Deseret News | Salt Lake dull? Perfect? Readers weigh in

Reader comments
Salt Lake dull? Perfect? Readers weigh in

115 comments | Read story

Page:
1
2
3
Next >

Bookaholic | 1:59 a.m. Jan. 21, 2008

My one-word descriptor for Salt Lake City is PLACE. I am LDS and for Mormons, this is the PLACE. :O)

Captain P.R. Smith | 3:56 a.m. Jan. 21, 2008

"Wonderful"

I have lived all over the world. Served both a mission to Europe and I have served in the Army as an officer. I have lived in Virginia, Georgia, Kansas, California, Texas, the Netherlands, Germany and North Carolina. I have also served in Iraq, Egypt, and Kuwait.

Of all the places that I have lived, Utah is by far my favorite. I love the skiing, the beauty, the cleanliness, the lack of crime, the shopping, the food, the hiking, the mountains, the outdoors. I love having numerous Temples so close by. That you had the Olympics. The pioneer history, the football games and basketball...go Jazz! I graduated from Utah State University many years ago, and it is so wonderful to be finally call Utah Home.
If you don't like it, try living in some of the destitute and terrible places I have, and then you may realize, there is no place like Utah!

Doug | 6:41 a.m. Jan. 21, 2008

Acceptable

Comments continue below

Chuck Boyd | 6:42 a.m. Jan. 21, 2008

So what single word was used most often? Tell us please! Some of us are curious, and that was your intent, was it not?

John | 6:52 a.m. Jan. 21, 2008

Dull dull dull dull dull dull dull dull dull dull dull dull dull dull dull dull dull. Oh, and dull. Frankly, I'm weary of trying to convince myself that Utah is my place because of the (truly) beautiful outdoors. I just find it for the most part dull. Not that there aren't places I enjoy hanging out at (yay Coffee Garden!) and people I enjoy hanging out with; it's just the collectively I find SLC...dull. And I speak as one who inexplicably has moved here three times since 1996.

(Oh, for those who are going to flame me and say "If you don't like it, leave!" I have two things to say: 1), Please give it up already, and 2), I'm going to as soon as the housing market bounces back. Not soon enough, if you ask me.)

Diverse | 7:10 a.m. Jan. 21, 2008

Would be my choice--from the people to the climate and especially the terrain. Utah is a beautiful place, but since it's now so crowded and the traffic is congested and aggressive (as well as the posters on this site), many words could describe it. Love the place, but glad I no longer live there.

tom | 7:15 a.m. Jan. 21, 2008

SNORESVILLE. I lived there all my life, but moved away ten years ago. I didn't know what I was missing. I found out that the rest of the "free world" was so much more exciting. When I go back to visit, I'm apalled.

KC | 7:24 a.m. Jan. 21, 2008

There are positives and negatives to every city in the country. No place is perfect, but SLC certainly has much to offer. I recently moved here from San Diego in 2005 and I am shocked at the number of people who berate and criticize their own city/state. Civic pride is the sign of an involved, concerned, educated populace. Anyone can criticize.

Frank | 7:31 a.m. Jan. 21, 2008

It is what you make it.

Dear John | 7:48 a.m. Jan. 21, 2008

Dear John, who wrote SLC is "dull dull dull...". It doesn't seem like you're advocating any change, just trying to be insulting. What would you like to see change so you don't consider it the place so dull? It might be interesting to hear what you'd change.

My suggestion for one word? "Money", as in not enough of it! At least it's on my mind more than I wish it were.

Conejo | 8:26 a.m. Jan. 21, 2008

For the Jet set, bar hopping, club spastic, ignoramus, living life on the edge people Utah is NOT the right place. For those of us who have outgrown our teenage years there is plenty of fun to be had WITHOUT running from the cops, hiding in the cemetery, or skiing drunk (remember how fun that was?) You are like the surfer that moves to Wyoming and complains about the waves. HELLO. WYOMING DOESN'T HAVE WAVES AND UTAH ISN'T FOR PEOPLE LOOKING TO STAY UP ALL NIGHT PARTYING. IT'S CALLED....UTAH WHERE DID YOU THINK YOU MOVED TO?

to John | 8:28 a.m. Jan. 21, 2008

moved here 3 times? I don't understand. Was it your job that kept bringing you back? Family? What?

Joe Moe | 8:36 a.m. Jan. 21, 2008

Still, most people aren't following the primary rule of this game. It's not about the best single adjective to describe the place, but the single word/concept "most on Salt Lakers' minds."

Myself, I might suggest "purpose."

Johny Fairplay | 8:43 a.m. Jan. 21, 2008

Theocracy

Culturally-illiterate | 8:52 a.m. Jan. 21, 2008

Utah has no culture. I grew up in Utah and always figured Utahns were about as normal as anyone else. However, there were plenty of non-Utahns in my office who would tell me that Utahns were not normal. I thought they were up in the night.

