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Old 11-26-2016, 01:04 PM
 
6 posts, read 8,051 times
Reputation: 10

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Some background on myself and family:

- Wife/2 Young Kids (2/3 years old)
- Wife/I are mid 20s
- Wife will finish up her Nurse Practitioner training this summer.
- I work in financial industry.
- I am an ultra proud conservative in a sea of liberals.
- Sister/Husband live in Utah
- Evangelical Christian

All my life, I have loved the outdoors and especially the mountains. As a kid, I loved going skiing and hiking. Unfortunately, my family moved us from the east coast to midwest where there is little to any of this available. I try to help my need for the mountains with ski trips every once in a while out west. My job is going great. I am making really good money, especially for my age. I have a CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) and a very strong technical background (programming and statistics). Anyway, I have always dreamed of living out west in a city with ski/mountain access.

Looking at my background, it would seem that I am the perfect candidate to uproot myself to a place like Salt Lake City. The only things that would be holding me back are (1) Money is good at my current job and I am fairly certain there are not directly comparable opportunities in Utah and (2) Uprooting myself to a new location just for skiing/mountains seems so small on paper.

Anyone else have experience of jumping ship to purposely move to Utah? How do I not jump the gun to fast without considering all the consequences.
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Old 11-26-2016, 10:31 PM
 
121 posts, read 190,620 times
Reputation: 164
Wanting to be near mountains is a fine reason to move. That was one of the main drivers behind my move here a few years ago. That move was with wife and young kids about the same age as yours and leaving behind our home state and extended families. We love it here so much that we wouldn't dream of moving back.

That being said, I don't recommend moving anywhere (especially if you have a family) before securing a job in the new location. If you're serious about moving here, start looking for jobs. Maybe plan a trip out here to look things over from the prospective of a potential move rather than just a ski trip.
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Old 11-26-2016, 10:37 PM
 
6 posts, read 8,051 times
Reputation: 10
Quote:
Originally Posted by ksman View Post
Wanting to be near mountains is a fine reason to move. That was one of the main drivers behind my move here a few years ago. That move was with wife and young kids about the same age as yours and leaving behind our home state and extended families. We love it here so much that we wouldn't dream of moving back.

That being said, I don't recommend moving anywhere (especially if you have a family) before securing a job in the new location. If you're serious about moving here, start looking for jobs. Maybe plan a trip out here to look things over from the prospective of a potential move rather than just a ski trip.
Yeah, I definitely wouldn't be moving without a job lined up. I am just guessing that the job switch would likely require some pay cut. What was the one thing that worried you most when moving? What sort of career move did you make when coming to Utah?
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Old 11-26-2016, 11:56 PM
 
121 posts, read 190,620 times
Reputation: 164
Quote:
Originally Posted by utSkier3900 View Post
What was the one thing that worried you most when moving?
Well, there's the obvious culture/religion concern that you can read plenty about on this forum. Takes a little getting used to, but not a big deal in my experience so far. Cost of housing and figuring out where to live were more difficult. Price per sqft was more than double and with family growth we needed a bigger home as well. Sticker shock for sure when we started looking. Then just figuring out where to live. We had mostly lived in smaller towns, so having so many options and not knowing the area at all made it difficult.

Quote:
Originally Posted by utSkier3900 View Post
What sort of career move did you make when coming to Utah?
I was lucky on this one. My employer has a site here that I transferred to.


I think back to those times we would drive all day long just to enjoy a few days in the mountains. Going home was always so hard. I'm so thankful I don't have to do that anymore. I can play in the mountains any time I want. Or just look out the window and enjoy the view. If that's your dream, then go for it. Maybe with your wife's new training, she can pick up some of the income you might lose. Good luck. Please ask if you have any other questions.
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Old 11-27-2016, 01:00 PM
 
6 posts, read 8,051 times
Reputation: 10
Quote:
Originally Posted by ksman View Post
Well, there's the obvious culture/religion concern that you can read plenty about on this forum. Takes a little getting used to, but not a big deal in my experience so far. Cost of housing and figuring out where to live were more difficult. Price per sqft was more than double and with family growth we needed a bigger home as well. Sticker shock for sure when we started looking. Then just figuring out where to live. We had mostly lived in smaller towns, so having so many options and not knowing the area at all made it difficult.


I was lucky on this one. My employer has a site here that I transferred to.


I think back to those times we would drive all day long just to enjoy a few days in the mountains. Going home was always so hard. I'm so thankful I don't have to do that anymore. I can play in the mountains any time I want. Or just look out the window and enjoy the view. If that's your dream, then go for it. Maybe with your wife's new training, she can pick up some of the income you might lose. Good luck. Please ask if you have any other questions.
What about fitting in and finding a new set of friends. What was that like?
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Old 11-27-2016, 04:34 PM
 
52 posts, read 98,249 times
Reputation: 19
I am very similar to you in that I am politically conservative/libertarian and a Christian. I am a dentist and my wife is a physician, but we are in our mid 30's with a 8,6, and 4 year old. We live in Birmingham, AL. We went back and forth on whether to move out to Park City or even Colorado. Unfortunately, our careers/finances kept us from making the move. Weirdly enough, neither of us could find jobs in our fields making even 70% of what we make in Alabama. The dental schools in certain states are pumping out way too many dentists resulting in oversaturation and lower wages. My wife's job wasn't that Utah payed lower, but she has just been fortunate in the job she has here pays twice as much as the national average.

