--Anybody got one of these lists for a Northwesterner moving to Utah?!--
Don't have a list, but some experience:
I hope you like jello.
And if you are in the right part of the state, it is possible to get really good coffee beans. There are places to get good cappachino or lattes. Don't listen to them tell you you need a prescription from your doctor to buy it - that's just a nasty rumour.
The mountains are beautiful.
Some people drive like they get brownie points for never touching their brakes, and others on the same road act like their car has only one speed...somewhere around 40 mph, no matter what the road.
Don't expect to do any work on the 24th of July (the anniversary of the original Mormon settlers arriving). It's like trying to work in New Orleans on Mardi Gras. The crowds aren't so bad, but everybody has the day off.
If you want a nice quiet time on a major holiday, stay in town. Everybody else will be heading to the mountains.
Memorial Day is a big thing here.
There is a huge migration of tundra swans that pass through here. You haven't experienced nature til you've heard 10,000 swans chattering at once. And if you're lucky, you might even see a sandhill crane jump.
Bald Eagles congregate on the northern side of the Salt Lake in late January,early february. At this one viewing place, they sit on the ice, and eat carp they catch in the open water.
You can kayak in the Salt Lake all winter, but open freshwater gets a bit scarce midwinter.
If you are in the north part of the state, I can just about guarantee you a White Christmas.
Thanks. Hunter, ping to #145.