Grew up in northern Utah. It is, to me, one of the best spots to live for that type of lifestyle, especially if you need to be near an airport. If you were 50 and single I would say look somewhere else. But if your wife is ok with the move I think you would like it.

If you ski, Eden or Ogden is a great spot. Be prepared that the LDS religion dominates in the state. I’m not, and it never really bothered me. Since advancement in your job doesn’t depend on that you should be good.

Do you fly for Delta? SLC airport is super easy to access from almost anywhere between Ogden and Provo. If you are United, you may want to look on the other side of the Rockies.

Weather is not that bad. You will get a couple weeks of inversions in the winter where the valley is terrible, but usually that is SLC. Summers are hot for a few weeks also. Dry climate, so easy to be outside in just about any weather. It is not year round bliss like San Diego but very tolerable. The lack of humidity is great.

Real estate is starting to get expensive. Not CA expensive, but in desireable neighborhoods it can be a surprise.

drn92

Thank you for your reply. Great insight. I am LAX based, fly B747 freighter for Atlas Air, SLC is where I would get on to move in position to LAX for the trip start and back home. I do have a unique situation as I work for Garmin too, but can do most of my work remotely
Wife is a pharmacist for Walgreens. She is going back to school to add PharmD to her degree and maybe looking for work outside of retail setting, more like hospital/clinical work. Even remote work type is on the table, she is ready for a change after 27+ years.
We are not religious at all and religion never bothered us at all. We are not activist nor in anybody's face over anything, live our own thing and pay very little attention. Kansas as a state is very conservative and religious, however no issues ever. Never felt impeded on the job at Garmin for no practicing of religion, though most of my team members new through our personal interactions outside of work and are very active in their church communities.
We both ski and love cross country skiing, though neither is great at it. I am a decent downhill skier and absolutely would love the proximity to good skiing.
My wife is a bit reserved toward cold even though she skis, she is more of a fair weather skier while I go out in anything from our years of visiting CO.
I am absolutely in love with dry air. Proximity to reservoir and ability to drop my ICF K1 or paddle K2 is irresistible with Eden/Ogden. Obviously OWS is huge for me, I am a decent swimmer. Coached swimming and made living out of it for a period of time. Both of my kids are collegiate swimmers and would love OWS when they visit.
The other place I am researching is Folsom, CA due to it's proximity to lake Natoma that is a canoe/kayak/rowing accessible, while all the swim bike run is also very easy to access. Folsom seems more expensive....housing cost and taxation burden in CA scare me, though I believe everything has a price in life.....
Thanks for your input. Helps really.

Funny you mention Folsom as a cousin moved there from Aspen and loves it. Aspen was great but more of a playground for the wealthy. Tough to be a regular person there.

Eden is small and probably 20-40 min away from major conveniences, but really close to Snowbasin, Powder Mountain, and the Park City area. I think the XF skiing is better in the PC area but not sure.

The south Ogden area has a pretty good medical complex and the University of Utah is a great teaching to hospital. Should be lots of options for your wife.

You can probably look anywhere from North Ogden to Draper and include Eden, Heber, and the Park City area in your search. My preference would be east of I-15 and in the “benches” (foothills).

Farther north is Willard Bay. Not sure if they allow OWS there. About 20 min north of Ogden.

drn92

Northern Utah is pretty great and the winters aren't all that bad. Ogden Valley is colder and snowier than Ogden generally, but still, there's a tune-up for the Ogden Marathon (which goes through Eden in mid-May) which is run up there in early April and it's gotten snowed out (but rarely).

Keep in mind that Pineview is chock full of motorized recreators. You will find it difficult to navigate except on off days and hours (early on weekdays sort of thing). Saturdays and Sundays there in the summer are an absolute zoo.

There are miles and miles of trails for hiking, running, mountain biking, etc, nearby, as well as some pretty great road options too. Not a lot of them, but what's there is pretty good.

You're looking at about an hour to SLC airport from there, give or take, which can dramatically increase in bad weather (think December-March).

Had a friend fly for Atlas for a few years out of SLC. It worked pretty well for him. Good luck making your decision!

Cheers,

-Eric

Thank you both for great insights. We are planning a trip, 5-6 day visit to the area and we go scout. Thanks.

My grandparents lived in Ogden. I spent a ton of time in Ogden as a kid. I even named my son Ogden. And Ogden is even cooler now. Definitely move!! Enve, Lagoon, Snow Basin.

We are definitely interested and setting up to be able to pull the trigger shortly. Wife is very open minded and willing to give it a shot. I am very excited to go tour and look around. Eden area excites me due to a bit more rural flavor but will see how the proximity to potential wife's work and other logistical needs play out. Good pool and gym within a reasonable range are a must.

I’m in SLC. Feel free to message me with any questions but the area is absolutely wonderful. Although winters can be a little cold, they are generally sunny and the roads clear pretty quickly. I absolutely love the area.

Only downsides for me are the lack of diversity in the population (you may have a pretty homogenous demographic among your neighbors), and, living in the valley, the inversion and pollution.

Overall I love it here. I have family in the Denver area and would be disappointed to move there, that’s how great the outdoor access and general life here is.

If you’re going to move here, decide quickly. House prices are rising by the month.

Mountain green is the area to be in its closer to slc but has the Edwin feel.
I live in farmington and I love it. Antelope island is world class roads smooth and safe.
Ogden kinda is a dump. I’m sure there are nice areas but as a Utahn you won’t here people say I want to move to Ogden.
Heber is nice too.
Pm me too if you need help

I had an amazing job offer at Zion's bank for their Ogden area (2007). Coming from Michigan I was so excited. But then my mom was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer. They gave her 6-months at most. The bank offered to fly me home every weekend, but I couldn't leave my mom's side. She almost made it 6-months.

After that the financial crisis hit, so no bank was hiring, which was since I started my doctorate in economics.

I never got to live there, but I flew out to Ogden a few times and loved it. I'm so jealous.

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The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design.

So sorry for your mom, fully understand. Thank you for the info. Thank you guys above also, I will message you before and after the visit. Thanks for willing to answer a few questions.

I've never lived there but my daughter did for a couple of years. Every time I visited her I wondered why we didn't live there. It was really nice. Super easy to get from SLC airport to Ogden area.

I did the Antelope Island Buffalo Run a couple of times and absolutely loved it.

https://www.buffalorunadventures.com/buffalo-run/

I just moved to SLC specifically for the biking. I only did a few rides so far but it seems good if you like climbing.

I thought I give you all an update since you have been so helpful with your thoughts. We are under contract for a lot in Eden, Ridge Rd, just West of 158 going to Powder Mt. That puts us 5min North of Pineview reservoir, got nordic trails behind the lot, 25min to Causey reservoir......East side of the Valley. The Valley is insanely beautiful, has rural feel to it, roads less than perfect but manageable, endless options to mtb or run the ridges, canyon trails and two reservoirs. Causey is a true hidden gem and I can totally see myself "hiding" there, no cell service.....my ICF boats will find calm waters, no motorized boats on it.
I found trail/sky running races, spanning across peaks, XTri series, Xterra USA racing in Eden......cycling roads through canyons and over the passes....just seems endless.
Wife is excited. We are now onto closing in May than slowly planning in the next 2 years the build and move in. Looking forward to moving in and living our mountain life. Thanks guys for all of your input.

Enjoy! Powder Mountain and Snowbasin is where I learned to ski. You should have an awesome time!

drn92