Calling all Utah moms!

[MaryE]

My DH told me yesterday that he applied for a job in UT "on a whim." This is surprising in a way b/c I thought we were staying put for a few more years, plus we're both kind of schizophrenic about living in the center of the Church (yes, we're both LDS). Not surprising in some ways, b/c his family is all out there, and my mom will actually be starting her mission in SLC next month.

 

 

So, with that background, and a mention that the company he applied with is in American Fork, sock it to me with suggestions on where you would choose to live and why. Reasons can be based on culture, school opportunities, outdoor activities, general friendliness, favorite grocery stores or restaurants, whatever. Ready, set, go!

[Veritaserum]

We are in Provo. I like it because Provo tends to be a hub of activity for the arts as well as homeschool events. The only other place I've lived in Utah is Riverton (Salt Lake County). That was too far away from the action and shopping for my liking, but dozens of shops have been built since we left.

 

American Fork is a quieter community from what I understand, but I've never lived there. I did give birth at that hospital a few months ago and it was leaps and bounds better than the hospital in Provo. :)

 

Something to consider is that it is really nice to live fairly close (<10 min.) of access to I-15. Where we are in Provo it takes about 5 min. Where my parents are in Provo it takes 20-25 minutes just to reach the freeway. It was that far when we lived in Riverton, too. It made it take a long time to get anywhere. I didn't like it. East American Fork, Alpine, and Highland are all ~15-25 min. away from I-15. We considered Alpine and Highland because they are beautiful communities, but the extra driving time for dh's commute, etc. was a deal breaker.

[Xuzi]

We actually recently had to turn DOWN a job in Utah, because the pay was significantly lower than what we're making now (think a full *third* less), but the cost of living wasn't lower to match. This seems to be something Utah is well-known for (paying significantly lower wages than other near-by states) Make sure your DH finds out exactly how much his take-home will be before he accepts the job (if they offer it to him).

[LittleIzumi]

Eagle Mountain has a ton of homes for sale, but it's sort of out in the middle of nowhere. If you don't mind the drive a lot of people love it. American Fork is very pretty, and it goes from city to rural quickly. I'm in Orem, and I like it here. Less college traffic. I do make the drive down to the Provo Library, though. It's fantastic. I shop at WinCo, the mecca of bulk bins, and that's in Orem. Hippie/natural food specialties are at Sunflower, on the Orem/Provo border. Family doctor, for us we love love love love love love love Grandview Family Medicine, north Provo. Fast food tends to be Sonic, which is everywhere. There's an IKEA in Draper, 35 min from my house. Provo has a LOT of turnover due to college students, so while I visit Provo a lot, I prefer living just north in Orem.

[VeganCupcake]

We live in Provo now, but DH's company is moving to Lehi, so his commute will be longer. We have tossed around the idea of moving further north (like to American Fork or Lehi) to reduce his commute, but there are things about Provo that I like, much like Veritaserum mentioned: the arts and culture events, stuff that exists because BYU is here. We spend a lot of time at the Provo Library, for instance.

 

Our favorite restaurants are in Provo/Orem: Bombay House for Indian food, Shoga for sushi.

 

There is a Costco in AF, so that's good. There is also a Good Earth natural foods store, but I don't know about the other little specialty stores I personally would go to, like an Asian market, for instance.

[MaryE]

Great stuff! Thank you for all the replies so far - I'm loving the specifics. I've had a few votes for the Provo Library. Is this the best one in UT County?

 

Any folks from up north in SL County care to chime in on favorite locales, or would the commute just be too much to AF? (I should add DH currently commutes 1 1/4 hrs. each way, so most anything would seem shorter to him.)

[MaryE]

Bump:D. Anyone else care to chime in?

[Amira]

The Provo and Orem libraries do interlibrary loan with each other, so that makes their system pretty good. Unless something's changed in the last few years, the northern Utah County library system isn't really good and I might not choose to live there just because of that. But it's nice to live close to work and living near Thanksgiving Point can be really fun.

