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Salt Lake City
Started by psych.MD
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My understanding is that just under 50% in SLC are LDS, of course your referral communities will be close to 100% LDS. There is some diversity in SLC itself with a fair number of latino and asian people. There are a number of good restaurants, but it certainly isn't San Fransisco, NYC or Boston. Fairly conservative.
Pros: Cost of living, outdoorsy opportunities -- best skiing in the world, good med center that is "the place" for a large radius"
Cons: Summer is hot and can have poor air quality, nasty in winter at times., Not the greatest diversity, only has pro basketball.
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I attended an international conference last June in SLC (otherwise I wouldn't have gone there to begin with). On top of that, I had to stay one week!!! Now I traveled extensively so I got to see quite a few places so far.
Now to answer your questions:
1. What percentage of people in SLC are Mormon?
The vast majority (i.e. . 80% of people) are Mormon; the exceptions are probably the few Hispanic migrant workers or the few recent transplants. I didn't see any Jewish community or any African-Americans...everybody looks very much the same...like a huge clone. LDS is state religion in Utah; and that is even more true in terms of who's in charge of what (no matter the field).
2. Are there good restaurants and nightlife?
Downtown shuts down at 9:30 pm; that means you will not find any restaurants open after that. You get a couple (i.e. 2) really good restaurants downtown (if you give me time to look into my notepads, I can give you the names and locations), but again I am very picky in terms of what I understand by good restaurant. Nightlife is almost non-existent; there are a few pubs that close later than 9:30pm on weekends (as in any other pubs in Utah, you need to pay an entrance fee since it is assumed that you would be drinking alcohol inside which is a taboo there).
3. What about apartments and condos close to the hospital?
I couldn't say anything about that. They can't be that expensive; real estate market is not booming in SLC despite all their efforts to make the city more attractive for tourists and business.
4. How conservative?
VERY. Alcohol is banned. Caffeine, the same. If you're Mormon, then you have no problems. If you lead a very family-oriented life, you would never be one of them, yet you should not have that many problems. But, if you have...an alternative lifestyle (you name it), then you're not welcome at all.
5. Pros and Cons of living in SLC???
It's one of the very few places I've been to where I can see the cons, but I cannot see the pros of living there. Well, if I really have to find a pro, that would be some very interesting scenery and ski places...but those are outside SLC (i.e. Park City that also has its own film festival). But then again, you would be in SLC, not in Park City!
Now to answer your questions:
1. What percentage of people in SLC are Mormon?
The vast majority (i.e. . 80% of people) are Mormon; the exceptions are probably the few Hispanic migrant workers or the few recent transplants. I didn't see any Jewish community or any African-Americans...everybody looks very much the same...like a huge clone. LDS is state religion in Utah; and that is even more true in terms of who's in charge of what (no matter the field).
2. Are there good restaurants and nightlife?
Downtown shuts down at 9:30 pm; that means you will not find any restaurants open after that. You get a couple (i.e. 2) really good restaurants downtown (if you give me time to look into my notepads, I can give you the names and locations), but again I am very picky in terms of what I understand by good restaurant. Nightlife is almost non-existent; there are a few pubs that close later than 9:30pm on weekends (as in any other pubs in Utah, you need to pay an entrance fee since it is assumed that you would be drinking alcohol inside which is a taboo there).
3. What about apartments and condos close to the hospital?
I couldn't say anything about that. They can't be that expensive; real estate market is not booming in SLC despite all their efforts to make the city more attractive for tourists and business.
4. How conservative?
VERY. Alcohol is banned. Caffeine, the same. If you're Mormon, then you have no problems. If you lead a very family-oriented life, you would never be one of them, yet you should not have that many problems. But, if you have...an alternative lifestyle (you name it), then you're not welcome at all.
5. Pros and Cons of living in SLC???
It's one of the very few places I've been to where I can see the cons, but I cannot see the pros of living there. Well, if I really have to find a pro, that would be some very interesting scenery and ski places...but those are outside SLC (i.e. Park City that also has its own film festival). But then again, you would be in SLC, not in Park City!