We never worried too much about different area/culture or fitting in because we have lived in many areas of the country without issue. All we really need is a good fit for a church and 8-10 close friends we get together at the lake, going skiing, have over for dinner and have our kids grow up together. There aren't many places that a person can't find those things if they put in a little effort.

We now get out to Park City a few weeks a year and enjoy all it has to offer. We are even planning beginning a tradition where we take the kids and rent a house the last 2 weeks of December and basically spend our Christmas out there skiing and enjoying the snow. We still might semi-retire out there when our youngest leaves for college, but who knows. The other option is to find different states like Idaho or Montana that wouldn't force us to take a financial hit. Good luck!
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Old 11-27-2016, 08:07 PM
 
9,375 posts, read 6,977,761 times
Reputation: 14777
Quote:
Originally Posted by utSkier3900 View Post
Some background on myself and family:

- Wife/2 Young Kids (2/3 years old)
- Wife/I are mid 20s
- Wife will finish up her Nurse Practitioner training this summer.
- I work in financial industry.
- I am an ultra proud conservative in a sea of liberals.
- Sister/Husband live in Utah
- Evangelical Christian

All my life, I have loved the outdoors and especially the mountains. As a kid, I loved going skiing and hiking. Unfortunately, my family moved us from the east coast to midwest where there is little to any of this available. I try to help my need for the mountains with ski trips every once in a while out west. My job is going great. I am making really good money, especially for my age. I have a CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) and a very strong technical background (programming and statistics). Anyway, I have always dreamed of living out west in a city with ski/mountain access.

Looking at my background, it would seem that I am the perfect candidate to uproot myself to a place like Salt Lake City. The only things that would be holding me back are (1) Money is good at my current job and I am fairly certain there are not directly comparable opportunities in Utah and (2) Uprooting myself to a new location just for skiing/mountains seems so small on paper.

Anyone else have experience of jumping ship to purposely move to Utah? How do I not jump the gun to fast without considering all the consequences.
I'm in Finance (Non-CFA) as well and can attest that the quality of life is very good here. We've moved from FL (Naples) -> UT (SLC) -> TN (Knox) -> NY (Saratoga) -> UT (SLC) since 2008. Wages are good, unemployment is low, cost of living is reasonable (relative to alternatives), the weather is amazing, and access to outdoor year round recreational activities are second to none (much better than Denver).

I'm on the corp finance side but have some buddies that work on IB and the job marketing is robust for certain paths. Goldman, Wells, Zion, GE Capital (being divested), Synchrony, etc.. are the main IB related employers.

Housing can be pricey depending on what you are looking for but still less than Cali, Denver, Portland, Seattle. If you come to town for an interview spend a day or two touring around (saturdays are good for open houses). The avenues (area between and north of the U & downtown) has great craftsman homes from early 1900's for $150-$200 sqft. Other areas to tour would be harvard/yale and west liberty ($125 -200 sqft) as well as sugarhouse (smaller 50's homes). If you want to be in Suburbia then take a peak at Holladay, Cottonwood, and Sandy $100 - $200 sq ft (highly depending upon age/location). These areas will give you the best access to the skiable areas (little/big cottonwood canyons).

I'd suggest having an offer in in hand before resigning from your current role. Good luck!
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Old 11-27-2016, 08:59 PM
 
121 posts, read 190,620 times
Reputation: 164
Quote:
Originally Posted by utSkier3900 View Post
What about fitting in and finding a new set of friends. What was that like?
There are plenty of ways to meet people... work, church, kids' activities, mom's groups, hiking clubs, etc. It takes time just like anywhere else. You just have to reach out.
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Old 11-29-2016, 05:31 PM
 
6 posts, read 8,051 times
Reputation: 10
Quote:
Originally Posted by SWFL_Native View Post
I'm in Finance (Non-CFA) as well and can attest that the quality of life is very good here. We've moved from FL (Naples) -> UT (SLC) -> TN (Knox) -> NY (Saratoga) -> UT (SLC) since 2008. Wages are good, unemployment is low, cost of living is reasonable (relative to alternatives), the weather is amazing, and access to outdoor year round recreational activities are second to none (much better than Denver).

I'm on the corp finance side but have some buddies that work on IB and the job marketing is robust for certain paths. Goldman, Wells, Zion, GE Capital (being divested), Synchrony, etc.. are the main IB related employers.
Any sales/trading opportunities? Risk/Quant/Trader would all be roles I could potentially pursue. When I have looked, there has always been crickets on the job aggregation sites.
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Old 11-29-2016, 05:40 PM
 
914 posts, read 973,548 times
Reputation: 784
Quote:
Originally Posted by ksman View Post
There are plenty of ways to meet people... work, church, kids' activities, mom's groups, hiking clubs, etc. It takes time just like anywhere else. You just have to reach out.
completely agree, i have met lots of people via my kids, meetup groups and work. Just put yourself out there and perservere. People here are crazy busy as they have extra kids and takes over their life but i have lots of friends here and they have been amazing support here. Got more invites to thanksgiving dinner than I do by family back in the UK lol !!

I found www.meetup.com a fabulous site here in Utah. Met lots of friends this way and end upthat we don't use meetup anymore to meet people as we see each other loads (the ones i found have stuff in common with) We join meetup events sometimes like hikes etc. This is the best site ever for getting out and meeting lots of people. Met of my oldest friends this way via the color run that we all participated in the first year i was here (we didnt run lol ) Been here years and they are the best
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