I'm looking at the Provo / Orem area because of my field (programming), but I'm concerned about it as a possible nuclear target. I figure a MIRV coming in to hit SLC would likely have an extra couple of warheads to hit Provo / Orem, as well as Hill AFB, Wendover and Dugway. I'd appreciate thoughts as to the likelyhood of this scenario.
I'd like to get a place a little south-east of Provo, but wonder what the commute would be like.
Also, I've heard that there are higher cases of Luekemia in the area (from being downwind of test ranges?). Again, any info on this????
I live near Provo/Orem. I commute from Highland in North Utah County to South Provo every day. I can get to work in 25 minutes and I rarely see a traffic jam. This is a good area and there are a lot of high tech/ programming jobs.
If you live where I do in the North end of the valley, the south end of Salt Lake County is wide open for finding good jobs and commuting easily.
The South end of Utah County, however, is where you can still find available and inexpensive housing compared to where I live.
People in Utah valley are generally more easy going and trusting than they are farther North. For example, I once took my car in to get fixed at a shop and I forgot my check book. The owner said, "Pay me when you get a chance." Then one of the mechanics offered to let me take his truck to buy some groceries. You don't see that in Salt Lake County.
Now for the bad news: Although Utah county is not a primary blast target, it is right in line with nuclear and biological fallout from Dugway and Tooele Army Depot. They are directly west and the prevailing winds are always from the North West.
If you construct a shelter with a nuclear and biologic filter you should have enough time to get to it once the blast happens (provided you know what the indicators are). Also, the farther south you go in the valley the more time you will have. There isn't much in the way of a strategic target in Utah county so it is unlikely that a blast will be close enough to cause major damage. It is all fallout.
About your question on Leukemia and it's relation to downwind fallout: When they were testing in the 50's and 60's there were many people who died from many forms of cancer and the federal govt. was finally persuaded to admit they caused it. They paid huge amounts to families of those who died. But they drew the boundary line between Levan and Scipio (90 miles south). My family is from Juab and Sanpete counties, which border the county that was the farthest north to receive compensation. Many of my relatives have died of various cancers and I personally believe that the cutoff should have been much farther north. But the govt. would have gone bankrupt because of the high population density northward.
But the bottom line is that above ground testing is no longer being done and you shouldn't have to worry about being a downwinder (unless the govt. decides to start testing like they did).
I can recommend this place. Joel's strategic relocation book will give you the best technical info about it though.
A couple more questions:
How long would it take to commute from the Fountain Green / Fairview areas to Provo? I'd like to stay on the 89 side verses the I-15 side, but I didn't see much north of Fairview on that route.
Also, where was the nuclear testing taking place which caused all this cancer? You mention Scipio and Levan as the "Northern" boundry, which leads me to think the testing was from the Nevada test site. That's a pretty good distance away and although I'm sure you're talking about multiple explosions, that's something to think about when considering "safe" distances.
Finally, was this cancer caused from the water or from airborn fallout? If from the water, is it clean now?
Thanks for the response...
My mom lived in Fountain Green and the commute from there to South Provo is less than an hour. The same holds for Fairview. There isn't much between Fairview and Provo to slow you down. Winter snows would slow you some from both locations. The drive is nice and there aren't any traffic jams. Watch out for deer though. People hit them all the time from Fairview. Fountain Green is a great place. Their water comes from a year-round flowing artesian well at the base of the west mountain. It is called Big Springs.
For your other questions: you are correct, the nuclear testing was done at the Nevada sites. The government packet that went to all downwinders (it may still be available by mail) stated that airborn radioactive fallout was the only risk. They also said that they would pay only on certain kinds of cancers (and their list was extrememly limited). I don't know what to tell you about the water. I don't think the water would be an issue now but I suppose that surface water would have been contaminated to some degree while testing was going on. That is why the well water in Fountain Green is so appealing.
Thanks for the info. I'll be visiting the area later this month to check out land prices, job possibilities, climate, traffic, etc.
I checked into the Nevada testing and supposedly they did over 900 tests, so that would explain things a bit. It would still be interesting to know the cancer rate for those that relocated TO the area after the testing stopped. That would give a better indication to the current threat.
Thanks again for the info...
Contact me before you come and I can tell you of some places to live near the areas that you mentioned, which are not well known. We should probably talk more. There is a lot to know about these areas.
Message for Darrell Ostler: I too am interested is moving to Provo/Orem. I work in Calif for an automobile dealership as a finance manager. What is the cost of a new home approx.2400 sq feet? Also, are there auto dealerships within 45 min drive? My email is wmrainbows@cs.com Thank you Darrell for your info on Utah.
www.parowanprophet.com has a lot of info about nuclear war and preparations that can be made that will help, if people do something ASAP. Also, at their site there is a link to other sites about nuclear war, showing strike sites for each state. I think it was from NORAD or FEMA, showing that Salt Lake, Provo, Ogden and I think it was Tooele would be blast sites.
JeS
Utah Growth Rate Soaring
Population expected to rise 56% over 3 decades
Utah's fast-paced population growth is projected to continue through 2030 at a growth rate ranked fifth in the nation, according to population projections for 2000 to 2030 released today (April 21, 2005) by the U.S. Census Bureau.
The projections also show the Beehive State keeping its ranking as the youngest state, even with a rapidly growing senior population.
Utah's population is expected to approach 3.5 million by 2030 — a growth rate of 56 percent over three decades, according to the projections.
Utah is part of the nation's fastest-growing region, the Mountain West, expected to grow by 65 percent from 2000 to 2030.
The United States, meanwhile, is expected to grow by 29 percent to nearly 82.2 million people.Utah's neighbors, Nevada and Arizona, are projected to be the two fastest-growing states — each more than doubling in population. Idaho, projected to grow by 52 percent to nearly 2 million people, ranks sixth in growth nationally.
While Utah is projected to move up in the state size rankings to 31, Nevada, which ranked just behind Utah in 2000, is projected to surpass Utah in size, with a 2030 projected population of 4.3 million — making it the 28th most-populous state. Arizona's projected population of 10.7 million would make it the 10th most-populous.
Utah's official population projections show even faster growth than the census, with 4.1 million residents by 2030, said Pam Perlich, senior research economist at the University of Utah's Bureau of Economic and Business Research.
"I think they've underprojected us," Perlich said. "We should go up a little higher in these rankings and stay a little closer to Nevada…"
Full article at http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,600128008,00.html
I have tried for years to move to Utah County (Provo), as I desire to attend BYU's law school at some point down the road and my brother and his family now live in Provo.
I am also a programmer. But, the type of programming I do must not be very much in demand in that area. I do database programming using Microsoft's Visual FoxPro. Does anyone know if this type of programming is going on in Utah County?
An LDS Texan stuck in California!!!