Seriously considering moving due to housing costs. Utah is flat out not worth the cost.

I have a young family (26 both of us) and we have a 20% down payment saved for a $500k home but the more I do research the less I’m inclined to buy here.

I’m seriously considering moving. Has anyone thought the same?

Don’t get me wrong, I actually love Utah. It’s beautiful, the mountains are gorgeous, people are nice here.

But honestly? It is not worth the housing costs. The job market isn’t even relatively as good as someplace like Denver, yet housing is the same cost here.

Let’s be real, the food fucking sucks here. Yes there are good restaurants but seriously, I spent a week in Texas and the Mexican food and BBQ food was great there. Vegas blows SLC out of the water. Anywhere in cali or Florida has way better food. Midwest cities like Chicago blow SLC out of the water.

Other than outdoor activities, what recreation do we actually have? A subpar amusement park that’s absurdly overpriced? A few bars just in downtown?

No NFL team, meh college football teams (I’m sorry but the U and BYU are not as historic as SEC or big 10 teams), no MLB team (it might be coming soon)

I’m just seriously considering moving and planting our roots elsewhere. I looked at Minnesota and for 500k you can get a beautiful home in the suburbs. You can get one for even 400. Las Vegas is 15-20% cheaper, the taxes are lower due to the tourism taxes, and way more stuff to do and a 4 hour drive to Disneyland.

Our airport is nice but it’s small and it’s a monopoly so flights are ridiculously expensive, I mean flying out of Vegas to anywhere you can save 20% off your ticket.

Like, high cost of living states like cali and Hawaii are expensive for a reason. But Utah? I mean the mountains are pretty, and cool national parks, but come on? The 7th most expensive state to buy a home in? That’s absurd. I know for a fact there are plenty of great states to live in that are way cheaper.

Just wondering how young families like myself are feeling about the housing market and if they should move. I think planting my roots here and spending 500-600k on a somewhat shitty home is just not a good idea.