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Old 11-30-2020, 12:09 AM
 
137 posts, read 139,451 times
Reputation: 186

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My wife and I are moving back to the US after an extended period abroad and we are currently looking at places that meet our criteria.

Here is what is most important to us in terms of places to live:
1. Friendly people.
2. Good healthcare.
3. Small/medium sized city (perhaps around 10K - 30K people).
4. Reasonable COL with nice homes available for under 300K without high property taxes.
5. Warmer rather than colder weather, without significant extremes and with lots of natural beauty.
6. Local government that respects human rights and does not infringe on Constitutionally protected activities.
7. Excellent internet access.
8. Low crime - High safety.
9. Nowhere there has been rioting, looting or burning during the recent protests.

Pluses would be:
1. Organic markets.
2. Vegetarian options for dining.
3. Educational opportunities for my wife (ESL classes, perhaps a university or college if she chooses to attend).

Things that do not matter to us:
1. Job prospects - I work online.
2. Education - We intend to homeschool.

Please make some suggestions. It may or may not be important to mention that we are not Mormons and have no interest in becoming Mormons. We have never lived in Utah so we leave it to you to determine if that is a germane detail in your recommendations.

Thanks!
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Old 12-01-2020, 02:43 AM
 
Location: Yokosuka Japan
12 posts, read 22,142 times
Reputation: 10
I'm looking for the same! Trying to stay within a day's drive of Moab (love that place). My circle is expanding from Idaho to Northern Arizona. However good schools (middle/high) is important. Hope you don't mind if I tag along...
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Old 12-01-2020, 02:10 PM
 
Location: Salt Lake City
27,889 posts, read 29,685,076 times
Reputation: 13053
Quote:
Originally Posted by Skoster View Post
My wife and I are moving back to the US after an extended period abroad and we are currently looking at places that meet our criteria.

Here is what is most important to us in terms of places to live:
1. Friendly people.
2. Good healthcare.
3. Small/medium sized city (perhaps around 10K - 30K people).
4. Reasonable COL with nice homes available for under 300K without high property taxes.
5. Warmer rather than colder weather, without significant extremes and with lots of natural beauty.
6. Local government that respects human rights and does not infringe on Constitutionally protected activities.
7. Excellent internet access.
8. Low crime - High safety.
9. Nowhere there has been rioting, looting or burning during the recent protests.

Pluses would be:
1. Organic markets.
2. Vegetarian options for dining.
3. Educational opportunities for my wife (ESL classes, perhaps a university or college if she chooses to attend).

Things that do not matter to us:
1. Job prospects - I work online.
2. Education - We intend to homeschool.

Please make some suggestions. It may or may not be important to mention that we are not Mormons and have no interest in becoming Mormons. We have never lived in Utah so we leave it to you to determine if that is a germane detail in your recommendations.

Thanks!
Salt Lake City proper has a population of about 190,000, which is larger than what you appear to be looking for, and the entire Salt Lake Metro area has a population of about 1.2 million people. If that doesn't present a problem for you, I'd suggest you look at Cottonwood Heights, which is about 25 minutes from downtown Salt Lake City. It has a population of about 34,000, and checks off all of the boxes you're looking at with the exception of price. And honestly, I don't think you'll find much anywhere in the Salt Lake City area for under 300K. I haven't been in the housing market myself for a very long time, though, so I suppose it's possible that a realtor would know of some homes in that price range. Cottonwood Heights is on the east side of Salt Lake City, which is generally considered to be more desirable than the west side. I say "generally, because there are a few obvious exceptions to that rule of thumb. Even within Cottonwood Heights, though, there are areas which are less expensive than others. Other than the money factor, I think it has everything you're looking for in a "small city." If you'd consider Salt Lake City itself, there are more options. Whether you're in the actual "city" or not, Salt Lake City does not feel like a big city. The downtown area covers only two or three square miles.
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Old 12-01-2020, 02:13 PM
 
Location: Salt Lake City
27,889 posts, read 29,685,076 times
Reputation: 13053
Quote:
Originally Posted by zimm17 View Post
I'm looking for the same! Trying to stay within a day's drive of Moab (love that place). My circle is expanding from Idaho to Northern Arizona. However good schools (middle/high) is important. Hope you don't mind if I tag along...
You live in Italy and you want to move to Salt Lake? Wow!

The driving distance from Salt Lake to Moab (Arches, Canyonlands) is about 4 1/2 hours. It's about the same to our other three national parks -- Bryce, Zion and Capitol Reef. I don't know if you've visited them, but they are every bit as spectacular as the area around Moab.
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Old 12-02-2020, 09:42 AM
 
