Loren,

I lived in Utah for 12 years (in Provo, about 40 miles south of SLC). I don't exactly know you beyond what I read here, but from that I think you would like it there. In fact, when I read the subject of the post, before I read the post itself, I thought to myself, "Oh, Loren. That's the flying dude. He'd totally dig Point of the Mountain."

Like others have said, if you like to be outdoors at all, Utah's a really great place. I didn't take much advantage of it while I was there, but when every time I'm back I think, "Wow, these mountains/trees/canyons/whatever are really stunning!". You've got the mountains, of course, and all the great canyons, and really nice forested areas, and even the stuff like the salt flats to the west. You've got that amazing skiing in the winter, and hiking, biking, camping, or paragliding/sailing/whatevering in the summer. I know they race just about everything on the salt flats; I'm sure there's got to be some sort of racing of those kite car things there, too.

Culturally, SLC's not oppressive. It's obvious who the dominant religious and ethnic groups are, but that's not overbearing. Diversity is there, and not totally as hidden away as one might think, although not quite so obvious as other places like SF. Yeah, whitebread suburbia pretty much sums up much of the area on the surface (especially Draper and Sandy) but the other side of life is there too. You just have to go look for it, and not even look that hard either.

I think there are still misperceptions out there (even though said misperceptions are rooted in reality) that would color what people might think of coming to visit or live in Utah. It's important to remember that the makeup of Utah has changed a lot in the last 20 years. LDS members aren't even a majority in the SLC area anymore (although, like I said, that doesn't mean you wouldn't notice it). Utah has some strange state liquor laws, though nowhere near as bad as some counties in Texas or the south. Regarding beer, I'm a teetotaler, so I can't tell you the difference from personal experience, but the idea that Utah beer is significantly weaker is a bit of a myth based on the different calculations used by other states, and that for most affected beers it's only slightly weaker. You won't find the stronger beers in the grocery store, though. The hard stuff's still available in liquor stores, just not grocery stores. I do know there are a number of very well regarded brew pubs and microbreweries in Utah.

Another thing about SLC: KXRK has the only morning radio show that I can stand to listen to for more than 5 seconds without wanting to stab myself in the ear with a fork. That must count for something. Also, the last few years I was there, I went to the Sundance film festival each year, and I miss not being able to do that now that I'm gone.

So, I think that you'd like it, but if you didn't, big deal. It's only a year in that case, and you could then go to Boston, or back to SF with a bigger combined income, or wherever you want to go. SLC is a big hub airport so it's cheap to fly to Boston or anywhere else to visit in the meantime.