I finished student teaching in December. Teaching is one of the jobs that you are ALWAYS supposed to be able to find a job (you know, teacher shortage and all that?). Well, the day I graduated there were thirty posting in all fifty states. No one was hiring. I was not the only one with this problem. I've had several friends graduate with "useless" degrees and mounting student loan debt. I had a friend whose fiance walked out of her, her daughter and their mortgage seven months into the relationship. She stayed at home with her daughter, watching other children in their home. Now, she's facing foreclosure and will lose not only her home, but her career.
Fortunately for me, I found a long term substitute position. Unfortunately, it's in a school district that is talking about closing an elementary school. If that happens, they have to place those teachers into schools, according to seniority. That means, I'm out. That means the newlywed, recent college grad who teaching across from me is out, even though she has a contract. That means teachers are going to be forced to quit or retire or leave their coaching positions to go back into the classroom. Teachers are facing pay cuts, on the large side. And this is not the only district facing these problems. It's statewide. Heck, it's nationwide.
I have no idea what I will do in the fall. I'm looking at having to go to another COUNTRY to teach. Not county. Not state. Country. That means leaving my family. Leaving my friends. Missing important children in my life grow up. Losing time with my father who was diagnosed with cancer a year ago.
Something needs to change. It would be one thing if I had an opportunity to go 500 miles away and find a job. But, thousands of miles? That's not reasonable for anyone. Worrying about the economy should not be the biggest concern for a 23 year old college graduate. It should not be the biggest concern for the kid graduating high school with no idea of how they are going to fund their college, but knowing that finding a job, any job is going to be difficult with or with a degree.
Anonymous
Northern Nevada
Showing posts with label Nevada. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nevada. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Portrait: Las Vegas, Nevada
My home, Las Vegas----The city of lights; the city that for better or worse is built on wild living and extreme spending! Our city thrives when the people of this nation thrive as they flock here by the thousands, it is the countries playground. Yet when the country starts to tighten it's belts trips like Vegas fly out the window fast. Where does that leave this town?? Over spent and broken down..... Which is exactly the economic state of most of us living here.
I live in one of the most uneducated and blue collar cities around, someone once called it the new Detroit "The only city left where you can raise a family on a single income, blue collar job". That is because our blue collar isn't building cars but serving drinks, valeting cars, dancing half naked. Professions that although easy bring in a LOT of dough really fast.
Our city is full of 20/30 somethings who moved far away from home made quick money and enjoyed every penny of it. We are not a town of savers and driving down one street here will tell you that. Escalades and hummers are some of the most common cars driven around. Cars that we can no longer afford to own because the jobs that once paid for this lifestyle are drying up fast. There is a new casino opening near where I live they had about 250 various openings posted the other week, the last numbers I saw they had over 3800 applications to fill these positions. Every school is cutting teachers next year, the construction industry that used to employ a huge part of our city has basically shut down. The new housing projects all over the city have been left unfinished.
Yet that is only half the picture because the most distressing point is that when the job is cut, when the tips dry up those who have moved here are now stuck. Stuck in a town that no longer offers to support their family, their life. Stuck in a house that cannot be sold, stuck with a car they now cannot afford to drive.
We recently bought a foreclosed upon house, it was a great deal for us and we enjoyed "sprucing it up". We bought our house last summer for over 100K less than our neighbors down the street bought their house for just a few years before. In fact, every person who owns a house in our neighborhood (myself now included in this) is currently upside down on their mortgage, the only difference being how much money each person owes. There are 6 houses currently being foreclosed upon on my street.
I have a good friend who is having her house taken away from her not far from mine. She has lived there rent free for over a year now as she awaits the bank to get to her case and actually come to take the home away. She plans to stay until they kick her out and figures she has saved over $11,000 not paying her mortgage in the past year. Which is good since she has recently lost her job and could not afford the mortgage payments anyway.
The portrait of Vegas is not just a place where "Hard Times" have hit but a place where the majority of people are so far behind (hundreds of thousands of dollars) that there is nothing else left to do but just walk away. Just leave our houses and cars behind and when the credit scores improve, when things turn around, in 7-10 years--- maybe try it again. Until then we can only hope that we have learned something in the process. This city that shines with it's bright lights is in a strange way a bit quieter these days, a bit more somber we face the reality of the present situation.
Vicky
Las Vegas, Nevada
I live in one of the most uneducated and blue collar cities around, someone once called it the new Detroit "The only city left where you can raise a family on a single income, blue collar job". That is because our blue collar isn't building cars but serving drinks, valeting cars, dancing half naked. Professions that although easy bring in a LOT of dough really fast.
Our city is full of 20/30 somethings who moved far away from home made quick money and enjoyed every penny of it. We are not a town of savers and driving down one street here will tell you that. Escalades and hummers are some of the most common cars driven around. Cars that we can no longer afford to own because the jobs that once paid for this lifestyle are drying up fast. There is a new casino opening near where I live they had about 250 various openings posted the other week, the last numbers I saw they had over 3800 applications to fill these positions. Every school is cutting teachers next year, the construction industry that used to employ a huge part of our city has basically shut down. The new housing projects all over the city have been left unfinished.
Yet that is only half the picture because the most distressing point is that when the job is cut, when the tips dry up those who have moved here are now stuck. Stuck in a town that no longer offers to support their family, their life. Stuck in a house that cannot be sold, stuck with a car they now cannot afford to drive.
We recently bought a foreclosed upon house, it was a great deal for us and we enjoyed "sprucing it up". We bought our house last summer for over 100K less than our neighbors down the street bought their house for just a few years before. In fact, every person who owns a house in our neighborhood (myself now included in this) is currently upside down on their mortgage, the only difference being how much money each person owes. There are 6 houses currently being foreclosed upon on my street.
I have a good friend who is having her house taken away from her not far from mine. She has lived there rent free for over a year now as she awaits the bank to get to her case and actually come to take the home away. She plans to stay until they kick her out and figures she has saved over $11,000 not paying her mortgage in the past year. Which is good since she has recently lost her job and could not afford the mortgage payments anyway.
The portrait of Vegas is not just a place where "Hard Times" have hit but a place where the majority of people are so far behind (hundreds of thousands of dollars) that there is nothing else left to do but just walk away. Just leave our houses and cars behind and when the credit scores improve, when things turn around, in 7-10 years--- maybe try it again. Until then we can only hope that we have learned something in the process. This city that shines with it's bright lights is in a strange way a bit quieter these days, a bit more somber we face the reality of the present situation.
Vicky
Las Vegas, Nevada
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