smac97 Posted August 9, 2012 Posted August 9, 2012 (edited) http://blogs.the-ame...utopia-in-utah/A new Gallup poll confirms what we already suspected at Via Meadia: despite incessant insinuations in the MSM that life among the Latter Day Saints could be anything other than a hell on earth, Mormon Utah is the most pleasant state in the union to live in. More than half a million Americans were asked to assess the states using a range of metrics from availability of good jobs to workplace relations to standard of living to optimism about the future, health, and education quality:Utah does best in part because it is among the top two best-performing states for low smoking habits, ease of finding clean and safe water, having supervisors who treat workers like a partner rather than a boss, learning something new or interesting on any given day, and perceptions that your city or area are “getting better” rather than “getting worse.”Contrary to what we’ve seen in the NYT, the tolerant, hard-working Mormons in Utah seem to be doing just fine, judging by many Americans’ standards. Perhaps Mitt Romney shouldn’t hide his Mormonism but confidently own it and be proud of his religion’s focus on values, strong communities, public service, and compassion for the poor and sick.Something tells me we won’t be reading much in the press about the utopia in Utah, but that just means the increasing number of Americans moving there will be pleasantly surprised when they get to experience it firsthand.I was born in Hawai'i but largely grew up in Utah Valley. By the time I was married I was tired of the place and wanted to move on. However, we found a house in Provo and have settled in. Now, seven years later, I don't think we'll ever move. We have found Utah to be a great place to live and raise a family. I have come to appreciate the culture of this place, which, despite its quirkiness and its flaws, apparently yields good results as indicated by the article cited above.And yes, I think Mormons play a big part in making Utah a pleasant place to live.-Smac Edited August 9, 2012 by smac97 3
ANACO Posted August 9, 2012 Posted August 9, 2012 I hear Pleasant Grove is pleasant.http://www.utopianet.org/about-us
happy Posted August 9, 2012 Posted August 9, 2012 I hear Pleasant Grove is pleasant.http://www.utopianet.org/about-usIsn't utopia considered pretty much a flop and some are demanding that it be shut down and sold off to private companies?
Bill “Papa” Lee Posted August 9, 2012 Posted August 9, 2012 Isn't utopia considered pretty much a flop and some are demanding that it be shut down and sold off to private companies?Thomas Moore forbid!
Alan Posted August 9, 2012 Posted August 9, 2012 Obviously the respondents have never been to Yorkshire. 1
yootaw Posted August 9, 2012 Posted August 9, 2012 I have lived in half a dozen states, and have traveled extensively throughout the world. We moved to Utah county six years ago. I will say that it took some time to adjust to the culture, and I thought initially that we had made a mistake. But, i've come to love it here. There are definitely quirks, but the natural beauty, and sense of community is awesome!
yootaw Posted August 9, 2012 Posted August 9, 2012 Obviously the respondents have never been to Yorkshire.You're right on in my case, but I would love to visit sometime.
why me Posted August 9, 2012 Posted August 9, 2012 Obviously the respondents have never been to Yorkshire.I know that you guys are very pleased with the olympics. It seems yorkshire is bypassing london in medals won.
why me Posted August 9, 2012 Posted August 9, 2012 I have lived in half a dozen states, and have traveled extensively throughout the world. We moved to Utah county six years ago. I will say that it took some time to adjust to the culture, and I thought initially that we had made a mistake. But, i've come to love it here. There are definitely quirks, but the natural beauty, and sense of community is awesome!Nah...New Jersey is the best. There is a wonderful sense of community in Jersey. And you will learn to speak with a good accent.
thesometimesaint Posted August 9, 2012 Posted August 9, 2012 Like anywhere else in the US in Utah you can get anything you look for.
KevinG Posted August 9, 2012 Posted August 9, 2012 I'm very wary of these kinds of "studies" because the answer changes based on the criteria used. I could make my hometown come out on top if I used availability of good Barbecue a criteria.Clean water and low smoking rates are a dead giveaway. Provo and SLC were lovely places and I'm glad we spent a couple of years there. I'd love to visit again.As an aside poor Mitt can't win on the Mormonism thing. If he says more about his religion he is accused of injecting religion into the campaign. If he puts it in the background like every other candidate he's accused of hiding it. 1
KevinG Posted August 9, 2012 Posted August 9, 2012 Like anywhere else in the US in Utah you can get anything you look for.My downstairs neighbor in Spanish Fork was a pot dealer. When my wife called the police because their two and four year old were left alone a home for two days he pointed a gun at me upon his return and told me to call my wife off.We moved a week later. The new neighborhood was much nicer.
