Indie♥Ogden

Top 5 reasons to love Ogden Utah at 10:22 PM

When i heard that the company my husband works for was expanding and wanted us to move to Ogden Utah my fist instinct was "heck no!' I lived in Portland Oregon mecca of all things cool and fun, but i still never felt at home. After much deliberation and some feelings of wanderlust we decided to take the plunge and try out a new town. Neither of us had ever heard of Ogden or even spent any time in Utah so everything was new and terrifying to us.

I had a lot of fears moving here- who would i be friends with, what if everyone hates me, what if i hate everyone? Luckily within the first couple weeks it was clear we were going to be just fine. Everywhere i went people were so friendly and welcoming and made me feel right at home, soon i felt just like a regular and its been a crazy fun ride ever since.

Voted one of the best places to live in America it is no wonder we fell in love So for all of those folks who are thinking of moving to Ogden here is my list ( in no particular order) of "My Top 5 Reason To Love Ogden Utah"

1-The music scene:
Local musicians are dedicated and are good at what they do and with and eclectic blend of venues there is always something amazing going on. For such a small town there is no shortage of places to hear music: the basement, mojos, the bee, outlaw, city club, brewskis, kamikazes, teazers, wine cellar and the sandtrap have regular shows that are always a blast to watch plus most coffee shops offer regular music for free as well. With the recent launch of the Ogden Local music awareness coalition it is only getting better! Here are a some of my favorite bands/musicians for your listening pleasure: Mermaid baby, The R.u.g.s, mountain hymns, marny proudfit, beargrowl, wolfhowl and fire in the skies.

2- Community involvement:
When someone is in need the community pulls together. Any given month you will hear about a benefit show, community clean up, charity event or a city project. People care about their community here and want to work together to make it better. There are a lot of volunteer programs if you are interested in getting involved in the community. Check out what these folks are doing for Ogden: Nurture the creative mind, junior league and hippie militia.

3-Lower cost of living:
Ditching the city for small town living has been rewarding in a lot of ways but most of all its been good to our wallets. The cost of housing is a lot lower here in Ogden than other places and with beautiful historic homes why not ditch the city apartment for a small town house! Not only is housing cheaper but so are lots of other things: dining out, going to local music shows even groceries. When you live in a bigger city demand is higher and so are the prices. Ogden has a lot of discount and savings stores and local places offer a lot of great deals. Community spaces have really affordable rates and even schools have competitive prices. Its nice not having to shove your way through a crowd to enjoy a night out and with the money we save we can splurge on that fancy dessert!

4- local stores:
People love to support local here and Local first Ogden has had great success in getting people really excited about enjoying what is here in Ogden. The great thing about shopping local is the personal touches: a shop owner remembering your name, the email when they find something that is SO you and knowing that you are supporting a neighbor with every purchase. Within the historic 25th street area alone there are so many amazing local shops to try out. Here are my favorite Local Ogden places: Urban chic, cherry blossoms, grounds for coffee, queen bee, vintage cupcakes, roosters and chuks vintage.

5- outdoor fun:
Ogden is surrounded by mountains so it is no wonder that is is called a' playground for adrenaline junkies'. There are a ton of places to bike, hike, run, rock climb and play on the mountains and within biking/walking distance there are secret hot springs, rivers to swim/kayak and canoe in and lots of picnic spots. Ogden also has the best parks i have ever been to. With modern safe playgrounds and lush green fields, you just want to lounge in the sun all day long. Check out Weber pathways , Ogden parks , Ogden river parkway , Dinosaur park and the nature center for outdoor family fun ideas and if its raining check out salomon center and Treehouse museum. For those that are a bit more adventurous check out this great article on extreme sports in Ogden, Utah.

If you ever come for a visit be sure to check out Indie Ogden's calendar of events or Indie Ogden's Facebook to get the lowdown on all the cool happenings here in beautiful Ogden Utah!

Labels: family fun ogden, indie ogden utah, ogden utah, ogden utah blog, ogden utah events, things to do ogden, top 5 reasons, travel ogden, visit ogden