 

But if you're willing to drive, I have to say that I much prefer to live in Salt Lake County over Utah County, if I have to live in Utah. I especially like the Avenues and Sugarhouse near downtown Salt Lake. There's much more to do in that area, you have a good library downtown, and way more shopping and restaurants. The University of Utah has plenty to do too. The commute would be opposite traffic and should take 45 minutes or less. While Utah is always very conservative, Salt Lake County is less so, at least if you're near downtown. The south end of the valley is a lot more like Utah Valley.

 

Also, Utah is now cool because they have Winco which is my favorite grocery store ever. There's one in Orem and two in Salt Lake Valley.

[MeaganS]

Great stuff! Thank you for all the replies so far - I'm loving the specifics. I've had a few votes for the Provo Library. Is this the best one in UT County?

 

It is pretty great. My aunt is a children's librarian there, and just from reading her blog and Facebook, they do some pretty amazing things. They have lots of real authors come in and they do lots of neat activities. Besides the fact that they are in an awesome building and have a fairly large selection. We moved away almost 3 years ago, but I enjoyed the library quite a bit when I was there. My next door neighbor and I would walk there with our strollers every week (we were about a mile away).

 

ETA: We are heading out there tomorrow, as a matter of fact. My BIL is getting married and so we're all flying for the wedding. It will be the first time dh has been back since we moved away. We'll be hitting up Tucanos and Betos! :)

Edited October 10, 2012 by MeaganS

[Lab1]

It is a really good area. We have lived in Orem (just started to feel grimy and the traffic was awful!). The library was great and there is lots to do! Moved to Lehi and it was nice. I never made it to the actual library as we had this cute extension building that we went to weekly. I miss it! It's a nice area for being close to SLC and UT county. Now we live by Highland and its my favorite so far. The commuter lane to the freeway is complete and I can zip along for quick freeway access. The library is nonexistent! You can pay a yearly fee for access to Orems library. I go to the Draper library which has access to all SLC libraries. I don't go often as its a bit of a drive. When my girls had art lessons in Sandy we would go after them weekly.

 

My DH works in AF. He has a 20 min commute now. The cost of living is quite high for wages in this area! Make sure you look into that! We have found that the neighbours we've had have been more down to Earth the closer we get to SLC and away from the city. We like a nice community feel while living outside the city. I'm 30 min to Orem/Provokes and 30 min to downtown SLC. When I'm home I enjoy being tucked into the mountains. Our area is about 50% LDS, but everyone has been respectful and kind. We have a great homeschooling community with tons of activities to choose from. I go North into South SLC county then South into Orem/Provo for most of our needs. I love living above the inversion level where the air is clean. We get more snow though. My raised on Texas DH is still trying to reconcile himself to the snow!

 

AF has a good mix of old and new. The hospital is good. Lots of everyday shopping for families. I'd look into the high schools for the boundaries if you want that option available for your kids. Thanksgiving Point is right off the most North freeway exit in Lehi and its great for kids of all ages! They have lots of activities for families and collectors. Farmers markets in the summer, car shows, lots of fun fall activities. Tulip festival in the Spring. Lots of musical and cultural events. We had a great time learning at the wool festival this yr!

[DianeW88]

I love Utah county and wish that's where I lived! I'm up north of SLC in Davis county, and while there is a lot to like here, I would NOT make my commute any longer than it needed to be. Traffic can get nasty on I-15, especially during bad weather.

[Lab1]

For homeschooling, there are lots of options. From concurrent enrollment, charter homeschools, co-ops and regular on your own homeschooling. Every yr you fill out an exemption form, get it notorized and send it in. The district offices are in AF! Pretty painless and they stay out of your hair. This yr. they even mailed me the form so I didn't need to print it out.

[NotSoObvious]

Live north of point of the mountain!!!

Check out Draper, Sandy, and South Jordan. The commute will be far easier than living anywhere in Utah County.

 

The whole Lehi/AF area is out of control, IMO, but that is clouded by the fact that my in-laws are long time Lehi residents. I hate the traffic and construction.

 

Did he apply at Adobe? ;) My husband would give his left arm to work there.

