What is it like living in Salt Lake City?

me | 11-20-2001 | me

[freedomcrusader]

I have a potential job opportunity in Salt Lake City, Utah, and I was hoping to get insights on living there from folks who have lived there, or are currently living there.

I don't mean to be biased/bigoted, but I've heard negative things about being Christian (especially Catholic) in Mormon Utah.

Any thoughts, insights, cautions, reassurances, etc. are greatly appreciated!

[cd jones]

I too am interested in any response. Looking for retirement location in 3-4 years.

[Shermy]

SOS.

[Restorer]

I doubt things are terribly different in SLC from what they are in any other large city, except that it is probably a little more conservative than most. Now life in rural or small UT or ID can be difficult. Not so much because people are hostile, but because most of the population is heavily involved with the LDS church activities, leaving non-LDS kind of out in the cold.

[lady lawyer]

I'm sure there are non-Mormon Freepers living here. I think Andyman is one.

FYI, we Mormons are Christians, too.

Being Mormon, I'm not qualified to answer your questions. I hear mixed reviews from non-Mormons. Some like it fine. They appreciate the fact that the crime rates are low and the environment more family-friendly than in some other places. Others really resent the fact that the dominant culture is different from their own.

I suspect it might be like a non-Catholic living in Rome.

If you decide to come: Welcome.

[strela]

What is it like living in Salt Lake City?

I spent a year there one night.

[lady lawyer]

Post Script.

One of the facts that makes me proudest of Utah: We are the only state in the nation in which Clinton came in third, after Perot, in 1992. Go, Utah.

[freeplancer]

First off, whatever you have heard, is nonsense. I live here and it is a spectacular place to live. I don't have time to write a 50 page paper dispelling all of the myths and stupid rumors, but the Mayor of Salt Lake City is a Democrat and the largest newspaper is unfortunately liberally biased big time. Just those facts alone should put a halt to any allegations or false hoods about Utah intolerance. Email me in private for any questions.

[Jack Wilson]

Aren't the liquor stores state-run and open limited hours?

[JoeGar]

All of your wives complain about your leaving the toilet seat up.

[Andyman]

I love it. I'm Catholic and love my parish as well as my LDS neighbors. The Catholic community here is very vibrant and close-knit, I think in great part because of the fact that there is a different dominant religion. Where you live here is very important too. On the east side of town people can be rather snooty and the LDS folks a little more aloof. If you come into a neighborhood with an open mind and heart (we invite Mormon missionaries into our house all the time but we have not yet been able to convert one) they will open their hearts to you as well. This is simply the best place I have ever lived.

If you want to converse about this in a real phone conversation for greater detail, feel free to email me and I'll send you my phone number.

[Lurking Libertarian]

As a Jew, I've always wanted to live in Utah so I could know what it's like to be a gentile. (-:

[freeplancer]

Profile

Freeplancer: 35 years old. Married in Salt Lake Temple. Living just outside of SLC. Active LDS church member. Education at BYU. Grew up in Oregon.

I also will give my phone number to anyone with questions.

Freeplancer

[lady lawyer]

As a Jew, I've always wanted to live in Utah so I could know what it's like to be a gentile. (-:

Another funny reference we have is to the word "Zion." To us, "Zion" means "the pure in heart," and has less to do with geographical location than with where Christ has established His church. Thus, some of the local institutions are named, e.g. "Zion's Bank," or ZCMI, for "Zion's Cooperative Mercantile Institution" (the world's first department stores when established in the 19th century.)

I have hosted delegations of Muslim diplomats around Utah and BYU. They always get alarmed when they see the "Zion" references on big signs. I have to carefully explain.

[Dog Gone]

St. Lake City is a city. Two blocks from Temple Square in downtown you can see people with purple spiked hair and facial piercings. There are illegal drugs there just like anywhere else. You can certainly find trouble if you're looking for it.

It has restrictive liquor laws, including the famous 3.2 beer rule. But you can find all the booze you want at liquor stores and in clubs.

I'm pretty sure that Salt Lake City has its own Democrat congressman, although the state legislature was trying to gerrymander him out this year.

It is an ideal place to live if you like winter sports. It's just up the hill. The city itself is on the edge of the desert and isn't scenic by most standards.

You certainly don't have to be a Mormon to live there or work there and many aren't. In some business circles it might help, though.

[stuartcr]

Should be OK unless, you live in the Mormon equivalent of a freerepublic neighborhood.

[another1]

Health may be a consideration. I am in my early forties now, but lived there for a couple of years in the mid-eighties. I relocated from the Detroit area. The altitude makes a big difference in oxygen density. In other words, it is harder to breathe. It takes some time to acclimate to that, and if you have any health issues - you may want to talk it over with your doctor. It was a bonus when I moved back to the Detroit area though, because I much more breathing capacity than anyone I knew. (I think this explains why the mighty Red Wings have such a hard time with that damn Avalanche! :-)

[Talkwire]

Though SLC is a bit more metropolitan than one would expect, the state of Utah is not. The LDS Church controls the government and the economy. The politics are populist, protectionist, and socialistic.

A Saint with a Bishop recomend will get a promotion/job over a non-LDS every time. Your kids will have half the friends they would otherwise. You will work twice as hard to have half the fun you do now (and risk a fine for it to boot).

SLC is not an attractive part of the country; kinda smoggy and brown.

[Andyman]

Hey, what's happening? Long time no see. We have to get the crew together for another lunch. What do you say?

[calvin sun]

I visited SLC two years ago. To be frank, the city itself was clean and well-laid-out (like Phoenix). But I was disappointed in the Great Salt Lake. It literally stank. I felt badly for the vendors in the arcade, because business seemed really slow.