What are the things that nobody tells you about living in Utah until you’ve moved here and realized them yourself? Well, today, I’m going to talk about just that, especially coming from not Utah and not living here, I’m going to give you the perspective of things that were a big adjustment to me and things that people will still comment to me about when living here, and I’m going to answer one of the top questions I’m asked, which is: “What is it like to not be a Mormon living in Utah? Will I have issues?” So make sure you stay tuned.
Hi, this is Melissa Ballman and I am a real estate agent here in the Greater Salt Lake City area. So what that means, if you’re looking at making a real estate move, I’d love to connect with you. Shoot me a text, send me an email, do what you got to do, but get in touch with me. And if you haven’t already, be sure you subscribe to my YouTube channel and click the bell, that way you’re alerted each week when I drop a new video. But today I’m going to talk to you about some of the biggest changes I had moving from California to Salt Lake City and things that nobody really talks about much.
Okay, so first this is not such a secret, but Utah has some really strange or strict liquor laws. And I always joke with people that you can drink yourself sober here in Utah with the liquor laws. Now, I’ve done another video about it so I’m not going to talk about that much. Be sure to check out my video on Utah liquor laws, but just know that they’re very different from anywhere else I’ve lived in the U.S.
So, number two: there’s not a lot of diversity when it comes to eating options. A lot of restaurants in Utah are chain-style restaurants. So if you’re looking for those Mom and Pop, authentic restaurants, you’re not going to get a big, diverse option here for those style restaurants.
Number three: a lot of people look alike in Utah. It’s kind of strange. I’ve had people tell me it’s very much like Stepford Wives. It’s uncanny how alike people look in Utah. Now, of course, not everybody is that way. But like I said, I mean, I’ve had people say it’s like Stepford Wives in Utah because everybody looks alike.
Number four: one thing that was really odd to me coming from California is it’s not common, but it’s not uncommon anymore that if you purchase a house, especially new construction, you may not have a fenced yard. A lot of people, even after living in a home for a long time, won’t put up a fence in their yard so you can walk out your back door and you could walk straight into your neighbor’s yard, theoretically, because there’s no fence at all. So that was a big adjustment because in California everybody has fenced yards, but not necessarily in Utah.
Number five: people take the outdoor seriously in Utah, like outdoors to a new level, even compared to when I lived in Colorado and Denver and growing up in San Diego. People are way different outdoors here. There is so many people that are hiking, biking, whatever, with all the national parks. I mean, just everybody is outdoors. It’s not uncommon for me to take my walks in the morning and on a weekend pass 20 different people that are out for a run. And not just that, with hiking and biking, but a lot of hunting in Utah. I seriously had no clue until I moved here, what an outdoor state this is.
Number six: the houses are just on a new level of big in Utah. I tell people that call me all the time, if they’re limited on funds, don’t discount townhouses because they’re not like they are anywhere else. I remember living in San Diego, my uncle had like a 14, 1500 square foot house, and that was big. Here I know friends that have townhouses that are 20 to 2300 square feet and that’s considered on the small end. So just houses are a lot bigger, generally speaking, here in Utah than they are other places.
Number seven: you’re kind of a minority, and by you, I mean me too, when you only have two kids. I get commented on a lot about when my kids were younger, like, “Oh, when are you having more?” and things like that. I always joked and said, “Well, I don’t want to be outnumbered with the number of hands I have,” but there’s a lot of kids in Utah and a lot of big families in Utah and I do feel like the majority have at least three kids, if not more.
I hope you’re enjoying my video so far. If you haven’t already, make sure you subscribe to my YouTube channel and click the bell, that way you’re alerted each time I drop a new video. And if you’re on Facebook, head on over to our group called Salt Lake Life. And there we talk about all the good things about living in the Greater Salt Lake City and really the Utah areas, things to do all kinds of stuff.
Next, people are super friendly in Utah. All the times my mom has come to visit me in Utah, she always says, “People are so friendly here.” And it’s just kind of a new level of friendly. I go to other places now to visit and I’m always kind of surprised about how standoffish people are and not very friendly or talkative. I walk in the grocery store and can strike up conversations with people just like a normal, everyday thing. So if you don’t like friendly people, you may not want to come here. But if you’re moving into a new neighborhood, neighbors will come out and welcome you. Not so much maybe in the winter, but in the spring and summer it’s like a whole level. We used to have barbecues on our street and block off our street, our circle, so that we could have neighborhood barbecues. It’s just different level.
Next. The drivers are really bad. There is no other way of putting it. They’re just bad drivers here. One of my biggest pet peeves is people will put their blinker on and automatically come over or get mad at you and flip you off because you didn’t just let them in because they turn their blinker on immediately. So I do think there’s a reason why Utah has very high insurance rates, even compared to living in San Diego. Insurance rates are higher here for automobile insurance than they were there. And you’ll probably find that in most states that your insurance will go up here because there’s some bad drivers.
Next. If you don’t come from a cold climate, you may get what I do, and that is by January, I have the itch to get out of town. Now, I love the winter. Since I’ve moved to Utah, I have been waiting for the snowstorm to go up to the top of my door. I want full-blown, crazy blizzard. I love winter. But by January, I’m like, “Okay, I’m over the cold, I’m over the inversion, I want to get away.” So just be prepared for that. Maybe make your plans to take a winter trip if you’re coming from a not winter climate.
Let’s talk basements. Coming through from the west coast, people don’t often have basements. Having family in the Midwest, I can tell you the basements are like dungy, scary, tiny little windows, dark, dungeony feeling. In Utah, that’s not the case, the most homes do have basements, they’re large basements with big windows so you don’t really feel like you’re in a basement with most houses here, but just be prepared that you do have basements, and if you’re looking for homes online, most of the square footage is quoting what is in the basement, whether that’s finished or unfinished.
And finally, the question I get asked so much, “Am I going to have problems living in Utah not being Mormon or being non-LDS?” And my answer is, “Probably not.” I think it gets a little bit blown out of proportion, more so than people realize or anticipate. So there are definitely things that you will have to adjust to, living in Utah, like if you have children just be prepared that other kids may not be able to play on Sundays or on family nights and things are closed on Sundays. But generally speaking, I’ve never had an issue in the time that I’ve lived in Utah for 19 years. So again, I think it’s a little blown out of proportion. Of course, there’s always things that you have to be concerned about or could happen, but that’s true of anything in life, not just that.
I hope you enjoyed my video today. If you have any real estate related questions, I’d love to connect with you. Just reach out to me any way that you need to and let’s talk about your real estate goals. But as always, make it a great day.