Non-Morman Relocating to Salt Lake City, please help
 

My good friend is locating to SLC, she's from California, mostly S Cal. She's a non-religious, single professional in her early 30's who has only lived in mostly urban areas. The thing she's excited about most is bringing her horse to a nice stable... She's finding an apt downtown somewhere and I'm going out to help. Are there any bars or live jazz or blues clubs that we could check out while I'm there? We're not heavy drinkers/partiers anymore, that was more our college days -- but if there are some hangouts that would help her acclimate, please advise. Will she be able to find a community/network even though she isn't mormon?

So- it's been a looong time since I've been to SLC, but I do live in a heavily mormon populated area of Idaho, so I'll try to help.

First, go look at the LSC torurism site- http://www.ci.slc.ut.us/visitors/

Here are some direct quotes....

a traditional, comfortable, steak-and-potatoes kind of a place, and many people won't go anywhere without the kids

Most Salt Lake City is one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the nation. With the influx of new residents from all parts of the country, the city is experiencing an explosion of excellent new restaurants

restaurants have a liquor license, which means you can order a mixed drink, wine or beer -- but only if you order food, only if you're 21 or older and only after noon and before midnight..
(End of quotes)

Upside- ballet company, theatre, lots of historic places,museums, lots of standard big city shopping (nordies, etc,)GREAT SKIING, Olympics there next year.

Now from experience, where I live- OF COURSE you will find a social/community. Mormons are people too- like any religion, there's the serious, not so serious and the seriouse lapsers. SLC is just a city. You will find coffee, booze, great activities,great people like in every other city. Seek and ye shall fiiiind...sorry. True, though. Nightlife- I wouldn't count on a sophisticated bar scene, if only due to the state liquor laws. Never know, though. Good thing your friend is no longer a serious partier. Tell her to expand her horizons, and good luck!!

Note: if it helps, know that being surrounded by a different religion (mormonism) the trouble/differences come out more in work or personal relationships, not during social time (partying)

And let us know how it works out. Now, I'M curious about SLC's nightlife:)

mooselywild,

thanks for the reassuring post. My weekend with her was interesting. Very little housing available in downtown, although a number of lofts are being built right now -- very expensive -- not the prices we expected coming from Cali. Anyway, there was a free music festival downtown the first night with a ton of college kids and some older dead head types. We assume the kids in their 20's are/were from University of Utah. We noticed a lot of alternative Gen-Y kids too in the Sugarhouse area -- tattos, dyed hair, piercings, etc. To be honest, we didn't run across a single Mormon as far as we know -- most people we met were transplants from S. Calif or the midwest. I think she's going to be fine, will need to become more of an outdoors person to fully take advantage of the area, which she is willing to do.

Also, found out the mayor of SLC is really progressive which is great. We didn't realize that there was large enough of a liberal constiuency to elect someone like that.

Utah is 70% Mormon. I think SLC is more like 50%. I hope your friend: #1 already has a job, #2 reads Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer (SP?), and #3 doesn't mind if there is no separation of church and state.

fishee, I'm not Mormon but I found your comment very interesting

"To be honest, we didn't run across a single Mormon as far as we know "

Did you ask everybody if they were one? Most Mormon's don't wear T-shirts that say "I'm Mormon".

I have several friends in SLC that are not Mormon and there is definitely a us/them mentality especially in their work environment. That being said they all love living in SLC.

People were quite upfront about not being Mormon, we're not sure why. We were mostly talking with property owners who were renting out their places, and I guess with the obligatory small talk/relocation chit-chat, they would disclose they were from LA (or wherever) and weren't Mormon. One guy was from NYC and his last name was Horowitz so we just assumed he was Jewish although he didn't say so. Maybe they were trying to make us comfortable? What's also interesting is that they assumed we weren't Mormon without asking... How could they tell?

momof2~ curious, why do you recommend reading Under the Banner of Heaven before moving to SLC? I have not read the book yet, want to, but I thought it was more about the FLDS (fundamentalists)of LDS? Which they believe in many things that the LDS do not (now). Just curious, like I said I haven't read it yet, so maybe I am wrong and it is more about the LDS. Last I heard the state of Utah went over 51 % non LDS about 3 years ago. Many people commute from So. Utah into Vegas to work (yes, they make that 2-hour trek), and many people have relocated from So. California where the cost of living is better for them, they can sell their smaller homes and pay cash for a larger,nicer one. So, the influx of non LDS people has been huge in the last 5 years.

Fishee,

FYI there are more Mormons in California than there are in Utah, purely number-wise.