We decided to move to Salt Lake City, Utah! It’s officially been 7-months since we packed up our life in Wilmington, North Carolina, and headed out West on our next climate-chasing adventure.

To recap, we were planning on staying in Wilmington for another year, but ultimately we were lacking in outdoor activity options.

Which, to some this may sound bizarre – I mean there’s the beach, sun, sand, surfing, paddle boarding, beautiful sunsets, and sunrises – but the appeal of beach living wore off within 8 months of us living there. We are mountain people, through and through.

How Did We Choose?

So, we sat down and legitimately did a Google search for the “best states for hiking” in the United States. Mind you, we had other criteria to meet:

• We wanted to be in the western half of the U.S. – neither of us has lived this far West
• Cost of living needed to be comparable to Wilmington
• Safety was another big factor, we weren’t going to know the area beforehand, so where we went had to have some satisfactorily low crime rates (we learned to check this after moving to Wilmington!)

Based on that limited list, we found Salt Lake City! Of course Colorado was another contender but it didn’t call out to us in the same respect that Utah had.

Not to mention, as I perused my Pinterest board – Travel the World – I realized that half of the landscapes and pins I was saving were centered in Utah!

What Did Everyone Have to Say?

The most entertaining aspect of our lifestyle and climate chasing, is the reaction of family and friends. We had been apartment shopping locally in Wilmington since our lease-end date landed in the middle of September 2019 – so we decided to make our cross-country trip at that point.

Update: Check out our cross-country trip here!

Since we have already technically moved once – to Wilmington – our family and friends weren’t too much to deal with. But, Clay’s family is all based in North Carolina – so it came as more of a surprise when we chose Utah and so short notice. We decided in mid-August that we were going to make the move!

Wilmington was only about 4 hours away from our first place of residence and his family; now we would be at least a 3 to 5-day drive OR a plane ticket away. Not to mention two time zones behind everyone!

No We Had Never Been Before

A question we have been getting like crazy, apart from why we chose Utah, is if we had ever been before, and the answer is “no, we hadn’t.”

The minute that leads into the conversation, we’re met with stunned silence. It’s completely inconceivable that a person could ever up and move to a place they’ve never been! Not to mention, never seen the apartment that we picked other than in photos online.

Not knowing the area, or where the nearest store is, not having jobs, no family or friends there…

Fear is Our Friend

All these doubts are an innate idea that we are at a predisposition to believe at birth. That being stationary is a good thing. That new things – while scary – aren’t worth doing because they can be just that – scary.

Fear should never be a reason not to do something! Now, I understand certain fears – you will never catch me finding any joy or reason to try skydiving – but in this case, fear of the unknown.

This world we live in is so much bigger than you or I, and we plan to see and experience as much of the different landscapes, climates, and cultures that the world has to offer!

To Sum It Up

Ultimately our main reasons behind choosing Salt Lake City, Utah went like this:

1. The state itself has 13 National Parks, 43 state parks, and undeveloped areas that total 95,000 acres of land

2. Hiking is a mere 15-20 minutes away from our doorstep and available in every direction within the valley and outside of the Salt Lake City area

3. Comparable cost of living and lots of job opportunities (we both found a job within 2 weeks of arriving)

4. Four legitimate seasons

5. Mountains, mountains, mountains as far as the eye can see!

6. New outdoor activities to try; cross-country skiing, rock climbing, bouldering, backpacking, and fly-fishing to name a few!

We are so excited for this journey of ours – stay tuned wanderers – we’re just getting started.