Terrible Wages Temple TX (Houston, Dallas: crime, credit, home builders)

[codiec]

I am credit/collections professional who has been in the work for over 30 years. I moved to Temple, TX to be closer to family from Northern NJ. I knew wages would not be anywhere near what they are back east, and never dreamed they would be at poverty level. Although I am currently employed, it is at a wage that is less than half. It is appalling. This is a place that is great if you are a healthcare professional, truck driver or construction worker. I have looked at Austin; however, there is no adequate public transportation from this area. No bus service and no trains; you must drive 40 miles to get to a park and ride. I am amazed at the amount of road construction; why do they not invest in pubic transportation? Temple is a centrally located area. 2 hours to Dallas, 1 Hour to Austin, 3 to Houston and so on. Do they not have any idea of the amount of money that could be brought to this area it they offered such opportunity? Higher wages mean more money to the local economy. It could be a great bedroom community with a little vision. I would invite your comments if you live in and around the area and would like to hear your story on how you found a decent paying position.

[hoffdano]

Your post is just a rant.

The wages are simply a reflection of the economics of Temple. Just who do you propose instigate these higher wages? How can a company that hires people like you increase wages if they don't have the business to support higher wages? Raise prices for their customers?

So in your mind increasing wages is the key for Temple to grow? Raise your pay and Temple will blossom? If all credit professionals (how many in Temple?) had more money, they'll spend more on their homes? And home builders will flourish, bringing all kinds of growth? You'll buy more stuff? Is that how you see it working?

Temple is just a medium small city, with just 70,000 people. It doesn't have a big economic foundation. That won't materialize by raising the wages of a few people. Temple will grow if Scott-White grows and McLane grows.

[TexasHorseLady]

Here's what I'm seeing from your rant - you never left New Jersey. You somehow thought that (a) the way New Jersey is and does things is the way things should be everywhere and (b) that Texas, and in particular Temple, would be just like New Jersey but with family nearby.

So, here's reality: you have moved away from New Jersey physically (but apparently not in your mind). You are now in Texas, with its booming economy and its different way of doing things, and it's nothing like New Jersey because it doesn't need to be and shouldn't be.

You have two (no, three) choices:

1) Move back to New Jersey which is apparently heaven for you, which is fine and as it should be - everyone should be so lucky as to think where they're from is heaven. Most Texans do (though they're rarely so ill-mannered as to insist that where they've moved to or traveled to out of state should do it just the way we do it here).

2) Stay in Texas and be miserable because it's not just like New Jersey and no one seems interested in making it so.

3) Actually MOVE to Texas from New Jersey in your mind, learn to appreciate what is here, learn WHY doing things the way we do/have done them has resulted in such a booming economy and the reasons why things are done the way they are here, and look for the things in Texas that you enjoy that you wouldn't find in New Jersey.

Oh, and just a word of warning: Austin isn't New Jersey, either, nor is Houston or Dallas or pretty much anywhere in Texas. Or likely in most of the other states that aren't in the Northeast. Probably a lot of the ones that ARE in the Northeast aren't New Jersey, either.

I wish you luck and happiness whatever choice you make (I don't recommend choice #2, nor do I recommend your apparent "this is how things should be done here in Texas" attitude if you're in an interview or social situation - that's not how we do things here, either).

[G Grasshopper]

I understand your frustration. Moving can be difficult, especially when you are moving to a new and different culture. But didn't you know what your salary would be before you moved? If you moved without securing a job, didn't you research jobs and wages in Temple before you made the move? This should have been a major component in you decision to relocate. If you did not do that research, and find yourself living in a place that will not fit your desired lifestyle, then yes, you might have to move back. If you don't want to do that, then you may need to change jobs, lifestyle and/or the way you think about your new home. I'm sure everything in Temple is different from New Jersey. Hopefully, you have not been complaining and comparing to the Texans around you, as this will not help in your adjustment. (That isn't just Texas; NO ONE likes their home to be bad mouthed.) My best advice is to look at how people in Temple live. Make connections, ask about what they like about Temple, and consider those things with an open mind. And maybe look for a new job.

[scm53]

One of the factors that depresses wages in the Temple/Belton/Killeen area is 262,000 Army family members/retirees in the area. Abundant supply (bodies) / stagnant demand (jobs, especially office jobs) = low wages. Not gonna change.

[robertsacamano]

Did you do any research? Sounds like that's on you for your lack of due diligence.

[MiaMia411]

You should make a trip to Houston or Dallas, better wages and actually built up.

[austin-steve]

Originally Posted by codiec

I am credit/collections professional who has been in the work for over 30 years. I moved to Temple, TX to be closer to family from Northern NJ. I knew wages would not be anywhere near what they are back east, and never dreamed they would be at poverty level. Although I am currently employed, it is at a wage that is less than half. It is appalling. This is a place that is great if you are a healthcare professional, truck driver or construction worker. I have looked at Austin; however, there is no adequate public transportation from this area. No bus service and no trains; you must drive 40 miles to get to a park and ride. I am amazed at the amount of road construction; why do they not invest in pubic transportation? Temple is a centrally located area. 2 hours to Dallas, 1 Hour to Austin, 3 to Houston and so on. Do they not have any idea of the amount of money that could be brought to this area it they offered such opportunity? Higher wages mean more money to the local economy. It could be a great bedroom community with a little vision. I would invite your comments if you live in and around the area and would like to hear your story on how you found a decent paying position.

Not to pile on, but ... seriously?

In short, your complaint is about yourself. That you're not worth more as an employee in the market place to which you have chosen to relocate. That your chosen new home doesn't meet your expectations. There is nothing you have discovered, noticed or ranted about that could not have been ascertained in advance of your decision to relocate, so I don't understand the surprise, or why you take umbrage with what is a typical small Texas town fairly removed from larger metro areas.

Most certainly, the cost of living and quality of life is much better in Temple TX than in New Jersey. I travelled through the Newark airport last week to and from NYC. The experience left me scarred for life. No joke. Worst airport and cab I've ever encountered in my entire life, bar none, and with 100s of trip. If that was the taste of the New Jersey "good life" for which you now pine, then it's assured that Temple will never descend into the putrid norms of NJ, and you will never find the happiness you found in the NJ environs.

Try to assimilate and keep an open mind. You're better off. Really you are. You just haven't realized it yet.

Steve

[JoninATX]

I hope Temple never become New Jersey, no offense but New Jersey has some serious crime issues. Also as much as I rant about Temple sometimes in which I have a love/hate relationship, but still is ALOT better than what I experience.

[riaelise]

Ok, while this guy's post is off base, not all of New Jersey is Newark, which is notoriously high-crime. Come on, people. How can you sum up an entire region ("Northern NJ") by your limited experience in a crime ridden city? You mind as well judge all of Texas by the Fifth Ward! Seriously!

Northern NJ has some very nice, obscenely expensive areas (Edgewater, Hoboken for starters). Maybe since I actually come from the Tri State area and don't just drive through, I know that the same county that contains Newark also contains Maplewood and Short Hills, both pretty affluent areas. Go visit them the next time you think to use the word "putrid" and think that Temple makes him better off.

As for you, OP, I gave up $15k moving here. It is what it is, the cost of living is less and you make less. It's worth it in the long run - I make just as much take home money as my northeastern brethren. I don't miss the State and City of New York dipping into my pockets. Public transportation is abysmal, there is no PATH or NJ Transit, sorry. You should have known all of this before you moved. I gave up the subway. But it isn't all gloom and doom. I agree with Steve, open your mind and remember the original reason(s) why you moved here - to be with family.