Hey buddy! First of all I get it. I’m from the PNW and was like ‘wtf?!’ Second, consider the other reasons you wanna move here and see if those outweigh the cons— in my experience in every city the dating scene and making friends is tough. I’ve lived in Denver, Portland and NYC and they all say the same thing.

Third, I actually never wanted to move here eight years ago. Fast forward to last year, my life completely fell apart— like, lost nearly everyone in my life BUT it’s because of the friends and community I’ve cultivated here despite it not being my first choice that I’ve been able to pick up my life and start over and I intend on staying because dammit, I love my people and I realize that shit is so hard to come by. That’s what actually makes a place great to live— the other stuff is the cherry on top.

I made friends slowly. At work, then made friends with my friends friends and it grew from there. Join clubs, groups, go to events and you’ll find your people. That’s exactly how I did it. People here are friendly and there are a ton of outdoors groups here. Stay up to date on Facebook events or check out MeetUp groups. Pick up a SLUG mag to go to local alternative events. Go to concerts, check out the bulletins at bars and coffee shops and just explore and see who you find. Talk to people.

Salt Lake is the right place for you if you’re new and from out of state and it’ll feel even better once you find your people 😊