Payson, Utah

What life in Payson, Utah is like, explained by people who live(d) in Payson:

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Payson Favorites

What’s your favorite thing about living in Payson?

  • The smell in the evening. (David, 1 month)
  • Small town feel and the mountains. (Kylie, 6 months)
  • The easy going, small town feel. (Vanessa, 1 year)
  • Where I live. (Spencer, 2 years)
  • Quiet, slow. (Chase, 5 years)
  • Small town feeling. (Michelle, 7 years)
  • Small town. (Alyssa, 8 years)
  • Small town, low traffic. (Amber, 8 years)
  • Rural feel. (Tom, 9 years)
  • Small town feel. (Jeremy, 13 years)
  • It used to be quiet and nice. It is no longer quiet and nice. The mountains and view you used to get before all the homes were built. (Whitney, 16 years)
  • The small town feel. (Kim, 17 years)
  • It’s quiet. (Tina, 22 years)
  • The canyon. (Georgia, 24 years)
  • Quiet living, yet town and neighboring cities have everything we need. I love that I don’t have to drive far to see animals in a field. The Temple and movie theater being close is nice! (Nanalie, 29 years)
  • Small town feel, friendly neighbors and Payson Canyon. (Doug, 40 years)

Payson Least Favorites

What’s your least favorite thing about living in Payson?

  • The inside lane getting off of the freeway onto Main Street. (David, 1 month)
  • Can’t find items, have to go to the city. (Kylie, 6 months)
  • Not great grocery stores near by. Payson does have a distinct smell every now and then… (Vanessa, 1 year)
  • The roads. (Spencer, 2 years)
  • High taxes and fees with barely anything in return, terrible roads, and the city wasting money on stupid stuff. (Chase, 5 years)
  • Lack of eating out options. (Missy, 6 years)
  • Power bill. (Michelle, 7 years)
  • Small town. (Alyssa, 8 years)
  • The smell. (Amber, 8 years)
  • The current move to make it another Lehi, American Fork or Spanish Fork. (Tom, 9 years)
  • Commute to work. (Jeremy, 13 years)
  • The temple, the amount of people moving in, the farms being basically stolen from farmers so that people can build subdivisions, the traffic, near constant construction, the people, the raising crime rate. (There’s always someone’s car/house/garage getting broken into). (Whitney, 16 years)
  • Not a lot of options for restaurants and stores. (Kim, 17 years)
  • The light bill. (Tina, 22 years)
  • That there is nothing here. (Georgia, 24 years)
  • Crappy roads. (Nanalie, 29 years)
  • Politics :). (Doug, 40 years)

Payson Things To Do

What are fun things to do in Payson?

  • Cousins. (David, 1 month)
  • The city park is nice. (Kylie, 6 months)
  • Payson Canyon has great outdoor activities. The town events always seem to be fun. (Vanessa, 1 year)
  • Swim, bike, camp, movies. (Spencer, 2 years)
  • Nebo Loop. (Chase, 5 years)
  • Scottish festival, onion days, water park. (Missy, 6 years)
  • Nothing. (Michelle, 7 years)
  • Canyon. (Alyssa, 8 years)
  • Cycling, hiking and camping up in the loop. (Tom, 9 years)
  • Fish, hunt, hike. (Jeremy, 13 years)
  • Nothing really. There’s too many people to enjoy going anywhere. It’s all crowded. (Whitney, 16 years)
  • Hiking, playing at the parks. (Kim, 17 years)
  • The ghetto, the park. (Tina, 22 years)
  • Canyon. (Georgia, 24 years)
  • Go camping up Payson Canyon. Movie theater. Nothing much…we need a rec center! (Nanalie, 29 years)
  • Drive, bike, hike, camp, etc. Payson Canyon, movies. (Doug, 40 years)

Payson’s Reputation

What’s Payson known for?

  • Losing at football. (David, 1 month)
  • Onions??? (Kylie, 6 months)
  • Small town happiness. (Vanessa, 1 year)
  • End of the earth, small town. (Spencer, 2 years)
  • High taxes, terrible government. (Chase, 5 years)
  • Small town living. (Missy, 6 years)
  • Onion days. (Michelle, 7 years)
  • Country folk. (Alyssa, 8 years)
  • Small town. (Amber, 8 years)
  • Salmon, Scottish Fest. (Jeremy, 13 years)
  • Onion days, Footloose, drugs. (Whitney, 16 years)
  • Salmon supper, Onion Days. (Kim, 17 years)
  • Onion days. (Tina, 22 years)
  • The tallest McDonald’s sign. (Georgia, 24 years)
  • Bagpipes! The Canyon. (Nanalie, 29 years)
  • Onion Days, Scottish Festival. (Doug, 40 years)

Payson Crime

What’s the crime like in Payson?

