Graig Mantle
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“When recruiting staff and faculty, many times candidates will withdraw their applications once they realize the high cost of living in California and more specifically in San Luis Obispo,” said Mike Suess, associate vice president for academic personnel.
But that’s just the response Suess and others hope to ward against. With the cost of living in San Luis Obispo County relatively high compared to the rest of the country, the university is doing its best to help ensure that new recruits don’t leave.
The university is adding 38 tenure track recruitments for the 2007-08 academic year.
Recruitment really comes down to first attracting potential faculty and staff to both the university and San Luis Obispo (and its surrounding communities, as the case may be), and then keeping them here, said Brian Kennelly, the new department chair for modern languages and literature. He moved to San Luis Obispo County last fall from St. Louis, Mo.
“There may be individuals like myself who are willing to bite the bullet and move here. . But then once they are here decide that living here (is too difficult),” Kennelly said.
The university began construction on the new Bella Monta¤a housing complex last spring in an effort to alleviate some of the high costs of living in San Luis Obispo, Suess said.
So far, phases one and two have already been completed, though some of the townhouses in both these phases are still available for sale. The third and final phase will be completed in October.
“I think that the university’s housing opportunities at Bella Monta¤a are critically important to recruiting and retaining talented new faculty and staff,” said Bill Durgin, provost and vice president for academic affairs, in an e-mail. ” It is a terrific program that will help Cal Poly build excellence by enabling new members of the community to get a solid start in the housing market.”
Durgin himself moved here last September.
Others aren’t so positive about Bella Monta¤a’s future.
“The homes there are well built and beautiful! But when (my wife and I) sat down and added up the real cost of living there, it wouldn’t have helped us,” journalism professor Doug Swanson said in an e-mail. “Even without a down payment, when you add the cost of the mortgage payment, plus utilities, plus the homeowner association fees, plus taxes … you don’t come out of overhead of what I am now paying in rent.”
“In fact, it would cost me several hundred dollars more each month than I am now paying to rent a nice townhouse ($1,400 monthly). Granted, you have home ownership at Bella Monta¤a, but there are restrictions there, too. . So, even though I appreciate what the university is trying to do, for me, it still doesn’t make economic sense to buy in to Bella Monta¤a.”
Some of those restrictions include only being able to sell to existing (or future) Cal Poly employees at a limited price.
“I think it’s a great idea, and the university deserves a lot of credit for doing it. At the same time, it’s not for everyone,” political science professor Matthew Moore said. “For example, my wife and I have pet alpacas, and so we needed a house with a little bit of land, which Bella Monta¤a couldn’t offer.”
For those looking for options outside Bella Monta¤a, the university also provides lists of rental opportunities and homes for sale.
“With respect to realtors, they have multiple listings. . If someone is looking for housing, they’re better off working directly with the experts,” Suess said.
Word-of-mouth, though, seems to be the more viable option when looking for affordable housing.
“We received lots of help and advice from faculty and staff at Cal Poly,” Durgin said. “Although we did not engage any real estate brokers, we found those that represented homes of interest to us very helpful. We have looked at many homes and hope to be able to settle in sometime this summer.”
“We initially worked with a realtor who wasn’t as proactive as we wanted – not getting us information quickly, not returning calls, etc.,” Moore said. “Through word-of-mouth we found another one, who was great. We also spend a lot of time looking at houses online.”
Whether new faculty and staff take the Bella Monta¤a route or choose instead to work closely with local realtors, one thing has been constant, albeit difficult to achieve: Everyone new to Cal Poly who hasn’t left yet has found somewhere to live and some way to make ends meet.
Kennelly’s advice for new recruits: “It is possible (to find housing), but you may have to modify what you’re looking for. . Everyone has found a way to survive. But everyone also has different priorities. You can find something; you just have to be creative – and willing to pay the price.
“Is it worth it? I’ll get back to you on that one. But it is great to be able to go to the beach!”