There is a slight possibility my husband could get a job in Salt Lake city. I know very little about it and would appreciate some first hand informaiton.
Is it a nice town? How intensely Mormon is it? Would a non-religious family have trouble there? What about the weather? What else should I know?
Hi Autz,
I live in SLC. I’d be happy to answer any questions you may have. SLC itself is around 50-50 Mormon v. non. I’m not. My boy (who’s 13) doesn’t have any problems not being Mormon. The more rural you get, the more you’ll run into problems in this area. It will probably the first question many people ask you. At least in my experience.
The weather is okay. It seems like it’s freezing or burning to me. It very rare it’s humid. The scenery is very divergent. You can go down to Zion’s or Moab which is red rock country, or camping in the Uintas which are mountains. Lots of hiking and biking opportunities. Lots of good libraries. Not a ton of nightlife downtown. Liquor laws are a little weird. Housing prices are outrageous, IMO. Definitely something you want to check out. SLC Weekly carries The Dope, so there are some enlightened people.
Any idea where your husband would be working? What’s important to you?
Autz, you have four kids, right? I have very little experience with Utah, despite my lifelong Mormonness, but I would bet you a lot of money that people who see your family will assume right off that you’re LDS, and will act accordingly until you set them straight. You may have to buy beer-themed t-shirts or something. 
There are tons of great family-type things to do in SLC. The libraries make me (a librarian from impoverished CA) drool. The roads are very nice and it’s easy to find your way around. The valley looks like it’s filled with a big lake made of houses, and the housing prices, to me, are relatively cheap, though not to anyone who doesn’t live in CA. From my POV everyone is more interested in clothes, hair, nails, and dressing their children nicely than I could stand, but (again) I live in granola-ville, and for all I know everyone else is like that. Everyone seems to own an SUV or truck. Um, I can’t think of anything else, but there you have the impressions of someone who visited for a week last year.
Yes, I have 4 small children. I guess large families are more common there and maybe I wouldn’t get so many funny looks.
How cold are the winters? How hot are the summers? How much snow?
Is there any agriculture in the area? Is it green and pretty?
How far to good skiing?
How are the schools?
By the way, my husband would work at the university.
Maybe? Autz, you will never again hear anyone ask you what the heck you were thinking when you had four, and don’t you know about the population problem? Instead, people will ask you whether you’re planning on having another soon. No, I’m not kidding.
I dunno about the other stuff.
See, you’re not a MEMBER so you can’t search…neener neener!
heh, lookie here:
Tell me about Salt Lake City
Question about Utah
Hope these are of some use.
Personally I can imagine only one other place (coastal Washington) that I’d rather spend May & June. The Valley is positively lovely in a deserty kind of way.
I lived in SLC 20+ years until I moved to Japan, but it’s been 15 years since I’ve lived there, so my impressions are a little old. I’ve still got family there, so I go back yearly.
In my generation, 6 to 8 kids was pretty standard. 4 is more normal now, you’ll fit in.
Winters are colder than CA, but not as bad as mid-west / Chigaco where my sister used to live. Lot’s of snow, but not as much wind, and not as many sub zero nights. The summers are hot, lots of 100+ days, but it’s dry heat, not like the humidity here in Japan. I can take the heat over humidity.
The city is OK because of all the lawns, but a lot of the state is a desert. Some people like that, others don’t. The mountains are great in the summers and good waterskiing and camping. If you like the outdoors, it’s a great place.
Trying to remember, about 10 hours, I think. Now, if you want to ask about FANTASTIC skiing, about 20 to 45 minutes, depending on which part of the city you live. 
Some great schools and others which aren’t as good, but overall pretty good. Since you husband would work at the university, he should ask which are the better schools now.
It’s right by the Great Salt Lake.
I hope that helps.
It features the world’s easiest addressing system, as do most areas of the state. While many roads (especially in new subdivisions) have names, most are simply numbers and directions (ie., 1234 N 2000 W…house number 1234 on the North end of the street called 2000 W). Hooray for squares! Oh, and if you buy a house, I’ll probably be the one doing your Flood Zone Certification.
I lived there for four years, many years ago. I loved it. As many have said, it’s clean, easy to get around, generally safe, and is really close to great skiing, hiking, kayaking, etc. I’ve also found that SLC has th most comfortable magazine stores. It used to have the biggest video store I knew of, but that’s long gone now.
The blend, last I recalled, was less than 50% LDS, although the Mormon Important Sites – Temple Square, three of Brigham Young’s houses, the Church Offices, the Church Museums, the Beehive and Lion Houses, etc. are all there.
I always got along fine with my neighbors, LDS and non-LDS alike, and never felt excluded. Other people, I know, have different experiences. There’s a pervasive LDS influence that some fin stifling (they censored movies and TV shows on the PBS station broadcast by Brigham Young University, but not the ones on the University of Utah PBS station, for instance).
Unless things have changed a lt since I was there, you can’t get anything stronger tha 3.2 beer in a bar. You have to join a Private Club. Some restaurants have parts designated as Private Clubs or State LIquor stores so that you can get wine with your meal. It’s a big song-and-dance that really doesn’t completely satisfy anyone.
I could easily live there again. My wife, having visited once, didn’t think she could. Try a visit and see how you feel.
** I have a friend who works at the university and lives near me. He rides his bike to work most days. It’s a couple of miles. The university (University of Utah, right?) is on the east side of the valley, and definitely in SLC proper. You could feasbly live any where in the valley, or even Park City or Heber, if he doesn’t mind a longer commute.
Here’s a site with some pictures. It mostly has scenic pictures, but there are some of the Salt Lake Valley. http://utahpictures.com/Pictures_frames.html Another Salt Lake City - Photo Gallery
Where did you used to live? Central Wyoming?
My wife and I left SLC for Seattle. Housing prices in Salt Lake are positively a bargain
Here it’s impossible to find a 3 bedroom house in a good neighborhood for less than 250k.
You probably couldn’t afford Park City and nobody in their right mind wants to live in Heber…
However, if you’re looking to live up in the mountains and don’t mind the commute, you may want to check out the Kamas Valley. It’s booming right now…
Well, it’s about 220k here. You live in paradise. SLC, not so much paradise. Housing sales are in a slump, so you can find some deals currently.