It’s fashionable in some circles to disdain Provo and Utah Valley — aka “Happy Valley” — as boring, provincial, monochromatic, culturally sterile, intellectually vapid, a home for “Stepford Wives,” and so forth.
But here’s some evidence suggesting that at least a few significant outside observers don’t share the negative stereotypes:
http://provomayor.com/category/accomplishments/
And here’s an interesting article about developments and trends in the small Utah Valley city where Brigham Young University sits:
http://byu.imodules.com/redirect.aspx?linkID=66901&eid=1273091
It turns out that there are worse places to live than Provo-Orem and Utah Valley. And I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that some of those who sneer at this area actually live in them.