SLC: wages, upward mobility, and dating (Ogden, Clearfield: new home, unemployed, construction)
Salt Lake City areaSalt Lake County - Davis County - Weber County
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I think that moving forward in a company in Utah is more difficult if you are not LDS and I definitely think that there is an underlying discrimination against people who aren't LDS in the workplace. People seem to wonder about you if you aren't married with kids by a certain age. At 26, I think you still have time and hopefully wouldn't experience this. Yet, keep in mind, that people marry very young in Utah--so 26 in Salt Lake isn't all that young relative to other cities.
I think that moving forward in a company in Utah is more difficult if you are not LDS and I definitely think that there is an underlying discrimination against people who aren't LDS in the workplace. People seem to wonder about you if you aren't married with kids by a certain age. At 26, I think you still have time and hopefully wouldn't experience this. Yet, keep in mind, that people marry very young in Utah--so 26 in Salt Lake isn't all that young relative to other cities.
Also, wages are lower. No doubt about it.
Oh Boy......
Janey, your post combined with others I have been reading lately are painting a fairly gim picture for SLC. I am not saying the elements you and others state are not true or do not exist, but the scales are presently tipping to the minus side lately here.
Cons...
A. Air pollution year round (though it was just the winter, but the moderator no less posted a thread for a "Red Alert" air quality and dry conditions warning right here in the summer.
B. Low Wages
C. Discrimination against the Non-LDS
D. Discrimination against people based on marital and familial status and age
C. Uncertain Real Estate Market (drawback for some, opportunity for others)
D. Population increasing faster than job opportunity, influx of new residents combined with youth not venturing out for job opportunities.
Pros...
A. Hiking
B. Mountain Biking
C. Skiing
So presently, you have to REALLY LIKE Hiking, Mountain Biking, and Skiing.
The mood and tone of the boards could change over time of course.
Last edited by ShouldIMoveOrStayPut...?; 07-17-2010 at 07:26 PM..
Reason: Forgot Age In The Discrimination Category
Janey, your post combined with others I have been reading lately are painting a fairly gim picture for SLC. I am not saying the elements you and others state are not true or do not exist, but the scales are presently tipping to the minus side lately here.
Cons...
A. Air pollution year round (though it was just the winter, but the moderator no less posted a thread for a "Red Alert" air quality and dry conditions warning right here in the summer.
B. Low Wages
C. Discrimination against the Non-LDS
D. Discrimination against people based on marital and familial status and age
C. Uncertain Real Estate Market (drawback for some, opportunity for others)
D. Population increasing faster than job opportunity, influx of new residents combined with youth not venturing out for job opportunities.
Pros...
A. Hiking
B. Mountain Biking
C. Skiing
So presently, you have to REALLY LIKE Hiking, Mountain Biking, and Skiing.
The mood and tone of the boards could change over time of course.
Just calling it like I see it. Salt Lake is a beautiful place, but not without its issues. I can only speak to my own experience. It was tough being a career-oriented, unmarried female working in the private sector in Utah. Some of you are familiar with my story.
I now live in another city with a comparable cost of living and I am earning twice as much with a similar title--literally double what I was making in Salt Lake. I miss the mountains, but it is worth the six figures--and I can guarantee you that I would never be making this much in Utah, even many years down the road. And, more importantly, there is absolutely zero religious tension. In Salt Lake, everyone in my office knew exactly who was and who wasn't Mormon. Here, no one cares. I love that.
Anyway, like I said, just calling it like I see it.
Just calling it like I see it. Salt Lake is a beautiful place, but not without its issues. I can only speak to my own experience. It was tough being a career-oriented, unmarried female working in the private sector in Utah. Some of you are familiar with my story.
I now live in another city with a comparable cost of living and I am earning twice as much with a similar title--literally double what I was making in Salt Lake. I miss the mountains, but it is worth the six figures--and I can guarantee you that I would never be making this much in Utah, even many years down the road. And, more importantly, there is absolutely zero religious tension. In Salt Lake, everyone in my office knew exactly who was and who wasn't Mormon. Here, no one cares. I love that.
Anyway, like I said, just calling it like I see it.
Might I ask where you are now?
I am basically trying to decide between UT and CO (NM was an option but the wages are just too low). It's a very difficult decision!
I am basically trying to decide between UT and CO (NM was an option but the wages are just too low). It's a very difficult decision!
I took a position in an urban area in the Southeast. The area I live in is similar to Salt Lake in terms of cost of living--but honestly, my money goes a lot further here. One thing that I always thought was crazy in Salt Lake was the price of homes. It seems that even in the current state of the housing market, tiny homes in decent neighborhoods cost a lot more than salaries there would suggest. I have a friend that is trying to buy a 2500 sq ft home in the Foothill area of Salt Lake. It is old and it needs a ton of updating, but the owner started out at $430k--he is now asking $375k. It is worth about half of that, in my opinion.
I'd say have a look at a salary calculator, but I don't know how accurate they really are. For example, you mention the salaries being so low in NM. I assume that Salt Lake isn't so far off. We hired a few marketing specialists in my company in Salt Lake and started them all out at $32k/year. I also did some consulting for another company in SLC and learned that their marketing people were all earning between $28k and $45k. I have one good friend who is a senior accountant with a large financial services firm and he earns $47k/year. Another friend is a marketing director in the private sector and he earns $50k/year. I don't mean to paint a dismal picture here, but I can't tell you how happy I am living elsewhere and pulling in what I used to think was far out of my reach in Salt Lake--yet everything costs so much less here.
