[Closed] Moving to salt lake city

Greatest snow on earth!

Erm, great skiing and boarding in the Cottonwood canyons, Snowbird and Brighton being my areas of choice (nothing wrong with Alta and Solitude mind).

Good climbing and bouldering in the summer (apparently, not been then). Suspect it’s got good and easy access to the riding south and places like Moab.

Found the Mormonism wasn’t a problem, slightly weird drinking laws at the time but not sure if they’ve changed since I was last there. At the time you needed to be a “club member” to go in to a bar and liquor store beer was limited to something like 4%. Only time the religious stuff got on my nerves was when I was in hospital there when the nurses we’re giving me the full on conversion speech knowing that I was immobilised on the gurney.

Yeah dry state. I had to buy a club membership at Snowbird to have beers. Mind you it was a long time ago. US Postal were training on the mountain LA was in the team.

It's full on survivalist in the mountains though. I was told that mountain lions were less likely to kill me than someone in a hut made of bean tins with a rifle.

Flights in are full of missionary Mormons returning and when I was there the folk in the airport were armed to the teeth as a matter of daily life

Quite jealous! I’d love to live there just to be with my partner, though city living wouldn’t really be my first choice. He lived there for years, until he moved to Moab last year, and I’ve been a few times. Where are you now? Utah and SLC house prices have gone crazy, but how crazy they seem may depend on where you’re moving from and what your income is.

Drinking laws have been eased a little, you can now get slightly stronger beer in a supermarket than used to be the case, but you still have to go to a state store for anything stronger.

Air quality can be an issue, smoke from fires and the traffic pollution gets trapped down in the valley. If you have bad allergies or asthma this might be a deal breaker, or at least have you looking for a means to escape town when it gets bad.

There are some great mountain bike trails and jump spots on the edge of town, and good bike shops. Bear in mind it’s a long valley, and SLC is really SLC plus Draper plus Ogden etc. The different areas can have quite a different feel - you might want to avoid Roy by all accounts! And if you want easy trail access then you’ll want to pick a part of town on the edge of the Wasatch or prepare to drive up or down the valley to ride. The Jordan River Trail is a good connector if you want to cycle commute.

I know a bunch of people in SLC and none of them is a practicing Mormon. Seems like it affects Sunday opening and that’s about it really, it’s not as all encompassing as you might think and if you’re not part of the church it doesn’t seem to matter.

All you need to know can be found here

If I had to pick one place to live in the US it would be SLC. Great skiing in the winter and MBing in the summer. Really safe state and a great place to bring up a family. The stuff about booze has all changed now and when I was in Utah about 6 years ago it has more micro breweries than any other states and was picking up loads of awards for best beers.

The Beerhive used to be an OK pub / bar. Good selection of beer. Haven’t been since 2018 though.

https://www.slcmenu.com/2019/05/22/beerhive-pub-menu/

Lived there for five years, but that was back in 1992-7, so things may have changed a bit.

As a young(ish) person it was a fantastic place to live. Great weather, mountains on your doorstep, weekends away in Moab, Bryce etc and holidays all over Western US. If you have a decent job the quality of life in the US is pretty amazing really.

The church doesn't have much of an impact on adults. We lived in sin and nobody batted an eyelid even then. Church members do a mission when they are young (going off somewhere to try to convert people) then don't seem to have any interest in converting folk after that. It's not a dry state and there are plenty of places to drink.

The only thing that would give me pause is if I had young children and wasn't a member of the church. It's part of the reason why we came back. Schools in the US are controlled by the local school board in a way that seems strange to us and funded by local property taxes.

Worked there quite a bit (well Provo which is just down the valley and genuinely Mormon central). Amazing skiing, moutain biking, hiking and climbing. Beautiful location - the high altitude blue skies are just amazing in the morning. Very outdoor centric, you also see people cycling to work which for the USA is quite amazing (thank the Mormons for that, taking care of your physical body is one of their tenants).

SLC itself isn't that dominated by Mormons (50% IIRC), so lots of 'normal' people to associate with. The Mormons are a bit odd, very welcoming when you arrive but once they realise you won't convert you just get shut out inc out of jobs at Mormom run companies eg Vivint is a big Mormon company and pretty much only employs Mormons.

Good Universities and a big high tech scene in the main valley.

It’s not a dry state and there are plenty of places to drink.

Does vary depending on how Mormon your town is eg in Provo (literally Mormon central) there is only one bar serving alcohol and that was the hotel we stayed in!

As for Mormons, as religions go it's not a bad one - it generally preaches looking after yourself - don't drink, don't be obese, don't smoke, don't get unfit, don't be fiscally wreckless etc. So you have a community of generally healthy well behaved people living quite a good life eg cycling to work rather than driving an F-350 pickup (although plenty of those).

