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cammaniac
Apr 13, 2004, 1:33 PM
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I have an opportunity to move to SLC from Atlanta to work for Black Diamond. I would like some Beta on SLC other than climbing. I know that the outdoors are fantastic but what about everything else? This would be a long term thing, maybe even to raise a family. We are not Mormon, are they as bad as I have heard? Do they make non mormons feel like outcasts, can you get away from them? What about overall area feel.
Any input would be greatly appreciated!!
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pawilkes
Apr 13, 2004, 1:39 PM
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you managed to steal my dream job but i ain't mad at you. i don't live in salt lake but i have spent lots of time in southern utah over the past few years so i can contribute a little something. the mormon community will effect your life to some degree but it isn't something that is pretty easily adjusted to. i have some friends who live in salt lake and we had a long talk one night about it. some of the language they use takes a little while to adjust to (like taking about "the church") but i think Utah, and especially salt lake, is becoming more open to non-mormons. good luck!
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atg200
Apr 13, 2004, 5:48 PM
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the mormons don't bother me too much(i am a recent transplant from CO), but it might be much harder if you have kids in school. there are a good number of normal dirtbags in salt lake, and a whole lot of them work for black diamond. i've had no trouble finding good people to climb and socialize with that i can swear and drink around.
the liquor laws are bizarre, but not quite as bad as i had feared. if you like good beer on tap, learn to brew. otherwise you'll just need to join a few private clubs.
the mormon billboards are hilarious - especially around provo.
there isn't a whole lot in the way of culture or fine dining if you are in to that sort of thing. i know it exists and i've sampled some of it, but it blows compared to most other major cities. best to think of SLC as an absolutely enormous small town.
no traffic!
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delarig
Apr 13, 2004, 6:32 PM
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I have lived in Utah (orem) for 15 years. I think it's a great place to live. People bitch about Mormons...blah, blah, blah, but in Salt Lake the culture has really moved away from that. I mean, I walk down the street in Salt Lake and except for Temple Square I really don't see any other Mormon influence. There are tons of bars, clubs, headshops, coffeeshops, restaurants ect. There is a very LOW crime rate. There is a really good live music scene. In the winter there is some of the best snowboarding and skiing in the world as well as great ice climbing. In the summer there is some of the best climbing in the world. There are some of the most amazing desert locations, you'll find anywhere, in southern Utah. In Salt Lake you are living at the base of mountains that rise up 6,000 feet above the valley floor. Here is a list of major climing areas within a short driving distance: Maple Canyon (90 min.), Little and Big Cottonwood Canyons (15 min), Rock Canyon (45 min), Logan Canyon (60 min), American Fork Canyon (20 min) plus hundreds of secluded misc. crags dotting everywhere inbetween. The is also the crack climbing wonderland of southern Utah (Indian Creek, Zion, Moab) as well as numberous world class bouldering areas (Ibex, Joe's Valley, Triassic ect). I hope this helps.
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oldmanwinter
Apr 13, 2004, 6:44 PM
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I have lived in SLC for a while now. I have had great Mormon and non-mormon friends. Never once felt like an outcast from the mormons. Especially in the climbing community, it doesn't matter, we all just like climbing. I see non-mormons bugging mormons to drink or smoke at times, but its all in good fun. I've never had a mormon try to preach to me. If you work for BD, I know you'll work with some mormons. I know a couple that work there.
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sevrdhed
Apr 13, 2004, 6:56 PM
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Black Diamond is just down the road from my house. It's in a pretty nice neighbourhood, it's about 10 minutes from the cottonwood canyons. Everyones pretty much covered everything else, I just thought I'd add... as far as culture and fine dining goes, while there's absolutely NO culture, I think there's some pretty good restaurants. Now, granted, I've never really been to any really nice restaurants outside of Utah, so maybe I'm wrong, but I think places like Tuscany, Baci, La Caille, and that really nice chinese place downtown whos name escapes me, all are pretty nice places. And as for just plain good food, hell, you can't get any better than Lone Star Taquiros burritos. Anyway, maybe that's just me.
Steve
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cammaniac
Apr 13, 2004, 7:24 PM
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So whats up with beer in SLC?? Can you get real beer without having to brew it?? I guess there's no strip clubs either, huh?
