Relocating to SLC - is it really that bad there? (Salt Lake City: renters, crime)

[jsc777]

Hello, I have great job opportunity if I relocate to SCL. Currently I'm in ID and really like it here. However, I have a job offer that would really be a great career move. The posts I read seem to be all over the place about being non-Mormon there. I'm spiritual but not religious and hesitant moving to SLC.

I'm mid 40s WM and single with no kids - so schools aren't a concern but the dating is something I need to consider. I'm not sure I want to live in a city that has a religion SO prevalent in everyday life and city government. I hear downtown is not vibrant and fun - is that right? I would like to live in downtown or in an urban environment. I'm friendly and fun guy originally from the South and not sure how I will be received. I like to go out, meet new people, checkout breweries and catch live music.

Thanks in advance!

[Katzpur]

Originally Posted by jsc777

Hello, I have great job opportunity if I relocate to SCL. Currently I'm in ID and really like it here. However, I have a job offer that would really be a great career move. The posts I read seem to be all over the place about being non-Mormon there. I'm spiritual but not religious and hesitant moving to SLC.

I'm mid 40s WM and single with no kids - so schools aren't a concern but the dating is something I need to consider. I'm not sure I want to live in a city that has a religion SO prevalent in everyday life and city government. I hear downtown is not vibrant and fun - is that right? I would like to live in downtown or in an urban environment. I'm friendly and fun guy originally from the South and not sure how I will be received. I like to go out, meet new people, checkout breweries and catch live music.

Thanks in advance!

Seriously, you'll be fine. Yes, the legislature is dominated by "Mormons" and is quite conservative, but the people of Salt Lake City are, on the whole, actually quite liberal and open-minded. Just stay within the city and you'll find more people like you than you might expect. Stay away from the southern-most suburbs.

[SWFL_Native]

By starting out with the premise "is it really that bad there" then yes it's quite awful and you should stay where you're at or at least consider alternatives.

[CrownVic95]

Originally Posted by Katzpur

Seriously, you'll be fine. Yes, the legislature is dominated by "Mormons" and is quite conservative, but the people of Salt Lake City are, on the whole, actually quite liberal and open-minded. Just stay within the city and you'll find more people like you than you might expect. Stay away from the southern-most suburbs.

Interesting comment - can you elaborate a little of this?

I am very conservative, but not at all religious. I have ruled out Utah for relocation for decades because of the "Mormon thing", but am reconsidering now as a senior since so many options throughout the West have moved out of reach economically. What catches my eye in Utah is that, for whatever reason, there appears these days to be many more affordable housing options for seniors than in most other Western areas.

Where religion is concerned, all I care about is not being preached to or harassed in any way about religion. I want to live free of evangelism and to be able to count on being able to engage in casual conversation without it coming up....not often, anyway. That said, the Mormons I have known are some of the nicest people I've ever met. That aspect, of course, I welcome.

So I'd like to hear more about the southern suburbs and your take on whether I've been making too much of the degree of evangelism encountered.

[CrownVic95]

Sorry....never mind. Just want to save you the time.

I just read more about the inversions and the crime....WOW! I knew about the inversions years ago, but forgot about them. Last time I drove through Salt Lake was 2000.

And the crime?....hard to believe those numbers, but I have no reason to think they're lies. Far worse than most otherwise comparable cities.

Thank you, anyway.

[GraniteStater]

I know someone who is considering moving to the SLC and is now no longer considering it based on the inversions alone.

[CrownVic95]

Originally Posted by GraniteStater

I know someone who is considering moving to the SLC and is now no longer considering it based on the inversions alone.

Housing costs have moved out of reach throughout the entire West for mere mortals without California home equity. To say it's unbelievable is an understatement. In my area, homeowners by the tens of thousands have typically put away a $million and a half$ in new equity in ten years. Those folks can write their own tickets anywhere, leaving poor slob renters like me in the dust....almost literally. Literally, in increasing numbers of cases.

SLC appears online to be an oasis for senior rental availability/price, but that is rendered irrelevant by crime numbers in the ballpark with Stockton's....and those inversions.

I tend to slip back into my pre-afib, young and hardy, mindset from time to time. But reality makes inversions and some altitude things I would be foolish to ignore. I'm back to focusing on the Dakotas for when my coach turns into a pumpkin, which could be any day now. Bismarck looks interesting and favorable for seniors online, though I've never been there in person or to the state of North Dakota.

Bismarck, at this moment in mid-April!, is in the midst of a blizzard that could bring 24 inches of new snow. It's been too long for me.

[altajoe]

Originally Posted by CrownVic95

Housing costs have moved out of reach throughout the entire West for mere mortals without California home equity. To say it's unbelievable is an understatement. In my area, homeowners by the tens of thousands have typically put away a $million and a half$ in new equity in ten years. Those folks can write their own tickets anywhere, leaving poor slob renters like me in the dust....almost literally. Literally, in increasing numbers of cases.

SLC appears online to be an oasis for senior rental availability/price, but that is rendered irrelevant by crime numbers in the ballpark with Stockton's....and those inversions.

I tend to slip back into my pre-afib, young and hardy, mindset from time to time. But reality makes inversions and some altitude things I would be foolish to ignore. I'm back to focusing on the Dakotas for when my coach turns into a pumpkin, which could be any day now. Bismarck looks interesting and favorable for seniors online, though I've never been there in person or to the state of North Dakota.

Bismarck, at this moment in mid-April!, is in the midst of a blizzard that could bring 24 inches of new snow. It's been too long for me.

Pray for snow. We're in the middle of a horrific drought. too bad it's not a 240" storm. That would go a long way to filling up the reservoirs

[ejisme]

You're coming from Idaho now. Have you noticed the Mormon Temples? There is a big one I drive by regularly in Boise. Ward Houses are in every town throughout southern and southeastern Idaho. Somehow you have learned to really like Idaho with Mormons living all around you. You can find your people in SLC too. Not everyone is Mormon, and the city became much more liberal to attract the Olympics years ago. It would be tougher for children, but that's not your worry. You should be fine.

[kletter1mann]

Originally Posted by CrownVic95

Sorry....never mind. Just want to save you the time.

I just read more about the inversions and the crime....WOW! I knew about the inversions years ago, but forgot about them. Last time I drove through Salt Lake was 2000.

And the crime?....hard to believe those numbers, but I have no reason to think they're lies. Far worse than most otherwise comparable cities.

Thank you, anyway.

What sort crime do you fear?

I'm assuming that you don't deal drugs or consort with gangs or rob convenience stores, right? If not then the only thing likely to effect you is petty property crime - like stuff disappearing off your front stoop or out of your unlocked car. So don't leave your bike or skis out in the open. Just like anyplace else. Anybody moving here from a real city (e.g. Houston, Atlanta, Chicago, LA etc) finds the crime laughably low.