Ron Beron Posted August 9, 2012 Posted August 9, 2012 I'm partial to Monterey, California pre-Yuppieville. More to the topic though, I am reminded of the closing lines from "Raising Arizona",That night I had a dream. I dreamt I was as light as the ether- a floating spirit visiting things to come. The shades and shadows of the people in my life rassled their way their way into my slumber. I dreamed that Gale and Evelle had decided to return to prison. Probably that's just as well. I don't mean to sound superior, and they're a swell couple of guys, but maybe they weren't ready yet to come out into the world. And then I dreamed on, into the future, to a Christmas morn in the Arizona home where Nathan Junior was opening a present from a kindly couple who preferred to remain unknown. I saw Glen a few years later, still having no luck getting the cops to listen to his wild tales about me and Ed. Maybe he threw in one Polack joke too many. I don't know. And still I dreamed on, further into the future than I had ever dreamed before, watching Nathan Junior's progress from afar, taking pride in his accomplishments as if he were our own. Wondering if he ever thought of us and hoping that maybe we'd broadened his horizons a little even if he couldn't remember just how they got broadened. But still I hadn't dreamt nothing about me and Ed until the end. And this was cloudier cause it was years, years away. But I saw an old couple being visited by their children, and all their grandchildren too. The old couple weren't screwed up. And neither were their kids or their grandkids. And I don't know. You tell me. This whole dream, was it wishful thinking? Was I just fleeing reality like I know I'm liable to do? But me and Ed, we can be good too. And it seemed real. It seemed like us and it seemed like, well, our home. If not Arizona, then a land not too far away. Where all parents are strong and wise and capable and all children are happy and beloved. I don't know. Maybe it was Utah. 1
Scott Lloyd Posted August 9, 2012 Posted August 9, 2012 I have come to appreciate the culture of this place, which, despite its quirkiness and its flaws, apparently yields good results as indicated by the article cited above.-SmacDon't you get it? the "quirkiness and flaws" are how we [Darn] Utah Mormons run off the outsiders.
thesometimesaint Posted August 9, 2012 Posted August 9, 2012 Kinda like thousand island dressing without the pickles. 1
Scott Lloyd Posted August 10, 2012 Posted August 10, 2012 Fry sauce is an abomination. Just sayin'See? The quirkiness works.
Stargazer Posted August 10, 2012 Posted August 10, 2012 About five years ago, my employer sent me to Austin, Texas for a week-long training course, and I flew there from Seattle with a stopover in SLC to change planes. Actually, I stayed in the plane and some folks got off, to be replaced with some others. For the sake of fellowship, I made very minor overtures (nodding and saying hello) towards having a conversation with my new seatmate, a woman who ignored me, immediately took out a book, glued herself to it, and never took any kind of notice of me. That was fine, I usually prefer to keep to myself on airplanes anyway. So there we were.As we began our approach to Austin's airport, she finally put her book down, noticed me, and started talking. And what did she have to say? Pretty much all I remember of what she was trying to communicate was how bad she had it in Salt Lake City, and how the Mormons were trying to drive her out of business. I asked what her business was, and she told me she operated a nightclub. I was a little taken aback by her blithe assumption that the person she had sat next to in Salt Lake City couldn't possibly be a member of the Church she was trying to blackguard. I didn't want to embarrass her (felt embarrassed enough for her), so I just let her blabber on until she finally went quiet as the plane touched down.So, do the Mormons in Utah really try to make a point to drive nightclubs and bars out of business?
Stargazer Posted August 10, 2012 Posted August 10, 2012 Fry sauce is an abomination. Just sayin'There's a fry sauce that is sold as a condiment here at a small chain of family burger joints here in the Olympia, Washington, area. But they don't call it "fry sauce." They call it "Goop", and though the recipe is a "secret", it is clearly a mixture of mayonaisse, mustard and relish. It is very good. Check out Yelp for some reviews and mentions of "Goop": http://www.yelp.com/biz/eagans-drive-in-and-espresso-tumwaterI've never tasted fry sauce.
