What I love about living in Utah!

(It's pretty sad when at five a.m. I notice the moon shining shadows on my bed through the trees outside my window and get taken away by how much I love it when that happens and then I get caught up in how if I lived in other, more densely populated areas, I would really miss that and then mere words compel me to jump out of bed and write because they can no longer stay still in my head.)


What I love about living in Utah:

(yes, I'll admit, this post is, just in some itty bitty teeny tiny way, a bit inspired by my desire to get beyond my initial gut response to certain comments made during this lively little conversation.)

I am completely qualified to write this because one, I actually live in Utah and two, I grew up elsewhere, so I have a frame of reference from which to make a comparison.

This post and its comments are intended to be positive. We could all write the post about what's not to love (but hasn't that been done to death already?). It's not perfect. There are, shall I say, certain oddities and just plain obvious annoyances (not to mention sometimes flat-out horrible and hurtful behaviors as well) that can occur when you have an extremely high concentration of anything clustered all together. But I maintain (and this is supported by a lovely book called "The Ladies Auxiliary") that those are, perhaps, natural to the situation and not so much specific to the individuals themselves and they can occur just about anywhere. So, for the moment we will overlook things we may all have experienced such as judgment and perhaps even some narrowmindedness which, apparently aren't exclusive to our lovely little state--and the fact that there is no Trader Joe's nearby--and we shall focus on the positive.

Because, why not?


1. All four seasons! Some of them in any given day or one little road trip.

Yes, we have a splendid fall. Anyone notice the celestial shade of gold on the trees by that doctor's park on the corner of 5th West and 8th North? Every time I drove by this fall I just had to say a simple prayer of thanks out loud and just tell God, "Brilliant!"

Winter will soon arrive (anyone notice it's coming later and later of late?) and cover us in a quiet and peaceful blanket of snow. The swiftly tilting planet seems to slow a bit when this occurs--in spite of the madness of the holidays--and we can just walk outside or glance out the window and experience moments of tranquility.

Spring in Utah can last for months. It will begin in St. George, of course, and then just creep on up and over the state slowly--like the shadow of a meandering cloud--until you can walk through entire meadows of wildflowers during July and August up in our highest mountains.

And then there is summer. I must admit that when I succumbed to living here it was during the flood years and I had no idea I had left the lush green climate of the Pacific northwest to live in a desert. But oh what a desert! I've only been to Lake Powell once, but it--and other places such as Monument Valley, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, etc.--actually define the color red. And granted our mountains make look a little plain during the dry month of August, but that's only from afar. The beauty of living here is if you don't like where you're at you have only to hop in the car and in a few minutes you can be in someplace entirely different. South Fork Park anyone?


2. The mountains. Like a mother's encircling arms, they exude protection, comfort and peace. They are an actual palpable presence, even from afar. When I returned home from a year and a half in Europe I was startled by both how much I had missed them and how much I could tangibly feel them now I had returned. Living right next to the Wasatch Front mountains is beyond compare.


3. The people. These are generally good people. This isn't by any means exclusive to Utah, but that fact doesn't undermine how great it is to live in a place where the standard people are generally trying pretty hard to "conform" to is to be a good person. I have two teenage boys and there isn't a week that goes by that I don't just sit for a minute in awe of their great friends (I'm hoping my two younger kids are as lucky). I know it takes all kinds of people and you can find whatever kind of friends you are looking for wherever you go, but I am amazed at how simple it is to find a good crowd in high school and just do great things together. As a mother, I am utterly and completely thankful for that.


4. The arts. Living so close to a number of universities and with a number of talented people make it easy to experience just about any kind of great entertainment you desire. (Well, truthfully, we are a little shy on showgirls, but I'm not particularly missing that, are you?) The local theater scene is amazing. I went to see Hale Center Theater's "Jekyll and Hyde" awhile back and had to keep pinching myself to remember this was community theater. Broadway frequently comes to visit. I saw "Les Mis" and "Phantom" both here. The best Shakespeare ever! We also get some fabulous jazz and the usual suspects as far as big-named rock bands and indie bands are concerned. We've got some great art galleries not just at the universities, but also locally. I once even saw a wonderful exhibit of poetry and paintings in a Salt Lake Winery.


5. The general state of affairs. Pretty safe state to live in. We can still go trick-or-treating and play outside with our friends in our neighborhood. Again, not exclusive to Utah, but not at all the case in many other areas as well. The economy is good. Our state balances its budget. Not an extremely high crime area. Moderate cost of living. Great employment opportunities for techies, entrepreneurs and whomever. Great educational choices. Good work ethic. A decent amount of integrity (because I prefaced this with a preference for the positive I will refrain from making any snide comments about a certain location which has been through something like 14 mayors in the last 18 months). Not perfect by any means, but generally decent and good.


6. Diversity. You may laugh and ask, what diversity? But it's here. You just have to look for it. And because you have to actually look for it and make an effort to appreciate it, I maintain it's harder to take it for granted. We are not "all the same" here and Hooray! for that!


I have been here so long now I sometimes start to take it all for granted. But some time ago we went up to Sundance for dinner (oh! I failed to mention the food! Slowly, but surely we are getting some great places to eat, as well. Market Street Grill, The Melting Pot, Sundance, and a number of little divey-but-delicious ethnic-food restaurants, too) with some friends. She is a former runway model; he is a producer for huge shows--rock concerts, car shows, etc. They left behind an entirely different lifestyle as well as location when they moved here from LA. They've lived in NYC and visited all over the world--Milan, Paris, etc. How they ended up in a tiny house on the corner of my hood is another story entirely, but they have been around and have a lot with which to compare. And for most of the fabulous meal (I love the food at Sundance) he went on and on about how Provo of all places was the best place to live ever (of course this theory is also supported by other illustrious experts) and we have no idea how good we've got it!

I was at first surprised--you know, given he had lived in so many other wonderful places--and then pleased as I started remembering what I love best about living here and I concur!


So let's hear it from the experts, you who actually live (or have lived) here. What do you love about living in Utah?