Tooele, Utah – Lifey

Life in Tooele, Utah, explained by people who’ve lived in Tooele:

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*Response format = Answer (Your name, How long you’ve lived in Tooele)

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Tooele Favorites

What’s your favorite thing about living in Tooele?

Open spaces. (Christina, 2 years)
Small town. (Mike, 2 years)
Small town vibes. (Kayley, 3 years)
It’s a small town. (Rebecca, 4 years)
Slower pace. Less traffic. (Emily, 5 years)
Affordable housing. (Heather, 8 years)
It’s quiet. (Corban, 10 years)
Nothing. (Heather, 15 years)
Middle Canyon. (Mckayla, 17 years)
Arts activities for all ages. (Anonymous, 18 years)
Close enough to Salt Lake but don’t have to deal with all the population of the greater Salt lake valley. (Anonymous, 18 years)
Low priced homes/land. (Paul, 18 years)
At the time I lived there (1958 – 1977) it was a quite small town where kids could be kids. My parents still live there so I come back often. (Anonymous, 19 years)
The west desert 🌵. (Alexis, 20 years)
I feel it’s safer than the city. I LIKE how it’s a simple town and quiet. I could be biased since I’ve been here my whole life and am comfortable here. (Erin, 25 years)
Less people. (Morgan, 26 years)
Small town. (Camillia, 28 years)
It’s close to the mountains. (Mistie, 35 years)
Smaller. (Amy, 36 years)
Mountains/canyons. (Neal, 40 years)
Small city. (Ken, 45 years)
I was born there and went to school there. Raised my three kids there also. (Veronica, 45 years)
I like the people, the open attitude and small town atmosphere. (Erv, 50 years)
It’s home still has that small town feeling. You don’t have to drive a long way to go camping or fishing. Lots of things to see and do. (George, 68 years)
It used to be the love of a small town of 14,000. My heritage of pioneer relatives that settled here. I love that I built my house some 40 years ago my relatives settled on. (Anonymous, I was born here and have lived in Tooele all my life)

Tooele Least Favorites

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

Traveling distance to most work places. (Christina, 2 years)
Restaurants, all Mexican or fast food. (Mike, 2 years)
The theft. (Kayley, 3 years)
The people moving here from bigger cities. (Rebecca, 4 years)
Poor city planning. Terrible parking lots. Economically depressed. (Emily, 5 years)
Lack of cultural diversity. (Heather, 8 years)
It’s rural. (Corban, 10 years)
All these new people. (Heather, 15 years)
Drug problems, trashy people, crime rate, school district, lack of activities for kids. (Mckayla, 17 years)
Rental prices bother residential and commercial. (Anonymous, 18 years)
Too many people. The population has grown so much in the past 10 years. We need more ways out of the valley. (Anonymous, 18 years)
Some folks are a bit backward. (Paul, 18 years)
That they change the addresses for a street. I grew up on a street named 3rd (300) south. Several years ago, some crazy person convinced the city to change this to 4th (400) south. No new streets were added, and there is no 300 south anywhere in the city (with no possibility of having a 300 south) so I’m still puzzled as to why this was ever done. (Anonymous, 19 years)
The amount of drugs in the community. (Alexis, 20 years)
Food choices. We’ve got 4 Mexican restaurants that are literally ALL the same.. Plus a couple more Mexican restaurants to add on.. needs variety. (Erin, 25 years)
All the people who have moved in. (Morgan, 26 years)
It’s getting bigger. (Camillia, 28 years)
Too much traffic. (Mistie, 35 years)
No good restaurants. (Amy, 36 years)
How big it’s getting and old main street collapsing. (Neal, 40 years)
County commission, lack of pride in street and yard appearance. (Ken, 45 years)
Too many Mormons, haha! (Veronica, 45 years)
The attitude of the rest of the state. (Erv, 50 years)
Getting too many people, rent prices are WAY too high, greedy landlords. (George, 68 years)
Growth of population growth. But what can one do? (Anonymous)

Tooele Things To Do

What are fun things to do in Tooele?

