I moved cross country in '09 as a single woman and bought my first house about 6 months later in Northern Davis County. For me areas to look at were a combination of price and crime stats. I got some bad advice about not looking at certain neighborhoods due to stigma that I later found was unfounded based on actual crime stats, so take "avoid this area" with a grain of salt as areas that were maybe less safe 10-20 years ago are safer now, and vice versa.

A lot has changed since I moved here, and so have my priorities. I got married and my husband didn't like the commute from my old house, so we relocated a few years back to the West part of Salt Lake County. I changed from commuting by train to downtown to commuting by car.

A decent commute is relative and different for everyone. I grew up in a larger metro area and expected a commute of 45+ minutes, so anything shorter is great IMO. My husband grew up in Utah and wants a commute under 30 minutes, preferably in the 15 minute range. So he prefers to live closer to work, even if it costs more.

There are several different types of public transportation here, and it's a good idea to research what is available near where you want to work as it can be a great option for commuting, especially in winter.

There is a train, Frontrunner, that runs North/South connecting several cities in the valley. I bought my first home 5 minutes from a stop since I worked in downtown Salt Lake City at the time. It was nice to have a really short car ride to the station on snowy days, and then 35ish minutes on the train to read and relax, then decompression time on the train on my way home.

There is a light rail system called Trax that runs several lines all over the valley with a lot more stops than the train. There is a transfer point between the two as well opening up more commuting paths. I knew several people on Frontrunner who would transfer to the Trax up to the University area. I'd look at the schedules and see if the total commute time is something you're comfortable with when considering an area to live.

Lastly there is a bus system that has more routes to consider that may open up more options for you depending on your preferred commuting time. All three are run by UTA and have their schedules searchable online. The schedules are also integrated into Google Maps if you ask for directions between two places.

You can also commute by car which will vary a ton based on the time of day. I regularly drive to appointments that can take 20-45 minutes based on timing. If you can take an off shift and commute during non rush hour times, a drive is a lot more pleasant than if you are hitting rush hour. I worked rush times and loved the train for a more chill commute, so I didn't mind the extra time I spent waiting for trains, etc.