As others have noted, however, I think Salt Lake is worth it if you are either Mormon or are totally into the outdoor recreation scene. If either of those things interest you, I'm sure it would be worth earning less and paying more for life.
I took a position in an urban area in the Southeast. The area I live in is similar to Salt Lake in terms of cost of living--but honestly, my money goes a lot further here. One thing that I always thought was crazy in Salt Lake was the price of homes. It seems that even in the current state of the housing market, tiny homes in decent neighborhoods cost a lot more than salaries there would suggest. I have a friend that is trying to buy a 2500 sq ft home in the Foothill area of Salt Lake. It is old and it needs a ton of updating, but the owner started out at $430k--he is now asking $375k. It is worth about half of that, in my opinion.
I'd say have a look at a salary calculator, but I don't know how accurate they really are. For example, you mention the salaries being so low in NM. I assume that Salt Lake isn't so far off. We hired a few marketing specialists in my company in Salt Lake and started them all out at $32k/year. I also did some consulting for another company in SLC and learned that their marketing people were all earning between $28k and $45k. I have one good friend who is a senior accountant with a large financial services firm and he earns $47k/year. Another friend is a marketing director in the private sector and he earns $50k/year. I don't mean to paint a dismal picture here, but I can't tell you how happy I am living elsewhere and pulling in what I used to think was far out of my reach in Salt Lake--yet everything costs so much less here.
As others have noted, however, I think Salt Lake is worth it if you are either Mormon or are totally into the outdoor recreation scene. If either of those things interest you, I'm sure it would be worth earning less and paying more for life.
Unfortunately I simply cannot abide the heat and moisture of the Southeast.
I too have noticed that home prices are kind of elevated for the wages there. I'm guessing the large families, influx of newcomers, and limited valley space conspire for higher prices.
The salary calculators are somewhat worthless. From what I've seen, UT has the opportunity to pay more than NM, which is a high poverty state. The salaries you give here...well, I consider them pretty dismal given "senior" and "director" in the titles.
I'm not LDS and not completely sure I'd be willing to give up this much just for the outdoors (which I do love).
Thanks for your candor and the granularity of your response. This is most helpful!
Frankly unless you are prepared to live in what I would consider to be a security compromised area (not going to open that can of worms here as it's already been discussed to death elsewhere) as in areas of the city where you are more at risk of crime, you won't find the housing to be what I would consider terribly reasonable. Unless of course you're earning more than say $40,000+ a year with NO kids. I used to travel for a living from Ohio to the West Coast and also lived in Illinois, Wisconsin, California and Oregon. Believe me Utah is no longer the bargain it once was. As for prejudice in hiring practices I really don't think you'll run into this unless the company you're trying to work for is a privately held company (by a LDS) and your qualifications are just average instead of exceptional. If you are well qualified for the work and have some exceptional performance to illustrate even they will typically look past that. As for the air pollution, while its not LA it ain't that great either. Between auto and industrial pollutants it goes from not great to horrible pretty quick depending on the weather. I just wish they'd install a huge fan system on the West side to blow all the crud elsewhere when it starts to accumulate. While they are at it compile a list of all known gang members, get the swat teams to take them out and we just might have a chance at lowering our crime as well as increasing the safety of our communities at risk. Oh well...there's my perfect world again
Frankly unless you are prepared to live in what I would consider to be a security compromised area (not going to open that can of worms here as it's already been discussed to death elsewhere) as in areas of the city where you are more at risk of crime, you won't find the housing to be what I would consider terribly reasonable.
This is really relative depending on where you're coming from. I kind of have to laugh at the genuine concern over gang activity in Utah, coming from the inner-city in Massachusetts. The entire SLC metro area felt pretty safe to me in comparison.
Crime is everywhere, but if you look at the stats, the SLC metro area is doing well on the crime index.
The wages for the private sector are fairly dismal in my opinion. I am a federal employee, so moving here last year, I make the same amount (Utah and where I moved from are both lumped into a category called "rest of the US" so there is no adjustment for the cost of living differences) There is however about a 10% increase in the cost of living here than where I came from. You coming from MA however, would see a significant decrease I assume. This wouldn't be a huge problem, except now my paycheck doesn't go as far plus my SO makes roughly 10,000 less doing the same job for the same company here than where we're from, so combined it is a bit of an issue. The "quality of life" factor does play a role. There are many great outdoorsy things to do here. SO loves to ski and was so excited when he found out we were coming here, however due to money issues and lack of time he hardly got to enjoy skiing at all, so quality of life activities are relative to weather or not one can afford to partake. OTOH, there are activities such as hiking and biking that cost really nothing and there are plenty of trails all over the Wasatch Front to enjoy. I cannot comment too much on the dating scene because I am in a relationship, but I have heard complaints (even from LDS members) about the dating scene here. I would think that Salt Lake City would have the most potential for dating around here. I'm not sure what line of work you're in, but I would have a commitment from a company or serious prospects lined up before you move. My SO has been looking for a different job closer to our home (he drives an hour one way) that pays a little better for about 9 months with no luck. If you are in healthcare or education however you will probably have better luck finding work as those are the only two job categories (as of May 2010) that were experiencing any kind of growth in the state. Every other industry was significantly down.
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