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atg200
Apr 14, 2004, 9:47 PM
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i haven't been to la caille yet, but tuscany and baci and most of the others i've tried are very average compared to what i expect in a large city(i've lived in New York, Los Angeles, Denver and worked extensively in most every other large city in North America). i've been to a few restaurants in park city that are pretty good. the main thing is to not set expectation for city life too high if you are moving to SLC - it is a gigantic small town, and it is in no way cosmopolitan.
you can get real beer in utah, just not on tap. the bayou on state street has an excellent selection of bottled beer.
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brianinslc
Apr 14, 2004, 10:07 PM
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In reply to: i haven't been to la caille yet, but tuscany and baci and most of the others i've tried are very average compared to what i expect in a large city(i've lived in New York, Los Angeles, Denver and worked extensively in most every other large city in North America). you can get real beer in utah, just not on tap. the bayou on state street has an excellent selection of bottled beer.
I dunno...there's a few good restaurants...Monsoon Bistro, Sakura, Bombay House all in a nice little cluster...and not breakin' the bank. I travel a bit too, and, seafood here is better than LA, but, that ain't sayin' much.
All in all, not a bad row to hoe...
And..."real beer"? I likes me some Cutthroat on tap. Etc (steamer, IPA, scorpian, dead horse, full suspension, not 2002...). With a blindfold on, and a dozen locally brewed ales, you might not be able to sniff out the 4% by volume from the Colorado or Californy brews. Maybe. Test I'm willin' to take...! I mean, if all you care about it alcohol content in your beer...then pour a shot of cheap vodka in your natty light...
There's a feller in my neighborhood who has old climbin' ropes strung up in his backyard...and every year this funny lookin' plant hangin' on them...I'll bet most of his neighbors have no idea what he's growin'...
And, about them type of clubs...happy "Trails" to ya...
Cheers...
Brian in SLC
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bittersweet_climbing
Apr 15, 2004, 6:11 AM
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SLC is a great place. Just a big, big town. It is the only city I would live in, cause I hate the city. I live in logan now, about 90 min North. I hate it here. Mainly cause I can't meet any people like myself, and I can't seem to find guys that want to climb every day like I want to. But whatever.
Snowbird/Alta has some of the best skiing in the county, and is only 30 minutes or less away. 500 inches of the best powder, probably in the world.
Nonmormons now outnumber mormons, I believe. But they are all cool in the city anyway. Logan is a bit different, but its all good.
SLC is centered between everything. You can ski and climb in your T-shirt on the same day. Head to Provo for some awsome ice. Moab is a few hours away. LV is maybe 5 hours? Bonniville Salt Flats 2 hours.
And you get to work for BD. What else can you ask for??
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atg200
Apr 15, 2004, 2:48 PM
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In reply to: And..."real beer"? I likes me some Cutthroat on tap. Etc (steamer, IPA, scorpian, dead horse, full suspension, not 2002...). With a blindfold on, and a dozen locally brewed ales, you might not be able to sniff out the 4% by volume from the Colorado or Californy brews. Maybe. Test I'm willin' to take...! I mean, if all you care about it alcohol content in your beer...then pour a shot of cheap vodka in your natty light...
i'm definitely up for a taste test sometime. it depends on the style of beer of course, but most IPAs or other pale ales are generally around 5-6% alcohol. utah beer tastes very overhopped to compensate for the lack of body that a low alcohol content curses the beer with. a proper IPA depends on the higher alcohol to give a stronger finish to the beer - beers like cutthroat have a decent start, but the finish trails off to nothing on my palate. but i am a huge beer snob, so there you go. in any event, i've got a fridge at my house with a couple of taps with good full strength home brew so that might be a good location for the pepsi challenge.
definitely agreed about the skiing being the best in the US. its a mystery to me why so many people travel to the summit county ski resorts in colorado when the wasatch is cheaper and better.
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bittersweet_climbing
Apr 15, 2004, 8:29 PM
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Hey. Don't tell anyone. The tourists can stay in CO.
I had a season pass this year to the bird, and met quite a few people from Co. Go figure. I spent a week at Vail with the family. I will take Snowbird any day.
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granitegod
Apr 17, 2004, 6:40 PM
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Well, SLC beats the crap out of Georgia, in my opinion.
If you're a Democrat, it can be maddening to understand the politics here, but I'm hopeful that we will keep one Democrat from Utah in Congress (Jim Matheson), and his (brother or cousin?) is running for Gov....but he's probably a long shot...