I thought you knew about the ban on alcohol drinking in Utah!
As I said, you can still drink in a few pubs where you need to pay extra to get in; otherwise, the beer, for instance, is less expensive than in other places....supply and demand, I guess. As far as places where you can go and buy liquor, those are even fewer than the pubs I mentioned
As I said, you can still drink in a few pubs where you need to pay extra to get in; otherwise, the beer, for instance, is less expensive than in other places....supply and demand, I guess. As far as places where you can go and buy liquor, those are even fewer than the pubs I mentioned
Yeah, and they are in Wyoming!
😱 Slope, are you freaking kidding me?????? PLEASE, find out a little more information before you ramble off a bunch of lies to people looking for information.
I have lived in Salt Lake City, Utah for 5 years now, so I probably have a little more insight about the city than someone who visited here for a week. SO, here are some more factual answers to your question, psych.MD:
1. What percentage of people in SLC are Mormon?
WRONG!!
Salt Lake City itself, unlike what Slope believes, is actually more non-Mormons than Mormons. That's right. Now, other towns in Utah are going to be more Mormon than non, but SLC is more non-Mormons.
2. Are there good restaurants and nightlife?
There are plenty of good restaurants of all types in both SLC and Park City. I am from Houston, which is a fantastic city for restaurants, and I love to eat out. I have never been disapointed in the selection or quality of restaurants here in SLC.
False. There are many clubs and bars downtown, I'll rattle off a few- Port O'Call, Brewvies, the Red Door, Squatters Brew Pub, Red Rock Brewery, The Bayou, Club Ego's (live music), Club Halo (live music), The Depot (great new live music venue), Skybox (sports bar), Iggy's (sports bar). There are also many other bars/clubs just south of the downtown area- Fat's, Fiddler's Elbow, Piper Down Irish Pub, etc. Most of these places are open until 1AM on weekends, maybe 11pm/midnight on weeknights.
There is a great live music scene here w/ all of the big shows coming through (U2, Dave Matthews Band, Eric Clapton, Radiohead, etc) and then alot of small-venue shows like Cake, String Cheese Incident, Leftover Salmon, etc., etc.
Again, NOT true. All bars/pubs where the primary business is food sales, but they also have alcohol, such as microbreweries, brew pubs, etc., DO NOT HAVE any "entrance fee". Some of the other live music venues, clubs that do the majority of there business from alcohol sales require a "entrance fee" that is called having a "temporary membership". This is like paying a cover charge in any other city, it is not that difficult.
3. What about apartments and condos close to the hospital?
There are many great affordable areas to live in near the hospital. Most of the residents live w/in a couple of miles of the hospital.
4. How conservative?
You can buy beer in Utah at any grocery store, liquor store, or convenience store. Hard liquor and wine is sold at all of the liquor stores, which there are many of all over the state, and particularly in Salt Lake City. There are coffee shops all over the place, just like in any other city. My small neighborhood I live in has 3 coffee shops alone.
Alcohol- yes.
Caffeine- yes. We even have a 24/7 Starbuck's in the University Hospital
Also, regarding being conservative, you may be interested to know the mayor of SLC is a democrat and my congress representative is also a democrat.
Overall, the state of Utah is conservative, but SLC itself is actually a very different demographic group than the rest of the state.
Additionally, approx 10% of the population is Hispanic and there is a large Polynesian population, so everyone does not "look the same".
5. Pros and Cons of living in SLC???
CONS: Having uneducated people like Slope think you are living in a crazy place.
