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My dh and I are seriously contemplating moving out to Utah.
We're from SoCal, but the price of homes is just insane.
I'd like to know what it's like out there - convince us please!
Angie : )
I live in Utah and I LOVE it!! I am originally from MN and came out here to go to school at BYU, ended up getting married and moving back to MN. My DH and I had just finished building a new home in MN in 1999 when we came out to UT to vacation and visit friends. We had so much fun and realized that we missed all the recreation and the beautiful climate, that we pounded a "forsale by owner" sign in the front yard on July 4th, had our home sold by end of month, and were in Utah by end of August! (I still can't believe I went though building a new home with two small children, just to hand it over to someone else!!! )
But it was a great move for us! When the weather is hot, we like to go up into the mountains for a picnic or a hike. My husband is into the "Jeeping" thing, he has a beautiful jeep all done up for rock climbing in Moab, UT. (I don't get it, it's a guy thing!!! ) We have all the seasons but winter is bearable in the valleys.
It is REALLY growing here though! There are a ton of Californians etc moving in here. The highways can be a pain during rush hour. We have to put up with inversions sometimes during the winter. Home prices have gone up here too, probably not like the pricing in California though. Education dollars are very limited here which suprised me! Coming from MN which is one of highest in nation to Utah, which is one of lowest in nation, was a shock! Luckily, there is a lot of parent involvement in the schools!
We live in Pleasant Grove, which is in Utah County by Provo/Orem. I personally think it is a wonderful place to live! Good luck with your decision!
We just move to Utah 6 months ago all the way from Northern VA for much the same reasons that you want to move. The housing prices in our area were sky high and even though we owned our townhouse we didnt see how it would ever be possible to own a single family home without moving so far out into the stix that the commute would be unbearable! Plus the crime rate was going up...the cultural divide was getting larger, the terror alerts were getting nerve racking and the traffic, rediculous!! I grew up in this area of VA but it was really getting unrecognizable to me and becoming a place I didnt want to raise my kids in. Even in our nice little community, there wasnt much for us since I think I was one of only a handfull of women who didnt work outside the home and send her kids off to daycare everyday.
Anyway we started doing some research and going over places we'd visited that we liked over the years and Utah quickly rose to the top of the list . Housing is much cheaper here (we now have our single family home in a lovely community, with a big yard and a view to die for!), traffic is a breeze, though the locals think it is bad, lol. Plus it is a bit like stepping back in time for us compared to the fast pace of our former home! There are many stay at home moms, tons of kids in the neighborhoods to play with, I feel safe just letting them go play out front and the friendliness of our neighbors here is just unbelivable!! They threw us a block party a week after we moved in to welcome us to the neighborhood!! I really like the schools here...atleast on an elementary level. Yes there is less spending per student here than in other states but the parent involvement is 100% higher than it was in VA. Plus they have a very high graduation rate here. There is tons to do recreationally anytime of year and the non humid weather is right up our alley! ANd to top ia all off it is just gorgous with the mountains all around and the beautiful blus sky (provided ther isnt an inversion, lol) . I highly recommend anyone move here, we are very happy with our decision and the wonderful changes it has brought to our family life. Feel free to PM me if you have any more questions!!
Thank you so much for your sincere responses. As I said, we're seriously leaning toward making Utah our home - it's just such a difficult decision to make when you know you'll be leaving family and friends behind.
I'm curious why all the builders make homes with basements - are there tornados? Also, what is an inversion?
Thanks again, Angie
I thought all homes had basements till I visited family members in Las Vegas! They can't there cause the ground it soooo hard! Maybe they don't in Cali cause of water tables/sea level?? Tornados are RARE here, SLC did have one a few years ago that did some damage. What I know of inversions are that for some reason in the atmosphere the dirty air gets held down in the valleys until a storm blows it out or it rains or the air pressure changes. It can be really "gross". But if you get in your car and drive up to the ski resorts that are above the inversion the sky is the most beautiful blue and its perfect. You can look down into the valley and see the bad air just sitting down there. I've got a beautiful view of the valley from my home and can see the mountains all around, but when we have an inversion, sometimes I'm lucky to see a block or two from my house. It's not always that bad though.
One thing you will notice about Utah is that you know everyone within a few block radius from your home! It's great! Everyone is very friendly! Where we lived in MN, you were lucky to know the people a few doors down from you! We left all my family in MN, that part was really hard, everyone on my side is there! But we try and go back once a year and I usually have family come out here and visit too!
Everyone in Utah builds homes with basements so they can "finish" them when they have more kids. :lol: We built our house about 5 years ago when we only had 2 kids. We left the basement unfinished. We now have 4 kids and are hoping to add one more soon. So, now we are working on our basement so we can have more room.
Having basements is just a convenience. It is really not that much more expensive to have unfinished room as a basement when you build a house.
We live in Utah and LOVE it. We live in a small town about 35 miles north of Salt Lake. IT is so beautiful. So friendly, love the mountains, very family oriented.
Well ladies my dh and I have two children and we want a better place for them than L.A. We dream about the day we'll be able to give them a room of their own, 'cause out here that's just what it is - a dream.
Maybe when we do go out there, us SCS girls can have a stamp cramp in the basement which will definately be my stamp room - the entire basement.
Born and raised in Utah. I love it! There are so many recreational activities available. You have the beautiful mountains and ski resorts, Moab (for bikers, and rock crawling), Lake Powell, and the National Parks at the south end of the state. My husband and I have talked about if we ever did leave Utah, we would want to live in Oregon. Really beautiful country up there!
Anyways, the basement thing is just because we are able to have the extra space. Like someone already said, other places probably don't have basements because of the water level, or other reasons. If you can have extra rooms in your house, why not? Most people build and finish the basements later on, mainly because of money.
The inversion isn't all that bad. It's probably nothing compared to what you are used to in L.A.
Hope you decide to make Utah your home! It's a great place to live. And we really aren't as weird as we have been made out to be.
Hi!!! Yes, I am from Utah--have lived here all my life, that would be 49 years! We love it!!!! We live at the base of a beautiful mountain, deer nibble my tulips! We are minutes from a beautiful canyon and often enjoy breakfast or dinner in the mountains. Hiking is amazing, there are trails for the whole family or more difficult rock climbing. There is snow skiing and many beautiful golf courses. You can ski in the morning and golf in the afternoon in April!!! All 4 seasons are very distinct and beautiful--I love the beautiful fall colors. Many often joke---if you don't like the weather in Utah wait 30 minutes and it will change! We live in a small town in central Utah--Utah county--Cedar Hills to be exact. It is growing rapidly--there are beautiful schools and churchs--it is a very religious area. I love it!!! If you want more details--pm me and I can answer any questions!!! cindy
Have you considered Idaho?!?
At one time Boise, Idaho, was considered in the top ten for "green cities" in the Northwest. It is a growing area, beautiful mountains, major airport, and is culturally diverse.
If discretionary spending for your school age children is a big plus, you might consider Washington State. We had friends move to the Seattle area and were very pleased that the public schools had so much to offer to their kids.
any utah girls here?