 

If you end up in South Jordan, you can rent our house!!! ;)

[Lab1]

Live north of point of the mountain!!!

Check out Draper, Sandy, and South Jordan. The commute will be far easier than living anywhere in Utah County.

 

The whole Lehi/AF area is out of control, IMO, but that is clouded by the fact that my in-laws are long time Lehi residents. I hate the traffic and construction.

 

Did he apply at Adobe? ;) My husband would give his left arm to work there.

 

If you end up in South Jordan, you can rent our house!!! ;)

 

The construction is finally done! Until next week when I'm sure they will rip up a perfectly good road! Some parts of Lehi have that outcast if you haven't lived here for 5 generations. North Lehi is good, but you will smell cows and hear trains! I'm not a huge fan, but did enjoy living close to Thanksgiving Point. I enjoy the shopping in Draper/Sandy.

 

I'm almost positive that the Adobe building is in Lehi. It's right next to Cabellas on the same exit as Thanksgiving Point, but on the other side of the freeway. My DH has thought of applying there, but he really loves his current job! His commute would be laughable though!

[Sara in AZ]

Live north of point of the mountain!!!

Check out Draper, Sandy, and South Jordan. The commute will be far easier than living anywhere in Utah County.

 

The whole Lehi/AF area is out of control, IMO, but that is clouded by the fact that my in-laws are long time Lehi residents. I hate the traffic and construction.

 

Did he apply at Adobe? ;) My husband would give his left arm to work there.

 

If you end up in South Jordan, you can rent our house!!! ;)

 

I'm curious, too, is it Adobe? And, natnclay, why would your husband give his arm to work there? DH is a software guy, and my family has been pestering him for months to look into the new Adobe site. We want to move back someday, but things are really good at PayPal right now (his current employer) and Utah Valley would be a deal breaker for me. I'd want to be north of the point, too. Although the pp in Highland gave a good advertisement...

[Pixie]

We live in Pleasant Grove so right next to AF and I really like it here. I like that it feels like a small town, we regularly have deers munching on our grass :-) but we are very close to Orem and shopping. We are not LDS but it hasn't been an issue at all.

As far as traffic goes, I drive to Lehi several times a week for my daughter's soccer practice and since the I-15 is done it is so much better.

[meggie]

We live in Provo. I've been stuck here for 10 years and it's growing old on me. If I had my heart's desire, we would move down to Payson. It's more country-ish.

 

Things I like: COL seems low to me. We get buy on a pitifully low income. We are trying to do gluten free/dairy free and it helps to be so close to the glorious Winco and Costco.

 

Going up into the mountains is so very pretty. The actual valleys are kind of ugly, but I love the mountains. We've gone up several times this summer and it makes me not hate being stuck here so much.

 

Homeschooling is easy. We've actually signed up with a charter school and we get $450/year for curricula and supplies. It definitely helps. It's also very easy if you don't want to go to the charter school route, just send in a notarized affidavit every year.

 

Things I dislike: The summers. I guess it's getting easier now that we're on our third summer w/o AC; we're just getting used to it or something. But I hate the heat, I really wish we could move to Oregon or Washington where it's nice and rainy all the time, but that's just me. Some people like the 100 heat :ack2:

 

The area is awfully brown and ugly (unless you go up in the mountains.)

 

The head of Utah Department of Transportation must be a drunk monkey. They are CONSTANTLY redoing the highway for no apparent reason and lately they seem to be fond of making major intersection's into mind boggling labyrinths. Every time I drive on the highway or go through one of those stupid intersections, I start screaming about the drunk monkey.

 

I'm sure there's more, give me a few days and I'm sure I could find some other things to rant about.

[VeganCupcake]

Yep, the new Adobe building is in Lehi. :)

[LittleIzumi]

We live in Provo. I've been stuck here for 10 years and it's growing old on me. If I had my heart's desire, we would move down to Payson. It's more country-ish.

 

Things I like: COL seems low to me. We get buy on a pitifully low income. We are trying to do gluten free/dairy free and it helps to be so close to the glorious Winco and Costco.

