What Utah Co. town is best for us?

[ChrisC]

Originally Posted by Headin'West

Chris- I apologize for the inaccurate "in the mountains" comment. I should have elaborated. I must be in the mountains or be within eyesight of the mountains! Of the towns I listed in the previous post, which do you think would best meet our needs? Any other recommendations? Again, we'd like to stay within 30 min of S. Provo. Don't worry about the kennel license junk, I'll take care of that research on my end. I'm mostly concerned with access to outdoor rec, proximity to provo, within eyesight of mtns and local folk.


As for the hot dog stand comment...I didn't expect it to be taken seriously. You Utahn are far to serious.

You'll definitely be within sight of the mountains in any of those towns--well actually right next to them, pretty much. As for those that you list:

Springville: Nestled against the mountains. Pretty nice town. From your list this would be my first choice. I should also mention that the "mountains" are sometimes a bit deceptive. The mountain backdrop in Springville really looks more like desert mountains at first glance. But as soon as you get into one of the canyons, it greens up pretty fast. Hobblecreek canyon is right next to Springville. It's like a five minute drive from anywhere in Springville. It's a small canyon, but very nice. I jog on the paved bike path up there almost daily. There is also Maple canyon right next to it. This one is a bit more rugged. Spanish Fork Canyon and Provo canyon are also within just a few minute's drive. Both of those are larger and have plenty of the typical alpine activities. Payson Canyon is one of my favorites and is also pretty close.

Mapleton: I drive through there every time I go to Hobblecreek to jog. It's a nice community, I suppose--more or less rural with not much besides homes and couple of gas stations and a bank. Truthfully, it's more or less a "high price area" of Springville even though it is it's own town. You won't find much in the way of rentals there. Subdivisions of McMansions are slowly encroaching... sadly.

Spanish Fork: just southwest of Springville and Mapleton. This is the area I live in now. It's your typical mid-sized town. It's growing and has all the basic "bells and whistles" (as does Springville... except Springville has an excellent Thai food restaurant--I'm eating their food right now as I type! ). Spanish Fork is built a bit more away from the mountains (although still very close) on a fairly flat area. It's growing pretty fast, as is pretty much the whole valley. Also, because it's out on the flat, snow tends to melt faster than the communities closer to the mountains, and it's on average slightly warmer in winter because of the sun exposure.

American Fork: again, it has all the bells and whistles. The big difference is that it more urbanized and sort of "combined" with Pleasant Grove, Lindon, Orem, and Provo as one big city. It's an okay place, but the mess of traffic is definitely worse there. You'll have to drive through the city areas more to get to the mountains. Of course, this also means that you are closer to all the things that most people feel they "need" these days (things offered in cities). Truthfully, American Fork would be at the bottom of my list of the places you mention. Not because there is anything wrong with it, but because it is the most "city-locked" of the bunch. Personal preference, of course. That may be just what you're looking for--American Fork is the most urbanized of your choices.

Anyway, hope that helps. Keep in mind, though, as someone else hinted earlier, my perspective is tainted by a distaste for big-city life. I'm always keeping an eye on small towns around the area that are away from the Wasatch Front (Delta, Price, Ephraim, etc) for a possible move (Ultimately, I'm planning a move to North Dakota). The Utah Valley area has "outgrown" me. But, compared to other more metropolitan areas, I do see why a lot of folks would want to move here.

Oh, BTW, all are close to south Provo--within minutes, unless there is a crash on the freeway. Springville's the closest.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

Originally Posted by Headin'West

.................
As for the hot dog stand comment...I didn't expect it to be taken seriously. You Utahn are far to serious.

Well, not knowinbg where you are from, could be NY or Chicago originally, that could be your idea of haute cuisine or a remembrance of home.

[MrAnderson]

Originally Posted by SouthernBelleInUtah

I see lots of taco/etc stands but never seen a hot dog stand.

Really? I've seen a few around DT Salt Lake. There's even a recent one that set up here in downtown Logan...and sometimes they venture around the university. But yes, I've seen more taco stands than hotdog is SL.

[jhadley1]

I live in Spanish Fork and love it. It's a smaller town feel and feels a little separated from the Provo/Orem area. As far as I know, any animals are welcome. My neighbor has chickens, a rooster, and pigeons and we are within city limits. There are horses just down the street.

Springville has a hot dog stand called Kranky Franks that is really good right on the main street. As far as a town, it's not my favorite because there is mostly train tracks and warehouses and it just seems a little more rundown.

American Fork may technically have a smaller population, but isn't like a small town because it's basically connected to Orem.

Overall, I would live in Mapleton out of the 4 choices. It's between Springville and Spanish Fork, so really close to Southeast Provo. It's a nicer town than the others, which will make it more expensive. The only thing I don't know is the dog question, but there are a lot of houses with good sized lots, so I would guess they'd be more animal friendly. Also, they are going to the brand new high school, Maple Mountain, which is very nice.

[Jen24]

I think what everyone is say is right. You won't get a small town feel in American Fork. I would say Springville or Spanish Fork would be better. Also, especially in Utah county, it may be very hard to find like minded people here and feel like you fit in. People are very friendly especially if you put in the effort, but don't tend to socialize a whole lot out of their church community.
The view of the mountains in Utah county is sure beautiful though.