Running, hiking. (Mike, 2 years)
Bowling, hiking, camping, going to the antique store. (Kayley, 3 years)
Visit family. (Rebecca, 4 years)
Explore local history. (Emily, 5 years)
Hiking, fishing, outdoor activities. (Heather, 8 years)
Outdoors. (Corban, 10 years)
Middle canyon, camping and fishing. (Heather, 15 years)
Nothing, there’s bowling and the movie theater and that’s it. (Mckayla, 17 years)
Movies, festivals, parades, stuff all the time. (Anonymous, 18 years)
Lots of public land to explore. A decent bowling alley. Lots of free hiking. (Anonymous, 18 years)
Bowling alley, trails, movie theaters, drive-in. (Paul, 18 years)
Swim, ride bikes, hike and play in the mountains, go snow tubing. (Anonymous, 19 years)
Metal detecting and photography, exploring. (Alexis, 20 years)
Movies, going up the canyon. (Erin, 25 years)
Hike, camp, drive around, take walks, enjoy high school sports. (Morgan, 26 years)
Bowling, movie. (Camillia, 28 years)
Not much of anything. (Mistie, 35 years)
Ride horses and ATV’s. Hiking, camping, fishing, hunting. (Amy, 36 years)
Hunt, motorcycles, camp, drive in. (Neal, 40 years)
Visiting friends, walking, sunsets. (Ken, 45 years)
Drive around, look at the growth. Also the canyons were my favorite place. (Veronica, 45 years)
Movies, the motor sports park. (George, 68 years)
I love the outdoors, close to places my dog can run where no traffic can go. The closeness of canyon trails, still a few that are still unknown to others. (Anonymous)

Tooele’s Reputation

What’s Tooele known for?

Meth. (Mike, 2 years)
Meth addicts and bad drivers. (Kayley, 3 years)
Being small. (Rebecca, 4 years)
Being far away. (Emily, 5 years)
Crime, drugs and low education level. (Heather, 8 years)
Being west of Salt Lake City. (Corban, 10 years)
Being a small town. (Heather, 15 years)
Teen pregnancy and drugs. (Mckayla, 17 years)
Ranching, being a suburb. (Anonymous, 18 years)
Chemical depot. (Paul, 18 years)
Aslyum 49. (Alexis, 20 years)
Drugs, young pregnancies. (Erin, 25 years)
Hazardous waste disposal. (Morgan, 26 years)
The home of the buffaloes. (Camillia, 28 years)
Mountains. (Mistie, 35 years)
Copper pit and now NASCAR. (Amy, 36 years)
Cheap housing. (Neal, 40 years)
Being so far away. Feeling that the city is better than the other surrounding communities in the county. (Ken, 45 years)
Small town appeal. Tooele army depot. (Veronica, 45 years)
Depo, bombs, nerve gas, Dugway, open spaces, cheap housing. (Erv, 50 years)
Friendly people willing to help, always have been. Tooele County is known as the home of the world famous Bonneville Salt Flats. (George, 68 years)
A big town that still has small town history to learn about. (Anonymous)

Tooele Crime

What’s the crime like in Tooele? (hot spot areas, etc.)

Car break-ins, meth. (Mike, 2 years)
there is a lot of theft. We had to get cameras after being stolen from multiple times. (Kayley, 3 years)
Theft is becoming more common. (Rebecca, 4 years)
There’s definitely a seedy underbelly, but I don’t know where it is. (Emily, 5 years)
Crime rates seem to be increasing. It seems like property crime is high in all areas. (Heather, 8 years)
Crime is minimal. Mostly petty theft and drugs. (Corban, 10 years)
Higher than it ever was before. (Heather, 15 years)
My neighborhood is usually quiet. However, we did have the neighbors car stolen. Just rolled it down drive way in the dark. (Anonymous, 18 years)
I don’t like to spend too much time in “old” Tooele after dark. But there isn’t too much crime. (Anonymous, 18 years)
Same as most other places. (Paul, 18 years)
High. Lots of thefts and drugs. (Alexis, 20 years)
I feel like we have the minor end when it comes to crimes. Not sure not hot spots. (Erin, 25 years)
Not terrible. (Morgan, 26 years)
Crime is on the rise because of heroin. (Camillia, 28 years)
It’s getting too many robberies. (Mistie, 35 years)
Random. Broadway area. (Amy, 36 years)
It’s bad and getting worse. Every week someone I know is posting something that was stolen. (Neal, 40 years)
Not as much as many places, but still present. (Ken, 45 years)
Don’t know. (Veronica, 45 years)
No worse than any other community in Utah. (Erv, 50 years)
Looks like Overlake has a lot of thefts, but the town is safe- don’t have to worry about drive by shootings. (George, 68 years)
There’s always been thugs, but nothing like it is now. My home is on a constant lockdown where 20 years ago I could leave without locking the doors. (Anonymous)

