Seeking house/apartment for rent between SLC and Provo

Hi I am moving to the SLC area on July 30. I am a single 31-year-old climber, snowboarder, mountain biker, hiker, originally from NJ. I have a new 9-5 M-F job as a scientist in Provo but looking to live closer to SLC, ideally somewhere with super easy access to the outdoors so I can bike or climb after work. Interested in the Millcreek, Cottonwood Heights and Sandy areas (unless you have other suggestions)!  Please message me if you know of anything becoming available at the end of July. Thanks!

If you are working in Provo, why not live there?

josh holmes wrote:

If you are working in Provo, why not live there?

Cause it is Provo. Need one say more?  For the OP Sandy is probably your best choice.

Allen Sanderson wrote:

Cause it is Provo. Need one say more?  For the OP Sandy is probably your best choice.

+1

Although the OP would be looking at close to an hour of commute time.

IIRC, there's something for rent in my neighborhood on the east bench. I'll check later today.

Edit to update: apparently the rental I recalled is off the market.

Excuse my little ignorance , but what does "the OP" mean? On a recent trip to Salt Lake, I have been convinced to live in a Sugar House or Millcreek. 

Yeah, not to really push more people to moving to the Provo area (its crowded enough during the school year), but it's not really the terrible place that a lot of people in Salt Lake want to think it is, with one exception. If you're looking for a bar/club nightlife, you're not going to find it. However, if you're looking for easy after work access to climbing, biking, etc. Provo is pretty awesome.

If I had to live in SLC it would probably be near BCC/LCC. 

Brit Graf wrote:

Excuse my little ignorance , but what does "the OP" mean? On a recent trip to Salt Lake, I have been convinced to live in a Sugar House or Millcreek. 

OP = original post or the original poster (context dependent)

I live in Sandy. Its pretty sweet. This is a good option

https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/113129930/room-available-july-1st-5-minutes-from-momentum-sandy-climbing-gym

Ryan - I visited Provo and thought it was absolutely gorgeous and friendly. But every one of the 30 or so people I asked about living there versus Sandy/ Salt Lake said up north I would make more friends quickly. And the most important thing for me moving out there from Jersey would be to find a community of climbers and snowboarders, etc who I can connect with (beyond the physical activities) . I am not super keen on drinking, I like a beer every now and then, so I am not too worried about that .. Still dabbling with the idea of finding a place in Provo i guess. I have about 40 days to figure it out!

Brit Graf wrote:

Ryan - I visited Provo and thought it was absolutely gorgeous and friendly. But every one of the 30 or so people I asked about living there versus Sandy/ Salt Lake said up north I would make more friends quickly. And the most important thing for me moving out there from Jersey would be to find a community of climbers and snowboarders, etc who I can connect with (beyond the physical activities) . I am not super keen on drinking, I like a beer every now and then, so I am not too worried about that .. Still dabbling with the idea of finding a place in Provo i guess. I have about 40 days to figure it out!

Well, based on quantity of people I'd say that yes, Sandy/Salt lake would get you connected with people more quickly, and SLC has more access to snowboarding. But, the Provo community, while smaller, is pretty rad. I think you're going to be pretty happy either way. Welcome to Utah!

I'm moving from Chicago soon to the Salt Lake areas, mainly looking in the areas you mentioned. I was just going to try to find a roommate or sublet for a month or two while I found a legit place.  If you're interested in teaming up let me know and we can talk budget, neighborhoods, etc. My email is thebriandeyoung@gmail.com

-Brian

I love all of the neighborhoods you are considering. I live in Cottonwood Heights and can be in either cottonwood canyon in 5-10 minutes. It is awesome in the summer, and it is awesome in the winter. Also awesome every other time of year. Probably unparalleled re access to mountains from a decent sized city (shhhh, don't tell anyone. Actually, on second thought, it sucks. Nobody wants to be here! Plus there's those Normans, or whatever they're called!). And FYI, I too grew up on the east coast - mountains of NC for me - have lived in many places, and love most mountain sports, so maybe have some common background to you. 

I also work in Cottonwood Heights, so my commute is 5 minutes to my office. 

One factor that you should strongly consider is your tolerance for commuting. With a 9-5 job, commuting from any of the places you mention would mean two commutes each day, during rush hour, over the Point of the Mountain bottleneck. I have friends who do this commute and it is not great. Could be nearly 1.5 hours each way at the times you would be traveling, depending on exactly where you end up living and are working of course. And it will only be getting worse as entire new cities are currently being built along the I-15 corridor. Take a look at google directions during that time of day for a couple days and you can get a more exact feel for it. It's not California yet, thank goodness, but it's certainly very hectic. I hate commuting - YMMV. That commuting time of course really can eat into your ability to get outside, especially if you like to have sunlight. 

