[ramesh31]

>IMO, this is one of the main strengths of the US: you have 50 different options to live according to your values and beliefs, and relatively little friction if you decide to move to a state that better reflects them.

Also a weakness. Utah, one of the most stunningly beautiful states in the union, is completely under the grip of a regressive theocracy that has controlled nearly every aspect of life there for over a century. Really sucks.

[aworks]

I've visited various parts of Utah in the last year. It doesn't particularly reflect my life choices and I doubt I would ever move there. But their cultural values seem to have resulted in a prosperous state compared to most other Mountain West states (or even most Midwestern states).

I think it's also doing well re: reproductive rate. I expect it to continue be a thriving place for years to come.

[iamnothere]

Isn’t that the choice of the people who live there? Personally I am for cultures deciding their own local laws and customs, whether it’s Utah, India, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, or England, no matter how repugnant I may find their choices.

[red-iron-pine]

regressive tho it may be, I'd rather live in Utah than most of the South.

I'd take SLC over all of Mississippi, for example.

The VPN thing skews that a little more -- and is hilarious given how it's like the state that is largest consumer of internet porn -- but the city is far more livable than people give it credit.

[ramesh31]

>regressive tho it may be, I'd rather live in Utah than most of the South.

Yeah fair you got me there