living) . The two cities that are on top of our list are salt lake city and las Vegas...I've lived in las Vegas and so I know the city pretty well but really hate the 100+temperatures .ive been doing a lot of reading on this website mainly about salt lake city....and we were sold on this city because it offers so many outdoor opportunities .....until we realized the smog problem that the city has during the winter and how the number of inversion days has increased with each passing year(my concern lies in that our health will be affected by it in the long run )....the other problem that also concerns me is the possibility of a big quake hitting the city....

So my 4 questions are:
1.) how do local residents cope/deal with the air pollution especially those that must leave the house to go to work or school?
2)do you see many school children wearing masks when going to school? As well as adults?
3)do you you truly believe the air pollutions levels are safe to breathe the rest of the year obviously excluding winter inversions and excluding high ozone summer days..? (Dallas has a problem with ozone too....
4) are locals worried/terrified about aN earthquake striking the valley? Are most people prepared for it?

Thank you for your time and for your thoughts/information.

[eggalegga]

1. For those without any respiratory issues, you just avoid spending time outdoors, trip chain, turn off engine if idling is 2+ minutes, kids sometimes stay indoor during recess on bad air days.
2. I don't go to school so I don't see masks or not.
3. I haven't spent any time investigating the health impacts one way or another. I am a native Utahn.
4. Once in a while, a local news story will spur interest in earthquake preparedness, but it's not a daily concern/worry of most people I know. Sure we should be prepared. We had a shake-out event in April.

[MisfitBanana]

1) Most people I personally know weren't affected by the inversions, other than being a bit depressed by it, and wanting to see the sun again. I've heard that people with asthma are very negatively affected by it, though.

2) I never saw any kid or adult wearing a mask during the inversion. My daughter never saw any kid at her school wearing a mask.

3) Yes. I think most of the time the air is ok. It could be better. If you're really worried, you might look into moving to the Park City area.

4) I'm not even remotely worried about an earthquake. I used to live in California - I was there for the big Loma Prieta earthquake, in a really tall building that shook for forever - we were all rushing down the stairs, got outside to the parking lot, and then wondered if we had dreamed it all up, because the pedestrians were just walking along like it was the most boring day of their lives. As I got older, it got to the point where if I felt a little shaking, I'd just think of it as a foot massage. In other words, maybe I'm not the best person to give you advice on whether or not people are worried about earthquakes. That said, I think a lot of people here are prepared. It's a pretty big thing here to have reserves of food and water on hand at all times. There are even stores dedicated to items needed for survival in the case of a major disaster.

[Lemonade-on-a sunny day]

Thank you so much misfit banana and eggalegga for your valuable input....appreciate it.

[dcisive]

I have to tell ya if I were doing it all over again there is NO question I would seek out a place in the Northwest or perhaps even Boise. Coeur D'Alene or along those lines. Not as huge a metro area, no rush hours, NO pollution to speak of and you won't be paying higher taxes to support the absurdly large families full of kids that are pervasive in this State and the school taxes that rise yearly(sorry couldn't resist). You're needs may well be different. I prefer a slightly slower pace, clean air and lower taxes, all of which you WON"T be finding here in Utah. The beautiful outdoors and mountains can easily be had elsewhere without the foibles this area has embraced.

[Lemonade-on-a sunny day]

Thank you very much dcisive... Was considering Boise for a while ....especially with so many bodies of water in that state....if only their job market was doing a lot better...

[dcisive]

I've had two friends relocate to Boise over the last 2 years. They are much happier up there than they were here (one lived in Sandy and the other in Layton). Just sayin....I'd check the job market there before you judge it. From what I hear it's pretty good as well. Housing prices are also quite reasonable.

[MisfitBanana]

I've heard great things about Boise. I think Northern Idaho lacks jobs, and has a little higher cost of living than SLC or Boise, though.

[movingonagain777]

The inversion really had an impact on my health and lasted too long for me. I relocated back to Boulder, CO and am so relieved to have my health back and the ability to enjoy being outdoors again. Salt Lake has a lot of wonderful qualities and beauty but air quality is on the top of my list. Yes everyone should be wearing a respirator mask during the inversion. Those who state they don't feel the immediate health implications may be subject to learning that their health is impacted later in life. Logically I can't imagine that it doesn't impact everyone's health to some degree when it lasts 22 days in a row with a couple of days for a break and then back again. We experienced red days from January to February and a lot of yellow days as well. When you can't see the mountain ranges it's definitely bad. The red air days and the inversion this year being compared to Beijing is enough to state the obvious. Not too mention the smell and taste. I moved to the SLC area thinking the inversions were not as bad from the feedback but learned differently by experiencing it.

[Lemonade-on-a sunny day]

Thankyou so much for that movingonagain77......I can relate to you on that...that air quality is a super important factor for me too....its a huge bummer...It's scary to think that in the long-run there will be repercussions on one's health....and I guess I'm realizing that air quality is something I'm not willing to compromise....Darn....the natural beauty of utah was so tempting...