PROS: World class skiing w/ 7 major ski resorts within a 30 mile drive of downtown SLC; esentially an outdoor paradise w/ rock climbing, mountain biking, skiing, hiking, trail running, etc., etc, all at your backyard. SLC is a very lively and fun city w/ lots of festivals in the summer (art festivals, farmers market, etc), the Sundance Film Festival in the winter, tons of outdoor concert series in the summer (at Red Butte Amp. in SLC, Deer Valley in Park City, and then a free concert series in downtown SLC in the summer w/ food booths, beer/wine booths and free shows). There is also the symphony, theatre, etc. If watching sports is your thing there is NBA Jazz, Major League Soccer SLC Real, and then minor league baseball, hockey, arena football, etc. Bottom line: it's a great place to live; all of the residents I know here love it and want to end up staying.
psych.MD- I'd be happy to answer any other questions you may have.
Slope, get your facts straight before you post next time.
I have lived in Salt Lake City, Utah for 5 years now, so I probably have a little more insight about the city than someone who visited here for a week. SO, here are some more factual answers to your question, psych.MD:
1. What percentage of people in SLC are Mormon?
WRONG!!
Salt Lake City itself, unlike what Slope believes, is actually more non-Mormons than Mormons. That's right. Now, other towns in Utah are going to be more Mormon than non, but SLC is more non-Mormons.
2. Are there good restaurants and nightlife?
There are plenty of good restaurants of all types in both SLC and Park City. I am from Houston, which is a fantastic city for restaurants, and I love to eat out. I have never been disapointed in the selection or quality of restaurants here in SLC.
False. There are many clubs and bars downtown, I'll rattle off a few- Port O'Call, Brewvies, the Red Door, Squatters Brew Pub, Red Rock Brewery, The Bayou, Club Ego's (live music), Club Halo (live music), The Depot (great new live music venue), Skybox (sports bar), Iggy's (sports bar). There are also many other bars/clubs just south of the downtown area- Fat's, Fiddler's Elbow, Piper Down Irish Pub, etc. Most of these places are open until 1AM on weekends, maybe 11pm/midnight on weeknights.
There is a great live music scene here w/ all of the big shows coming through (U2, Dave Matthews Band, Eric Clapton, Radiohead, etc) and then alot of small-venue shows like Cake, String Cheese Incident, Leftover Salmon, etc., etc.
Again, NOT true. All bars/pubs where the primary business is food sales, but they also have alcohol, such as microbreweries, brew pubs, etc., DO NOT HAVE any "entrance fee". Some of the other live music venues, clubs that do the majority of there business from alcohol sales require a "entrance fee" that is called having a "temporary membership". This is like paying a cover charge in any other city, it is not that difficult.
3. What about apartments and condos close to the hospital?
There are many great affordable areas to live in near the hospital. Most of the residents live w/in a couple of miles of the hospital.
4. How conservative?
You can buy beer in Utah at any grocery store, liquor store, or convenience store. Hard liquor and wine is sold at all of the liquor stores, which there are many of all over the state, and particularly in Salt Lake City. There are coffee shops all over the place, just like in any other city. My small neighborhood I live in has 3 coffee shops alone.
Alcohol- yes.
Caffeine- yes. We even have a 24/7 Starbuck's in the University Hospital
Also, regarding being conservative, you may be interested to know the mayor of SLC is a democrat and my congress representative is also a democrat.
Overall, the state of Utah is conservative, but SLC itself is actually a very different demographic group than the rest of the state.
Additionally, approx 10% of the population is Hispanic and there is a large Polynesian population, so everyone does not "look the same".
5. Pros and Cons of living in SLC???
CONS: Having uneducated people like Slope think you are living in a crazy place.
PROS: World class skiing w/ 7 major ski resorts within a 30 mile drive of downtown SLC; esentially an outdoor paradise w/ rock climbing, mountain biking, skiing, hiking, trail running, etc., etc, all at your backyard. SLC is a very lively and fun city w/ lots of festivals in the summer (art festivals, farmers market, etc), the Sundance Film Festival in the winter, tons of outdoor concert series in the summer (at Red Butte Amp. in SLC, Deer Valley in Park City, and then a free concert series in downtown SLC in the summer w/ food booths, beer/wine booths and free shows). There is also the symphony, theatre, etc. If watching sports is your thing there is NBA Jazz, Major League Soccer SLC Real, and then minor league baseball, hockey, arena football, etc. Bottom line: it's a great place to live; all of the residents I know here love it and want to end up staying.
psych.MD- I'd be happy to answer any other questions you may have.
