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by Cindy Schwalb, kiplinger.com
PRISTINE SOFTWARE MECCA
Population: 474,351
Population Growth Since 2000: 20.6%
Percentage of Workforce in Creative Class: 32%
Cost-of-Living Index: 97.7 (100 being national average)
Median Household Income: $50,583
Income Growth Since 2000: 12.2%
Driving along the stretch of I-15 between Salt Lake City and Provo, Utah, you can’t help but wonder if locals take the scenery for granted. The snow-capped Wasatch Mountains rise more than seven thousand feet above a string of neat and orderly communities.
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Take Our Walking Tour Through Provo | ||
The Provo area has grown into the country’s second-largest software center, featuring top employers Novell, Micron Technology and Omniture. The vibrant business scene is stoked by workers—among them recent graduates of Brigham Young University’s nationally ranked business school—attracted to the low cost of living and year-round outdoor lifestyle.
Residents can hit the slopes or hiking trails, or cast a fishing line within 30 minutes of stepping out their front door. Or they can wonder at the miles of snow-capped Wasatch Mountains.
Nearly all of Provo’s homes boast a mountain view, and family-friendly neighborhoods are safe environments in which to raise kids. Veteran real estate agent Brent DeMille says: "Of all the people I’ve placed, only one couple told me they were unhappy. They wanted more nightlife."
The promise of high-speed rail (due in Provo in 2012) will make Salt Lake City nightlife a quick ride away. Also, much of the development in the area is in towns such as Draper and Lehi, suburbs near Salt Lake County’s border. So those places will have the advantages of affordable housing, quick access to both Provo and Salt Lake City, and, of course, the area’s spectacular outdoor living.
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Reader Comments (13)
Posted by: jerry at 06/19/2008 02:05:53 PM
Provo???? .... No. 10??? ... you're kidding, right?? ... well...?? Have to assure you, Cindy, the locals DO NOT take the scenery for granted. Why do you think we live here? The fewer people that know this, the better. It's a dull place, people. We are halfway through the building of a great light rail/ commuter rail that is under budget and on time, so I'm sure no one would be interested in this area. Horrific problems like that are hard to take. There are only a dozen drive-by's a year .... dull town ....no night life for sure. State keeps a tight hold on the liquor licenses (which helps keep the DUI related auto-deaths down) so I'm positive no one would like it. What a dull place. I suggest Washington DC. Sacremento... Raliegh's a great town...East LA...now there's a happening place. Seattle with it's gorgeous skies.... Phx...SO Many towns!!!!...great things going on. But not here. Hopeless place.
Posted by: luckyme at 06/19/2008 02:23:35 PM
Provo is beautiful, but if you're not Mormon, the society is bizarre.
Posted by: Sodapop at 06/19/2008 04:02:21 PM
Provo is the best kept secret in the United States. I guess the secret is out. The most naturally beautiful and sceneic place in the United States hands down. Tons and tons of wonderful restaurants. I moved here 15 years ago from California and I am not going anywhere.
Posted by: brett at 06/19/2008 04:06:15 PM
...Seemingly 100% Mormons!!! Mormons are nice, but they will NEVER give up on making you a Mormon too.
Posted by: Cameron B. Lake at 06/19/2008 04:23:09 PM
Yeah, Provo is a great place to live. I have lived in 7 states and 3 countries, and I got back to Provo as fast as I could. The best thing about it is the great people. Everyone is nice, and everything is built to be family-friendly. Crime is low, and there aren't a bunch of gangs, social problems, etc. The schools are great, not because of the school district but because the vast majority of the kids (at our school at least) come from stable, two-parent families that have a mom at home teaching the kids some values and manners once in a while. That goes a long way toward making sure they don't run around stabbing each other or selling crack at recess...The only thing I would change is that the winters here can be a little bleak!
Posted by: T.J. at 06/19/2008 05:27:40 PM
I have lived in both SLC and Provo/Orem area for the past 10 years. In 10 years we have gone from " the crazy mormon hick town" to "hip town that hosted one of the most popular olympics" who would have thought that us prudish mormons would actually have one of the most popular "dull towns in the U.S. coolest thing is you can go fishing, snowboarding, hiking and swimming all in the same day and still make it home to watch American Idol...only bad thing i have to say about here is the reason there pushing the light rail so much is because no one here knows how to drive. sub-compact car driving visitors beware!!!!
Posted by: LeftProvoforGood at 06/19/2008 08:59:51 PM
Provo is a great town if you are Mormon and have a family. Otherwise, there isn't a whole lot going on. Even though there are roughly 50,000 students between BYU and UVU, its not your typical college town. There is barely a music scene and not a lot of nightlife. Well, no night life. Families drive huge Suburbans, there are no decent grocery stores with organic food, and the schools are scraping by. No one wants to pay taxes, even for their big families to go to decent schools...No diversity to speak of and greater and greater tension between the growing hispanic population...I finally got out this past year and plan on never returning.
Posted by: Nephi at 07/05/2008 03:38:17 AM
Provo is a truly great and wonderful place to live. It is clean, wholesome, and holds strong family values, but only for those who are members in good standing with the Mormon Church. If you are not a Mormon or do not intend to become a Mormon, then Provo's not the place for you.
Posted by: Judy at 07/31/2008 05:04:31 PM
I lived in Provo for 5 years and loved it. The University adds so much culture to the community and offers lots of fun affordable things to do on the weekends. The outdoor recreation available close by is also a huge perk. I took advantage of the hiking, fishing, running/bike trails, camping, etc on a reegular basis.
Posted by: gbristow at 09/18/2008 03:10:30 AM
...Provo is a nice place and i liked it very much.Is it true Provo is a second largest software center? -------------------- Gary Bristow
Posted by: jenny at 09/18/2008 02:52:38 PM
Provo is a wonderful place if you have good values. Those who like to smoke, drink, party and be loud will not like it. Those who like peace, quiet, nature and conservative values will find it is probably the best place in the country.
Posted by: Lee at 01/11/2010 03:08:14 PM
I have always loved Provo. I went to school at BYU over 30 years ago when Provo was just a small farm and college community. Man has it changed! As Provo changes with technology and income, so do the values that make it wonderful. I see amazing kids growing up here and a great family base. The biggest problem is that people here, including Mormons, have too much competition with the Jones's going on! If you kids didn't make it to all the meetings in church this week, the other ward members may not let your child play with theirs anymore. If you do not make enough money then maybe you should hang out with kids who come from lower income families. I hope that for Provo's sake that the children of the community are not brought into the adults' "idea of sainthood". Let the kids be kids and just love them and show them respect and teach them to be healthy, and honorable citizens with great values. All in all, Provo ROCKS!
Posted by: Steve Foster at 06/09/2010 09:22:06 PM
I'm from Salt Lake, which, although still relatively tame and civil, has welcomed so much of the contagion of "night life" in recent decades that, to be honest despite my native attachment to it, it's becoming a bit of a dump. Downtown is struggling to renew itself, and the suburbs are filling with drug use and poverty. There's a pervading sense of slovenliness. Many of middle age long to emigrate. Provo is basically Salt Lake half a century ago. The thing that most startled me when I got here was its politeness between strangers. It's a clean, friendly, innocent place. I was never sure I wanted to raise a family in Utah, but Provo has strongly enticed me to do so. I only regret that the good places to live, by their very magnetism, attract the conditions that finally spoil them.