any ideas?

[aussie_american]

You haven't indicated what sort of price range you are considering so I'm not sure what would be "expensive" or affordable for you. Salt Lake valley is roughly divided down the middle (north to south) by the Interstate Highway I15. You will generally find that housing is cheaper on the western side of the highway. You might consider looking at Riverton or Herriman, if you find the prices in Draper or Sandy are too high. There is lots of new housing development in Riverton and Herriman, and access to Draper is pretty fast and easy travelling along Bangerter Hwy (it would take about 15 to 30 minutes to get to Draper, depending on where in those areas you lived). We lived in rental accommodation in Riverton when we first moved here. It is a nice area with good access to schools and shops and lots of new housing. You might also consider looking at a development called Daybreak (in West Jordan). It has more affordable housing on smaller blocks of land and lots of planned community amenities (lakes, walking trails) etc, although it is a longer drive to Draper down Bangerter Hwy. We chose to buy in Draper because we wanted to be closer to the canyons (for hiking, mountain biking and skiing) and particularly because it is only a 6 minute commute to work for DH. It also means we've been able to manage with only one car because it is easy for me to take DH work if I need the car. However, if you are renting initially you should have plenty of time to look around at the various areas and get a feel for what is in your price range and meets your family's needs. I guess the toughest part will be if you need to put the kids in school while you are renting, then you probably would want to try and avoid having to change schools once you find a house. The school year here ends around the first week of June (rather than December) and the new year starts around the middle of August, so if your arrival is timed around this long Summer break, then you'll have a couple of months to look around and decide where you might like to live and then put the kids into the school in that area, so that you don't have to change schools later.

You don't say what age your children are. If they will be in elementary school then there is a good chance you will be able to find a house within walking distance of the school. Like Australia, there are fewer high schools to choose from, because they tend to have a larger population in high school drawn from multiple "primary" schools. (Of course here they have the extra step of middle school that covers grade 7 to 9). So your choice will be more limited if you want a house that is walking distance from a high school.

Overall, I would suggest you do some real estate research on the internet before you move to get a feel for the prices and types of houses in the areas I have mentioned. It will give you an idea of where to start once you are here and looking for a house. Now is a good time to buy - there is a lot of real estate for sale and things are moving slowly so it's pretty much a buyers market.