 

Going up into the mountains is so very pretty. The actual valleys are kind of ugly, but I love the mountains. We've gone up several times this summer and it makes me not hate being stuck here so much.

 

Homeschooling is easy. We've actually signed up with a charter school and we get $450/year for curricula and supplies. It definitely helps. It's also very easy if you don't want to go to the charter school route, just send in a notarized affidavit every year.

 

Things I dislike: The summers. I guess it's getting easier now that we're on our third summer w/o AC; we're just getting used to it or something. But I hate the heat, I really wish we could move to Oregon or Washington where it's nice and rainy all the time, but that's just me. Some people like the 100 heat :ack2:

 

The area is awfully brown and ugly (unless you go up in the mountains.)

 

The head of Utah Department of Transportation must be a drunk monkey. They are CONSTANTLY redoing the highway for no apparent reason and lately they seem to be fond of making major intersection's into mind boggling labyrinths. Every time I drive on the highway or go through one of those stupid intersections, I start screaming about the drunk monkey.

 

I'm sure there's more, give me a few days and I'm sure I could find some other things to rant about.

 

I always thought they were just really hungry for pretzels when they designed the new intersections. :lol: But the connection to the light rail is coming soon!

[Lab1]

We live in Provo. I've been stuck here for 10 years and it's growing old on me. If I had my heart's desire, we would move down to Payson. It's more country-ish.

 

Things I like: COL seems low to me. We get buy on a pitifully low income. We are trying to do gluten free/dairy free and it helps to be so close to the glorious Winco and Costco.

 

Going up into the mountains is so very pretty. The actual valleys are kind of ugly, but I love the mountains. We've gone up several times this summer and it makes me not hate being stuck here so much.

 

Homeschooling is easy. We've actually signed up with a charter school and we get $450/year for curricula and supplies. It definitely helps. It's also very easy if you don't want to go to the charter school route, just send in a notarized affidavit every year.

 

Things I dislike: The summers. I guess it's getting easier now that we're on our third summer w/o AC; we're just getting used to it or something. But I hate the heat, I really wish we could move to Oregon or Washington where it's nice and rainy all the time, but that's just me. Some people like the 100 heat :ack2:

 

The area is awfully brown and ugly (unless you go up in the mountains.)

 

The head of Utah Department of Transportation must be a drunk monkey. They are CONSTANTLY redoing the highway for no apparent reason and lately they seem to be fond of making major intersection's into mind boggling labyrinths. Every time I drive on the highway or go through one of those stupid intersections, I start screaming about the drunk monkey.

 

I'm sure there's more, give me a few days and I'm sure I could find some other things to rant about.

 

Where is the like button for your post! We moved up in the mountains 2 yrs ago and while we have more snow, the trade off for wildflowers in the summer makes up for it. Every month they change and it makes me so happy! I've lived in Provo and Orem and needed to escape the feel of the city. It was nice to be able to walk everywhere I needed to go when we only had one car. I always felt like I wanted to escape. Now I feel like I'm on an extended trip to a nice cabin with all my stuff!

 

You didn't mention the terrible drivers! Add in the drunken monkey intersections and its a miracle we make it home some days!

[planner]

Great stuff! Thank you for all the replies so far - I'm loving the specifics. I've had a few votes for the Provo Library. Is this the best one in UT County?

 

Any folks from up north in SL County care to chime in on favorite locales, or would the commute just be too much to AF? (I should add DH currently commutes 1 1/4 hrs. each way, so most anything would seem shorter to him.)

 

I live in Arizona now but I used to live in South Jordan. We loved it there but moved for a job. Salt Lake County libraries are awesome. I often look at our city library system here and wish we had the selection of Salt Lake County. I think South Jordan is a very doable commute.

[MaryE]

Good morning, ladies!

