What is the Park City Lifestyle?

What the Park City Lifestyle is NOT

I moved to Park City 14 years ago.  Prior to that time, I lived in Los Angeles and Orange County, California.  I was a “city girl”.  I spent at least 2 hours a day in my car.  When my son was born, I put him on the waiting list for the local Montessori pre-school.  Although there were many cultural opportunities within 25 miles of where I lived, it was difficult to take advantage of them because it meant additional hours of car time or they were prohibitively expensive.

The first home we purchased in Manhattan Beach, California was built in the 1950’s.  It had 3 bedrooms, 2 baths and was about 1200 square feet.  We sold it for $750/square foot to someone who bulldozed it.   There were two seasons: wet and dry.  We locked our cars and made sure nothing of value was visible through the window or we would be tempting fate with a “smash and grab”.  To sum it up, we lived in a super expensive, dense, and crowded place in an old, tiny house on a postage stamp sized lot.  Nevertheless, I thought I lived in paradise.

What IS the Park City Lifestyle?

If you saw my personal Facebook feed, you would get a great snapshot of the Park City lifestyle.

My friends and I spend a lot of quality time with our kids.  We ski together, mountain bike, hike, go boating, etc.  We can also easily drive our kids to extra-curricular activities because our town is only 15 minutes end-to-end.

The cost of my Park City home, which is 50 years newer than my Manhattan Beach home, was about 85% less on a cost per square foot basis.  The land my home sits on in Park City is about three times larger than in California.

Our public schools, while not perfect, offer an excellent education in a safe environment.  We have free school bus transportation.  The high school offers a dazzling array of AP classes, extra-curricular activities, and sports.  Our high school music programs are the best in the state.  Our Education Foundation raises over $1 million annually and further supplements the science, technology and arts already offered by the school district.

There are hundreds of wonderful restaurants 5 to 15 minutes from home.  Aside from the 4 months of ski season, most of these restaurants offer 2-for-1 deals for locals.

I just bought tickets to the Deer Valley Music Festival for this summer.  I’m going to see the Beach Boys with the Utah Symphony, The Utah Symphony play the Music of Prince, Diana Krall and The Music of Disney.  I will travel 15-20 minutes from my home and enjoy free parking for each concert.  The tickets were very reasonably priced.

As I was writing this blog, I received an email from the Park City Summit County Arts Council.  This email detailed all of the incredible opportunities for music, theater, movies, and live performances coming to Park City in March.  You would be shocked to see all the amazing offerings in just one month!  We have professional ballet, Annie – The Musical, free live music, the Park City Film Series (which is showcasing Oscar nominated films), and the monthly “Friday Gallery Stroll”.  The truth is, there are so many great and fun things to do that I don’t have the time to take advantage of even half of them.  I am taking the family to see Annie and we have third row seats.

If I want to register a new car at the Department of Motor Vehicles, it is 5 minutes from home and there is never a line.  Oh, and the employees are nice.

If I need to drive to Costco, Target or an international airport, they are all less than 30 minutes away.

When I look out my windows today, I see the beautiful mountains and trees completely covered in white.  In a few months, everything will be a lush green and I’ll trade my winter boots for flip flops.  In the fall, the mountains turn the most beautiful shades or red and gold.  I love living in a place with 4 seasons.

Let’s not forget about the wildlife.  I love driving down the street and seeing a random moose in front of someone’s front yard.  A few months ago, a herd of elk were hanging out in the vacant land adjacent to a local church.  We also see deer, foxes, ermine, and porcupine.

Yes, I’m pretty passionate about my Park City lifestyle.  It’s one of the reasons I love working with buyers.  Moving to Park City was truly the best thing that could have happened to our family.  I love helping others improve their quality of life by moving to Park City permanently or owning a second home here.  What does the Park City lifestyle mean to you?  I’d love to hear your comments.