Thinking of moving to Salt Lake? Good idea?

[Danieljay]

I currently live in Portland, OR. It's a great place to live but not economy or business friendly. Housing is attrocious here, unaffordable unless you moved here 15 years ago and bought then. I moved here from Kansas 4 years ago, it's wonderful to be in a Blue state; that being said, we have Master and PhD students competing for 30K jobs here. Its crazy.

Wichita Kansas was not a bad place to live, although I'm glad I left. My partner, she's a licensed naturopath and is thinking about starting a new practice in Salt Lake City. Utah has good licensing for naturopaths and a wonderful formulary for her to prescribe from. There's only like 12 licensed ND's in the state and a colleague of her and former medical school professor said she would do incredibly well there. Oregon has hundreds of Naturopaths due to the two accredited colleges here in the Northwest; the market is saturated.

Tell me about Salt Lake? Are there good thunderstorms there? How's the soil for growing tomatoes? Is there a progressive community to move in to? We want to live in the city and avoid the burbs; we can't stand suburbs. Is there an "old town" type district?

We are leaving today and will get there tomorrow, stay through wednesday. Are we nuts? Housing seems affordable, the economy is doing well and growth is quadruple for the next five years. Tell us the good?

Thanks.

[Momgonepostal]

1. I've lived in Utah and have a few thoughts...

I lived in Utah County which is very republican and oppressive for any type of democrat, but I always liked Salt Lake. Follow the same guidelines you would for moving to any metropolitan area...the suburbs are more conservative, and the central city more liberal. Areas of SLC you might want to look into are Sugarhouse and the Avenues. There are probably other more progressive districts, that a current resident would be able to name.

Don't let the redness of the state fool you. SLC is much more progressive than the outer counties. The mayor, Rocky Anderson, strikes me as very left wing, and spoke at a big war protest in SLC a few months ago.

That you're already partnered is a good thing. Many non LDS are not happy with the social/dating scene there.

I remember some great thunderstorms there, and the weather does change fast. I remember going into class on a sunny day and leaving 50 minutes later in a downpour. I never gardened there, but know lots of people do, so I doubt tomatoes would be a problem. The only caveat, the neighborhoods I mentioned about will have smaller yards than the more conservative 'burbs.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

[Broken_Hero]

2. So,

have you decided to move, or not? I spent quite a few vacations down in SLC. I was raised mormon, and we visted the temple there quite a few times. The weather, to me at least was horrible, I hate the heat. But, I hear the skiing during the winter times, up in the mountains is rather nice, and yes, it does thunderstorm there...:)

[WindRavenX]

3. I'm kicking this

I may be moving next year to SLC to :D

[Hamlette]

4. lived here all my life, have a love/hate relationship

but I've never left. It is a beautiful state. Hot summers, lots of snow in the winter. Half the state is Mormon and they are right wing and slightly crazy but not anything like fundamenatalist crazies.

Rocky Anderson, mayor of SL is a godless commie pinko (almost). Hate him as a person (had a case against him when he was a lawyer) but love him as a mayor.

[thefuzz811]

5. Salt Lake Has is having a big progressive movement

I lived outside downtown for 6 months and hated it. If you get a place downtown you will like it. There are lots of things to do; art shows, lots festivals and live music(that are mostly free), it has a good public transportation system (at least downtown). There is also two good radio stations that promote community involvement and diversity.
http://krcl.org/
http://www.kuer.org/
It also has some great alternative news papers.
http://www.slweekly.com/
http://www.catalystmagazine.com/
If you do move here, it would be a wise decision to advertise in those publications.
The food is great, and both of those paper put out dining guides. The cuisine is diverse, and tasty.
Surrounding the city, there is so much beautiful landscape. You've got desert landscape, mountains, lots of ancient fossils, cave paintings, and many other sites. The High Unitas, is the most beautiful place I have ever been.
I don't know if I will live here all my life, but I am definitely enjoying my time here.

The only bad side is the majority opinion. You can ignore it if you live in the city, but it is apparent in all of the surrounding suburbs.

[Kitty Herder]

10. Seconding that opinion.

Downtown SLC is great. But you don't want to live outside that area.

[thefuzz811]

6. Another thought.

Growing tomatoes, peppers, corn, squash, melons, herbs, potatoes, and lot of other plants is not relatively hard. Another good thing is the farmers market every Saturday, at Pioneer Park. Lots of local, organic food is available; as well as local artist and craftsmen. The Catalyst Magazine, that I linked in the previous post, puts out a planting guide each year. The list the produce, then the best date to start the seed, and plant it.

The Avenues, and University area are probably the most liberal, because of all the students. Sugar House is a great area also. Stay away from Draper, Murray, South and West Jordan, Kerns, Magna, Bountiful, and Rose Park. They are either run down, or overly conservative.

