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| Pros and Cons; culture, weather, taxes, medicine - 6/20/2023
I have lived in the same house here for 20 years. There are definitely pros and cons. Pros; you can pretty much shop for whatever you need/want with a 20 minute drive in any given direction (no matter what culture it comes from). The medical here has many skilled people, be it western medicine, or Asian medicine, or functional medicine. I have tried all three, my health has never been my strong point. Lots of skill and talent here in medicine. (but a lot of frustrating and expensive and ineffective conveyor belt medicine as well). There is less crime for a city, the troubling violent crimes are rare. Though we are 2 suburbs away from the heavier crime in the SLC county. West Jordan city keeps upgrading over the years and it seems to keep crime at bay. West Jordan is also generally less expensive propeties than other parts of the county. Psychiatry/social emotional wellness, is a disaster here, (not only are the workers overrun, the people who lead the political sway in mental health, think that knowing God loves you and taking big pharma drugs will fix it. Whatever!...they clearly have had less challenge in life than a lot of people). And the suicide rate is through the roof, especially for the young. I wish more people here knew about the great EMDR counselors for trauma, the hormone specialists that help the monthly anxiety/depression for women, and mood swings in general due to hormone problems. The healing that the acupuncturists from Asia can perform both mentally and physically! There are actually a lot of Asians, and you can find genuine Eastern medicine that is very effective. Back to mental health; Trying to help people not to feel guilty/shame here. Well, that would take quite the miracle. People here only speak in the language of shame. There are some truly compassionate/empathetic people here though, and a lot of them have helped me greatly over the years. People who love nature, this is heaven. The ski resorts are usually packed most years. The hiking and biking and running and cliff climbing and national parks! The mountains are a joy to wake up to. There is usually a colorful sunrise/sunset. But you cannot see stars much in the city. You can see the milky way in southern Utah, it's spectacular. But news travels fast, and the national parks are now overrun and crowded in warm weather. And we've inherited a lot of people from other states that have driven the cost of living so high that Utahns cannot afford to live in Utah. They also did not bring a lot of resources career wise. So be prepared to wait 4 months for a doctor as a new patient. Musicians and artists galore. Culture here values children having expression of art/sport. There are LOTS of kids here. Which means a TON of amazing artistic teachers/opportunities. We have some of the best ballerina's and ballroom dancers, symphonies, and gymnasts. Painters and photographers. And soooooo much music!! Lots of every kind. Our sports teams are way too competitive past tee ball age, so if your a sports fanatic you'll have plenty of skilled athletes to watch or compete against. As far as cons for me, it mostly has to do with weather, and culture/community, and sometimes the political climate and schools. I don't very much care for the HIGH elevation and the extreme cold. Like I said, my health struggles a lot. The lack of oxygen, the flip flop of cold extremes in spring and fall. The very bitter months that always happen end of Dec. to late February. Though we really never know what were going to get each winter snow wise. It's ALWAYS very cold in January and February. But the weather is very fickle due to the rocky mountain and salt lake's "lake effect". Some winters there is heavy snow infrequently. On the other extreme it can snow once per week until June. It feels like we really only have 2 seasons. winter and summer. Every spring and fall my husband and I try to turn off the heater and air conditioner for as long as possible to save money. It never lasts more than 2ish weeks. The weather most often is very much a ping pong hot/cold through May and then starts the high dry heat. (definitely chap stick and thick moisturizing lotion, sunscreen and aloe vera gel is a hot seller here). And July/August can be unbearable at the 100 degree plus. (a couple days as high as 105). It's very frequent 102 degrees in July/August. I mostly hate the winters. This year was a record for horrible. (and my health was the worst it's ever been, by the end of the cold this year, the blood draw lines were long. I'm sure we were all lacking vitamin D). It was 6 months of snow. The canyon topped out at 900 inches. But this is very abnormal precipitation. All the years before made people nervous of water shortage and drained the major lakes that we rely on across Utah. (lake Powell gained 50 feet of water the past 2 months!! Very unusual). Most years we have 2 or so snow days that school is canceled. We have some seriously cool snow plow people! and lots of salt! So you always go to school. Speaking of schools. I have raised 3 kids here. The schools that function are minimal. You can find them, but most schools are overrun with bullies. I've had to go outside my school boundaries to keep my kids safe/thriving. Doesn't matter public or charter, it's pretty hard to get into a functional school. There are amazing teachers, but they are expected to raise the children at this point. And they are quitting and retiring left and right. It's just too much for to expect of our teachers. I finally bit the bullet and my father in-law helped pay for a great private school. That was the first time my son learned how to learn. He was in 8th grade. The culture here is the most difficult part here. There is an underlying war between the righteous and the rebellious in many different facets of this valley. If you are Mormon it seems to be more comfortable as far as community. There is a huge population now of evangelical Christians here as well. It is more the Calvenistic variety. (think like me or be condemned), mentality. Because of the righteous mentality, there is a huge population of outcasts. You will find a lot of angry people here on both sides, and they seem to take it out on driving. It's terrifying!! I was told that recently it was decided that this, the SL county, is the 5th most dangerous drivers in the COUNTRY! And lately a few people per month are either murdered or wreck and die per month from road rage. You'll also find there are a lot of people that try to NOT look mormon. So there are more tattoos and bright colors of hair than you will probably find elsewhere. There is definitely a moral rebellion as well. And for good reason...the outcasts are not treated very well here. Positive attention is at a deficit. I try not to do the extreme, and I'm very social, so I ask a lot of questions to people with differing perspectives. Even still, my children have been treated horribly at times. We are not religious. And if you do not have a religion and/or good enough health to work, you will probably have a hard time fitting in or finding community support. I have really struggled here. I cannot leave due to my ill health or I would. The economy is so expensive that we decided to turn our house into multi-family living, so that our children would be able to rent at a reasonable rate compared to the income here. We lucked out and bought 20 years ago. Our house has gone from a $157,000 as a fixer upper to $550,000 (before the addition was added). The income has not significantly increased in this area. So while my husband makes great money being in the height of his career. A lot of people are still making $10-$15 per hour. Many younger people are having a hard time finding a place they can afford, whether it's rent or buy. The debt wheels are definitely churning across the valley this year. Hopefully the next decade will bring some balance, income to expense wise. But the state government is raising taxes so high on property, there is NO cap to what value your house will be taxed at. And the income tax on business is so ridiculously high. It discourages small business. We're still recovering from paying taxes this year due to the property value tax and the tax we paid due to my husband doing A LOT of side work to pay our medical bills. (and it's June). I don't know how people can afford to live here. I'm glad that I have my husband and kids and my best friend. Otherwise this is one of the loneliest places. Most people are working multiple jobs, and the to-do lists are overwhelming to survive. There is no perfect place to live, and most of your problems follow you where ever you go. But I definitely wish I could move somewhere my kids could have potential to afford and still have a job. And especially I'd love a place where people were genuine. There are a lot of people who do not admit the friendly facade they put on for others. It's NOT actually a very friendly place like they claim. And it gets really old after a while. But there are a lot of people here, so that if you try hard enough, you'll find at least a small trust circle of friends and be ok.
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