Anyone Lived in Utah?

I've spent many winters in Utah and did a 6 month contract there when I was a consultant. It is a beautiful state and the people are nice. There is a tremendous Mormon base and, even though I am not Mormon, they were very generous and kind.

The winters are hard when it comes to the weather. The snow comes fast and hard. The other seasons are absolutely gorgeous with amazing flowers.

As for areas, I really love Park City and Deer Valley.

I grew up in Kaysville Ut- right between Ogden and Salt Lake city- Haven't been there for about 10 years but I have some friends that I still keep in contact with that live there and a sister who just moved back to the Layton/Salt Lake area. That corridor between Salt Lake and Ogden is pretty densely populated, but it's a good area. I grew up around a lot of farm land which is now all houses and schools, so if you want more of a country life, you might want to look at smaller cities.
I also lived in Price Ut(about an hour south of Provo) for a while- a smaller town, but more of a dessert with a long drive through the canyon but not nearly as crowed at Provo.
Logan Ut- up north is also a great place. I went to school up there at Utah state and have another sister who lives up there with her family. It is a really beautiful city and I think I liked Logan best out of all the places I lived in but it gets really, really cold in the winter! But the mountians make it worth it! plus you are only about 4 hours away from YellowStone and the Grand Tetons and some other amazing parks.
I don't have too much experiance with Southern Utah- only that it's a little warmer and a lot more dry! One of my sisters lived in Moab(more of a tourist town) for a while and she really enjoyed it. St.George is also more of a tourist town, but the winters a milder than what you get up in Logan.
For the most part- people live in the Ogden/Salt Lake area- the rest of the state is made up of small towns spaced through out with a couple of bigger cities every once in a while. I didn enjoy growning up there- wish you luck! and if you need any more info- let me know and you can pick my brain!
~C.

I lived there for 3 decades.. your best bet for affordable houses is in the Draper or Jordan areas. Both are nice and very family friendly. I highly recommend the Kirkham and Friends realtors ( ask for Carolyn Kirkham or Connie Kwant and tell them L. Bird A. sent you to them... they are long time family friends and will treat you very well)
Good luck

Hi KD! Most of my mothers side of the family live in Utah including my oldest sister. All currently live around SLC. I wanted to tell you about St. George though. It is in southern Utah and that is where my sister and her husband have decided to go after he retires. The weather is milder than the ice cold winters in SLC. It is also a growing economy. They absolutely love it there!! Maybe yu should look into St. George.

Utah is beautiful. I lived there through junior high and half of high school. My family has also lived in the area- some of them up to 2004. It could be a great place to live. We were in the 'Sugarhouse' area a few miles from downtown SLC.

One thing I would be mindful as you pick a community is the religous diversity in the neighborhood you choose. If you are not Mormon, you will want to make sure there is diversity where you live. (When I was there SLC was 50/50 so it is not that hard). My experience was the Mormons were very friendly but it is also a tight knit community who plays and worships together several times a week. In some areas is it hard not to be part of that group. In some instance you can feel / be excluded. My parents neighbors had a little girl - as she got older (maybe 3 or 4) and she was closed out of play groups / not allowed to continue to play with some other kids because her family was not Mormon. My sister was the only non-Mormon on her street and they were excluded from several neighborhood activities. But - she would still move back and thinks it can be a great place to raise a family - just pay attention as you select your home an neighborhood. For me, it was a good place to grow up - and I had great friends both Mormon and non-Mormon.

I was there in September for my mother's funeral and we enjoyed our visit. We are also considering a move and it is on our list of possible destinations as well.

Good luck,

L.

I lived there for 9 months - outside Hill Air Force base in Ogden. I went to Weber State college while I was there. The scenery and the outdoor opportunities - sports, recreation, etc are awesome. I remember the air was so clean and the mountains so beautiful. You can drive very short distances to see amazing natural areas. Salt Lake City is a beautiful town. Ogden has grown and seems to be a nice sized town now.
The snow was amazing - there is a LOT of snow and it can begin in September! But it's beautiful, too. They have great snow removal system for the roads. The ski resorts in the winter and summer are beyond beautiful.
Good luck on this huge decision you have to make. Have never been in that position where I had to move somewhere for financial reasons - it sounds scary but also exciting. God's blessings on you and yours!