How can anyone afford to move back to Utah? (Logan: real estate, for rent)

[carlymac]

I'm very curious. We moved away from Utah many years ago and have been trying to move back for about 5 years now. We've been looking and interviewing but haven't come up with any viable way to survive in our home state anymore. It makes us so frustrated.

So my questions for all of you who are moving to Utah are:

1- Where are you moving from?
2- Is housing more or less in Utah than where you're coming from?
3- What is your income range? (You can be very general if you're inclined to answer this question.)
4- What kind of job (what career or type of work) is bringing you to Utah?

My husband graduated from law school 18 yrs ago. He worked in law for 5 yrs, switched to technology commercialization for a few years in Logan. Then we moved out of state to work for an extremely reputable and well known company. We feel like we've been away long enough and want our children to know their relatives better now. But he keeps getting told by companies in Utah that he interviews with that he doesn't have enough experience for decent paying jobs, or he has too much experience for the lower paying jobs.

So do tell me please, what does it take to get a job in Utah? Who is hiring middle management people with law and business experience? Who is offering salaries that allow you to buy one of the thousands of homes on the market? We sold our 6 bedroom, 3200 sq. ft home almost 9 yrs ago. There is no way now to afford that big of a home in Utah without a huge salary increase- which no one is offering. ( Our family size increased while we've been away, too, so we need that big of a home more now than before.) Unfortunately we came to the midwest and the home we bought here has only increased in value by about 10%. Our home in Utah has probably doubled in value.

Are we just out of luck? We keep hearing about the great economy and abundance of good jobs in Utah. So where they?

[SergeantL]

I moved from California

Housing, and especially property, is much less in Utah in comparison to California.

My income range is in excess of 100K a year; however, I have a California pension, which is supplemented by part-time teaching and consulting.

I am retired law enforcement with a graduate degree in public administration. I am a consultant to emergency services providers related to communications systems development. I also teach a wide range of emergency services and public administration topics.

I came to Utah for two reasons:

A—for cheap property that was out of the way

B—to goof off for the rest of my life

I did real well on part A. I have found I am not doing so well on part B and may need to declare I am a failure.

Now, as far as your particular situation is concerned, if your husband hasn’t already done so, I suggest he pass the Utah Bar and hang a shingle in some are of law in which he is interested. Based on what you have written, I would think he would do very well specializing in contract law.

[coolcats]

1) Washington DC
2) At the time, housing was about 1/3rd the cost. Now the DC market has declined, while Utah's went up. Still a lot cheaper here.
3) More than 50k, less than 70k. About 10% less than in Washington DC, but in spending power, about 50% more.
4) I had a government job, but sort of moved out here on faith. Ended up on the other side managing a private company's contracts with the Federal govt.

[carlymac]

My husband is a member of the Utah Bar. He has kept his membership up all this time we've been gone (paying fees and whatever else he's had to do.) I've suggested the same thing to him (going back to law full time) but starting his own business right now is too scary financially and he hasn't found a law firm that would take him after not practicing actual law for so many years.

So for those of you who have relocated to Utah, did it seem like there was a lot of competition for jobs?

I'm suspicious that nowdays it's taking two incomes to support a whole family moving to Utah. I suppose I could go back to work (I have a nursing degree) but would rather not with two pre-schoolers still home all day. If I had to, maybe a move back wouldn't be worth it.

[snowflake73]

I'm a court reporter here, for three years. From what I hear from my attorney neighbor across the street it's not that good here. It's not good for me here either. So I'm leaving in June to go back where it's lucrative. I cannot afford to live here anymore. The legal business is very slow here and low pay and cheap attorneys. My advice, don't move here if you want to make a nice living.

[smithmi]

I moved from Utah to Missouri because land and housing is soooo expensive in Utah. I have 80 acres here and looking at Utah (Utah County area) I can not even find one acre for a reasonable price. Utah land prices have gone out of sight.

[Aerorick]

Land and home prices still seem to priced as if you can still get a loan with no down of income verification. I think when the smoke clears and folks realize it ain't going to happen prices will reflect that. As far as income in Utah is concerned, I doubt it is much differant from when you all left.
I too had hoped to be able to goof-off on our 20 acres of sagebrush clearing out a go-kart track for kids and a "poor-mans" driving range for me. But I'm returning to the work world by commuting to Vegas and starting at the bottom of the aircraft mechanic scale with a differant airline than I retired from. Turns out the darn golf ball retriever tractors are much more than I thought.

[momof2penguins]

1- Where are you moving from? We moved from Wyoming, where the cost of living is skyrocketing due to the energy boom.
2- Is housing more or less in Utah than where you're coming from? Less, I've seen houses for rent in the paper here for like $500 a month, but I don't live in one of Utah's larger cities.
3- What is your income range? (You can be very general if you're inclined to answer this question.)$75,000-$100,000
4- What kind of job (what career or type of work) is bringing you to Utah?
I'm a stay at home mom, my husband is a coal miner. He does automation and electrical stuff for them.

[Utah_Mountain_Man]

Home prices in Utah have skyrocketed in recent years! You'll be in for a shock. My house has tripled in value in the last 10 years or so.

Jobs seem to be plentiful. I don't know about your husband's individual circumstances but the economy has been very good here lately---currently ranked #1 in the USA! Try looking in the Wasatch Front area, that's where most of the businesses are located. Utah is a hotbed for technology firms, especially the Utah County area.

Good luck!

[carlymac]

We've been watching housing out there for 6 yrs and we're sick about it. I looked in the 84108 area this morning on a real estate site. (The area we both grew up in.) Outrageous! Everyone says the prices are going to go down but I don't see any sign of it yet. ANd I'm afraid all the jobs available are entry level-not much in the higher paying professional careers. My husband isn't a scientist. More into the business development and marketing of biotechnologies. We've seen about 3 jobs/year in this area since 2004. As I said before, he's either over-qualified or under. Just can't seem to find the right match. Sigh! We'd love to get back "home" but it seems impossible right now.

In the mean time, housing just seems to still be going up.