And if you're a big GW Bush fan, a member of the NRA, and own 4 wheelers and or a powerboat, and don't think that gas wells detract from the beauty of a redrock desert, you'll love it here.
The scenery of SLC and the entire state is so spectacular, a few words sentences or pages would not do it justice.
Beer is beer. You'll adust. You can get good beers at State liquor stores. They sell it warm, which sucks, and it's expensive. 3.2 Micro beer (which really is more like 4% in the bottle) is sold a grocery stores, and there are 2 or 3 good local breweries which make tasty, if not potent, beer for $6 a six. The bright spot in Utah alcohol is the state liquor stores have a BIG selection of wine at reasonable prices. Liqour is not much more expensive than other states I've been.
There are plenty of non-Mormons.....if you can afford it, you may want to live in Park City....more liberals, and despite the tourists, still a liveable town, with a reasonable commute to Black Diamond ( but far from the crags and the best skiing). Otherwise, living in Salt Lake City vs. the outlying suburbs in the valley may give you more neighbors who are likely to offer you a beer when you come over. And don't get me wrong....Mormons aren't freaks, most are nice people and good neighbors. But after you've turned away the missionaries from your door 3 or 4 times, you'll start to wonder what the hell is going on!
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halcyon
Apr 17, 2004, 7:53 PM
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In reply to: But after you've turned away the missionaries from your door 3 or 4 times, you'll start to wonder what the hell is going on!
Actually, mormon missionaries dont go trackting (door to door) in utah. Too high of an LDS population so it kinda defeats the purpose. I guess you could get referrals or something, but I doubt you'd get that many. Yeah, I'm a member, and I'm not a freak. No tail or horns, at least that I can find... Everyone else that has posted so far had preety much the right opinion about us. yeah, we'll treat you civily. Chances are we won't start preaching to ya. And as long as you let us gather downtown twice a year in peace, without protesting against us, we wont hate you (hate's a strong word.... but seriously). I cant say anything about the beer.. yeah, I'm a mormon. As for fine dining, try out the rodezio grill at trolly square. That's some mad brazillian food. If you like sushi there are some good joints around town too, happy sumo at the gateway no name one. Mainly, just dont be surprised to see lots of people dressed up in suits every now and then, especially near temple square. The grocery stores may be less crowded on sundays, and more crowded on saturdays. Some stores may not even be open on sundays that would be in other cities. You'll ajust though.
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musicman
Apr 17, 2004, 8:06 PM
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i've lived in Lindon, Utah for abotu 7 years now. It's 30 minutes south of SLC. I live about 10 minutes from both American Fork Canyon and Rock Canyon which is great. Utah really isn't as bad as people make it out too. There are crazy mormom extremist's but you have that with every religion. Just be nice, they'll be nice back. And anyways there population of mormons in Salt Lake has really starting going down because there are more people moving in for work and such. I remember a few years ago there was a celebration when the mormon population in SLC went under 50% I say move out here, you'll have a great job, your kids will be fine in school too. I have a bunch of non-mormom friends and they really dont' mind. They just like to make fun of the billboards and such. Its really not nearly as bad as people make it out to be.
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mtn_eagle
Apr 17, 2004, 10:03 PM
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[quote="halcyon"]In reply to: But after you've turned away the missionaries from your door 3 or 4 times, you'll start to wonder what the hell is going on Actually, mormon missionaries dont go trackting (door to door) in utah.
Actually, they do. I had a couple of mormon kids want to help me wash my car one day.
I've had a nice run here in SLC for the last 1 1/2 years, climbing in the desert and skiing the backcountry. The ice climbing this last winter was simply amazing. But despite all that I'm looking for jobs back in Washington. There are a lot of great things here but there is also a lot missing. I would feel like I am "settling" by staying here, when what I really want is to live in an amazing place that has everything I want: amazing mountains, free spirit, imagination and clean air. SLC definitely has the first but the rest are noticably lacking. Yeah, WA has rain but I think it's better than the inversion/smog that blankets the valley every winter for weeks at a time.
But judge for yourself. I have friends who work at BD and they love it. And if you're up for a fight, Utah desperately needs as many passionate environmental activists as possible.
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bittersweet_climbing
Apr 17, 2004, 10:27 PM
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Aw the inversions. They suck. Try to live on the west side of town, I think the air is better, someone correct me if I am wrong. Logan had some bad air for most of the winter. One of the reasons I am leaving. I am from the country, where I can see the stars every night, and the air doesn't make your throat itch. I hate the city.