 

DH applied for a job with Domo, which from my understanding, is a spinoff of Accenture. Although, with the talk of Adobe, perhaps he should look into that as well:)

 

Thanks so much for the suggestions! If we were to go with UT County, I'd be leaning toward the Highland area, possibly PG/Lindon/Orem. Although I must say I like the idea of Woodland Hills or Hobble Creek Canyon, just for the aspect of being further up the mountain and away from the hubbub. That would make the commute yucky though. Sigh... Now in SL County, I've always liked the idea of the Sugarhouse area, just because the houses are just so darn cute. Same reasoning with Daybreak in Jordan, though I don't know if I could put up with an HOA. I don't know much about the Draper/Sandy area, but it sounds like an option.

 

So, a few more questions...please tell me about WinCo (sounds good!). I don't suppose there is a Trader Joe's yet? And a high school question...my DD would be entering 10th grade in PS. Out of these communities discussed, which would you choose based on the high school? (She's in honors classes and loves choir, theater, and all things tech-y.)

[NotSoObvious]

Yes, Trader Joes is opening soon!

 

Our house is in Daybreak! Great neighborhood! The HOA isn't bad at all, plus you get a free gym, pool, and fiber optic Internet. And our house is soooooo cute! ;) our renter's two year lease is up this summer and I'm not sure if they are renewing,. Just sayin! ;)

 

Other perks to South Jordan- Herriman has a brand new library and huge indoor pool/ rec center. I liked being close to lots of amenities, but still up against the mountains.

 

I couldn't live in Draper because I used to teach there. That is all I will say about that. Haha.

 

My SIL lives in Lehi and she loved her kids' charter school. It is called Timpanogas Academy, I think. Charter schools are huge in Utah. I used to teach at one.

 

 

(My husband would love to work at Adobe because he's a graphic designer and loves their company. That woud be the ONLY way we woud move back to Utah. Sorry. We do miss our house though. A lot.)

[Miselainia]

We've been living just east of American Fork in Pleasant Grove for 4 years now. We moved from farmland to suburbia, so that was an adjustment for us. Though PG has fewer shopping opportunities than other nearby places, it's a good place to be, because there isn't as much traffic. Sometimes I wish we had a little more space which there seems to be on the west side of I-15 in Lehi where it seems I'm having to go to drop kids off at one activity or another. I think it just depends on which neighborhood in any part of northern Utah county whether it'll be a good fit for you and your family.

Homeschool has been great here. There are several families just in my neighborhood who are up to our madness at any given time. And there are all sorts of blends of schooling too. I like having all the opportunities available to us for cultural, academic, and sporting experiences.

 

Wish you the best.

[Lab1]

For high school, Lone Peak in Cedar Hills/ Highland area is really good. We moved here for that high school. The elementary is top rated by students and staff. I have a friend who would love to teach there!

 

If he works in AF, there are several higher speed highways that will drop you off at State street in AF. I avoid the freeway as much as I can. I'm not sure where that company is, but id live north or in AF.

[cougarmom4]

We live in Mapleton....and love it. But dh works in Provo, so his commute is not bad. I love being close to BYU...so many different things to do there as a family. And of course, being so close to the mountains! We love Hobble Creek canyon.

 

The only thing I wanted to comment on is that there was somewhere in the news recently...I'm thinking Pleasant Grove...where there is a way stinky plant of some kind that uses human waste and apparently it stinks to high heaven. Don't move there! Just saying...

[LittleIzumi]

We live in Mapleton....and love it. But dh works in Provo, so his commute is not bad. I love being close to BYU...so many different things to do there as a family. And of course, being so close to the mountains! We love Hobble Creek canyon.

 

The only thing I wanted to comment on is that there was somewhere in the news recently...I'm thinking Pleasant Grove...where there is a way stinky plant of some kind that uses human waste and apparently it stinks to high heaven. Don't move there! Just saying...

 

Huh. I've been in PG recently and haven't noticed anything. Maybe it's elsewhere. The only real odor I notice is the COW in Draper, lol.

 

Oh, and OP, WinCo is sort of hard to describe. Like a giant normal grocery store, but super cheap, with a lot of unexpected items like a large tofu selection and baby octopodes, and a giant bulk section with everything from spices to dog food, plus the self-grinding nut butter machines and local honey dispensers.