Ogden? (Salt Lake City: apartment complexes, to rent, crime)

[thelackof]

I read there is gang activity in Ogden?
I am looking to rent in Ogden but have never been to and am coming from the east coast.
My wife and I work from home and generally keep to ourselves. We enjoy travel and being outside.
How is living in Ogden?

Also,

how is the weather?
how are insects?
how often does it rain and how much does it snow?

I enjoy warmer weather. How long is spring summer and fall and which of the three are the nicest? Which months?

We are 25 and 23 and looking to rent a house.
If the house has a basement, can I play drums? How is the city as far as people?

[Katzpur]

Originally Posted by thelackof

I read there is gang activity in Ogden?
I am looking to rent in Ogden but have never been to and am coming from the east coast.
My wife and I work from home and generally keep to ourselves. We enjoy travel and being outside.
How is living in Ogden?

Also,

how is the weather?
how are insects?
how often does it rain and how much does it snow?

I enjoy warmer weather. How long is spring summer and fall and which of the three are the nicest? Which months?

We are 25 and 23 and looking to rent a house.
If the house has a basement, can I play drums? How is the city as far as people?

Just one quick question -- why Ogden instead of Salt Lake City?

[Geo-Aggie]

I'll echo Katzpur here in saying I prefer SLC over Ogden, but Ogden is nice.

Ogden does not have a "gang problem" as some would like to lead you to believe. No where in Utah does. That being said, gangs do exist - in both Ogden as well as in more affluent suburban cities. Crime-wise, Salt Lake has more than Ogden and I feel perfectly comfortable walking around in Salt Lake at night. Stay away from the run down parts next to I-15 and you'll find that most of Ogden is actually pretty nice.

You get all 4 seasons.
Spring is typically March-May. Mild temperatures, some cold nights and occasional rain. Sometimes it'll snow.
Summer is June-August. Pretty hot (highs in the 80s-90s), super dry, no rain, just heat.
Fall is September-November. Similar to spring, but usually warmer. Rarely ever snows. My favorite season.
Winter is December-February. Cold, smoggy kind of dreary. Occasional snow, but the roads are clear within a few hours. The snow drives away the smog, so you'll actually appreciate the snow. Typical lows are in the 10s-20s.

Bugs are mild. Again, it's a semi-desert. Not much life at all compared to the east coast. A few flies and mosquitoes in the late summer, but that's about it. Occasionally some people get get an ant or boxelder beetle invasion, but they die easily. We have hobo spiders, but they aren't aggressive or anything and 90% of their bites don't include venom. I've also never even been bitten as far as I know.

[BornintheSprings]

Hows the university in Ogden? I am looking at potentially transferring there and would like some details on the town and cost of living.

[Wildcat1889]

Hi BornintheSprings,

I've been going to Weber State for three years, and I've lived in Ogden for almost six.
WSU isn't an Ivy League school, obviously, but it is a really good deal and you will certainly learn something. My experience in essence:

- Class sizes are small compared to other universities of similar size (25k+ students). The largest class I've been in during my seven semesters were around 80 to 90 students. In upper division, it is generally anywhere between 10 and 20, rarely more.
- Professors are teachers with real world experience, rather than just researchers. That's a big plus because they really know what is going on in the field.
- They care for you personally - most do, anyways.
- WSU is more ethnically and culturally diverse than almost any place in Utah I've been to, and I've been to most.
- Expect campus to die out on weekends and after 3 p.m. on weekdays. There really isn't a whole lot going on, so you can focus well on academics. It is far, far from a party school or anything alike.
- Expect a school that makes consistent fun of its own football team. I've been to games where I was the only (!) person in the student section. Now, you may not care about football, but this says a lot, still. There aren't very many people that are particularly proud of their WSU legacy and I feel like a lot of them are selling the school far under value.
- The programs range from horrific (mathematics is a commonly-used example) to first-class (nursing is the best in the country, with other health sciences far above average). The Business School is good. Everything else just assorts itself around mediocrity, which still isn't bad for the money, and for Utah.

What are you studying and where would you be transferring from?

The cost of living is below average as long as you stay off-campus. Decent single-room apartments start at $450ish, doubles at $550ish. I probably wouldn't go much below that because there are some real crapholes around campus. Everything else (groceries, gas, etc.) tends to be affordable. There are cheaper places, but Ogden certainly isn't a rip-off.

The town is far better than its reputation. Avoid everything west of about Quincy Avenue within 20 blocks north from campus (I know...complicated description, but the sketchier areas/minor gang activity mentioned above lie predominantly in that part of town, though it's not all bad) and you should be fine. Everything else in Ogden is mostly single-family homes and well-maintained apartment complexes. You'll figure out the worst blocks in town once you make it here, but it's all in rather small, isolated pockets that can be easily avoided.

You see, Ogden doesn't have a high concentration of crime per se. There are just a lot of people that are a bit...odd, but not dangerous. It is hard to describe, but you will most likely run into people who look, talk and behave like they are on drugs but most of them probably aren't. Ride the bus for a while and you'll know what I mean. That's just something that stood out to me in Ogden vs. other places I've been to. And it's not dangerous. In fact, I find elderly guys who say they want to marry me (I'm 22 and male) and random women who sing songs to me quite amusing sometimes.

[BornintheSprings]

Thanks for the informative reply wildcat! I am studying business so good to hear that program is solid. And 550 a month that sounds like heaven, I pay 1200 right now and I live in Denver Colorado. I don't care if the campus dies down on weekends I am there to get a degree and the same goes for sports watching any sport puts me to sleep. It sounds great very affordable and as long as I avoid the shady areas I see no reason to worry.

[jessicarae1060]

So, I live in Denver now too but graduated from WSU with a nursing degree in 2002. Would move back in a heartbeat! You will LOVE it there. You will get the chance to laugh at people from Denver who claim to live in the mountains. Rent is super affordable and people are very diverse and tolerant. Try to find a place east of Harrison and south of 20th if you can or check out south ogden. It is known as more of a commuter school as not many people live on campus. My dad got his business degree there as well and did very well for himself. As mentioned before, class sizes are relatively small and the professors don't have a God complex!