Slope, get your facts straight before you post next time.
I interviewed at SLC last year, I thought it would be a wonderful place to do residency (i think they have home call starting PGY 1).
I'm from Los Angeles and wanting to get away from the big city insanity I though Salt Lake City was VERY COOL (in winter, lol).
Alas, I don't think they ranked me maybe because I'm an IMG, who knows. I really liked the PD and the residents I met.
I was going to bring an SUV, I think you should too. Though you have to be extra careful in the snow no matter what you drive.
I'm from Los Angeles and wanting to get away from the big city insanity I though Salt Lake City was VERY COOL (in winter, lol).
Alas, I don't think they ranked me maybe because I'm an IMG, who knows. I really liked the PD and the residents I met.
I was going to bring an SUV, I think you should too. Though you have to be extra careful in the snow no matter what you drive.
I agree, I think SLC is a great place to live. And UT is one of the more interesting states to live in if you like to be outside. In the southeast, there's Moab, which is mountain biking heaven. Alta has the best powder on earth and I've skiied it up to my neck. It was like floating through a cloud. Vail has days like this, but Utah has it consistently. I've been cross country skiing in the Wasatch and Uintahs, by moonlight. And being up on the middle of the night on a frigid night staring at the moon on a pass is positively breathtaking. (Some will call me an idiot, but, hey, it was fun). The hiking and backpacking in the spring and summer are phenomenal. An SUV might be helpful, but I took a 2WD pax car up Shafer Canyon and into Canyon Lands. I sort of ignored the 4WD only signs and except of a couple of hairy rock formations, it was passable in dry weather. Besides, I was past the point of being able to turn around. I also had the mountain bike in the back, along with many gallons of water, just in case...(only half nuts, I am.)
The best part is you can live near the hospital, SLC has a great bus system and that bus will even get you up Little Cottonwood in the winter for cheaper than you can drive to go skiing. Only real drawback is the avalanches that sometimes take a long time to clear. And there are other religions there besides the LDS. Westminster is a well respected liberal arts college that attracts students nation wide.
There are many cultural opportunities there. Deer Valley and Park City both have summer music festivals. The Utah Symphony is very good. And the Mormon Tabernacle Choir has a well earned reputation. I used to love going just to listen to the rehearsals.
But, you still have to go to Wyoming to get a decent beer. Unless you make your own.
psych.MD:
-You do not need to have an SUV/4WD to live in SLC. It is sometimes helpful for driving up the canyons to the ski resorts during a storm but otherwise is not necessary. I have an old Honda and it has been fine. The weather in the Salt Lake valley itself is fairly mild- when the storms dump snow in the mountains, we get much less snow down in the city. The roads all get plowed very quickly.
-I graduated from medicine residency here 2 years ago- I do not know any of the current psyc residents.
Good luck! Salt Lake City is a fantastic place to live- I have been here 5 yrs now, and love it.
-You do not need to have an SUV/4WD to live in SLC. It is sometimes helpful for driving up the canyons to the ski resorts during a storm but otherwise is not necessary. I have an old Honda and it has been fine. The weather in the Salt Lake valley itself is fairly mild- when the storms dump snow in the mountains, we get much less snow down in the city. The roads all get plowed very quickly.
-I graduated from medicine residency here 2 years ago- I do not know any of the current psyc residents.
Good luck! Salt Lake City is a fantastic place to live- I have been here 5 yrs now, and love it.
I agree w/ everything 3dtp said, except for
Liquor stores sell a reasonable variety of "full strength" beer, the exact same beers you would buy in NY, Cali, etc.