I really enjoyed working there. Slight PITA to get to as direct flights are hard to find (BA ran one but only in certain months). Great internal connections though as SLC is a major Delta hub, so you can fly all over the US very easily.

I wouldn't live in the US, personally.

Lovely! I've only spent a few days in SLC and the area, but found it clean, safe and fairly relaxed by US standards. Other people have much more insight, so I'd just say I'm quite jealous!

The only thing that would give me pause is if I had young children

That's the only flag for me; it's the same everywhere I guess, that when your kids get to school age, how the local schools work becomes much more of a factor

Have only visited briefly on holiday (about 8 years ago). We definitely went in pubs without needing membership, but most places that were licenced as restaurants you had to buy food to also have a drink. Draught beer was limited to 4% ABV but pubs could sell cans / bottles at higher ABV. Personally I liked it, could have a session whereas usually on American brewed IPA beers after 2 pints I'm dead. I liked the small city centre (square around Red Rocks / Squatters pub) for being walkable and having cycling infrastructure and bus services and it felt safe at night, something lacking in a lot of US cities. But the urban sprawls for a long way.

It's 'only' 5 hours to the Jackson / Grand Teton NP and beyond to Yellowstone, and great summer and winter fun with lots of public land around (National Forests and BLM). In the other direction the Sawtooths and serious wilderness canoeing in the forests are ~5+ hours drive.

But the bigger question is can you afford to emigrate, visas, medical insurance fees etc and do you have a Plan B if it doesn't work out.

But the bigger question is can you afford to emigrate, visas, medical insurance fees etc and do you have a Plan B if it doesn’t work out.

I assume if it's a work move, the new employer covers all that - you'll need a work sponsor for the Green Card / temp work permit or whatever they give you now.

The US is a very polarised country, bag a nice job with a decent employer and they shower you in money and benefits.....

@Tiboy

Where do you live currently?

Obviously, this is a primarily UK based forum so just want to clarify whether you are considering moving from UK to USA or possibly moving from a different country or even moving from within the USA.

For instance, comments about schools/school funding aren't particular to SLC and would apply anywhere in North America...

Bear in mind that even if you have medical insurance in the US, it's limited. It doesn't cover everything, and the amount it will pay out is limited. And you are always fighting the insurers on every detail; and the providers are inflating prices to rip you off. Also, don't get pregnant - having a baby isn't covered, and you always need what we would call full consultant led care e.g. having a baby in a hospital operating theatre with the full nine yards for which you will be billed lots of money. The whole thing is a huge stress even if you are covered.

Thanks everyone for the comments so far. I should have given some more background but wanted to avoid biasing from the start. We are both brits, and our boys were both born in UK, but we moved to US nearly 7 years ago, to western massachusetts. Boys are now 7 and 10, and both bike and ski.

The school situation is an interesting aspect, it did worry us making the move originally but reality for us has been that it's different to UK approach but not worse. Like many things it was unfamiliar so took some adjustment. Anyone have knowledge of whether church membership affects ability to get into the schools? am investigating ourselves too but personal experience always valuable!

Healthcare really depends too, so many providers and schemes, was really lucky that we moved here with my company from Uk so had confidence it was a decent company. Molgrips you are absolutely right that you have to be prepared to catch a big bill even with full coverage, the deductible (excess) on our policy is $12k a year, so we have to budget to spend that in a bad year.

The role is in the south of the city, and we'd love to be out of the city a bit but as you note Hannah it's a booming market and very little option other than suburbia, which isn't our ideal honestly. prices quite a bit higher than Western mass but just about affordable we think.

Thanks again!

Is the grass green and are the girls pretty?

Or is that somewhere else, I get confused sometimes...

I’ve been to SLC twice in the last 5yrs for work. It didn’t seem very church dominated (more than anywhere else mid-west) and you could easily get a drink (if that was a major motivation). It’s much like many other Midwest cities, but it seems to have a very good outdoor lifestyle.

The joys of health insurance - max out of pocket, deductibles, coverage limits! (That’s before you get into 410k’s) My son is currently in US and had some serious surgery. Super fast and great care but the bills without insurance are eye watering. Good job he has insurance!

And yes having a baby is not covered by many providers but this is changing.

If your kids ride bikes and ski then I find it hard to imagine anywhere better - there's a strong high school bike scene and a whole choice of places to play in the snow. South of the city is good - the right end of town to escape to Green River and Moab at weekends. Plus there's Draper Bike Park with the Vertigo DH trail right there, and Go-Ride South (I'm biased because my friend manages it, but it's a great bike shop!). That said, friends of mine renting at the south end had to move north to buy a house - even $500,000 doesn't get you much at the southern end.