Then, one day I moved away and I realized there actually is culture to be experienced outside of Utah. I went back for a visit and all I noticed were all the white people in their Old Navy t-shirts. Indeed, I realized right there that Utah has no culture whatsoever at all.

I enjoy visiting Utah, but I enjoy returning to my home outside of Utah where my kids associate with many people from differing ethinicities and cultures. I'm LDS and I enjoy going to church where people go because they want to go, not because they want to catch up on the latest gossip or because they don't want to look bad to their neighbors. I enjoy that people live their religion because they want to and they want to be good examples to others, not because they fear being the topic of gossip.

Yep, Utah has no culture.

Frederick from Logan | 9:11 a.m. Jan. 21, 2008

I live in Utah because I want to. I have a whole lot of words that describe what I like about my home and not one is ugly. It is so easy to criticize. The word I would like to use is serenity. Just plain simple "serenity."

AH, SLC | 9:15 a.m. Jan. 21, 2008

Play it cool, with the members , show very few embers, beautiful healthy looking women, but it seems to me most enjoy the fall as much as the rise of a person..so it must be the little town syndrome!

Non-believer | 9:16 a.m. Jan. 21, 2008

You can always tell when there is a slow news day because the DN always comes up with some really "stupid" articles. There is nothing else to write about? How about some really positive things? How did this article ever get passed an editor?

to illiterate | 9:27 a.m. Jan. 21, 2008

Good name by the way. It describes you.
I have spent lots of time out of this state, including Europe. Utah does have it's own unique culture, if you actually understand the meaning of the word culture. If you expect SLC to be NYC or London then you are going to be really disappointed. But why do you need another Detroit or LA or Madison? We already have them. If we have to turn every big city into the same thing then they lose their own character. So what if SLC is dominated by the LDS church down town, and so what if the majority of the people are white. Culture has an historical element which means that the place has evolved with a composition unique to other places. If your definition of culture means that a city has to have a certain percentage of every single race and religion, tons of theaters, and lots of clubs and bars to go to afterward, then you exclude most of the world of having any culture. Would you say that Jerusalem has no culture? What youï¿½re looking for is diverse amalgamations where you can just get anything you want. Not culture.

To Non-believer | 9:33 a.m. Jan. 21, 2008

Yeah well, you read it, AND commented on it. So what does that say about you?

John | 9:37 a.m. Jan. 21, 2008

ATTN Dear John: I can't comprehend why people interpret the expression of an opinion as an insult. And I can't really suggest what if anything needs to be changed. I'm just saying, I feel deep down that this place is dull. It does little for me and I'm tired of trying to convince myself that it's wholly my fault.

For what it's worth, I have lived many other places in the states, and I consider myself easy to please. But I agree with others who have discovered a richness in life and culture outside of Utah. It's completely different. When I moved to Portland, OR, back in late 1999, I was floored by how friendly the cashiers--the cashiers!--at the local markets were. It was an astounding revelation.

Routine | 9:41 a.m. Jan. 21, 2008

... ... ... ... :-)

Led Zeppelin | 9:43 a.m. Jan. 21, 2008

Salt Lake City rocks dude! I love the Temple and General Conference is the greatest! I love being LDS and I love rock n roll. Yes there is too much country music here and that might dull things a bit but I just ignore it and live in my own happy little world getting the Led out! I hope Led Zeppelin comes here if they do go on a world tour.
I saw Page/Plant here. I love the mountains, the sites, places to 4-wheel drive, Jazz games, hiking.
You have to be boring to not like Utah.
My wife is Latina and has seen Latin America and much of the United States on the East and West coast and has lived in those places. She could not believe her eyes what she saw when she came here.

Spencer | 9:56 a.m. Jan. 21, 2008

I couldn't have said it better myself, Culturally-illiterate.

Utahns think eating at the local Panda Express is a cultural experience.

culturally literate | 9:58 a.m. Jan. 21, 2008

White is an ethnicity. I realized that when I moved to Guam and was a minority. Salt Lake Mormon culture is a culture! We have a right to exist just as much as any culture out there

DIVIDE | 10:04 a.m. Jan. 21, 2008

Captures the spectacular Wasatch Mtns plus the seemingly insurmountable religious influenced debate as evidenced in this thread!!

2 bits | 10:06 a.m. Jan. 21, 2008

Its booring and I like it that way.

I have friends and family who are party-animals and they can find enough of the entertainment they like too, so I think there's enough diversity that you can find what you want in SLC.

