What Is Your Opinion of Utah?

[_Gadianton]

I think the reason why Utah is so happy is because it's the #1 consumer of pornography.

[_Bond James Bond]

I don't like Utah. The Bondgirl doesn't live there. ;)

But seriously I thought it was alright in terms of scenery (although not my favorite place).

The Mormon influence would probably be a little weird to live around, but I could probably tolerate it far more as an atheist than as a conservative Christian. But I love where I live and would almost certainly never live there...I definitely need to visit again if only to get to Rio Tinto stadium. Probably more about my attachment to where I live now than any dislike of Utah (or anywhere else for that matter).

[_Scottie]

The scenery is nice in the northern, mountainous 1/2 of the state. The other 1/2 is ugly, desolate desert. There are a few pretty red rock places, but most of it looks like the Nevada nuclear test site.

[_Ray A]

Thanks for all of the comments so far, and the variety of opinions. About bad driving, I have been fortunate to travel much of the world, including the US but not Utah, and positively the worst drivers I’ve seen were in Rome, Italy. A pedestrian crossing meant nothing. Cross at the risk of your life. Of course I’m going back many years, so it may have changed by now (I hope). Rome really isn’t seeped in Catholicism like Utah seems in Mormonism, except at the Vatican City (I was also fortunate to tour the Sistine Chapel, but never appreciated the historical significance at the time). Possibly the only rival to Rome is Mexico City (what a congested place with some 22 million living in one city).

I spent a couple of weeks with relatives in Conneticut, also some time in New York City, Miami several times, and a brief stop over in Los Angeles (ah, the smog). At the time if someone had told me he/she was a Mormon I probably would have replied, “a what, Moonman?” In any case, many of the comments seem to reflect Eric’s perception. I recall there was some debate about liquor laws being loosened for the 2002 Winter Olympics to accommodate the Gentiles. Don’t know if they ever were. When I joined the Church in ’75 there were only some 3.8 million members, and many of the idealistic youth were aiming to migrate to “Zion”. For the vast majority that fizzled out. I’ve never seriously consider such an option. Clubs in my city are open all day Sunday until 4am Monday morning, and at Kings Cross in Sydney they go 24/7/365. I seldom participate in the night life (see enough of it at work), but it's nice knowing that at least the option is there.

[_Morrissey]

I quite enjoy living in Utah. I like living next to the mountains. I like the fact that I can leave my house and be on the ski slope in 30-40 minutes time. Salt Lake offers reasonably good cultural opportunities (we have season tickets at the Pioneer Theater for also attend other plays, symphonies, etc.). Season tickets for the Utah Jazz are relatively cheap (my brother who lives in Portland pays double what I do for season tickets). I have also recently gotten into soccer and am now a regular at Real Salt Lake (Major League Soccer) games.

I like the four seasons--winter is not overly harsh but offers great opportunities for winter sports, spring and fall are glorious, and summer can be hot, but is not humid. We are close to numerous national parks with majestic scenery. The people are generally good people. The airport is quite accessible but not a pain to get in and out of (which is good, as I travel a lot for work).

I think I could be happy living any number of other places (e.g., I really like the DC area), but I can honestly say that there's no where else in the US at this moment where I'd rather live (though I'd love to go live in Europe for a few years).

[_The Dude]

I grew up in Utah valley and went to BYU, and with each passing year I became increasingly agitated by the uber-mormon culture. My last year in Utah I lived in Murray, and while this was a little better with a lower percentage of LDS, there was still enough to bother me. On top of this I was in the process of leaving the church, telling my family, etc, so I was hypersensitive to all things LDS... billboards, TV commercials, Deseret Book, chapels on every corner (not an exaggeration in some of the newer developments around Lehi and Draper).

I've been out of Utah for 12 years, with only a handful of brief visits to family in Utah valley. My attitude towards the church has cooled down, believe it or not. I am currently on the job market and I applied for two different positions at the UofU medical school, among about 35 other research positions around the country. I think I could live in SLC again, for the right job. We'll see what the coming year brings. I would never consider living in Utah valley again, however, or working at a place like BYU.

[_Phouchg]

Beautiful scenery, ugly people.

(well, the people are often quite attractive, it's what's inside that's ugly)

fook

[_Tchild]

I have lived in Utah since 1978. Midvale, Layton, Orem, Holladay, Sandy, Orem.

Utah has its pros and cons. Culturally, it has changed a lot in just the last fifteen years. Growth has brought much more diversity especially in Salt Lake City.

Utah county is not a place for older singles, has NO nightlife and almost no culture outside of the homogenous LDS centric western U.S. mindset. If you are married or in a relationship however, even Utah county is pretty nice (it helps to have a large circle of non-practicing Mormon or non-Mormon friends). All along the Wasatch front you are afforded beautiful mountains and easy access to a wide range of outside activities, snow sports being the predominant attraction in the winter.

I don't own a boat, but if I did, I would be 7 minutes from the Lindon boat harbor to waterski on completely empty Utah lake, and in the winter, I am 25 minutes from Sundance ski resort, which is one of the most breath taking mountain vistas you could ever hope to see. I am about 1 hour from Park city, Snowbird, Alta, Brighton and Solitutude Ski resorts and about 45 min to Deer Valley via Heber.

In fact, a couple years back, after an especially snowy year Snowbird was open on July 4th. It was possible to go snow skiing in the morning and then waterskiing in the afternoon on the same day if a person was so inclined, such as myself

a three to four hour drive will get you to Moab, Arches, Bryce, Canyonlands, Capital Reef and Zions national parks, and some of the most stunning red-rock country you can imagine.

I like a lot a lot of places, but I would take Utah over most of S. Calif any day (minus the beach cities), or Las Vegas. Seattle, San Fran. and Phoenix in the winter could lure me away.

Summer and fall in Utah are just too beautiful to miss by living somewhere else.

Sundance in the fall.

[_solomarineris]

I talked my wife into buying something in SLC, she said "why don't you get something from
Park City?", we did. Were it up to me I'd get it from Moab or St. George.
The whole State is your playground if you like, fiercely beautiful and lonely.
I don't think I'd like to be anywhere else if it was up to me.

[_Pokatator]

Sure glad a few mentioned the Utard drivers....they are the worst, but 1J Idaho drivers are a close second.

I have a lot in common with Chadalac (sp) by the way, welcome to the board.

A few other Idaho tidbits about Utah.

The wind doesn't blow in Idaho, Utah sucks.

Utah has a license plate that says "Ski Utah", I want one in Idaho that says "Screw Utah

A story:

Franklin, Idaho is barely above the dotted line with Utah, near Logan. In fact it was established as being in Utah until better surveying came along and it was found to be in Idaho. This caused a border war. It got really bad when the Utahans were throwing dynamite over the border into Idaho and then the Idahoans were lighting it and throwing it back.

PS:
If the LOTTO gets over about 100 million, don't waste your time going to any store in Franklin, Preston or Malad.......the lines can get blocks long. It is fun to walk the line and point out the garment lines on the lotto ticket buyers.