Young Teacher and her Grad Student Fiancee moving to SLC...on a budget (Salt Lake City: apartments)

[mixie]

My fiancee will be attending University of Utah for Graduate school in the Fall. I am an elementary school art teacher. Or at least, I am a certified elementary school art teacher. I am in the process of getting my Utah state license so I can teach. With my fiancee's tiny stipend and my teacher's salary, thats not much of a dual-income. So I have a few questions:

What is the apartment market like for a grad school, 1-car couple? I know there is an area called "The Avenues" and that that is a good spot for student apartments, budget-wise. I also heard they are mainly converted mansions, so they have a lot of awkward, retro-fitted renovations to make them apartments. Is this true?

What is the teachers' job market like?

Is Utah cutting their art programs like most states, or are they trying thier best to keep them?

Is it going to be easy to keep cost of living down with proper budgeting, or will we be "Broke-lahoma"?

If I REALLY can't get a teaching job, what are the art communities like? Could I teach classes at a museum or art annex?

On the subject of the LDS thing, we are not mormon, but I I have read the posts about people being tired of all the "non-LDS, how will I avoid/survive the mormons??" posts, so I'll spare you....But really, is it unbearable? If I cried "Prop 8 is BALONEY!" in the middle of town, would I be assaulted by a mob? Or is it a pretty "you do your thing, I'll do mine" kind of crowd?

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions!

[Katzpur]

Originally Posted by mixie

My fiancee will be attending University of Utah for Graduate school in the Fall. I am an elementary school art teacher. Or at least, I am a certified elementary school art teacher. I am in the process of getting my Utah state license so I can teach. With my fiancee's tiny stipend and my teacher's salary, thats not much of a dual-income. So I have a few questions:

What is the apartment market like for a grad school, 1-car couple? I know there is an area called "The Avenues" and that that is a good spot for student apartments, budget-wise. I also heard they are mainly converted mansions, so they have a lot of awkward, retro-fitted renovations to make them apartments. Is this true?

What is the teachers' job market like?

Is Utah cutting their art programs like most states, or are they trying thier best to keep them?

Is it going to be easy to keep cost of living down with proper budgeting, or will we be "Broke-lahoma"?

If I REALLY can't get a teaching job, what are the art communities like? Could I teach classes at a museum or art annex?

I'm going to bypass these questions. I'm afraid I really wouldn't be able to give you any really accurate information.

On the subject of the LDS thing, we are not mormon, but I I have read the posts about people being tired of all the "non-LDS, how will I avoid/survive the mormons??" posts, so I'll spare you....But really, is it unbearable?

I really, really hope it won't be. Judging from the comments most non-LDS on this forum make, we LDS are really pretty easy to get along with.

If I cried "Prop 8 is BALONEY!" in the middle of town, would I be assaulted by a mob?

Uh... Well... Right in the middle of town? Seriously, we're not even all on the same side of that hot issue.

Or is it a pretty "you do your thing, I'll do mine" kind of crowd?

For the most part, yes.

[MrAnderson]

Originally Posted by mixie

What is the apartment market like for a grad school, 1-car couple? I know there is an area called "The Avenues" and that that is a good spot for student apartments, budget-wise. I also heard they are mainly converted mansions, so they have a lot of awkward, retro-fitted renovations to make them apartments. Is this true?

The U is in an area known as the 'Foothills' and there's numerous apartments complexes in the area that are great. The Avenues are nice as well and close, and so is most of rest of Salt Lake City for that matter.

On the subject of the LDS thing, we are not mormon, but I I have read the posts about people being tired of all the "non-LDS, how will I avoid/survive the mormons??" posts, so I'll spare you....But really, is it unbearable? If I cried "Prop 8 is BALONEY!" in the middle of town, would I be assaulted by a mob?

If you read all of those posts as you said, then you would have noticed almost every response revolved around people saying Salt Lake City was quite liberal. Now if you yelled that out in town, people would probably think you were a little odd for yelling things out loud in the middle of town

[lisamikefoster]

Yikes!

Not about the LDS stuff, but about the teaching stuff! The education systems here in Utah are in a budget crisis, like most of the rest of the country. They are dealing with significant budget shortfalls, which in some districts includes laying off contracted (to read - teachers) employees. And other districts are in a hiring freeze. Given the economy, a lot of teachers who would have opted to retire are re-thinking retirement and sticking it out for a few more years....significantly reducing any openings that in the past would have been routine.

To make matters worse, allied subjects like art, music and PE are in the crosshairs for budget cuts...so the need for new art teachers at the elementary level may be pretty slim.

I hate to paint an oppressively dark picture of the employment outlook here in SLC for new teachers..as there will be a few jobs here and there...but it's always better to know the situation you are walking into....

As for the LDS / Utah thing...if you are living around the U of U, Foothill Blvd, Avenues, etc...it's not an issue (personally, I don't think it's much of an issue in the burbs either)..you'll be fine. Plenty of like minded people out there, and a lot of them will be LDS too...we don't all think alike!

[mixie]

Originally Posted by lisamikefoster

Yikes!

Not about the LDS stuff, but about the teaching stuff! The education systems here in Utah are in a budget crisis, like most of the rest of the country.

I KNOW!! It is possibly the WORST time to become a teacher. But what can I say, it is my passion.

I did a little job hunting and there are a few postings in the surrounding towns. Let me pose this question: How terrible/impossible would it be to commute to:
-Syracuse
-Sandy
or
-American Fork
?

That happens to be where the elementary art jobs are that I looked at. Not that I may actually be able to get them. Apparently the Utah teacher licensing doesnt have a way to equivocate my license from Massachusetts! We'll see how that goes.

Does anyone have a teaching license with a specialty "Endorsement"? I don't entirely know how that works. I'm in contact with the certification people are we're trying to figure it out. I was just wondering if anyone out there HAD one that I could talk to

[skibarbie]

Sandy would not be to hard-going against traffic both ways. I met someone in the same situation as you last weekend. They are coming from Michigan and she was having problems getting an interview until she had her Utah Teacher Certificate in hand. I have no idea what that entails but maybe check it out before you get here. Good luck and I know you all will love it here...

[MrAnderson]

Though the education sector may look bad right now, Utah is also home to the highest birthrate (by far) in the nation. So there's always more and more children that will need educating.

[lisamikefoster]

Originally Posted by mixie

I KNOW!! It is possibly the WORST time to become a teacher. But what can I say, it is my passion.

I did a little job hunting and there are a few postings in the surrounding towns. Let me pose this question: How terrible/impossible would it be to commute to:
-Syracuse
-Sandy
or
-American Fork
?

That happens to be where the elementary art jobs are that I looked at. Not that I may actually be able to get them. Apparently the Utah teacher licensing doesnt have a way to equivocate my license from Massachusetts! We'll see how that goes.

Does anyone have a teaching license with a specialty "Endorsement"? I don't entirely know how that works. I'm in contact with the certification people are we're trying to figure it out. I was just wondering if anyone out there HAD one that I could talk to

_________________________

those aren't bad commutes, particularly since you'll be doing the reverse commute to any of those areas, so it's do-able and would be pretty easy actually.

Don't sweat the Mass - Utah reciprocity thing. They'll usually give you a temporary license and you'll have a certain amount of time to get your Utah license.

Good luck with the relocation!!!!!

[MrAnderson]

If you're living in SLC proper, the commute to Syracuse and American Fork could take a while, possibly up to an hour depending on traffic. Sandy is nearby - maybe 20 minutes.