Why We Love Utah!
- October 2008
- Hi Steph Simple Living Dogs
Steph,
interested in any input you might have. i am deciding where to look for a place, moab or slc?
i have been living in my truck and its getting colder so i want to settle in for awhile.
i am a climber, pretty moderate to my chagrin, but its pretty important to me. and here is how it kinda breaks down for me: Moab–pluses…can boulder or climb all year, small size (particularly in winter) seems more conducive to a sense of community, which i have been missing very much living in the truck and before that Bend, Or…the vibe (open minded, mellow, outdoor oriented) has always felt pretty good to me in moab…questions concerning– is it too small in the winter? is it easy to meet people (i am a wilderness instructor and a little older so that can be a handicap automatically since i would only be around half the month)? easy to meet climbing partners in the winter?…and then the normal small town stuff..lack of food choices (although i hear the new thai place is good), etc…
SLC– climbing shuts down some what in the winter, does have gyms (not my preference), lots of cultural, culinary, etc choices. ya know the same ole big vs. little argument. i feel like i have lived in small towns so many years (Bend being the biggest town in about 10 years) that i get a little overwhelmed permanently being in a city. anyway, this is all my stuff…here is my question to you,
how do you find moab in the winter? is it easy to get into the community or can it be exclusive and territorial? is it a good dog town? any other selling points you can think of …and i am not jumping off things so that one does not weigh as much with me.
thanks for any input you may have. hope your season is going well.
david
Dear David,
I am not a reliable source, because I love Moab so ridiculously that I can’t even imagine living anywhere else. Though I have tried, with spectacular lack of success…. So when anyone asks me about living in Moab, I tend to get completely incoherent and just start yelping “I LOVE MOAB MOAB IS PERFECT I LOVE MOAB!” What can I say? Moab’s the most beautiful place in the world. It has endless fun things to do. It’s pure freedom, good people, and relaxed atmosphere. It’s paradise for dogs. And that’s usually a pretty good sign for humans too. Okay, it does become a million plus degrees in summer. But I LOVE MOAB I LOVE MOAB!!! (See?)
Since my older brother Virgil, who is an extreme sports enthusiast and ER doctor (which shows you how practical he is right there), and his wife Holly, just moved to Salt Lake from Arcata, he is probably a more level-headed source of information about Salt Lake, at least. So I asked him!
(Here we are, wingsuiting together in Tooele, just outside of Salt Lake. We LOVE UTAH!) 🙂
What Virgil says:
Salt Lake is a pretty cool city. I’ve been living here for 6 months now and really love it. Its definitively a lot different than the small surf town I came from, but I was looking for something a little more mainstream.
What I like about Salt Lake:
There is a huge amount of stuff to do and it seems like everyone is doing something outdoors – tons of climbing and bouldering, best skiiing in the world (well in the US at least). Ice climbing. If you like jumping off stuff its got a lot of things to jump many legal, and is equi-distant from the Perrine and Moab. Two dropzones. Wind tunnel. Tons of mountain biking, hiking. Best paragliding in the world (well in the us at least…:)
All that stuff to do outdoors helps from feeling too trapped in a concrete jungle, especially because its all really close to get to.
Its nice to be part of a vibrant city. Our economy is surprisingly good and it shows in the pride everyone takes in the buildings, trails, parks, etc. For those of us who aren’t fortunate enough to get paid to climb it means there are good employment opportunities, and for me I find it really cool to work with people who take pride both in their career and their outdoor activities.
Housing is reasonable to downright cheap.
Lots of dogs everywhere.
Very diverse population. (unlike the outskirts, choose wisely)
Great airport with cheap flights to everywhere and quick in and out.
Things I don’t like about Salt Lake:
I do lots of driving. Granted there’s really not much traffic, but I have kinda resigned myself to hopping in the car to go to work, bike, skydive, BASE jump, etc. There would be way less driving to go do things in Moab than SLC.
Although SL is cool, its got a sneaky ordinary side to it, renting/buying a house, mowing your lawn, eating out a lot, work, retirement accounts, kids next door, etc. You get greatly accustomed to mid-america. And as soon as you venture outside of salt lake itself or park city, you are in the most socially conservative state in the country.
It would be very hard to live in your truck.
You are definitely in a big city. Sooner or later it does feel more claustrophobic than a smaller town, esp like Moab, I’ve heard the climbing community is a little cliquey, not sure how true that is.
V
