Posted: 6/22/21 | June 22nd, 2021
Salt Lake City never appealed to me.
Founded on unceded Shoshone land in 1847, fantastic Salt Lake City, as it was originally known, was a sanctuary for Mormons dealing with persecution back east. At the time, it (and the specify we now phone call Utah) were found beyond the official us border so Mormons might do whatever they liked.
The city’s place was selected by church founder, Brigham Young, who is stated to have seen the valley in a vision. While there were already native people living in the area, an break out of measles brought by the Mormons essentially wiped them out within the very first year. However, the surviving natives nonetheless assisted the settlers make it through as well as change to life in the area.
During the 1800s, the city saw an influx of new LDS converts, in addition to those chasing the gold rush. Within a few decades, Salt Lake City was one of the most populated locations in the American West. Nowadays, the city is a major flight terminal hub, still the center for the LDS church, as well as does less mining as well as much more health and wellness care technology!
Having grown up in new England, my view of Utah was: “Pretty state, however why would I want to hang out with tiring Mormons?”
However, the older I’ve gotten, the less snotty I’ve become. part of travel is difficult your preconceived notions of locations as well as people. You can’t do that with a “why would I bother keeping that location attitude?” I like discovering out I am wrong about them. The much more wrong you are, the much more you grow.
My view on locations is “why wouldn’t I want to go there?!”
Over the years, I’ve heard whispers that Salt Lake City is really quite awesome as well as not the stodgy location we picture it to be.
So, on my last road trip, I chose to spend a great deal of time there. I wished to understand if it was as awesome as people say. Was it truly “the next Austin”?
The city’s proximity to the mountains as well as a plethora of national parks truly appealed to me. as well as I’d heard about how, having loosened continually alcohol limitations because the mid-2000s, microbreweries have been popping up left as well as right. Plus, thanks to its inexpensive expense of living as well as a major airport, a great deal of young people have been moving there in recent years.
Over the last decade, Utah’s population grew by over 18%. numerous of those people settled in SLC, where 72% of its population is under 44.
So, dear readers, I can verify that, yes, Salt Lake City is certainly cool. I discovered so much to like about it.
And I am completely conscious that’s extremely clichéd for a travel writer to say, “I went to X destination as well as it was awesome as well as hip as well as different!” as if I’m the very first person to find it. Or that a place, since it’s different than what I like, can’t be awesome in its own right.
I understand I’m late to composing about exactly how Salt Lake has changed.
What I’m stating is that I never provided the city much believed as well as I now kick myself for not having done so. Don’t make my mistake. The pretentiousness of youth, huh?
What did I like about the place?
It likewise has a surprisingly robust art scene. Downtown, you’ll discover great deals of art galleries, collectives, style studies, as well as museums, including the Utah museum of fine Arts as well as the Utah museum of contemporary Art. I didn’t expect a city so steeped in art.
And the brewery scene, while not as robust as in Austin or Portland, was much bigger than I thought. There are practically twenty in SLC, not counting the taprooms that likewise dot the downtown area. I was truly curious about the development of the beer scene here, as there are still great deals of limitations — breweries can’t serve alcohol over 5% on tap, as well as mixed drinks are determined (there’s no totally free pour here) — as well as a range of licenses are needed. restaurants serving alcohol need patrons to likewise purchase food (only 30% of their sales can be from alcohol, so ordering food when you drink is required). Bars likewise should serve food whatsoever times as well — though one got around this by charging $100 for nachos, just to adhere to the law; the bartender stated only one person ever purchased it.
But Salt Lake City’s proximity to the outdoors was what truly turned me onto the location — as well as a huge reason why so numerous people are moving here. Whether for a few hours or an entire day, it’s simple to just walk out of your home as well as into nature, because you’re close to a number of mountains, ski areas, as well as national parks. Moreover, from town, you can hike or bike various tracks into the surrounding hills; I spent some hours hiking the tracks near the statehouse.
The thing that most likely won me over the most was, of course, people. much more than that, it was an experience with them that will be my many long lasting memory from my visit. While at a brewery, my buddies as well as I were providing up our table to a group of people when one of them stated “Are you Nomadic Matt?”
Responding in the affirmative, she invited us to a home celebration later on. My buddies didn’t feel like it however I told them I would go.
So, after dinner, I went to a great old fashioned home party. There I satisfied some new Salt Lakers: young people who moved from different parts of the country for work as well as were drawn to the city’s inexpensive expense of living as well as proximity to the mountains. I was at a home celebration with 25-year-olds as well as it was very fun. all of them resided in the Sugar home neighborhood, which is full of twentysomething, stylish bars, as well as hipster restaurants. That’s the new “hot” area of town.
There was still a great deal I didn’t get to experience in Salt Lake City, of course. numerous places were still closed because of COVID (surprisingly, the Mormons had the strictest policies as well as seemed to take concealing as well as social distancing much more seriously than the rest of the city’s citizens). numerous of the art galleries were on restricted hours, I entrusted to a long listing of breweries as well as restaurants still to visit, as well as I certainly didn’t do as much hiking as I desired (I never do).
But SLC is in truth extremely wonderful. right here you’ll discover a city full of great beer, fantastic restaurants, great deals of hiking as well as outside sports opportunities, as well as warm, welcoming people. It’s certainly an “up as well as coming city” however most likely a decade away from truly being “the next Austin.”
If, like me, you hadn’t believed about going there, now is the time to modification your mind.
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