Relocating to Utah: A New Resident's Digital Setup Checklist

While the majority of moves tend to involve shifting boxes around, there is also plenty of paperwork involved in getting your affairs in order, both legal and administrative.

From switching your internet and updating your driver's license to avoiding your credit card being suspended the first day you pay for groceries in Salt Lake City, getting your digital affairs in order involves quite a bit of work on your end.

Luckily for you, most of it can be done in just a couple of days.

Here is how you should approach each step in order.

Get Your Internet Installed Early

Thanks to its fiber-optic-friendly legislation, Utah has become home to some interesting competition in the field, meaning you will first have to research what kind of service you can receive at your new address rather than just sticking with your old provider.

Cities along the Wasatch Front, such as Salt Lake City, Provo, and West Valley City, usually have access to Google Fiber, Xfinity, and UTOPIA Fiber – a community-owned open-access network providing Utah residents with access to a multitude of internet service providers using fiber optics. The latter is useful if switching service providers is something you want to consider.

In case you are moving to one of the less urbanized areas in either San Juan County or some other central areas, your options will probably be reduced to fixed wireless or satellite internet provided either privately or by cooperatives.

The following things should be taken into consideration when researching your options:

• See if the price you are getting is a promotional one that goes up after 12 months. Many of the Utah providers use low introductory prices as their main strategy.

• If working remotely, pay special attention to symmetrical internet speed as opposed to download speed, especially if you are moving to one of the centers of Utah's tech industry.

• It is better to arrange installation in advance if possible, at least a week in advance. Appointment slots in growing cities such as Lehi or Herriman fill up quickly, and if you are moving in the summertime, you are going to compete with many other newly arrived residents.

Also, check if you are eligible for receiving internet via UTOPIA Fiber. The service area of the network constantly expands, so calling your future provider to clarify whether you qualify may save you from signing up for an unavailable package.

Update Your Driver's License and Car Registration

Utah requires you to get a new license and register your vehicle within 60 days of establishing your residency in the state. Establishing residency usually refers to working, schooling, living, etc., which means the 60-day period might start sooner than you think.

The process of licensing is divided into two stages – obtaining a new license is handled by the Driver License Division, while registering a car goes through the Division of Motor Vehicles.

First of all, you will have to visit the Driver License Division, surrender your old license, pass a vision screening, and take an open-book written exam if you have a foreign license. You will also have to present the following items:

• Proof of identity

• Your SSN

• Two documents with your Utah address, as the state uses REAL ID regulations

Keep in mind that if your address changes before you have switched your license, you can update it online within ten days of moving in without applying for a new one.

After you are finished with your license, you will also have to register and title your car. Just as with the licensing process, registering your car should be completed within 60 days from the moment of moving in.

For this process, you will need to provide the following documents:

• Your old title

• Proof of insurance

• Safety/emissions inspection report (depending on your county)

If you happened to buy a car prior to moving in, dealerships will give you a 45-day temporary registration, which will buy you some time for the process.

It is a good idea to keep a digital or paper copy of everything you provide, as it might prove necessary when updating your insurance information.

Banking Information and Address Changes

This is one of the tedious tasks related to relocating until you forget about it and see your card getting suspended for unusual transactions.

Start with changing your address on your bank account, credit cards, and any subscription service that requires your billing address. In case you are working with any major bank, updating your address through the bank's app should not take more than 10 minutes.

Make sure to set up mail forwarding at the post office in advance (at least a couple of weeks before your relocation), as well as making sure that your utility accounts, insurance policies, and employer's payroll system use your new address in Utah.

In case you are moving from one state with income tax to Utah or vice versa, you should consult with a tax expert about your withholding for this year (this is something Claude won't be able to tell you).

Voter Registration and Other State Records

Utah requires new residents to register themselves to vote again even if you were registered somewhere else previously. The process is rather simple, and you can register yourself online through the website of the Lieutenant Governor.

What is more, you can also register on the day of the election at any polling station.

Speaking of which, organ donation registrations also have to be reset in case you are a donor, as each state maintains its own database of organ donors.

All of the processes mentioned above require only a few minutes to complete, but they are easy to overlook in the course of settling down.

An easy way to complete them is to set aside one afternoon in the first month of your life in Utah and spend it registering yourself to vote, becoming an organ donor, and updating all the remaining addresses you may have.

Protecting Your Data While You Settle In

During the relocation process, you will have to connect to networks that you may usually avoid because of potential security issues.

This includes hotel Wi-Fi during the relocation, any public Wi-Fi spots while waiting for your internet to be installed, and any temporary housing with a suspicious network setup.

This is a perfect time to use a VPN, and it won't hurt to use it for sensitive data such as your banking and tax information as well as your employment accounts (it won't replace a good password policy, though).

Another reason why people sometimes choose to keep using a VPN in Utah is that some streaming services or regionally oriented ones might limit access to certain data depending on the location, and it is easier to use a service if you are able to mask your location.

Navigating Around Digitally

Once all the bureaucratic stuff is done, the rest is mostly about convenience.

Install apps related to whichever grocery chain is predominant in your new area, as there are both some regionally oriented (Smith's and Harmons) and national ones in Utah.

If you are moving to the Wasatch Front area, installing the UTA Transit app will be a good idea, as it covers TRAX light rail and FrontRunner commuter train routes, which will be helpful in the winter season when skiing becomes more popular and traffic on the canyons worsens. This is especially useful if you're settling in fast-growing suburbs like West Jordan or Washington, where new residents often need to learn commute patterns quickly.

It is also worth updating your map apps' home and work addresses, as well as any ride-share and delivery services you usually use in your daily routine.

In this way, you will not have the unpleasant surprise that your phone is trying to navigate you to the wrong city.

In case you have school-age children with you and are planning to educate them in Utah, most school districts use online portals for the enrollment process, and usually, you will need to upload some proof of address and immunization records before you can start your orientation period.

Contacting the district office in question directly might help here, as different districts may have slightly different enrollment windows and requirements along the Wasatch Front and in rural counties.

Summary

Setting up your affairs in Utah is not as complex as it may seem initially, but it does require more steps to be taken than expected in the case of a relocation.

Getting your internet installed on time, arranging your driver's license and registration within the 60-day window, changing your banking accounts, and paying special attention to securing yourself on unknown networks will cover pretty much everything you need. If you're still deciding between markets, it's worth reading how Utah compares to coastal cities before finalizing your move, and checking the latest Utah real estate market report for context on pricing trends.

Doing these in the first month will allow you to dedicate the rest of your relocation to more interesting things, such as finding the closest ski resort to your new house.