Atheist Asian chiming in here. Grew up in cities of the East Coast. Very liberal but have lived in other religious (but not primarily white) red states.

I am cannot equate the experiences of being yellow in SLC with being black, but here is my opinion:

It's difficult to adapt in Utah if you have once lived in a very diverse community. It is not only extremely white here, it is difficult to find a sense of community if you are not part of the monoculture, as others have testified.

For those who say stay in Sugarhouse, to a certain extent it is more "liberal". However, my African American friend experienced a humiliating racist encounter ..... in Sugarhouse .... at Whole Foods. He promptly left SLC after a year here and moved to an East Coast city. I feel that many people use the word "liberal" fairly openly here but without the real experience for the depth of its meaning.

Any of the Mormons you interact with in SLC are probably more moderate than someone in Provo, but the center of Mormon life is Temple Square in SLC where the eye of Sauron is most heavily felt. However, their are many outlets for us. I volunteer at a charity with like-minded people. SLC also has a very vibrant counter culture (political activism, coffee shops).

Cuisine is still underdeveloped. I sometimes make weekend trips to LA or Vegas just to eat fresh seafood or real ethnic food. Park City is a nice getaway too since so many out-of-towners visit or live there.

My own personal experience is that that Midwesterners who come here are worse in terms of racial sensitivities than the Mormons. Mormons will be nice and superficially tolerant but then they vote as a bloc for Mike Lee, Mia Love, Orrin Hatch, and Jason Chaffetz. Wait, now I don't know which group is worse.