[liberalmuse]

7. Sugarhouse

If you move to Salt Lake City, you may want to consider living in the Sugarhouse area. Sugarhouse is very progressive and is one of my favorite parts of Salt Lake City. Unfortunately, I live in the 'burbs in a very Mormon neighborhood, but there are a few of us progressives there, too. Salt Lake has a lot of beautiful surrounding areas if you love outdoor activities like hiking and camping. I've lived in Las Vegas and have found that there are more liberals in SLC, or rather, the liberals here are pretty hardcore.

Housing is not too expensive and you can live here really cheap. I can get a months worth of groceries and sundries for under $50.00 at a discount market in West Valley. Utilities are cheap, and in comparison to most of the country, gas is cheaper here, too.

Anyway, I'll trade you. I'd LOVE to live in Portland!

[number6]

8. moved to Utah yet

houses are cheaper now

[bburt]

9. Yes, good idea! Salt Lake City is very progressive ...

... it's the rest of the state you have to watch out for. It's got something to do with the fact that Salt Lake City is an ultraconcentrated patch of blue within the reddest state in the nation.

Don't be fooled: When you venture outside the city, you're likely to encounter some of the craziest right-wingers you ever saw. And you will venture outside the city, because Utah has many, many natural charms--including redrock desert, spectacular mountains and some spots (like Upper Calf Creek Falls) that are so unbelievable as to defy description. Still, there's rarely a need to feel threatened--you'd be surprised at how fake-friendly those right-wingers can be to your face, especially when you're spending money in their podunk towns. (It's when they're in their churches and political organizations that they really get the hate going.)

For as long as I can remember, there's been a strong lefty streak in Salt Lake City. During the '80s, it seemed to be something of a counterculture (and, indeed, the "alternative" movement lasted here longer than in any other city). But it seems that, during the '90s and '00s, we've started to grow up a bit--to the point that, now, the city's mainstream POV seems to be approaching radical leftism, at least within many subcultures.

As for thunderstorms, the really great ones happen in late August through September, but there are also some in mid-to-late spring. Yeah, they're good. You'll have no problem growing a wide variety of tomatoes here with our hot growing season; lots of people now have great success even with heirloom varieties, but even if you just stick a couple Romas or Early Girls in the backyard and pay them a minimal amount of attention, you'll be overwhelmed with fruit from July through October.

We still have an inferiority complex, but we're fast growing out of that. Many of our coolest neighborhoods are about a year or two from crystallizing.

• The "Old Town" that you're thinking of is probably "Old Greektown." (Unfortunately, it contains a horrible, new open-air mall called The Gateway, but it's an up-and-coming hipster enclave with lots of converted condos.)
  
• The Marmelade District (cool old houses going cheap, and some new, overpriced condos) is just on the verge of popping--it's going to be the "gayborhood," with lots of coffee shops, bookstores, etc. (There is also a charming, large polygamist family in the area, which opposes the gay onslaught and is sure to provide much color and excitement.)
  
• The Lower Avenues area has largely been gentrified, and has been a traditional liberal enclave for decades. It's a beautiful neighborhood with lots of older houses and mature trees; the McMansion problem seems to be under control now. If you buy a house here, though, you'll likely be subject to Historical Society restrictions.
  
• The University District has wonderful 100-year-old houses (occasionally for sale) and cheap(ish) apartments for rent. Diverse; lots of amenities.
  
• Rose Park is on the rise; traditionally a working-class neighborhood, its proximity to the city and (relatively) spacious lots have attracted home buyers; property values have increased, but it's kind of a "suburb within the city." Xeriscaping is becoming more popular.
  
• Sugar House (technically two words, although the park is correctly intercapitalized as "SugarHouse Park." Great neighborhoods; lots of trees; formerly home of a wonderful shopping district with locally owned, diverse stores, but taken over by an idiot developer who kicked out the shopkeepers, razed the building and then sat twiddling his thumbs while his funding scheme collapsed under him. Now site of a big hole in the ground! But, never fear, a big, monolithic strip mall will one day take its place. (Do we sound bitter? It's because we are.) Still, despite all that, Sugar House has lots going for it.
  
• 9th & 9th: Once an epicenter of Salt Lake's alternative artist/freak/intellectual movement, it has in recent years suffered from some weird developments, once again due to some property owners' unwise decisions. Still, a nice, lefty neighborhood to live in.
  

There seems to be a lot of interest in natural remedies, herbology and the like throughout the state. Unfortunately, this is coupled with our congenital gullibility which, unfortunately, means that some suspicious pyramid schemes tend to thrive here. That may be the reason genuine, licensed naturopathy hasn't yet taken off big. However, this also means there is lots of ground for reputable naturopaths to cover. I expect it shouldn't be too hard for your partner to establish a healthy practice here, although she may find it necessary to earn the trust of clients who may have been duped in the past by unethical, unlicensed "practitioners."

Hope that helps!