137 posts, read 139,451 times
Reputation: 186
Quote:
Originally Posted by zimm17 View Post
I'm looking for the same! Trying to stay within a day's drive of Moab (love that place). My circle is expanding from Idaho to Northern Arizona. However good schools (middle/high) is important. Hope you don't mind if I tag along...
Join along!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Katzpur View Post
Salt Lake City proper has a population of about 190,000, which is larger than what you appear to be looking for, and the entire Salt Lake Metro area has a population of about 1.2 million people. If that doesn't present a problem for you, I'd suggest you look at Cottonwood Heights, which is about 25 minutes from downtown Salt Lake City. It has a population of about 34,000, and checks off all of the boxes you're looking at with the exception of price. And honestly, I don't think you'll find much anywhere in the Salt Lake City area for under 300K. I haven't been in the housing market myself for a very long time, though, so I suppose it's possible that a realtor would know of some homes in that price range. Cottonwood Heights is on the east side of Salt Lake City, which is generally considered to be more desirable than the west side. I say "generally, because there are a few obvious exceptions to that rule of thumb. Even within Cottonwood Heights, though, there are areas which are less expensive than others. Other than the money factor, I think it has everything you're looking for in a "small city." If you'd consider Salt Lake City itself, there are more options. Whether you're in the actual "city" or not, Salt Lake City does not feel like a big city. The downtown area covers only two or three square miles.
I read that SLC has pretty harsh winters, is that accurate?
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Old 12-02-2020, 10:22 AM
 
Location: Salt Lake City
27,889 posts, read 29,685,076 times
Reputation: 13053
Quote:
Originally Posted by Skoster View Post
I read that SLC has pretty harsh winters, is that accurate?
Honestly, that's a whole lot more subjective than you might think. I hate Salt Lake City winters, but they're all I've ever known. I hate to be cold (winters are the only thing about living in Salt Lake that I don't like), and I start to get uncomfortable when the temperature drops below about 55 degrees. I'm downright miserable when it gets below 45 degrees. A lot of people will tell you that winters here are really quite mild. So here are some actual facts so that you can judge for yourself how the weather would seem to you...

January average daytime highs: 38 degrees
January average nighttime lows: 22 degrees

April average daytime highs: 62 degrees
April average nighttime lows: 40 degrees

July average daytime highs: 93 degrees
July average nighttime lows: 65 degrees

October average daytime highs: 65 degrees
October average nighttime lows: 41 degrees

You can see by these stats that we really do have four pretty distinct seasons. We get very little rain. Our precipitation comes mostly by way of snowfall. The city itself gets about 5 feet of snow in the winter. That may sound like a lot, but remember, it's just a few inches at a time. The first measurable snowfall of the year averages around November 6. The last one of the season averages around April 18. Our humidity is quite low, though, so the cold doesn't feel quite as cold as it might feel elsewhere and the heat doesn't feel quite as hot as it would in a more humid area.
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Old 12-02-2020, 04:22 PM
 
565 posts, read 459,222 times
Reputation: 1332
I lived in Ogden during the winter of 92-93. IT NEVER STOPPED SNOWING. I shoveled our walkway and sidewalk as well as the elderly couple's next door. It looked like a WWI trench. The plows were running out of places to push the snow. There was barely room for two cars to pass in some residential areas.
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Old 12-02-2020, 05:04 PM
 
Location: Salt Lake City
27,889 posts, read 29,685,076 times
Reputation: 13053
Quote:
Originally Posted by forsheamountain View Post
I lived in Ogden during the winter of 92-93. IT NEVER STOPPED SNOWING. I shoveled our walkway and sidewalk as well as the elderly couple's next door. It looked like a WWI trench. The plows were running out of places to push the snow. There was barely room for two cars to pass in some residential areas.
Yeah, but that was an unusually bad winter. Really not typical. Last winter, my husband hardly got the snow blower out.
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Old 12-02-2020, 05:19 PM
 
565 posts, read 459,222 times
Reputation: 1332
I threw the Christmas tree into the back yard and we didn't think about it until spring came.
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Old 12-03-2020, 12:07 AM
 
137 posts, read 139,451 times
Reputation: 186
Quote:
Originally Posted by Katzpur View Post
Honestly, that's a whole lot more subjective than you might think. I hate Salt Lake City winters, but they're all I've ever known. I hate to be cold (winters are the only thing about living in Salt Lake that I don't like), and I start to get uncomfortable when the temperature drops below about 55 degrees. I'm downright miserable when it gets below 45 degrees. A lot of people will tell you that winters here are really quite mild. So here are some actual facts so that you can judge for yourself how the weather would seem to you...

January average daytime highs: 38 degrees
January average nighttime lows: 22 degrees

April average daytime highs: 62 degrees
April average nighttime lows: 40 degrees

July average daytime highs: 93 degrees
July average nighttime lows: 65 degrees

October average daytime highs: 65 degrees
October average nighttime lows: 41 degrees

You can see by these stats that we really do have four pretty distinct seasons. We get very little rain. Our precipitation comes mostly by way of snowfall. The city itself gets about 5 feet of snow in the winter. That may sound like a lot, but remember, it's just a few inches at a time. The first measurable snowfall of the year averages around November 6. The last one of the season averages around April 18. Our humidity is quite low, though, so the cold doesn't feel quite as cold as it might feel elsewhere and the heat doesn't feel quite as hot as it would in a more humid area.
Thanks, that's nowhere near as bad as I was led to believe! To me 45 degrees is still fine for a t-shirt, but I grew up in the northeast.

I'll put SLC on my radar, appreciate it!
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