By Jessica Fredrickson for High Speed Internet -- Salt Lake City is a utopia for the outdoorsman remote worker. Telecommuting in the US grew by 79.7% between 2005 and 2012 (Global Workplace Analytics). The newfound ease of telecommuting lets workers choose to live in places that enhance their lives instead of just living where they work. For some, quality of life is closely tied to quick access to the outdoors. All of their time not spent in a group work space, coffee shop, or study nook can be spent shredding the gnar, racing down single track trails, or mounting epic peaks. No place offers all of the above like Salt Lake City.
Salt Lake City’s Great Internet Speeds
The secret is starting to get out that Salt Lake not only boasts the Greatest Snow on Earth® but is also gaining a seat at the business world’s big kid table. Forbes coined Salt Lake as the new “Gold Standard” in business just this month. GoogleFiber also recently announced Salt Lake City as the next location to receive their service which made our choice for Best City to Live and Work Remotely for Outdoor Enthusiasts a no brainer.
“We could not be more excited to have Google Fiber coming to Salt Lake City,” Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker said about the announcement. “It makes perfect sense for our community, a growing leader in the areas of technology and innovation, partnering with the world’s leader in digital technology on this great new service. Our residents value education and entrepreneurship and we recognize the value of connecting people with big ideas and with each other, whether across town or around the world. There is no question that abundant, ultra-high speed internet access makes our community stronger and lays the groundwork for continued vibrancy and opportunity for all.”
Working Independently Together
More than just a growing list of accolades, Salt Lake offers the perfect environment for telecommuters with new co-working spaces making Salt Lake their home. Important for many remote workers is a space outside the home where they can work, share ideas and build a community. Several shared spaces have been emerging in Salt Lake and are experiencing success.
Impact Hub recently reopened into a larger space in downtown Salt Lake. They provide a co-working space for social innovation. CEO and Co-founder Dustin Hagget shared, “I choose to live in Salt Lake City because of the quality of life. My rent is low and I only have to ride my bike five blocks to get to Impact Hub where I work. I have access to eleven different mountain resorts that offer trail running and mountain biking in the summer and skiing in the winter. I can be to the airport in 10 minutes with cheap flights to my favorite surf spots. The more I travel the more I come to realize how lucky I am.”
Church & State is another fairly new open workspace located in Salt Lake. Its vision is, “to support and inspire community innovation, stimulate economic growth, and shine a spotlight on Utah as a business and cultural hub.”
“We’re finding at Church & State a lot of new members requesting bike storage which indicated one of the demographics here. With companies from various industries and backgrounds working side by side in our space it’s nice to see these people boding over outdoor activities. The unmatched outdoor access Salt lake offers is better than sending emails and helps clients turn into friends,” Garret Clark (Church & State).
Enjoy the Lure of the Outdoors
For the outdoorsman, the entire point of working remotely from Salt Lake City is to get outdoors and enjoy the many activities you have at your fingertips. Local travel and adventure writer Erika Wiggins relocated from Florida to Salt Lake to do just this. “There’s no “down-season” in Salt Lake City. Outdoor enthusiasts can go strong all year in a multitude of sports. As an outdoor writer, this means I get to live what I write, test gear, and stay connected to other people in the industry, without leaving home.”
Flying into Salt Lake you will notice the bowl of mountains surrounding the city, enticing you to get out and explore. No wonder so many outdoor writers choose to call Salt Lake their home base. And it’s no secret to Salt Lake’s championing organization Visit Salt Lake.
“Salt Lake is ideal for those who work remotely, especially those who love the outdoors and outdoor recreation. There are literally endless miles of hiking and biking trails just minutes from downtown and 11 ski resorts within an hour’s drive. Combining that with Salt Lake City’s urban offerings of world-class cultural arts, dining and nightlife, affordable housing and an easily accessible international airport, and it’s not surprising why so many have chosen to live in, and work remotely from, Utah’s capital city.”
The only thing to be weary of is the very real possibility of neglecting your work with so many activities enticing you outside.
Locals Tips:
Best Mountain Bike Trail within 10 minutes of downtown SLC: Bobsled
Best Coffee Shop with Wi-Fi: Publik Coffee
Great Internet access? Check! Great business community? Check! Great access to outdoor activities? Check! You can see why it was so easy for us to rank Salt Lake City the number one place to live for outdoor-loving telecommuters.
Thinking about moving to Sat Lake now? We can help get you started by finding the right internet provider for you.