Deseret News | Reader comments: Provo ranked among best places to live

Reader comments
Provo ranked among best places to live

35 comments | Read story

Clilnton | 11:51 a.m. May 29, 2008

Wouldn't be so proud. Lived in Fayetteville AR (also on list) and would rather live in Nephi.

Will | 11:57 a.m. May 29, 2008

What about Paragonah down in Southern Utah?

re: Will | 12:31 p.m. May 29, 2008

where?

Comments continue below

Been there | 12:49 p.m. May 29, 2008

Visit both Provo and San Diego in winter and ask where would you rather live? After all is written, Provo is still in Utah.

Good for Provo | 12:53 p.m. May 29, 2008

Apparently, the folks from kiplingers love spending time stuck in traffic, if Houston is first on the list.

Of course | 12:59 p.m. May 29, 2008

Of course Kiplinger's Personal Finance would rank Provo so highly. Everyone in that chuckhole spends money (and money they don't have) like it's going out of style. Keeping up with the Joneses is the 11th commandment in Provo - so many boats, ATV's, snowmobiles, 5th wheels, etc., all being pulled by giant pickup trucks that cost $150 to fill up and get 9 mpg.

Plus Provo is the poster child for urban sprawl - jewelry stores, cell phone kiosks, and megaburrito joints popping up all over the place.

Not to mention how many businesses there are down there with unsustainable business models (i.e. pyramid schemes).

No wonder Kiplinger's likes Provo - it's the last place in America where people are spending money foolishly.

Slaker | 1:43 p.m. May 29, 2008

If Provo is so nice, then why do I avoid it like the plague? The only place I will stop in Utah County is the gas station, so I can make it out of Utah County. I owe this attitude of mine to the residents, and sprawl, and the traffic. Well done Provo!

RE: Been There | 1:49 p.m. May 29, 2008

Depends on what kind of year the ski resorts are having. If it is a good powder year, like this year, the answer is obvious. Provo. And just so you don't think I'm a homer, I live in Pasadena, California. The winter in So Cal is not that great. Too cold to have any fun at the beach unless your surfing and not cold enough to enjoy the snow. There's a reason why people visit Utah in the winter.

Is this serious | 1:53 p.m. May 29, 2008

Provo .. I spent a whole year there one day .. don't breathe in is all I can say about living in Provo !!

yep | 1:53 p.m. May 29, 2008

Provo is a great place to live. No doubt.

Nope | 1:55 p.m. May 29, 2008

Houston tops the list. What The Heck? WTH Having lived there I can't believe it. Not to mention a bunch of the crime transfered from New Orleans to Houston with the Katrina Re-location. Sorry Provo if you are 10th on a list with Houston as the best you must really stink. Colorado Spring is the only one I believe but I live in Colorado and have lived in Utah and I would take Colorado everytime. Except dring the annual BYU UTAH game. GU

No Kidding | 2:02 p.m. May 29, 2008

Great comments! Wasn't there a street brawl in Provo where a kid got stabbed in the eyes? I'm moving my family there ASAP

Anonymous | 2:01 p.m. May 29, 2008

That's surprising. Even without the mormon influence, its sprawl at it's absolute worst.

I wonder what the criteria is for this ranking.

Lol | 2:09 p.m. May 29, 2008

We get ten days with frost in Sacramento. Here you can ski one day, golf another day then go sailing. February is our first spring month. We have the University of California Davis, California State University Sacramento and many JC's.

What a bunch of sorry people | 2:39 p.m. May 29, 2008

I haven't seen this much whining since BYU signed Riley Nelson...

Provo is obviously on the list for several reasons.

To all of those naysayers that posted above me: Thank you for staying out of Provo. We have enough people enjoying the 10th best city to live in already.

Provo has been and always will be one of the best places to live in America!

tired | 2:47 p.m. May 29, 2008

Those people are either Mormon, or, if not, they have never tried to open a business in Provo.

You stay away = Good for me | 2:49 p.m. May 29, 2008

Nice comments people. I love how you "avoid Provo like the plague" it's nice to know that the people you don't want living here avoid it like the plague......
As far as the criteria...... how about affordable living, beauty, cleanliness, low crime, outdoor activity????
Sacramento is great....why? Because you have lots of schools and cooler weather? So in other words, overcrowding, high priced housing, high crime and traffic?
Stay away from Utah Co!!! Less crowding for me and more room on the ski slopes, etc.

look in the mirror | 2:57 p.m. May 29, 2008

Much of the distain of Provo listed in the blog has religious and politcal undertones - which ultimately says more about the authors than it does about Provo.

