1. Awesome Scenery. Let's face it, it's beautiful here. Every day, you wake up and see the sun rising over mountains in the east and then watch it set over mountains in the west. The mountains are so prominent that you become numb to just how special it is; it almost becomes "ho-hum" scenery because you see it every single day. The rest of the state is filled with amazing red rock formations and five national parks that people come from all over the world to see. We've got it all within a couple hours drive!
2. Few 100° days. From May to September, people in the San Joaquin Valley are battered by scorching heat. Triple digit heat can be recorded on any day, and it's not considered to be an anomaly until it gets above 110°. After a couple of summers along the Wasatch Front, you'll become a heat wimp and start turning on your air conditioner when temperatures climb into the upper eighties. I'm not saying that it never gets above 100° in Salt Lake but you can nearly always count those days with the fingers on one hand.
3. Mormons. They take a bad wrap from some quarters, but, let's face it: Mormons make Utah the great state that it is. You don't have to be Mormon to live here -- I'm not -- but give the Mormons props for what they've given us. We have a clean state with a low crime rate, built by people who work hard. Utahans have more kids per family than any other state, and that makes it a great place to raise kids. You can count on tons of family-friendly places, and lots of other kids for your kids to play no matter where you live.
4. The Mountain Time Zone. Two hours behind Eastern Time, it's perfectly situated so that live events are televised at a convenient hour but don't keep you up until midnight. In California, World Series games begin at 5:07pm, which is too early to get home before the first pitch. On the east coast, Sunday night football games regularly stretch out to end after midnight, which is too late for fans who have a job. The Mountain Time Zone is the Goldilocks time zone: not too early, and not too late.
6. Outdoors Lifestyles. With incredible mountains so close by, recreation opportunities are everywhere, and lots people who live in Utah avail themselves of those opportunities. Skiing, hiking, snowboarding, snowshoeing, running, hunting, camping, boating, mountain biking, you name it! If it can be done outdoors, Utahns are doing it!
