I just came across this review and was somewhat bothered by it. The title implies that in order to "live among good people" in this world, one must live in a conservative, health-conscious, family-oriented community with an above average education. First, we are not all conservative; the city is not a monolith. There are gays, atheists, and hippies among us. There are Latter Day Saints and Latter-day liberals. Since it's surrounded by Salt Lake, Midvale, and the canyon, Cottonwood gets a mélange of colorful people. I think the residents who miss that tend to see what they want to see and focus on the people they prefer -- those most like themselves. Second, the family-oriented thing is fine if we're talking "Modern Family" style since there are all kinds of families here. (Around 1,000 households are headed by a member of a same-sex couple according to recent census data.) The family way is not the only way. Either by choice or by circumstance, a whole lot of people live productive, meaningful lives independent of families. A think if we had more civic-oriented persons, rather than insular-oriented families, we might have stronger communities for all of us. But anyway, I digress. Lastly, the point on education is true. Most residents in Cottonwood are educated, and the incomes for those with at least a bachelor's degree are above average when compared to American adults nationally. Unfortunately, though, for less educated citizens, incomes here tend to be less than the national average. As a general principle, it's good to be around highly educated people because you can (theoretically) have a high plane civilized discussion about mutual areas of interest or concern. But the whole idea behind the comment left before mine voids that effort. People are different, and so is this community. It's filled with, maybe not ethnic diversity, but certainly a diversity of thought, background, and ideology. The best thing you can do for a place that's not yet entirely comfortable with its changing composition is to move there. Live there. There are a lot of good people here, yes, and they come in many different forms.
Jackson | Salt Lake City, UT | Report Abuse