Also, be hesitant to believe, out of hand, all of the negatives said about Provo and Utah county. Like many places, many Utahns have really strong feelings about other nearby areas they don't live in (like people from Salt Lake county hating on Utah county, and vice versa, or university rivalries that you aren't likely to care about if you didn't ever even go to school in Utah). I'm not saying that any of the open-minded folks on Mountain Project do that, of course, but it's pretty prevalent in some places around here. In some matters they may be right. For example, I have a family and don't drink, so I don't know about nightlife, etc., but there is plenty of discussion here on MP about these issues if you look at some past threads. But Provo is one of the fastest growing cities in the entire United States, and the whole Utah county area is exploding - hence, lots of people getting hired and moving in, like you are. Major national and international companies have come and are coming and the amount of building down there is staggering. Because of this, I think the mix of people there is probably far different than many old-school SLC folks grew up with, or even from five or ten years ago, and very different from the stereotype that I often hear from people. That area also has its positives with respect to getting outside: closer to American Fork canyon, Timpanogos, Maple Canyon, Moab and the desert areas, Provo canyon, etc., and instead of commuting 3 hours per day that's 3 more hours you could be outside or seeing friends. OTOH, though there is a ski resort, it's not nearly as good (Sundance v. LCC/BCC = no comparison); maybe that matters less if you go backcountry a lot. 

You note that the community is the most important thing to you. There are mountain shops, bike shops, a climbing gym or two, etc. down there, so if you haven't already, maybe call those places up to get the skinny about the community from outdoorsy people who live there. Is that kind of community larger here in SLC? Undoubtedly. But a better question for you might be, is it easily big enough in Utah county for you, and considering all other factors that you care about? 

Ultimately, if you were working in SLC, it would be a no brainer to live here. But you are working in Provo and it sounds like you are trying to think through all issues, which makes a lot of sense. In any case let us know what you decide.

Ben

Brit, 

Congrats on the new Job! Before I moved to Utah I was scouring these fora for information much like you are now, some was good information, some was from people who haven't lived here - which is useless. One woman however, spelled it out in a very sober, realistic, and objective way - I wish that I would have listened to her advice. 

First off, Utah is an amazing state, whether I continue to live here for two months or 10 years I will always continue to come back here. It's just that good. 

I am going to be as objective as possible, people might disagree but these are just the facts as I see them, and I have lived in 5 distinct regions of this country for the last 15 years.

-If you are not LDS you should live north of the point of the mountain. Period.  

-If you don't know what LDS means you should live north of Sandy. 

People in Utah are great - amazing, but just do that, seriously.  Utah is in my experience (and I have been to 48 of the states in our Union) a true outlier. The outdoor opportunities near this metro cannot be beat by any metro in America - simple fact. However, Utah was founded upon a religious sect that controls this state in a way that is extremely foreign if you are not from this geographical region. People bristle at this truth, but it is a simple truth and one that you should see with open eyes. You can message me and I could write you a book with some anecdotes that will make you wide-eyed, but my advice above is sound and should be taken. 

I have a 2 bedroom 2 bath apartment in a 4-plex that will be ready to rent out in a few days.    It's located between the U, sugarhouse, and 9th&9th.  Contact me at (801) 694-9217

I will second what benb said about commuting, you do not want to be on I15 at 8 am or at 5 pm 5 days a week. 

Allen Sanderson wrote:

Cause it is Provo. Need one say more?  For the OP Sandy is probably your best choice.

The I-15 corridor is a horror show of a commute, mostly because for the past 30 years Utahns have chosen to build and live farther away from their employer. 

Legislation, more lanes on the free way and all the public transportation will not create a more permanent solution than simply if everyone tried reducing the distance they needed to travel to work.

Brit and Brian lots of good advise here. I would add is good news now is the best time to find housing in Salt Lake County. Just to make you aware there is housing available everywhere it seems right now. By Fall the housing downtown SLC/near the U will be gone and by mid-November all the good housing will be gone in Cottonwood Heights/Sandy to the seasonal ski resort employees. 

Personally, Britt I'd live in Sandy or even Draper; nearish to the freeway. It will offer you a good balance of access to BCC and LCC and the SL County gyms and social events, however minimize your commute. If after a year you hate the commutte move south; after you've meet lots of folks. 

Get off my lawn!

I live in Sandy and commute to Provo for a M-F 8-5. Traffic isn't that bad most days. Typical 40 minutes to 1 hour for my 40 mile commute. Some slow spots but lots of 80mph. Heading home in the evenings traffic starts to back up at 12300 and can get bad by the 9000 exit. Living north of Sandy in Cottonwood Heights or SLC would put you in serious stop & go traffic. Sandy or Draper are quite family oriented towns close to the mountains. No nightlife or non-chain non-kid restaurants. 

Provo & Utah county have a significantly higher percentage of LDS residents. Many social event revolve around local church groups. I would think it would be very isolating and hard to find friends moving to that area from out of state.

bognish wrote:

Hey I just wanted to thank everyone for your input here. I just moved here and found a place to live in Cottonwood Heights. I think I am going to love it!! Anyone in need of a climbing or general adventure partner, message me :-)