Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Reasons Why I Love Utah


I've written a little about my impressions of Utah - a newcomer to this part of the world - and I intend to write a lot more. Moving to Utah was the catalyst for starting this blog. However,  I have spent a lot of time OUT of Utah over the past few months, which is why I have not written more about this place. Today I am reminded of a few reasons why I love living in Salt Lake City...

Usually I am up by 6 am, but working at home. This morning I had to leave the house at 7:30 am to drive downtown for an appointment at the Apple store at 8 am. The sky was an incredible pink color, sun behind clouds and just starting to light up the sky behind the mountains. The light from the sun was reflecting off parts of the Wasatch Mountains (right behind my house). It was so incredibly beautiful! I wish I could have taken a photo because my words will not capture that moment of beauty for you. And this is the thing about the sky and the skyline here - they are always changing, minute by minute - the way the light hits the mountains, the way the clouds gather and disperse and play with the light. It is awesome. I use the word awe because I am always in awe...jaw dropping, almost swerving off the road, wanting to pull over and take photographs. I don't think it could ever get boring.

My house is very close to the freeway. It is incredibly easy to get into downtown Salt Lake. We live just on the eastern edge of the city, at the base of the Wasatch mountains - minutes to hiking trails, yet a minute drive or five minute walk to shops; high enough to avoid the smog that forms in the bowl around the city; yet still able to get downtown in 5-20 minutes depending on what part of town you want to hit. I pretty much can get anywhere I want to go in the broader SLC area in 15 minutes because of the design of the highway system and the fact that there is NEVER traffic. Sure you see traffic sometimes, but coming from the Washington DC metropolitan area, I laugh at the traffic here. This is not traffic. Never traffic. Not like what I saw every day back in DC. So the rush hour drive downtown and back is easy and problem free. Parking is rarely to never an issue.

Then coming home I have to stop at the bank. The teller remembers me - remembers that I was in back in November getting a lot of cash to take for my trip to Liberia. I am surprised she remembers me and my trip. That never happened back in DC. People are just really friendly here. That is a general statement, but it is a true general statement. I continue to be pleasantly surprised all the time at the friendliness I see and feel around here.

These things may all seem trivial to some, but you add up all of these small small things that make up one's day to day life, and it starts to have a much larger, more profound effect. Quality of life. Yes, I miss DC sometimes, but at this point in my life, THIS life I am making out here is so much better in pretty much every way.  :)

Another reason I love it out here? Last night we bought a Christmas tree for $39.00. A large beautiful tree that would have cost me $80+ in DC.



1 comment:

  1. Ugggh, my post just disappeared :-(
    Anyway, remember this joyful fervor when it's March and there's still feet of snow on the ground.

    Glad things are working out for you guys.
    This whole "rebooting your life" is awesome, ain't it.

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