First time Utahn! What are some general do's and don'ts and "common knowledge" about your state?

[mattsk42]

Good advice in this thread, and I agree with it all. Been here a year now and am loving it.

[irman]

Originally Posted by kaytidid

Everyone knows a stakehouse is not the same as the steakhouse where you go to dinner.

Read and study this SparkLife » You Know You're from Utah When...

Welcome to Utah!!

It has been a long time or you are a very old geek if you still call them stake house.
The Church has encouraged a long time ago to call those buildings by their proper name which is Stake Center.

Reading things on the web always needs to be read, with a 25 lbs bag of salt on the side because half truths is what keeps the world *mis-informed*. Alas, some people prefer it that way, I assume.



Steak house or Stake house ...
Or is it like In 'n Out and not quite like steak ?
Worse would be if it was called Out House ...
So ... lets stick with Stake Center , OK ?

[Montygirl]

You can however drink alcohol here on a sunday in bars & restaurants and lots are open.

I laughed reading this as been here 4 months now and these things are so obvious now but were not always with food and other stuff . Although in the UK we have fry sauce but its something we call thousand island and we often put in on prawns not burgers lol!

The tattoo thing , alcohol etc is not a biggy. We have been ourselves here since we have arrived and have a mix of LDS and non LDS friends.People take us at face value. We are respectful of them (a lot of kids not allowed to play out on a sunday) and they have been of us so don't feel you have to walk on eggshells with people as this is not the case , although we felt it would be when we arrived judging by some of the comments on here before we came and we live in the suburbs!
We are not religiously affiliated to any place of worship and never have been and has not been an issue for us. Probably because we are respectful of others and also quite interested in religion in general so actually take time and an interest in what people follow.
I have only been asked once if I am LDS and that was by a work collegue who is not even originally from the US but from the UK like myself and has lived here a long time. A lot of my workmates are and are lovely welcoming people who could not care less that I am not and have the most fantastic sense of humor and understand mine. Someone even offered jokingly to take me to the pub yesterday after work for a quick pint!
I think our local state liquor store is 10pm (Sandy) closing which isn't too bad to be honest. In the UK years ago off licences used to close earlier than that .

Don't be scared off by the LDS thing , some people religious or not are aloof and we have also found not only does the church take a lot of peoples time up but so does sport here as all kids play several sports so Saturdays are a military operation and culminate in play offs and trips away so they cant always make plans especially those who have 3 kids or more and need to be in 6 places at the same time, and then Sunday most will not do anything as they are at church. Its not antisocial its just called life.Now a lot of the soccer etc and other sports has broken for the summer we have a steady stream of plans on a Saturday and also friends who sundays are not an issue for. As others have said Utah is a very healthy and outsdoorsy type place which has suited our kids down to the ground ! My youngest said the other day its so nice to see kids outside all the time and doing stuff instead of like the UK where a lot are indoors watching TV or playing for hours on an xbox. That my friends is sometimes down to lazy parenting and also families not always being as hands on.

We have done Moab, Vernal and a few other places so far and are heading to Zions in a few weeks when my dad arrives. We love it here, its a great place and I cant imagine leaving it to live back in the UK, neither can my kids or hubby who have all made lots of friends here. The people are incredibly friendly and kind don't be put off by the odd few that are not. London can be a lonely place too if you don't know people so everywhere has its pros and cons.Good luck and welcome to Utah . My kids are loving the US education here which is broad and varied and the schooling I have found excellent in the public sector.
Grid system is easy as others said once you get your head round it(similar to Australia) and my kids said I sound such a local when I talk about 114s and also know other ways to get somewhere when there is an issue with the I-15.

Good luck to your wife in her new job too. I love working in a school and the kids have far better manners here than that of where I come from !