Relocating from Houston to Salt Lake City (real estate, crime rate)

[Hoan. A]

Hi everyone,

I have just made a decision to move out of houston due to it's traffic, hurricane proneness, and just the amount of population. I'm looking for a more relaxed, easy to get around city. Salt Lake City from what I hear, provides many outdoor sports, less traffic, and the climate is nice comparing to hot & humid Houston. Could anyone give a description on traffic, activities, and population? Last, but not least, I'm almost done with my Bilingual EC-4th Grade Education degree, so how is a teacher's life in Salt Lake City?

[eggalegga]

I've never been to Houston so I guess I can't really give you a valid comparison. I think our traffic situation along the Wasatch front is improving. We've added light rail, commuter trains, expanded freeways, and added alternate routes to help with congestion. There are still rush hours here, but from what I'm told, they don't even come close to the congestion in other areas.

Do you want to live in SLC or a suburb?

Utah ranks second to last I think on per pupil spending in our public education system. Classroom size has come down a little, but I think we still have the largest classroom size when it comes to students/teacher ratios.

We would consider it a humid day if the humidity was over say, 35%.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

I come from New Orleans and I LOVE the climate here. When it's 100 degrees outside, it's 6-7% humidity and it feels like 90 deg. to me. Depending on where you get your job, you will want to look there for housing.

Are you married? Kids? LDS? How long a commute can you take? All these will help us answer your questions more specifically.

The city is laid out on a grid, like an XY graph, with the LDS Temple at the zero point. Streets to the east are named 100 East, 200 East, etc. South are 100 South, 200 South, etc. The first number in an address is the house number and the second number is the street. Ex. 215 East 300 South is on the street named 300 Sotuh and the house number of 215 East tells you it's in the seond block east of State St (which is the divider between east and west).

[Lmejh]

Originally Posted by SouthernBelleInUtah

The city is laid out on a grid, like an XY graph, with the LDS Temple at the zero point. Streets to the east are named 100 East, 200 East, etc. South are 100 South, 200 South, etc. The first number in an address is the house number and the second number is the street. Ex. 215 East 300 South is on the street named 300 Sotuh and the house number of 215 East tells you it's in the seond block east of State St (which is the divider between east and west).

The divider line is actually Main St; State St is technically on 100 East.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

Originally Posted by Lmejh

The divider line is actually Main St; State St is technically on 100 East.

My bad! I knew when I typed that that I wasn't sure.

[11thHour]

I lived in Houston for a couple of years. If you like the outdoors, hate humidity, and like changing seasons, like I do, you'll be happy here. I'm not religious, and I still love it here.

Houston - I despised every second of torment I endured in that hell hole. Hey - as a bonus, you'll find electricity costs MUCH MUCH less here than in the de-regulated market-nightmare that Texas has.

I don't know any teachers personally, but be warned Utah is one of the lowest paying states for that career.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

DOn't be afraid of the "swamp cooler" many of us have. It's an evaporative cooler that works well in our low humidity and it costs WAY less to run in the summer than a/c. My real estate agent told me there are people who don't want a/c in a house - I certainly don't but I wasn't sure how many of us there are. A lot, apparently.

[tmacWVTX]

I too just moved from Houston to SLC. I would say it is about 100% better here. I pay about 1/4 of what I used to pay in utilities, and the weather is MUCH better. Good luck!

[symea]

I moved here from, get this, Laguna Beach California! And yes, I do love it. I can afford a house, The crime rate is low, the seasons are unbelievable and it has almost no humidity ( I hate humidity) All in all, when I need a California fix, I hop on a plane and 1 hr 18 min later I'm there. Much better this way!

[lisamikefoster]

Ok, I'm a Utah native, but I spent the last 6 years in Austin and travelled a few times to Houston.

Traffic - no comparison. Utah's infrastructure is pretty good for a city this size. No real traffic problems to speak of...not compared to Houston, Dallas, Austin, etc...

Weather - no comparison. I like the 4 seasons, and you get them all in Utah. In Texas, we had 4 seasons, but they were all summer!

Cost of living - it's more expensive here. Housing is much more expensive (home prices, not necessarily rent), however the property taxes are MUCH lower here than in Texas so it offsets some of the increased mortgage cost. Gas is more expensive here and it seems, to me anyway, that food is a more expensive as well. But not prohibitively so.

Teaching - my wife is a teacher so I've got some insight in this. Teachers make more here than they do in Texas. Not necessarily initially, but if you look at the pay scales for teachers across districts, the longer you teach, the more money you'll make here in Utah over a career...the first years may not seem like it, but do the math. Benefits in Utah are much better than many of the districts in Texas as well (stronger union here helps with that). Also, the retirement system in Utah is much better than in Texas...the Texas teacher's retirement system stinks.

For what it's worth, it's a no-brainer. SLC is a major city with great amenities, in a beautiful locale, and a bargin in comparison to many other large western cities. Come on up!