For BYU grad, downtown SLC is the right place, the right time, the right blend

Night life in Salt Lake City strikes the right midpoint for Caitie Giauque.

The 28-year-old partakes of some of downtown's attractions but an evening in her social life is just as likely to involve cooking and watching movies with friends or working on "random projects here and there."

Utah's capital "is a manageable size," the Brigham Young University graduate and Provo native says. "It feels like a city, but it's not so overwhelming that you're terrified you're missing something if you're not out every night."

She likes urban living, "kicking around, looking for interesting things to do." The city is evolving, she says, "and getting more stuff to do for people who are younger."

Giauque rents a one-bedroom apartment a few blocks from the Trolley Square mall and commutes by car to West Valley City for her job as a copy writer for Overstock.com.

Several of her friends are artists. She plays violin, is a writer and has dabbled in cross-stitching and decoupage. Giauque plans to attend The Avenues Street Fair on Sept. 13.

Nobody in her small social circle has started a family yet, though one recently bought a house. Owning a home is something Giauque says she might consider someday, "but I just don't think it's time yet. Maybe in the next five years.

"It is a lot of work, quite honestly,'' she says. "Renting is easy. I like where I am.''