It is always good to familiarize oneself with the lifestyle and culture of a new place before getting there. That way, adjusting to your new environments won’t be a challenge.
Popularly known as the capital and most populous city of the state of Utah, Salt Lake City is one such area you want to get familiar with before traveling to.
Whether you’re going for a vacation, business, study, or to visit a family, spending the next few minutes reading this guide can make all the difference in your first-time experience upon arriving at Salt Lake City.
10 types of Utahns you’ll likely meet
As we said, Salt Lake City (SLC) is the most populous city in Utah. As such, it's safe to assume the city is the biggest indicator of what to expect in other parts of the state.
While the rest of the United States tends to exhibit unique attributes and lifestyles, Utahns tend to be a little bit stereotypical (we mean that in a good way). That is, it’s easy to predict what your new neighbors will likely look like or what their character will be like.
Without much ado, let’s see what typical Utahns look like.
1. The blogging mother
Let’s start with the types of women you can expect to meet.
Beautiful, lively, always wearing a smile, yes, that's what an average Utahn mom looks like. When you run into her at the best restaurants in SLC, you’ll be wrong to assume she probably spends her days looking after the kids alone. These women almost always have an online blog they run in their names. Yes, I mean like literally. Talk about having a blog named like this: AngelinaGovidlifestyleblog.com. That’s what your regular Utahn mom would do.
But, hey, she’s great like that.
2. The Hipster
A hipster is someone who follows the latest fashion trends. In SLC, expect to come in contact with these types of people more frequently. If you don’t have them as neighbors, you’ll definitely bump into them at the best bars in town. Heck, Utahn hipsters love to pass the evening at a bar, mostly coming along with their tag-alongs (babes).
How would you recognize a Utahn hipster when you see one?
They're usually dressed in the latest fashion wears. They're the ones you'll see with the latest Gucci muffler, ripped jeans, cute sneakers (no bad shoe gangs), or attention-grabbing sunglasses.
Might add a bit of tattoo on the arm, too.
3. The Mormon Beauty personalities
In other parts of the world, when you hear someone is a beauty personality or a fashion expert, what comes to your mind?
Probably young, vibrant, and inventive with styles. Right? Well, that’s true of your Utahn beauty expert, too, although you may want to throw a bit of religion into that mix.
Yes, you read that correctly. Beauty experts here are also religious geeks. A post on allure.com once called them the Mormon beauty personalities of Utah.
You know what Mormons are? They are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It’s a unique religion established in 1830 by Joseph Smith Jr.
4. Different season, different jobs Utahns
Don’t think you’ve ever since people change jobs every season as much as you’re going to see in SLC. It’s almost like a trend.
These seasonal employees are usually in their early or late twenties. They could be a guy or a girl; gender doesn't really deter them.
How you’ll notice them is that one month they’ll tell you they’re working at a mine downtown, and the next they’re pushing truck uptown. It’s more like whatever the season brings is what these folks are into.
Another common thing you'll notice with these folks is that they never cut their hair or shave their beards. Every time you see them, expect their beards to look full and all-grown. If ladies, you can tell by their legs – they're never shaved.
5. The DAMPS
I don’t know which is stranger; maybe I should leave you to be the judge of that. The fact that virtually Utahn belongs to a DAMPs variety or the fact those that aren’t are encouraged to be.
DAMPS in UTAH stands for Dancing, Acting, Music, Playing, and Singing. So, when we say virtually everyone belongs to a variety in the acronym, we mean virtually everyone knows how to at least dance, act, do music, play, or sing. Heck, some people even do all.
What I find even more strange is that those who don't belong in any variety group are encouraged to find a learning group. Look all over town, and you'll find beautiful sets of ladies learning to play the violin, a set of guys practicing to be singers, groups of both genders playing instruments in town halls.
6. The socialite Utahn
These are the ones you’ll find at the best fast-food restaurants in Salt Lake City.
They’re selective with their meal choice, as well as restaurant choice. They never spend time at the lowly-downtown bars. They’re never dressed casually. And most times, you’ll likely see their socialite babe (or wife) flagging down their shoulders.
These folks are usually dressed in their all-expensive tuxedo, looking like they’re headed for an award night. And when the time for bills comes, they're the ones writing the checks. They're the ones you'll find chaperoning volunteer and non-profits projects. They're the heart and soul of SLC. Because their money keeps the rig oiled.
To put simply, a socialite Utahn is not hard to spot. They stand out from the crowd anywhere they are. You should see a bunch of them more regularly if you're lucky to attend award shows or visit the charities regularly. After working around the clock to pluck the riches of SLC, non-profits are how these folks give back to the community.
7. The hikers and backpackers
Is it not strange to find residents of a town going to hike mountains in the same town? Granted, it's ok to do it when you've just newly packed in. But three years in a place and you're still crazy about the trails and woods, that must be some real passion.
That right there is a short description of Utah's backpackers and hikers. In other parts of the world, hikers and backpackers are mostly tourists visiting a place for the first time. But in Utah, you’ll still find regular residents strolling the streets with their annual passes to Utah’s National Parks.
Don’t be surprised to see your neighbors – same guys dressed in bespoke suits during the week – head out in their snow wear and ski pants by the weekend. That’s what ‘normal’ feels like in this part of the world. Heck, you may even join in on the act.
8. Big game hunters
It is 2022, but hey, who cares? Utah is still proud of its traditional craft – game hunting. Although you may not stumble on Utahn hunters in the heart of SLC, they’re not that far away from you. Probably, a website away, LOL.
The Utah wildlife website is the state’s official confirmation of the existence of the craft in the region. As for the hunters, they’re everywhere in Utah. Usually, you’ll find them where they’re telling tales of their hunting escapades to eager listeners. They never pass the chance to stroll around town talking to shop owners, bystanders, and neighbors about their hunting success.
If you stay long in Utah, surely you’ll come across these types of Utahns. You may just be passing in front of your neighbor's patio, where you’ll find a Utahn hunter passionately describing his latest experience.
9. Multi-Level-Marketing
Utahn Y'all know about MLM – one of the most common business advertising ideas in the world.
But what you probably weren’t expecting is that the US is also crawling with them.
Utah seems to be their home. Here, you'll find loads of marketers dressed in neatly-tailored suits talking to prospects (watch out, you might be a target) about the one thousand and one benefits they stand to gain if they purchase a product.
These guys are always attending seminars and marketing events all year round.
What’s intriguing about these guys is you will never catch them frowning. Never ever. They always wear their smiles like a tie around their neck.
But be careful not to fall for these smiles. It’s all part of the game. They simply want your attention. If granted, they will wear you down with talks of how the product they’re marketing is a gift from Mother Nature herself, how it can cure your many diseases, and how there are only a fraction left.
10. The Techies
Utah is next to Silicon Valley with its own tech chub called Silicon Scopes. As you can imagine, good fractions of folks working here are traditional Utah residents.
This means folks working with tech giants like Amazon, Adobe, Microsoft, and the likes.
This group makes up the techie Utahn category, and they’re happy doing what they do best – working in big tech companies.
You will mostly find them at the parks relaxing or at the Comic-con, if there's any happening.
