So now that the shock of being here is starting to wear off slightly, here are my impressions/observations of our new home:
1. It is not green. Well, considering that we're in the high desert, this is no surprise. But it's a difficult adjustment for me, because I love my trees. This isn't true for every area here; in Salt Lake itself, there are quite a few mature trees. But it's not part of the natural landscape, they were all planted. The further out you get, the more "native" the landscape gets. Compared to Eugene, it's rather desolate here. And we're in West Jordan, close to the Oquirrh mountains, so it is especially desolate out here. Even more so because we are unfortunately close to the Kennecott mine, where they have essentially raped the mountains and it looks like this:
2. The water is terrible. I suspect much of this is because we are rather close to the mine which has undoubtedly contaminated the drinking water. Which apparently doesn't seem to bother a lot of people here, since Daybreak (which was developed by Kennecott) is supposed to the THE place to buy a house. Even though residents have to sign a disclaimer. And I don't care if it's considered "safe" to drink. People are constantly told that their water is safe to drink after fracking. Even though they can light it on fire
3. The Wasatch mountains are breathtaking! It's wonderful to see the big, towering mountains every day. Unfortunately, the area seems to be perpetually in a haze, whether from pollution or if it's on fire like Oregon is every summer, I am not sure, but it's still an amazing view:
4. Gas is cheaper. And you can pump it yourself and don't have to wait forever for someone else to do it for you. Win. Maybe not so much in the winter, but for now, it's a win. Groceries also seem a wee bit cheaper as well, though the quality of produce isn't as great.
5. Dry heat beats humidity. This entire week, it has been absolutely lovely here weather-wise. And yes, that include the random torrential downpours, because it reminds me of home. And on the warm, sunny days we've had, I haven't felt overly hot once. It has yet to get into the triple digits since we've been here, but it has sure made the transition easier. When we were here in June checking things out, it was in the 90s every day, and it still felt tolerable. And we have central air conditioning, as does pretty much every other place here, so when it does get uncomfortable, we can hide in our cool cave. We will probably be spending half the summers in Oregon anyway. So, if you want to come visit us in the next few summers (please do! we should be in a much bigger place by next spring!) plan your trip between mid-July through August. That's when Nate has to be back to coach.
6. Zoning appears to be non-existent. Once upon a time, the many cities in the Salt Lake Valley used to be completely separate entitites with farms and undeveloped land between them all. But urban sprawl has taken over, and the cities all run into each other north to south and east to west. I frequently have no idea which city I am in. And they weren't necessarily planned very well. I saw a few acres of farm right across the street from a massive shopping center. And you might see an apartment complex right next to a tire store. And then a school. Kind of like someone just took a city, threw it all together in a bag and shook it up, then dumped it out. Or a giant took a big crap and said, look, a city! Also, I have yet to be anywhere here besides Salt Lake that has a true downtown. Please tell me where these places are. A strip mall doesn't count.
7. Everything is generic, chain businesses. If you want quality local, you have to go into Salt Lake downtown and around Sugar House, where we did find a yummy Greek place. Now, many of these chain businesses are a good step-up from your typical Wendy's, McDonalds, and Wal-Marts, so this is a plus. I won't complain about having In-N-Out Burger, Culver's, Ikea, Cafe Rio, Five Guys, Famous Dave's and the likes nearby. But it all kind of looks the same. Well, okay, nothing looks like Ikea. And the food itself at these places is yummy, however, it would be nice to have more quirkiness around. You know, like an old victorian house converted into a dessert place with tables dedicated to classical composers, bad service, live pianists and a scuba diver suit in the bathroom. Or an anarchist cafe. (Everytime I take one of those quizzes on facebook, it tells me I belong in Portland. But my checking account doesn't.) The cost of living here is much more pleasing to our bank account.
8. Being close to Temple Square is wonderful! Temple square is like the Mormon version of the Vatican. We took the kids there on Friday, and it was really emotional for me. The last time I was there, I was there with my parents and sibling nearly 10 years ago. Or maybe it was even longer than that. We saw a lot of people coming out from the temple who had just gotten married, and I teared up remembering our own wedding 7 years ago in Portland, where many of our family members were present who have since died. I missed my Dad horribly while walking around, as the last time I was there, he was with me. But it was still beautiful and peaceful. I love that we can go there whenever we feel like it.
9. No place can beat Utah for ice cream. I vaguely remembering my parents commenting once we moved from Utah (Logan), to Iowa City about how the ice cream selection was lacking. Not so here! It's ice cream heaven- entire aisles dedicated to nothing but ice cream and other frozen treats! And it's all relatively cheap. I am planning on keeping a steady supply of Creamies in my freezer at all times. Oh yeah, and you can buy the massive cans of Stephen's hot chocolate here, and in lots of different flavors, because it's made in Farmington! Okay, this is exciting for me, because when I was younger, we used to sell it every year for school fundraisers before you could buy it in the store and we REALLY liked it.
So right now, it's a bit of a mixed bag for us. I REALLY want to fall in love with living here, because moving is a massive headache. The few people we have met so far have all been extremely nice. Nate is working with some really cool people. I have yet to meet anyone I will be working with yet, nor do I know my school assignment, which I will hopefully have sometime this week, because I need to register my kids for school! The kids love our new place, and it is really nice not constantly worrying about whether or not Ian will fall down the wooden stairs. And I kind of like having nice, thick carpet, because you can roll around on the floor much more comfortably. I look forward to discovering more about this area and finding the beautiful places in the many canyons to get my nature fix. And also for my morning sickness to go away.