Fredd | 10:08 a.m. Jan. 21, 2008

My wife and I went through this exercise 10 years ago when trying to decide whether to move back to Utah after the military moved us out. We liked Utah. But we played this game to find a word to describe Utah and our word was "BLAND". Its pleasant and filling but not much spice. When people ask me what Utah was like I tell them the deli has ham, roast beef, and turkey. No cappacola. Not trying to insult, but Utah is bland.

Mmmmm | 10:17 a.m. Jan. 21, 2008

Utah as a visual = beautiful
Utah as a climate = reminds me of New England but without the humidity
Utahns= never seen so many people out to get what they want with no regard for who gets hurt in the long run.
Why do I choose to live here? I'm LDS, a genealogist, and I love attending the temple as aften as I can. Something that was not possible to do while living in the northeast.

It doesn't matter where a person lives there will always be something that they absolutely love about their surroundings as well as something that they wish would just go away never to return. Home is where you make it and if there is love it is even better. For me Utah is my home.

Sarcastic Smiles... | 10:21 a.m. Jan. 21, 2008

Spencer, I am confused, are you inferring that Panda Express isn't a cultural experience? To me it is embodies cultural experiences! I have the opportunity to watch a diverse set (socio-economic basis) of white people (soccer moms, construction workers, high-school preps and high-school geeks, and businessmen) all ordering Americanized Chinese food that has been prepared by Latino's! Now that is a cultural experience!

Nevertheless Spencer are you also inferring that going to a restaurant is supposed to be a cultural experience? If so I would be interested to see what restaurant you would suggest is a cultural experience. The only one I can even think could possibly be seen as a cultural experience is Ho HO Gourmet on 17th and State.

Lastly the anger about the local culture, which is culture just maybe not the culture you want, is rather humorous. People flock to Jackson Wyoming for the Cowboy culture and love it. Yup, all whiteys there.... hmmm. We also love to see the Amish and how they live their lives... wait a minute... yup all boring white people too! Get over yourself if you don't think Utah has a culture, it's merely one that you don't enjoy!

Dear Mmmmm | 10:23 a.m. Jan. 21, 2008

I grew up in Maine, went to Boston University, and interned on Cape Cod. There ain't no way Utah is New England minus the humidity. Big difference.

I agree with Fredd and John, that Utah is BLAND and DULL. Anyone know one word that sums up UNCHECKED URBAN SPRAWL and HOME OF THE NEVERENDING STRIP MALL?

Oh yeah... | 10:29 a.m. Jan. 21, 2008

I gave up the bar and party scene ages ago, so my assessments of SLC being bland and dull and lacking verve has nothing to do with anything of the sort. Except for fascinating pockets of diversity--check out how the best of the local Chinese restaurants attract the valley's Chinese population, or the small but growing influx of Somalians--SLC is undeniably homogenous, with the quietest downtown I have ever witnessed (outside of business/work hours).

Carl | 10:35 a.m. Jan. 21, 2008

Cold!

zwod | 10:37 a.m. Jan. 21, 2008

Pseudo....
Intellectally Pseudo.
Pseudo humor.
Pseudo cool.
Pretty much a Pseudo big city.
Fact is SLCers really try too hard. Come up looking, well, boring. That`s very real.

Thark | 10:41 a.m. Jan. 21, 2008

How 'bout SENSITIVE or, perhaps more accurate, INSECURE? I'm not the least bit offended or chagrined when someone believes SLC to be anything but boring, yet if I say that I believe it is, look out.

lisa | 10:53 a.m. Jan. 21, 2008

My one word SPECTACULAR! Meaning the Mountains that surround my Home that make me gasp through all the seasons of Utah's Spectacular weather(snow,sunsets,fall splendor,summer thunderstorms, foggy soup you can almost touch, red rocks and majestic mountains. Seems like this was the point of the article.

P.S I have seen and lived in other parts of the country and the world and I could come up with a word to describe each area I have lived. It's all about gratitude for the wonders around us.

Thark and Zwod | 10:53 a.m. Jan. 21, 2008

You guys are so cool, so cosmopolitan. You must be the culturally elite from where ever you hale. We are so lucky to have you here to let us know how backward and boring we are. Let me bask in your intellectual glow.

Sub-Odeon | 10:53 a.m. Jan. 21, 2008

I spent my first 19 years living in Sandy/SLC. I spent the next fourteen years living in Oak Harbor, Mt. Vernon, Seattle, and Tacoma, Washington.

Now that I am moved back to Utah, I think all the negative comments about SLC are hilarious. Especially the ones who complain about SLC and/or Utah being "dull".

In my opinion, "exciting" is where you make it! If you constantly need external stimuli to keep your neurons firing, chances are, it's not the place you're in that's dull; it's YOU that's dull. Make your own fun, I say.

Otherwise, please move to Las Vegas. They have shiny baubles and flashing lights and things that go whirrrr, there. Talk about a city that never sleeps! It's a dreamland for the ADHD culture.