Like Colorado (and I think also Oklahoma and several other states), the grocery stores and convenience stores sell "3.2" beer which is 3.2% alcohol by weight = 4.0% alcohol by volume. It ends up not really being much different than other beers. For example, all Guinness beer made for the United States is all 3.3% by weight or less. ALL light beers (bud light, miller light, etc) are no more than 3.4% alchohol by weight. So, it is really a lot of fuss over 0.1-0.2%. Here is a link to an interesting article that explains alot of this. Additionally, there are alot of microbreweries here (Uinta, Squatters, Park City Brewing Co, etc.) that make some great beers.
http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,335007968,00.html
Cheers! 🙂
Liquor stores sell a reasonable variety of "full strength" beer, the exact same beers you would buy in NY, Cali, etc.
Like Colorado (and I think also Oklahoma and several other states), the grocery stores and convenience stores sell "3.2" beer which is 3.2% alcohol by weight = 4.0% alcohol by volume. It ends up not really being much different than other beers. For example, all Guinness beer made for the United States is all 3.3% by weight or less. ALL light beers (bud light, miller light, etc) are no more than 3.4% alchohol by weight. So, it is really a lot of fuss over 0.1-0.2%. Here is a link to an interesting article that explains alot of this. Additionally, there are alot of microbreweries here (Uinta, Squatters, Park City Brewing Co, etc.) that make some great beers.
http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,335007968,00.html
Cheers! 🙂
on a similar note, they sell 'polygamy porter' out in Utah and even though the beer is only average, it's worth buying once just to have the bottle. their slogans include 'bring some home to the wives' and 'why have just one'. gotta love it.
try city-data.com There would be a better and more local response on their forums!
I grew up there. SLC is a very friendly place. You have world class skiing, climbing and mountain biking literally at the base of the U of U hospital. I knew several people who took their lunches to do a quick ride. Its about 50% mormon in the valley and less so in SLC itself but it was never an issues growing up for me. It may be helpful to have a car that you can haul gear in if you are into the outdoor scene but you don't have to have it. I miss the canyons a lot. I hope you like it. The night life is there but you have to look for it a little bit.
Dumb question from a Southeasterner: how bad are the winters there?
I love the idea of raising kids in an outdoorsy place like SLC but don't think I could stand long, cold, grey winters.
I love the idea of raising kids in an outdoorsy place like SLC but don't think I could stand long, cold, grey winters.
I guess there was a little bump on this old thread, but nice to see people using the search function.
On the diversity claims from above, I do know a lesbian couple who live in SLC raising their daughter without problem.
Winters aren't really that cold because the air is so dry. Not like the midwest. Stock up on Carmex for your lips, though.
Snow will fall, but most roads will be plowed before you, the resident, have to get to work. (They usually start around 3 AM or whenever it starts snowing). Once it snows and the blue sky comes out again, it is beautiful.
On the diversity claims from above, I do know a lesbian couple who live in SLC raising their daughter without problem.
Winters aren't really that cold because the air is so dry. Not like the midwest. Stock up on Carmex for your lips, though.
Snow will fall, but most roads will be plowed before you, the resident, have to get to work. (They usually start around 3 AM or whenever it starts snowing). Once it snows and the blue sky comes out again, it is beautiful.
...winters are great as its a dry climate. I would move back there in a heartbeat (my wife wants to be near family, so we didn't).
One of the best places I've ever been (but I'm biased). Great restaurants, events, airport, outdoors scene...
Go visit, you may never come back!
One of the best places I've ever been (but I'm biased). Great restaurants, events, airport, outdoors scene...
Go visit, you may never come back!
It seems that for someone who likes to be outdoors utah is only missing a big body of water. It would be nice if they had a nice lake or ocean to swim in.
They do. Utah lake is fresh water, lots of wake boarding. Jordanell resevoir is another big one, strawberry resevoir, bear lake, among many others.
Lake Powell is HUGE..... Lots of freshwater sports!
Lake Powell is HUGE..... Lots of freshwater sports!
