A recent Inside Voices poll asked if Utah is the best place to start or raise your family. A “starter” home is half a million dollars. How are you supposed to make ends meet while providing a place for a family to live?
My husband and I have two kids. We purchased a townhome, the only thing we could afford. We have zero other debts. We own our vehicles. We have no student loans and no medical debt. We dip into savings every pay period just to make ends meet. We have cheap cellphones and cheap cellphone plans. We rarely eat out, we don’t ever go on vacation and we thrift our clothing. We have never used Instacart, DoorDash or Walmart Delivery.
This is the fourth property we have owned. We moved to Utah from out of state for a job that has been less than what was promised. Yet we are stuck in a “first time homeowner” situation here. Tiny living accommodations, no yard, nowhere for kids to be kids outside. Yes, there are beautiful parks, lots of cool experiences nearby (Hogle Zoo, Aquarium, Thanksgiving Point, dance, tumbling, sports, gyms) but we never go because we can’t afford to on a single income.
Families need room to breathe, kids need to go outside, gardens to plant, dirt hills to build. But we are stuck in these ugly cookie cutter/copy paste homes with postage stamp yards.
Sadie Huntsman, Payson