SLC is not for everyone. But it's a place I am pleased to have returned to.

The funny part is that Seattle is always having this same conversation. "We're dull!" "This town needs more night life!" "I love it here!" Etc. Etc.

Why do so many people always wish the city they lived in, was some other city??

Contented | 10:58 a.m. Jan. 21, 2008

"HOME" - As in "Home Is Where The Heart Is" ..mine is here, with no apologies about my feelings for my 'home' in Utah.

Boo hoo | 11:06 a.m. Jan. 21, 2008

John, as someone who claims to have moved here 3 times since 1996, I say your reasoning had to do with the oppourtunities for employment, low cost housing, and cost of living. If I were so completely bored to death by the social scene in a community I would not stay in one place, let alone move back twice. I have lived in four other states and also in Germany. I have settled here because of the values and the family friendly enviroment. So yeah, I guess if your priorities revolve around finding a night club which you can party at after 2am, this is not the right place for you. As soon as the housing market improves (and believe me it cannot happen fast enough for the rest of either)you should move. If you are not happy here inspite of your friends and the "beautiful" scenery, there really is no point of you staying somewhere you are so unhappy. You don't want people to tell you if you dont like it leave, but the point is that it is a logical solution. Noone else would expect someone to stay where they are so miserable.

WANNABEES | 11:07 a.m. Jan. 21, 2008

I AM ATTENDING BYU BUT AM NOT FROM UTAH, BUT THERE IS A LOT OF STUDENTS AND PEOPLE WHO ARE FROM HERE WHO DON'T LIKE IT HERE. I also think the people here are not happy with themselves and not comfortable with themselves. I work with several people who try to be what they are not. YOu need to be cool with who and what youa re. I don't know any other states that have this mentality. Pretty weird.

Utah has issues | 11:14 a.m. Jan. 21, 2008

Why does Utah have an image crisis. They think they are this really hip town. It's comparable to Oklahoma city!
THey are obsesses with the ocean. They always bring up California in any conversation. Seriously it's a joke! Be happy with yourselfs. It's okay! that's why other great states thrive and progress.

Skip | 11:17 a.m. Jan. 21, 2008

Everyone knows Provo is lame, but Salt Lake is radical to the max!

I.P. Freely | 11:18 a.m. Jan. 21, 2008

SLC Dominates.

info man | 11:20 a.m. Jan. 21, 2008

FAMILY
This doesn't describe Utah or Cal. or Wash. ect. It is the word that comes to my mind the most. Home is where the heart is and my heart is with my family. I love Utah and all the things that it offers me. Fishing, hunting, hiking, biking, skiing, all kinds of sports, places to eat ,shop, watch a movie, Jazz games, highschool sports to watch (go Bingham) This place gives me and my family so much to do. I better go and shovel my driveway now. It doesn't matter where you live as long as you have a good attitude. Utah is beautiful and I love it.

MGM | 11:35 a.m. Jan. 21, 2008

Utahns think dressing up on Sundays going to 7-Eleven is a culteral experience.

Depressing | 11:44 a.m. Jan. 21, 2008

Utah in one word?

Depressing.

Wasn't Utah listed as the most depressed state? Curious if all the religous guilt causes this depression.

Oklahoma City? | 11:45 a.m. Jan. 21, 2008

Where I call home, and it, like Utah, has its own unique culture and as much fun and excitement as a person is willing to look for and experience. Sub-Odeon said it best.

I've lived in Utah, Oklahoma and many other states. Although at times every place was a bit boring, when I got off my butt and tried to find what there was to see and do, there was only one place that I'd never want to return to...and some people love it there! Home is what you make of it.

John, wish you'd get back on here and explain why you've returned 3 times to a place that you seem to despise. Somethings wrong--is it you, or is it "The Place"?

Say What! | 11:55 a.m. Jan. 21, 2008

To some of you: You are taking yourselves to seriously, folks.

You're not stuck in Utah | 12:04 p.m. Jan. 21, 2008

If I moved to some small town in Wyoming I might complain about it but I would probably move somewhere else. People that live in Utah that complain about it and don't like the Utah lifestyle haven't heard of the concept of MOVING. It's where you decide to MOVE somewhere else. But if you can't MOVE somewhere else, then you should take all your complaints about Utah and MOVE on. You're not stuck in Utah. After so long of complaining about where I lived I would have to remind myself that its my fault I haven't moved yet.

Page:
1
2
3
Next >

Add your comment

Comments are monitored. Any comments found to be abusive, offensive, off-topic, misrepresentative, more than 200 words or containing URLs will not be posted.

Words Remaining

E-mail address: For internal use only. We may want to contact you to publish your comment (not your e-mail address) in the newspaper or for a separate story idea.