Tooele Advice

Any advice for people moving to Tooele?

Stay away. (Mike, 2 years)
Get cameras and don’t use Greg Miralgia for any lock or home repair. (Kayley, 3 years)
Go away, you’re going to ruin the small town atmosphere. (Rebecca, 4 years)
Research the area including schools and their poor performance. (Heather, 8 years)
It’s far enough away from Salt Lake to feel like it’s out of the city, but close enough that it isn’t too far away if you choose to work in Salt Lake or go there regularly. The air quality is better, the light pollution at night is less and it is quiet. Tooele is rural, lots of livestock and farm area. The infrastructure isn’t as good as other rural Utah towns, but it’s not that bad either. If you like the outdoors, this is an awesome and untapped place. (Corban, 10 years)
Don’t. (Heather, 15 years)
Don’t. (Mckayla, 17 years)
You find what your looking for. Hopefully sweet people come. (Anonymous, 18 years)
Look at south Grantsville, Erda, and Stansbury park. And plan on congestion on the commute to Salt Lake. (Anonymous, 18 years)
It’s a shorter drive to SLC than you think. (Paul, 18 years)
Love the people. Be kind to everyone. Be good and honest. Help those in need. (Anonymous, 19 years)
Don’t. (Alexis, 20 years)
Alarms on Wednesdays, a little bit of road congestion during rush hour or with any accidents in the lake point I-80 area. (Erin, 25 years)
Don’t. (Morgan, 26 years)
It’s a nice place to live, but look around a little more. (Camillia, 28 years)
Go away, lol. (Mistie, 35 years)
Salt Lake City really isn’t that far away. (Amy, 36 years)
Enjoy and look for ways to become part of the community. (Ken, 45 years)
Liquor laws are strange in Utah and small towns. Too many Mormons. (Veronica, 45 years)
Friendly people, poor drivers, great schools, open-minded people. (Erv, 50 years)
Check it out before you move here, don’t have the businesses there are in Salt Lake, and that’s the biggest complaint, don’t move here if you don’t like it. (George, 68 years)
Community life in neighborhoods can be nice. Traffic is the issue, but to be expected with the growth. (Anonymous)

Tooele Stories

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

I feel comfortable walking around the neighborhood with my kids. (Christina, 2 years)
Deer sleeping in our yard. (Mike, 2 years)
It’s a cute place to live, the downtown area is very historical and a lot of places are within walking distance. (Kayley, 3 years)
I love it. (Rebecca, 4 years)
Go karts. (Heather, 15 years)
Fridays. Nights in the park. DRIVE MOVIES W FAMILY. (Anonymous, 18 years)
As kids attending the old Central Elementary (Vine St and 1st west) school, we loved to lay pennies on the railroad track and watch the train run them over. We also loved to ride our bikes to the store and buy penny candy. Just across the street from the old Central Elementary school, there used to be a hamburger place (can’t remember the name). They sold a lot of penny candy, so immediately after school, all of the kids would flood the place to buy things like wax lips that you could eat. You could not go into this place, so all transactions were done through a small walk-up window. The last owners of this store made it into a tattoo place. I used to deliver papers for the Transcript Bulletin. For most of the time I did this, the Transcript would publish the Ritz theater shows/movies and in exchange each boy/girl that worked for them got one free movie pass a week. This was a lot of fun! This eventually came to an end when the company that provided the movies to the theater did and audit and found that they were missing a lot of revenue as a result of these free passes. (Anonymous, 19 years)
Exploring horse shoe springs. (Alexis, 20 years)
School was a lot of fun and we have so many activities in school, lots of different things for different personalities. (Camillia, 28 years)
Going camping. (Mistie, 35 years)
Summer parades. (Neal, 40 years)
Walking Smelter Road and seeing so many happy people. (Ken, 45 years)
Growing up in a small town. Playing with neighborhood kids on the streets until 10:00 when your parents called you in. Felt safe growing up there. (Veronica, 45 years)
I taught school in Tooele for many years and taught the best students in the state. We have excellent students, talented athletes, brilliant musical and artistic students and the very best schools. (Erv, 50 years)
Growing up here was great. Everyone knew everybody, schools were great. (George, 68 years)
Dragging main, stopping and talking with friends when I was a kid. Tooele was like the movie American Graffiti. (Anonymous)