  • Stay away from Mountain View apartments. (David, 1 month)
  • Feels pretty safe. We love on the Ridge Stone condos and seem to have trouble here. (Kylie, 6 months)
  • I haven’t had problems myself, but see mainly small robberies. (Vanessa, 1 year)
  • Some vandalism, minor stuff. (Spencer, 2 years)
  • Not the worst, not the best; mostly property crime. (Chase, 5 years)
  • Not much around me. (Missy, 6 years)
  • Just like everywhere else. Drugs. (Michelle, 7 years)
  • Not too much crime. (Alyssa, 8 years)
  • Pretty high crime. (Amber, 8 years)
  • It seems sporadic as far as break-ins, etc. but drugs seem to be the driving force for the crime. (Tom, 9 years)
  • Very little compared to other cities. (Jeremy, 13 years)
  • It’s getting worse and worse. There is always something being broken into. Lots of vandalism. Do not leave doors unlocked. Gang activity as well, which is ridiculous. Also Payson is pretty much a heroin hot spot, many drug addicts live in this town. (Whitney, 16 years)
  • Lots of drug issues. (Kim, 17 years)
  • A lot of drugs. (Tina, 22 years)
  • It’s horrible. (Georgia, 24 years)
  • Seems to be everywhere now days! I hope our new mayor will have great insight and help on where we need to focus energy on this subject! (Nanalie, 29 years)
  • Significantly decreased over the last several years (this can be verified by the State. We went from top 10 worst to top 40 best. That’s an improvement of about 110 spots.) Hot spot: Gini’s. (Doug, 40 years)

Payson Advice

Any advice for people moving to Payson?

  • Watch out for the police hiding on Canyon Road. (David, 1 month)
  • Rent is expensive! (Kylie, 6 months)
  • Have an open mind. Small towns are different than normal cities. People are nice and traffic is low :). (Vanessa, 1 year)
  • Be aware of your utility usage. (Spencer, 2 years)
  • Be prepared to be fee’d to death, electricity is expensive, sewer is expensive, and the roads aren’t maintained. (Chase, 5 years)
  • Just keep all lights off. (Michelle, 7 years)
  • Don’t. (Alyssa, 8 years)
  • I think it will gradually grow, hopefully maintain its small feel. (Amber, 8 years)
  • Don’t. It’s not made for so many people. If you want to live in a city, then move to one, but don’t take a small town and demand that it changes to meet your wants. People have destroyed my hometown. (Whitney, 16 years)
  • It’s a great town. (Kim, 17 years)
  • Don’t. (Georgia, 24 years)
  • Get involved. Get to know your neighbors. (Doug, 40 years)

Payson Stories

Share an experience you’ve had in Payson (fun, crazy, dangerous, etc.).

  • Payson Canyon is the shiznit. (David, 1 month)
  • Payson Canyon, roasted marshmallows. (Kylie, 6 months)
  • When someone wrote “F Trump” on our fence. (Spencer, 2 years)
  • High school. (Alyssa, 8 years)
  • Walking up on a bear in Blackhawk. (Tom, 9 years)
  • Scottish Fest, fireworks are good, deer around the neighborhood. (Jeremy, 13 years)
  • High school, ghost hunting up the canyon, learning to drive on dead man’s hill, a crazy one was four drunk kids trying to walk into our front door and then breaking into the shed as the police came last summer. (Whitney, 16 years)
  • I love the neighborhoods and the small town feel. (Kim, 17 years)
  • I love Onion Days. (Tina, 22 years)
  • I watched a drug deal go down just about every night for months. I called the cops, and they asked me how I knew it was drugs. No patrols. (Georgia, 24 years)
  • Lots of wonderful camping up the canyon! Fun things in town like band concerts and Onion Days. Long ago, we had Hot August Nights on Main Street. That was super fun. (Nanalie, 29 years)
  • Not sure the statute of limitations is up. 😉 Car tag as a young adult. Ghost stories and dares in the cemetery. (Doug, 40 years)

Payson’s Future

How do you think Payson will change over the next 10 years?

  • Hopefully they finally install the storm drains they have been charging for, for 25 years. (David, 1 month)
  • Growth! (Kylie, 6 months)
  • It’s already growing. I’m sure a lot more stores and housing will come, but I’m praying not too quick. I love it how it is now :). (Vanessa, 1 year)
  • I don’t think it will change much. (Spencer, 2 years)
  • Tons of homes will be built, hopefully businesses will be allowed to follow suit. (Chase, 5 years)
  • Hopefully more businesses. (Missy, 6 years)
  • Grow. (Michelle, 7 years)
  • It will get bigger. (Alyssa, 8 years)
  • I am afraid way too much growth with no attempt to keep some open land, farms, orchards, etc. There needs to be a balance. Fast losing it’s small town feel. (Tom, 9 years)
  • Unfortunately it will grow, hopefully not too fast. (Jeremy, 13 years)
  • I think it’s going to be awful and turn into Provo. Enjoy your crime, traffic, drug use and violence. (Whitney, 16 years)
  • I hope so. (Kim, 17 years)
  • It will grow too fast. (Tina, 22 years)
  • Hopefully for the better with the new mayor and city council. We might get some business. Water supply will dry up. (Georgia, 24 years)
  • Lets hope we get some good shopping here. Something like a Home Depot, some good restaurants. Our city government needs to quit making it so hard for business to come in and STAY in business! I am always hearing about fun things in Springville. We need some new energy in town! (Nanalie, 29 years)
  • It will increase in size by nearly 60%. The pit in front of Stadium Cinemas will be developed. We will have a new big box store. (Doug, 40 years)

Payson Facts

Any other interesting facts about Payson?

  • It’s doesn’t always stink. (David, 1 month)
  • It has Onion Days. (Georgia, 24 years)
  • Footlocker and several Hallmark shows were filmed here. (Doug, 40 years)