There are so many mormons, they don't go door to door. At least thats what I have found, but I live in Logan, where the pop is like 85%. Get rid of the out-of-state plates before you do anything.
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atg200
Apr 17, 2004, 11:17 PM
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they go door to door in SLC - i've been hassled twice in the last month. maybe its the out of state plates.
i wouldn't want to live on the west side of SLC - too far from the climbing and too many mullets.
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cheezhead
Apr 19, 2004, 5:34 PM
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Well I have been in SLC for almost 5 years now. I moved here from Wisconsin....its practically opposite from what i grew up around. Its dry here...i am used to like 90% to 1000% humidity back in Wisconsin...so i drink craploads of water to stay hydrated.
its not so bad if you know how to work around the Utah weirdness. I have found that if you do anything in the mountains...you feel like you are not in Utah. the religious powers don't really reach much above 6000 vertical feet. In the city though you will have to get used to some of the crappiest driving abilities as a whole that i have ever experienced. If you are into the nightlife scene it will cost ya more than pretty much anywhere i have been except like New York City or something like that. Steaks are pretty cheap here compared to other places....Micro Brew beers are the way to go here too...they taste better and have more alcohol than the 3.2% crap in the stores here. If you want real beer be prepared to shell out some money at the state run liqour store....or drive out of state on climbing trips and bring back a shipment to keep yourself stocked for a while(thats what alot of us do).
if your into dining out at all SLC is kinda bland when you compare it to Seattle/ San Fran/ or chicago...but once you are here for a while you start to know where is good...where is cheap...where is bad...where is expensive...etc...
It takes a little getting used to Sundays too...it seems like the city practically rolls up the sidewalks on sunday so mormons can go to church. But that usually also means that sundays are great days for climbing/ skiing/ or boarding....becasue all the mormons are at church and not in the mountains.
I personally wouldn't make this a permanent residence....but i can't say that i wouldn't live here for 7 or 8 years....i think i am just to much attached to lakes and trees from growing up around them...so in a couple years i will prolly move to some mountains with lakes and trees. the desert gets to me....and the mormons do to. but thats just me...some people love it here even if they are not mormon. Oh yeah...and yes they do go door to door. I had some devout mormons tell me that they didn't do that anymore....B freiggin S!!! I have them stop by at least 2 to 3 times a year and bang on my door. In fact they seem to show up everytime my roomates and i are getting drunk and BBQing with friends...they give you the look of the devil when you answer the door with a liter mug of German beer in your hand. :D I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that a mormon bishop lives across the street?...hhhmmm...
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sheldonjr
Apr 19, 2004, 6:45 PM
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What the heck?
Oh my gosh!
HOLY FLIPPIN' FETCH!
I'M in Salt Lake! :shock:
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cheezhead
Apr 19, 2004, 7:41 PM
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In reply to: What the heck? Oh my gosh! HOLY FLIPPIN' FETCH! I'M in Salt Lake! :shock:
bahahahahahaa....that made me laugh :lol:
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delarig
Apr 19, 2004, 7:59 PM
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Frickin Fry sauce on green jello, that was funny.
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cammaniac
Apr 19, 2004, 8:34 PM
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In reply to: In reply to: What the heck? Oh my gosh! HOLY FLIPPIN' FETCH! I'M in Salt Lake! :shock: bahahahahahaa....that made me laugh :lol:
Did I miss something? Must be a SLC thing.
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braon
Apr 19, 2004, 8:55 PM
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Salt Lake's a great place to spend a little time. I lived out there for 3 years, converting to ex-mormonism while I was there. I never noticed being treated differently. My friends gave weird looks when I came out of the closet so to speak and started ordering beer when we were out at dinner, but that's about it. I will second the statement that Utah has the worst drivers known to man. I would avoid the public schools though. There are some good private schools in Salt Lake, but mormons have so many kids that the public school system is a joke. Understaffed and underfunded.
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tedc
Apr 19, 2004, 9:08 PM
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In reply to: are they as bad as I have heard? Do they make non mormons feel like outcasts, can you get away from them?
Prehaps this could have been stated in a little more subtle fashion.
Apologies to the Mormon community from the Climbing community, and especially to those Mormons who climb.
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