Scott Lloyd Posted August 10, 2012 Posted August 10, 2012 (edited) About five years ago, my employer sent me to Austin, Texas for a week-long training course, and I flew there from Seattle with a stopover in SLC to change planes. Actually, I stayed in the plane and some folks got off, to be replaced with some others. For the sake of fellowship, I made very minor overtures (nodding and saying hello) towards having a conversation with my new seatmate, a woman who ignored me, immediately took out a book, glued herself to it, and never took any kind of notice of me. That was fine, I usually prefer to keep to myself on airplanes anyway. So there we were.As we began our approach to Austin's airport, she finally put her book down, noticed me, and started talking. And what did she have to say? Pretty much all I remember of what she was trying to communicate was how bad she had it in Salt Lake City, and how the Mormons were trying to drive her out of business. I asked what her business was, and she told me she operated a nightclub. I was a little taken aback by her blithe assumption that the person she had sat next to in Salt Lake City couldn't possibly be a member of the Church she was trying to blackguard. I didn't want to embarrass her (felt embarrassed enough for her), so I just let her blabber on until she finally went quiet as the plane touched down.So, do the Mormons in Utah really try to make a point to drive nightclubs and bars out of business?I will readily teach my children and try to encourage any other Latter-day Saint I care about not to frequent establishments where alcohol consumption is the principal trade and appeal.To the extent that tends to drive nightclubs in Utah out of business, I suppose I'm guilty as charged. I have a really hard time mustering any feeling of regret for it. Edited August 10, 2012 by Scott Lloyd 3
Scott Lloyd Posted August 10, 2012 Posted August 10, 2012 (edited) There's a fry sauce that is sold as a condiment here at a small chain of family burger joints here in the Olympia, Washington, area. But they don't call it "fry sauce." They call it "Goop", and though the recipe is a "secret", it is clearly a mixture of mayonaisse, mustard and relish. It is very good. Check out Yelp for some reviews and mentions of "Goop": http://www.yelp.com/...presso-tumwaterI've never tasted fry sauce.Just mix ketchup and mayonnaise together with greater or lesser amounts of either ingredient according to your own preference, and voila! you've got fry sauce.It's a constant at the Lloyd household, and not just for fries.Years ago, at the McDonald's in downtown Salt Lake (which doesn't offer fry sauce), the lunchtime crowd took to asking for packets of ketchup and mayonnaise so they could mix up their own. Then, the McDonald's stopped complying with the requests for mayonnaise. Very poor customer service, say I.(Wow. I very rarely have to look up the spelling of words, especially in the age of spell-check, but I confess mayonnaise had me stumped.) Edited August 13, 2012 by Scott Lloyd 1
KevinG Posted August 10, 2012 Posted August 10, 2012 (edited) Just mix ketchup and mayonnaise together with greater or lesser amounts of either ingredient according to your own preference, and voila! you've got fry sauce.It's a constant at the Lloyd household, and not just for fries.Years ago, at the McDonald's in downtown Salt Lake (which doesn't offer fry sauce), the lunchtime crowd took to asking for packets of ketchup and mayonnaise so they could mix up there own. Then, the McDonald's stopped complying with the requests for mayonnaise. Very poor customer service, say I.(Wow. I very rarely have to look up the spelling of words, especially in the age of spell-check, but I confess mayonnaise had me stumped.)Well what do you expect? Arctic Circle!You just can't take the Utah out of the Utah Mormon can you?(Man I could use a Lime Rickey) Edited August 10, 2012 by KevinG
Judd Posted August 10, 2012 Posted August 10, 2012 Just mix ketchup and mayonnaise together with greater or lesser amounts of either ingredient according to your own preference, and voila! you've got fry sauce.It's a constant at the Lloyd household, and not just for fries.Years ago, at the McDonald's in downtown Salt Lake (which doesn't offer fry sauce), the lunchtime crowd took to asking for packets of ketchup and mayonnaise so they could mix up there own. Then, the McDonald's stopped complying with the requests for mayonnaise. Very poor customer service, say I.(Wow. I very rarely have to look up the spelling of words, especially in the age of spell-check, but I confess mayonnaise had me stumped.)1. You can't simply do any amount of ketchup and mayonnaise you wish as this is heretical. It's roughly 2 parts mayo with 1 part ketchup, without huge variance. 2. Speaking of the McDonald's in SL, when we went to the City Creek a guy headed north on Main Street approached me for money to "get a hamburger from McDonald's". I said I didn't have any (which I didn't) but wish I would have called him out on not only being quite a distance from McDonald's, but to also be headed the opposite direction.
Stargazer Posted August 11, 2012 Posted August 11, 2012 I will readily teach my children and try to encourage any other Latter-day Saint I care about not to frequent establishments where alcohol consumption is the principal trade and appeal.To the extent that tends to drive nightclubs in Utah out of business, I suppose I'm guilty as charged. I have a really hard time mustering any feeling of regret for it.Well, neither do I, and I didn't, but she acted as if the Mormons were out to get her or something, as opposed to just merely refusing to patronize her establishment. It is my understanding that many places of alcohol consumption do just fine regardless of the Mormons. Which is why I thought her comments to be a bit strange -- unless her business was breaking the laws pertaining to the management of such businesses. Anyway, I haven't been in a bar since I was 11 years old, so it's no skin off my nose. Just seemed over the top to be especially indicting Mormons.
Tacenda Posted August 11, 2012 Posted August 11, 2012 (edited) Well, neither do I, and I didn't, but she acted as if the Mormons were out to get her or something, as opposed to just merely refusing to patronize her establishment. It is my understanding that many places of alcohol consumption do just fine regardless of the Mormons. Which is why I thought her comments to be a bit strange -- unless her business was breaking the laws pertaining to the management of such businesses. Anyway, I haven't been in a bar since I was 11 years old, so it's no skin off my nose. Just seemed over the top to be especially indicting Mormons.I'm a Utahn and there has been alot in the news this past year about Utah's liquor laws. Some recent changes I believe. Maybe this is what the woman's problem was especially when the majority of Utahs lawmakers are Mormons.Edit: I just had to ask...what were you doing in a bar at age 11? Edited August 11, 2012 by Tacenda
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