As for being suburbia, yes, there's a lot of urban sprawl, but there are also a lot of really nice parks and greenspaces within it, and because the area is quite long and thin, squeezed in against the Wasatch, you're never really that far from the quiet of the Wasatch hills and canyons.

So jealous!

Is the grass green and are the girls pretty?

It's a city so the girls are green and the grass is shitty!

all i know about it is that it isn’t far from Park City and that is a good thing for anyone who likes mountain bikes and skis.

I have nothing useful to add but if you do you've got to drive down the street to your new house blasting this out...

all i know about it is that it isn’t far from Park City and that is a good thing for anyone who likes mountain bikes and skis.

Our US sales guy lives in Park City - lucky bastard!

It didn’t seem very church dominated

It's quite a subtle religion - no worshipping false idols, so no crosses on chains, no pictures of Jesus, no crosses on walls, no spires on churches etc. Mormon underwear (it really is a thing) can be a give away - men wearing white vests on hot days under a suit. Also people not drinking on business lunches etc - often a good sign they're LDS.

Thanks everyone for the feedback and things to consider. After a bit of backward and forward on the offer we'll be making the move and heading to live in SLC later this year! Also planning to take a few weeks off in between and drive our sprinter van from MA to UT!

Now though the real fun begins as the housing market there is totally bonkers! @stwhannah if you or other half know anyone looking to sell in Draper let me know!

@Tiboy let me know when you get to CO, if it's during the summer I can meet you in the high country for a ride around Breck. Work permitting.

I wouldn’t live in the US, personally.

Like many places, including the U.K., there are inhabitants with points of view I find abhorrent; however, it’s an entire sodding continent, not merely a little island just off mainland Europe, and as such, it’s very easy to find somewhere to live away from the majority of the assholes!

Quite jealous now. While I wouldn't choose to move to USA personally, if I had to do it then SLC is one of the places I'd definitely consider. South of SLC gives you easy access to the Cottonwood canyons (we stayed in Cottonwood Heights) and there's some SUPERB skiing up there. Good luck

Very jealous! I've just moved back from Toronto to Europe and already miss being so close to the great outdoors of all different sorts

As all the above, for skiing/boarding it has some of the best powder resorts on the planet (Japan probably better, I've yet to go there).

I've been many times skiing and always stay in SLC as it's cheaper and not far from the two Cottonwood canyons which have the best resorts. Park City / Canyons are now one huge resort, but meh and insanely overpriced. Conditions don't hold up so well there.

Access with a little drive to other places, in particular Powder Mountain which really lives up to its name. Can pop over to Wyoming for Jackson Hole, Grand Targhee and much stronger beer.

Bikes, don't know really but I hear it's good, though I've seen strict rules about not riding in mud as it "damages the trails" (clearly they've never ridden in the UK). Then there's Moab down south. North America is fairly restrictive though compared to Britain on where you can ride and a lot of private land and "wilderness" areas which is off limits (and land owners with guns).

SLC downtown itself is a bit dull, though good bars and brewpubs. Beerhive is great. Tonnes of beers. Spent all day in there 😄.

Club membership thing has gone really and you can get stronger beer from stores and also places serving food. Bars also if in a bottle. Just draft mainly is lower percentage.

The salt lake itself and Antelope Island is good. Nice suburbs around the city. No idea on education and stuff.

If there was a place in US I'd want to live it would be there. But, guns, some of the attitudes (Utah still has racism issues), politics, health care costs put me off.

Just to join the general Utoh love in, it has insane stuff "nearby" in terms of best in the world it has:
The ski resorts, though personally I preferred Snowbasin and Powder Mountain to Cottonwood or Park City/ Canyons.
Worlds best (xc)mtb in Moab
And world's best crack climbing at Indian creek.
Also has amazing climbing & bouldering in Cottonwood Canyon
Huge bouldering in Joe's Valley and amazing deserts spires in various places.

That was the best 3 week holiday evah!

Loving the ideas and feedback, keeping a list of the suggestions! Houses seem even bigger on average than Massachusetts so if anyone ever wants to visit just drop a message, seems for a family of 4 4-5bedrooms is normal as well as a converted basement, will have plenty of room for guests! when we get settled it would be awesome to show some people around, and new work has levo's on site for employee use 😉

@10 that would be awesome, we are looking to drive across country so will look into passing by Breck, we did a trip to Bueno Vista a couple of years back and have planned to return!

Totally understand the varied opinions on living in US, there are plenty of downsides, but after coming back to UK for a couple of years we decided US was home for us, warts and all. it's a complex place, better compared to europe and a single country in our opinion, as it's so varied.