Utah is on track to end homelessness by 2015 by simply giving away apartments

[Zioneer]

The article doesn't state how this program came to be.  I'm surprised that a state like Utah of all places would embrace such a program, and now officials in Wyoming want to do the same thing.

Just imagine how much the homelessness problem would go down if states like California, New York, Pennsylvania and Michigan were to start something like this.

You're telling me; I live here in Utah, and I follow local politics very closely, but I had no idea this was even a thing! Good for my home state! I'm proud of our socialist actions here!

Are there any other sources for this? I feel like it should be trumpeted from the rooftops.

[Zioneer]

What makes this even better is that Utahns are hugely in favor of anti-discrimination policies in housing (even many Mormons are in favor), meaning they're in favor of making it illegal to fire someone or kick them out of housing just because they're gay. LBGT homelessness is a huge issue in Utah (something like a fourth of all homeless people in Utah are LGBT), and this signifies both a changing view on LGBT rights, and once passed (It'll be proposed for the second time next year, I think it has a good chance of passing), that'll cut down on homelessness even more. It's sad that there's an anti-LGBT culture here in the first place, but things are changing.

[Zioneer]

Between this, public transit, same-sex marriage, a sane immigration policy, and various other reasons, there are some days where I feel like I'd be very, very happy in Utah.  And by "in Utah" I mean "in Salt Lake City" because not-Mormon.

To be fair, there's a few other good cities in Utah; Park City, West Valley, Murray.... It's just that all of them are in Salt Lake County (except for Park City), so any progressive person doesn't venture outside of the County except for skiing and hiking.

[Zioneer]

Between this, public transit, same-sex marriage, a sane immigration policy, and various other reasons, there are some days where I feel like I'd be very, very happy in Utah.  And by "in Utah" I mean "in Salt Lake City" because not-Mormon.

To be fair, there's a few other good cities in Utah; Park City, West Valley, Murray.... It's just that all of them are in Salt Lake County (except for Park City), so any progressive person doesn't venture outside of the County except for skiing and hiking.

I'd be worried about Park City being too far of a commute from my hypothetical position at the University of Utah, but West Valley and Murray could be doable.

Correct. Though Salt Lake City plus West Valley is probably big and diverse enough that you wouldn't have to venture out very often. You may have to swing through the conservative suburb cities (West Jordan and so forth), but otherwise, you can generally stay within the progressive mecca of SLC.

Oh, and Ogden up in northern Utah is getting larger and more diverse. They'd definitely be too far if you think Park City is too far.

[Zioneer]

Between this, public transit, same-sex marriage, a sane immigration policy, and various other reasons, there are some days where I feel like I'd be very, very happy in Utah.  And by "in Utah" I mean "in Salt Lake City" because not-Mormon.

To be fair, there's a few other good cities in Utah; Park City, West Valley, Murray.... It's just that all of them are in Salt Lake County (except for Park City), so any progressive person doesn't venture outside of the County except for skiing and hiking.

I'd be worried about Park City being too far of a commute from my hypothetical position at the University of Utah, but West Valley and Murray could be doable.

Correct. Though Salt Lake City plus West Valley is probably big and diverse enough that you wouldn't have to venture out very often. You may have to swing through the conservative suburb cities (West Jordan and so forth), but otherwise, you can generally stay within the progressive mecca of SLC.

Oh, and Ogden up in northern Utah is getting larger and more diverse. They'd definitely be too far if you think Park City is too far.

I've heard good things about Moab, but I don't know if those extend to its politics.

You're talking to probably the only Utahn alive who's never gone to Moab, so I can't help you there. The middle-to-upper-middle class yuppie types who make up most of Utah's LGBT community tend to like to visit Moab though. Very few people actually live there.

[Zioneer]

Come to Davis County. Best county in Utah!

Not to be all regionalist, but I literally can't think of a single thing to do in Davis County. Nor can I think have any cities besides Layton. And Bountiful, I guess. At least Weber has Ogden, but seriously, unless you're skiiing or hiking, SLCO is where everything is at.