In a nod to city pride, Yahoo! News asked readers to boast about their hometown. So, straight from the folks who live there, here are five reasons why Salt Lake City is better than where you live.
Salt Lake City is known as the Crossroads of the West for many good reasons. It is a leader in sports, education, job creation, healthcare and many other important areas of life. Living in Salt Lake City means enjoying a high quality of life.
I have been a resident of Salt Lake City for 12 years now. There are five reasons why, as Brigham Young famously declared, this is the right place:
Temple Square
How many other cities outside of Rome and Jerusalem can lay claim to being headquarters for a world religion? Temple Square, where the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is headquartered, is a popular destination for tourists from across the globe. It contains a pair of architectural wonders in the historic Salt Lake Temple and Mormon Tabernacle. Visitors can take tours of Temple Square and attend weekly performances by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir each Sunday morning.
Utah Jazz
Sports fans love having a hometown pro team. It's even better when that team is good. The Utah Jazz are a perennial NBA playoff contender. Karl Malone, John Stockton and Jerry Sloan all built Hall of Fame careers leading the Jazz to back-to-back NBA Finals during a string of annual playoff appearances from 1984 to 2003. The Jazz have won eight NBA division titles and a pair of Western Conference titles since coming to Utah in 1979.
University of Utah
Salt Lake City is home to a world-class university, the University of Utah on the east bench of the city. It is classified as a research university with high research activity by the Carnegie Foundation. The University of Utah produces more start-up companies as a direct result of research than any other university in the nation.
Athletic teams for the University compete in the Pac-12 Conference. In 2004, the Utah Utes became the first non-BCS football team to play in a BCS Bowl game when they were members of the Mountain West Conference.
Outdoor recreation
From the Great Salt Lake to the Wastach Mountains, Salt Lake City is on the doorstep of some the best outdoor destinations on Earth. It offers some great outdoor recreation. World-class ski resorts can be found at Brighton and Alta. The Tour of Utah cycling race, one of the toughest in the nation, takes place in Salt Lake and other locales on the Wasatch Front. Salt Lake City is also within a day's travel of 21 national parks and monuments.
Entertainment hub
There are many fantastic entertainment options to choose from in Salt Lake City. Every summer, residents can enjoy free live music each week at the Twilight Concert Series staged at Pioneer Park. It brings in talented musicians and bands from all over the country. Many traveling Broadway and off-Broadway plays are showcased in the Capitol Theater downtown. City residents can also enjoy the best in arts with Ballet West and Utah Symphony.
