I Could Use Some Advice. Planning a Move to Utah. (West Jordan: low income, sales)

[vicarious987]

I am planning on moving to Utah within the next four months. I am 20 years old, and no I'm not mormon. I'll be 21 in November. I will attend SLCC during the spring semester. I currently live in South Dakota and it is downright depressing. The population of my town is 3,000 people. There's NOTHING here at all. I have been to Utah (West Jordan mainly) four different times and I love it there. The scenery is quite elegant, aside from the dead grass I see everywhere. The people seem extremely relaxed and just all around friendly, which is unlike the area I've grown up in. My girlfriend of three years also moved back home to Utah six months ago and it is torture living here without her. All of this is my reason for moving to Utah.

Now, I do have some questions about moving there. First things first, how much should I save before moving? The cost of living in South Dakota is almost nothing compared to Utah. The housing there is outrageous, in my opinion. I've seen some apartments that are 800-1400 a month! 1400 a month would get you a mansion around here. Are there any apartments available for 300-400 a month? I have seen some studio apartments for 510+, but I would like the rent to be a bit lower if that's possible. If it can't be done, I'll have to deal with it.

I do have a job so I can save my own money, which brings up my next question, how is the job market in the SLC area? I have a total of a year and a half of telemarketing/sales experience. I have read that it is relatively easy to get into a call center there. Is that true?

Any other advice you could give would be much appreciated. Thank you all in advance!

[irman]

Do not give up your job there, until the last minute.
Take a week off, and get here, and instead of spending every minute with your loved one, find work and look for a place to live.

[vicarious987]

Originally Posted by irman

Do not give up your job there, until the last minute.
Take a week off, and get here, and instead of spending every minute with your loved one, find work and look for a place to live.

I don't plan on quitting my job until I am ready to move there. I just need to get a rough estimate of how much I'll need to save in order to move there, as well as how the job market looks. If there's cheap (300-400) apartments available that would be a huge help. I would prefer to have an apartment lined up before I move there.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

I think the cheapest semi-decent apt will run $600+ but that may be low. Renting a room can be done at $400, usually in an OK area, sharing the house. Get the job lined up first and rent close to it to save on gas or bus fare.

[vicarious987]

Originally Posted by SouthernBelleInUtah

I think the cheapest semi-decent apt will run $600+ but that may be low. Renting a room can be done at $400, usually in an OK area, sharing the house. Get the job lined up first and rent close to it to save on gas or bus fare.

Is there any income-based, or low income, apartments in Utah? I honestly don't have any idea on how to get a job when I am 2-3 states away. I've done research on how to obtain a job states away but I simply don't have a degree in anything, which is what is needed in order to grab a job out of state according to my reading. I only have telemarketing/sales experience (1.5 years worth). That's why I have to save money, obviously.

[mlb]

Telemarketing jobs are here but they do not pay a living wage. Sales jobs are pretty much commission only (slavery/poverty) so securing one of those is not really a sign of success.

[vicarious987]

Originally Posted by mlb

Telemarketing jobs are here but they do not pay a living wage. Sales jobs are pretty much commission only (slavery/poverty) so securing one of those is not really a sign of success.

I don't need to make a living really because I'll be using student loans and grants to cover the cost of tuition, housing, food, books, etc. I would like a job though so I can at least pay the interest on the loans while attending school, as well as save money for anything that may arise unexpectedly.

[organo]

It's all a matter of taste. If you want to live in a nice 3-bedroom apartment, be prepared to pay $1,200 per month just abouit anywhere. For student type housing, $600 bucks should get you into a small place near a university/SLCC. If you're attending the SLCC in West Jordan, then $500-$1,000 should get you an ok place to live. If you don't need to get a job here, that's a good thing. Most jobs are $8-$10 hourly and GOOD jobs are rarely advertised as word-of-mouth gets them before it hits the marketplace.

For the majority of people in Utah, life is lived from paycheck to paycheck and many people have to get 2-3 jobs to make ends meet. When jobs are available. You can probably make more money waiting on tables than most hourly jobs. IF you don't skiing, winters can be depressing if you have to commute to and from work. Salt Lake is generally a safe place to live. The economy is moderate to weak. People are generally nice for short-term intereactions and most people keep to themselves. There is level of bad drivers on the road too. As far as being Mormon that shouldn't make any difference. Nobody cares whether you're Mormon or not.

[skibarbie]

Sooo, how long does SLCC require you to be here in order to get in state tuition? Do you really want to have a huge amount of student loan debt when you are done with your education?
I have a dear friend in South Dakota that thinks our cost of living is cheap compared to his so do your "research" again before you decide to head West.
Most of us on SLC CD forum feel that the wages do not keep pace with the cost of living here so you may want to keep that in mind also.
Can you and your girlfriend move in together in order to pool your resources?
If you really feel that you can't afford 1K a month to live here, you should talk your sweetie into moving back...