NON Mormon, NON White OPINION of Salt Lake City Utah after 1 month (Bountiful: crime rates, chapel)

[RunningWild]

I have to agree with doctorbombeii's review of Salt Lake City. I tried to fit in for 18 plus years, to no avail. It was hell. Then, moved to Park City. Much better.

[SJbust]

We have a lot in common. Like you, I'm mixed race. I was born and raised in the hospitable south. I lived in a multitude of cities including Atlanta and SLC. I'm not Mormon, nor religious but do believe in God. But, our similarities stop there, as I had a completely different experience than you.

I relocated to SLC from Los Angeles due to work assignment there. I have to say I fell in love with it the moment I stepped off the plane. It was February 2009 so I became captivated by the crisp, clean winter air and the snow-capped mountains. Shortly after commuting I decided to search for an apartment there. The search was a pleasant one.

I researched and focused on Sugar Hill, Capitol Hill and the Avenues. I was very pleased to find duplexes and coach houses with character and charm. Also, that many of the apts. I looked at had washers and dryers in them! I chose an apartment in Capitol Hill. I was paying a moderate price to rent a lovely art deco 1 bedroom apt. with a view of the airport in the horizon. My driveway was so large it could accommodate four cars, aside from the 2-car garage. Just above me was an exclusive community with million-dollar mansions.

I made wonderful friends to which I enjoyed hiking, sports, outdoor festivals, local bands, antigue shopping and trying different restaurants. Two of my friends were black men, one was my yoga instructor. My LDS auto technician invited me to Christmas dinner to meet his wife and family. It was one of the most memorable holidays I've ever had. I found the Mormons to be authentically kind and considerate, and I felt completely comfortable around them. I even found an awesome spiritual center (Science of Mind) that felt right at home with me.

Something else worth noting; I'm a gay man who has never gotten involved in "pride" festivities or events centered around our advocacy and rights. But, I marched in the SLC gay parade, representing one of the hiking groups and I can't tell you how great it felt. Many of the onlookers were straight families and friends who came out with an overwhelming amount of support.

I utilized the world's largest genealogy library on the campus of Temple Square. There I did research on my Native American heritage and I found my biological father!

After two years I moved to Chicago due to family matters, where I spent my young adult years; a move I certainly regret! But I was fully embraced by SLC, in various circumstances. I guess I've never been one of those people that count the number of people that look like me. Race just wasn't on my mind, nor was it on the minds of those that befriended me, or greeted me on the streets. Salt Lake City will always be high on my list of places with a high quality of life. In fact, I'm very seriously considering returning there!

[folkguitarist555]

I am curious as to why SLC city has one of the highest crime rates in the USA, a rating of 1, tied with Spokane WA, St. Louis, for example,...I thought SLC was a family oriented and religious town, with little crime. The website rates from 1 to a 100, and a 100 being the safest, and 1 being the worst. This statistic surprised me.

[SJbust]

Originally Posted by starrider434

I am curious as to why SLC city has one of the highest crime rates in the USA, a rating of 1, tied with Spokane WA, St. Louis, for example,...I thought SLC was a family oriented and religious town, with little crime. The website rates from 1 to a 100, and a 100 being the safest, and 1 being the worst. This statistic surprised me.

I share in your curiosity because this is news to me. But let me put it this way, I doubt any crimes levels that could be attributed to SLC would come close to what I witness on the south side of Chicago.

[folkguitarist555]

google neighborhood scout....then go from there,.. great site for stats. Boise Id has just about the lowest crime rates out of the west coast cities from what I saw

[Teckeeee]

Originally Posted by starrider434

google neighborhood scout....then go from there,.. great site for stats. Boise Id has just about the lowest crime rates out of the west coast cities from what I saw

homefacts.com is good too.

[SJbust]

I'll take a peek at it. Thanks for the info!

[CCSLC]

Originally Posted by starrider434

I am curious as to why SLC city has one of the highest crime rates in the USA, a rating of 1, tied with Spokane WA, St. Louis, for example,...I thought SLC was a family oriented and religious town, with little crime. The website rates from 1 to a 100, and a 100 being the safest, and 1 being the worst. This statistic surprised me.

Salt Lake City's high crime rate is a statistical illusion. Crime "rates" are calculated per capita by resident population. SLC's daytime population, when the workers from all the suburbs are here, is MUCH higher than its resident population (twice as many people, by some accounts). Having a high daytime population affects crime positively---that is, it makes crime HIGHER (not makes crime a good thing!)---and yet the crime rate is derived from the lower resident population... making it SEEM like there is a lot of crime spread among many fewer residents.

When compared to other metropolitan areas that exist as a city-county (which is what the SLC metro area is), such as Denver, San Francisco, etc., their daytime populations are much closer to their resident populations---there is much less out-of-city-boundary commuting happening---so their crime "rates" are a more accurate reflection of the true level of crime.

So, as far as SLC goes, you could say that much of the reported crime leaves when the workforce does each day!

Hope that helps explain how such a functionally safe city (because, really, it is---ask anyone who lives here) could have a high crime rate on paper.

[Ankhharu]

Originally Posted by starrider434

I am curious as to why SLC city has one of the highest crime rates in the USA, a rating of 1, tied with Spokane WA, St. Louis, for example,...I thought SLC was a family oriented and religious town, with little crime. The website rates from 1 to a 100, and a 100 being the safest, and 1 being the worst. This statistic surprised me.

Prior to moving here in August, my research showed SLC to be very middle of the pack in many caterogies, low in murder and a few others. Not the safest, but not even close to being the most dangerous.

Top 100
Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed SLC doesn't make the list.

FBI Most Dangerous Cities 2014
Most dangerous cities in the United States in 2014: FBI - National Conservative | Examiner.com SLC doesn't make the list.

[folkguitarist555]

go to NeighborhoodScout and select crime rates after you enter in the city of interest, in Salt Lake City has a number 1 rating that is the worst rating a city can get similar to Spokane,... the rating taked into account all types of crimes and I would imagine that the rate is so high in Salt Lake City like it is in Spokane because of the high amount of property crimes and other non violent crimes, imo. neighborhoodScout will show you the amount of auto theft property crimes , assault and other crimes, per capita and etc, and I guess that results in an average figure, and the end result is a number 1 rating which is one of the highest crime rates,...in the usa,. per capita,.. taking into account all types of crimes per capita in a city. maybe those numbers are over inflated I am Not sure I'm just going on with that website showed. so it seems that Salt Lake City does not have high statistics maybe for violent crimes but very high stats for other types of crimes. so visit the website yourself and have a glance at the stats for SLC.