Tooele’s Future

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

I think it will continue to grow. (Christina, 2 years)
Allowing too much building, adding homes. (Mike, 2 years)
It will grow too big. (Rebecca, 4 years)
We will continue to have large scale growth that isn’t adequately prepared for. (Heather, 8 years)
Tooele will have some growth. Not much, but some. Mostly people building nice homes in the Erda area or residential areas expanding. (Corban, 10 years)
More people. (Heather, 15 years)
Traffic worsens, roads corrode, more fast food joints, more crime. (Anonymous, 18 years)
We will grow so much that the township of Erda will be absorbed into the city limits if Tooele. (Anonymous, 18 years)
Population growth, more businesses, more crime. (Paul, 18 years)
Get larger and more crowded. (Anonymous, 19 years)
It will grow and be like Murray is now. (Alexis, 20 years)
It’ll grow more into how Salt Lake is.. it definitely won’t be the small town it was. (Erin, 25 years)
Yes, drastically. (Camillia, 28 years)
It’s gonna grow bigger. (Mistie, 35 years)
Hopefully gain an Olive Garden. (Amy, 36 years)
Bigger as more crowded. (Neal, 40 years)
Population increase, less personal contact, yards unkempt. (Ken, 45 years)
Don’t know. (Veronica, 45 years)
This will become a bedroom community for the SLC, and Provo area. (Erv, 50 years)
More people and more businesses will come. (George, 68 years)
I live one day at a time. I don’t worry about 10 years from now. Can’t do much about changes. (Anonymous)

Tooele Facts

Any other interesting facts about Tooele?

Un-needed concrete islands down main street. (Mike, 2 years)
Nobody who lives in Tooele knows where the word Tooele comes from. (Corban, 10 years)
It used to be a small town, that has turned into a city. (Heather, 15 years)
The scuba diving facility. Educational facilities. (Anonymous, 18 years)
#1 polluter in Utah. Thanks US Magnesium. (Anonymous, 18 years)
Mercur once had a bigger population than Tooele city, until it burned down. (Alexis, 20 years)
In 1850 when it was settled there was a mud fort along Vine and Mane to keep the Indians out. They would shoot arrows off of 3’o my ( the one with the Christmas tree). (Morgan, 26 years)
Most people came here from different places for a better life. My family came here in the 50s when it was still segregated. That’s why most colored people live in a certain part of Tooele. Most of the people who brought there families here are gone. (Camillia, 28 years)
They built DCD at the safest point in Tooele county. (Amy, 36 years)
Copper pit. (Neal, 40 years)
My father worked at the base for over 30 years. I worked there for almost 30 when the base was going to close and I moved. (Veronica, 45 years)
There is a lot to do and see, canyons, ghost towns, old mining towns, none more that a one hour drive. We have a lot of farms that other areas don’t have- you can buy fresh eggs, direct from the farm- there are not many places you can do that. (George, 68 years)
History. The transcript bulletin paper office has an incredible book on the history of Tooele county. Visit the railroad museum, has so much history. (Anonymous)