Haha | 2:59 p.m. May 29, 2008

Sorry people at 2:39 said "Provo has been and always will be one of the best places to live in America!"

I guess that depends on your definition of living.

If yours involves things like complaining to police about your elderly neighbor lady's yard, then yes, Provo definitely belongs in the top 10.

Re: Slacker | 3:01 p.m. May 29, 2008

People who avoid Provo are people who avoid good things. Just like people who avoid Mormons.... the exact same thing. No difference, AT ALL.

Provo? | 3:15 p.m. May 29, 2008

You have to be kidding. No one who isn't LDS could ever feel welcome in Provo. That lets out about 99.999% of the world's population

Great Place | 3:17 p.m. May 29, 2008

After living in California, Washington D.C., and Colorado, we moved back to Utah County because we love living here -- the mountains, the nearby National Parks, and the great people who live here.

A mark of insecurity is having to tear other people down in order to feel better about yourself.

If you think where you live is great, I'm happy for you. If you have to tear other places down in order to feel better about where you live, I just feel sad for you.

The metro Provo area is still a great place to live.

Haha | 4:02 p.m. May 29, 2008

Yeah, "the metro Provo area is still a great place to live..."

And the best part is, it's growing by leaps and bounds every day!

Sign me up for more urban sprawl!

moving to salt lake county | 4:13 p.m. May 29, 2008

thanks goodness. Hopefully not every one in my new neighborhood will try to get me to join their MLM

Why Provo? | 4:15 p.m. May 29, 2008

Because the editors of the magazine arrived at 10:05 p.m., and didn't have to meet any of the people who live there, who were all tucked away in their houses with their 14 children.

Whatever, | 4:23 p.m. May 29, 2008

I spent about 5 years living in Provo. Would NEVER consider moving back in a million years, or for a million bucks.

Dorothy | 4:39 p.m. May 29, 2008

Provo? at 3:15 is wrong. We have neighbors who aren't LDS and we love them as much as our LDS neighbors. We learned that living away from Utah, in Texas. If all Utah born people would move away for a couple of years to see what real life is like, then move back, they could enrich the area with more open ideas and a love of all people. Provo is a great place to live. If you don't think so, don't live here, but don't bash it either.

SSgt Peterson | 4:45 p.m. May 29, 2008

I love Provo, and Utah. It's on the list because NOVELL, iProvo, BYU, There are Business's that BYU Graduates Started and They are worth Millions/Billions...

I'm one of them. Big bucks in Provo, Yeah a lot of mormons but who cares? What does religion have to do with Nice Places to Live.

Also New Orleans and Katrina moving to Houston? Thanks buddy Houston Saved my Life with my family. Some folks just like to be un-edge-u-macated and ignorant.

Too bad the world doesn't know what a good thing is.

Martha | 5:24 p.m. May 29, 2008

Loved Provo when I was a student - now it's not quite so charming. For such a small place, the traffic is simply horrrible.

Can't imagine that any non-member would want to live there, either.

Deb | 5:51 p.m. May 29, 2008

What is it with the "can't imagine any non-member would want to live there" attitude? Good grief - we are all people - we don't need labels to get along and have friendships. If "non-members" (which is a term Mormons are not supposed to use) don't move here because they think they are going to be baptized, they need to examine priorities in their life. This is a wonderful, clean, family-oriented, beautiful place to live with tons to do in all seasons and yes, there are people who aren't prejudice. Get over the Mormon brick wall and just be a part of living in a good place.

Parking | 6:54 p.m. May 29, 2008

Try parking anywhere in Provo and your car will get a boot on it or you will get a ticket. It's just one of the reasons it ranks so high. I love parking in Provo.

Mark of Albuquerque | 7:57 p.m. May 29, 2008

If Provo and Utah is such a bad place to live,why don't all the whiners(to protest or complain in a childish,annoying fashion)just leave.How hard could it be to pack your bags and move.Keep up the good work Provo

Me | 8:49 p.m. May 29, 2008

Congratulations Provo, on your rating! Well done. You must be doing something right.

All of the cranky comments above are probably coming from people who live in Provo, and would like to keep Provo to themselves--nice cover-up guys, keep up the good work! :)

Anonymous | 10:06 p.m. May 29, 2008

Provo is an awesome place.

Some of the top schools in the country!

Way to go!

Glad to hear people whining about it.

That means that have to try to tear it down. That is when you know it is a good thing!

yay!! ?? !! | 10:57 a.m. Feb. 3, 2009

i hear its pretty nice. visiting next week. my g/f lives there for school and she's LDS. Apparently its a different world out there. Some cities are just good for some and not for others. For example, I love valencia, spain, but not Madrid. I love Houston, TX, but not Dallas.

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