25 observations from our first month living in Utah

1. Gorgeous - the state doesn't have a bad angle.
2. Snow - it doubles the gorgeous and the fun.
3. Utah nice - nice is the norm, and it's contagious.
4. Customer service - still exists here.
5. Running - everybody does it but us.
6. Desserts - you've heard of the Turducken?  Utahns do that with desserts.
7. Huge portions - buy lunch, get dinner too.
8. Family dining - restaurants that offer dinner for the whole family for $20.
9. "Crick" - a small stream of water.
10. Parking and driving - we drive more but look for parking less.
11. Make-up - enormous amounts of it, especially mascara.
12. Symphony - it's as good as the big city at half the price.
13. Religion - discussed openly and casually.
14. Georgetown - impressive (whereas in DC it's normal).
15. Dangling monikers - "Hey, guy."  "How ya doin', dude?"  "Thanks, pal."
16. Government debt - frequently inserted into completely unrelated discussions.
17. Physical privacy - keep neighbors at a distance, and put up fences and curtains just in case.
18. Personal disclosure - like the car dealer who thought we should know about his love child in Connecticut.
19. Self-aware - unlike other quirky places (i.e., everywhere), everyone is hyper-aware of Utah's quirks.
20. Sports - matter.
21. Family aware - like the child care service at the grocery store.
22. Middle class - by far the majority.
23. Prices - almost everything is noticeably less expensive.
24. Work - equivalent quality, less quantity.
25. Education - less aggression because the options are plentiful.

One month in, we miss our DC friends like crazy but we're loving our proximity to family, our new home, our beautiful surroundings and our new adventures.