Thinking about moving to SLC (Salt Lake City: transplants, sales, renter)

[Brauchmann]

I am living in Portland Oregon & am thinking about moving to SLC. I like the high arid terrain & love to hike, camp & generally being outdoors. I did grow up LDS but have drifted away from the church as I have gotten older. I am tired of Portland, cost of living is through the roof, crime & homelessness is seemingly out of control. I don’t know which neighborhoods of Salt Lake are reasonable to live in and I am looking to live in an area that provides me with a sense of community. Does anyone have any suggestions?

[kletter1mann]

Maybe give a little more to work with? Like age, job/career status, budget, any family? Cheers,

[Brauchmann]

I work in financial services, possibly can transfer however I don’t think getting a job will be difficult. I have family in Wyoming but am not close to them.

[kletter1mann]

Well, frankly that's still not much to go on which is probably why nobody seems to helping here. You don't say whether you're single or not, I'm assuming you are. If so consider downtown area. There are condos and townhouses that might be suitable. Same goes for Sugarhouse area. Both would be considered "reasonable" areas. Understand that SLC and environs are overwhelmingly just endless suburbs smeared over a large area. By "suburbs" I mean single family homes with the occassional condos or townhouses scattered around. As you get away from these semi-urban clusters everything becomes VERY suburban, mostly families and endless strip malls.

[ejisme]

SLC has been discovered too. I wouldn't expect it to be that much cheaper than Portland. Maybe gas prices, but not much else. Then add on sales tax to everything.

[Brauchmann]

I am single, live very close to downtown Portland. I am a renter since my roommate died couple of years ago & I decided to sell my house in burbs & move into the city. I was in a relationship for 6 years & finally realized you can’t change the spots on a leopard. It is what it is. I was in Salt Lake a couple summers, parents sent me there to stay with missionary when I was younger since they knew him to work and to stay involved with church. Been along time. Looking for a change, tired of the rain. Looking to make new friends, hopefully afford alittle more than in PortLand & with values coming down, possibly purchase a duplex in the next couple years.

[kletter1mann]

Originally Posted by Brauchmann

I am single, live very close to downtown Portland. I am a renter since my roommate died couple of years ago & I decided to sell my house in burbs & move into the city. I was in a relationship for 6 years & finally realized you can’t change the spots on a leopard. It is what it is. I was in Salt Lake a couple summers, parents sent me there to stay with missionary when I was younger since they knew him to work and to stay involved with church. Been along time. Looking for a change, tired of the rain. Looking to make new friends, hopefully afford a little more than in PortLand & with values coming down, possibly purchase a duplex in the next couple years.

OK, that paints a clearer picture. I'm just going to say it. You're going to be psychologically advantaged to deal with Utah culture by having spent time here and being LDS (if I correctly read between the lines). A great many of the issues debated on this board revolve around Utah culture & Mormon influence. "Will my kids be shunned in school?," "I'm leaving UT cause people are wierd, "etc etc. Then that's typically followed by denial &/or victim blaming.

Anyway, I'm going to stand by my previous comments: downtown SLC, Sugarhouse, and SLC in general. Not out in the burbs, not Utah county. You'll have far more singles, more social diversity and progressive minds (in a good way, not crazy uber-woke lunatics), fewer climate deniers and MAGA types. OTOH, for the latter head straight to Utah County if that's who you want to surround yourself with. Perhaps others will chime in.

[Katzpur]

Originally Posted by kletter1mann

A great many of the issues debated on this board revolve around Utah culture & Mormon influence. "Will my kids be shunned in school?," "I'm leaving UT cause people are wierd, "etc etc. Then that's typically followed by denial &/or victim blaming.

And of course, if people were calling you weird, you'd just sit back and take it.

And the reason I question the claim that non-LDS children will be shunned in school is that I was born and raised in Salt Lake City, and grew up having many non-LDS friends. In the group I hung out with, there were always a number of non-LDS kids. We didn't care; they didn't care; nobody's parents' cared. The same was true when my LDS-raised children were in school. They had lots of friends and nobody cared about anybody else's religion. So, of course, I'm going to express my opinion. I'd say it probably holds more weight than yours, since you didn't even more here until you retired (if I'm not mistaken about that), and are getting your information second-hand. Kids can be mean and there's undoubtedly a lot of bullying that goes on in schools around the country. A lot of kids are also shunned, but for various reasons, probably most of which don't have anything to do with religion. Sorry, but my experience is what it is. I sincerely believe it's no worse here than anywhere else.

[kletter1mann]

Originally Posted by Katzpur

And of course, if people were calling you weird, you'd just sit back and take it.

And the reason I question the claim that non-LDS children will be shunned in school is that I was born and raised in Salt Lake City, and grew up having many non-LDS friends. In the group I hung out with, there were always a number of non-LDS kids. We didn't care; they didn't care; nobody's parents' cared. The same was true when my LDS-raised children were in school. They had lots of friends and nobody cared about anybody else's religion. So, of course, I'm going to express my opinion. I'd say it probably holds more weight than yours, since you didn't even more here until you retired (if I'm not mistaken about that), and are getting your information second-hand. Kids can be mean and there's undoubtedly a lot of bullying that goes on in schools around the country. A lot of kids are also shunned, but for various reasons, probably most of which don't have anything to do with religion. Sorry, but my experience is what it is. I sincerely believe it's no worse here than anywhere else.

OK, whatever. Your experience is what it is. Yet it's impossible to deny that "fitting in" and related aspects of UT culture and Utah life are recurring topics on this board. I don't refer only to shunning in school. I have no personal experience, but it's regularly reported. Moreover, Utah culture most certainly does have some oddities that transplants observe. You don't see such discussions on the NY boards or CT boards or CA boards. Ever wonder why that is? That you never personally experienced any of it* isn't the point. And as a lifelong resident that never lived anyplace else it's not surprising that you wouldn't notice how Utah social culture differs from many (most?) places. Perhaps it would be more constructive to respond to the OP's question than getting all defensive.

*though if I recall correctly, you have said that there was some neighborhood you moved out of years ago cause people were so snobby or something like that.

[Katzpur]

Originally Posted by kletter1mann

OK, whatever. Your experience is what it is. Yet it's impossible to deny that "fitting in" and related aspects of UT culture and Utah life are recurring topics on this board. I don't refer only to shunning in school. I have no personal experience, but it's regularly reported. Moreover, Utah culture most certainly does have some oddities that transplants observe. You don't see such discussions on the NY boards or CT boards or CA boards. Ever wonder why that is? That you never personally experienced any of it* isn't the point. And as a lifelong resident that never lived anyplace else it's not surprising that you wouldn't notice how Utah social culture differs from many (most?) places. Perhaps it would be more constructive to respond to the OP's question than getting all defensive.

*though if I recall correctly, you have said that there was some neighborhood you moved out of years ago cause people were so snobby or something like that.

I believe my comments were as pertinent to the OP's question as yours were. I simply expressed a different perspective, which you quickly label as "getting all defensive."

I'm not saying that the culture in Utah is the same as elsewhere in the country. Whenever you have a single group that comprises 50% of the population, that's going to be the case. If I can find it, I'll repost something I wrote years ago that explores this issue in greater depth.