mcsluggo Posted July 28, 2017 Share Posted July 28, 2017 as i creak my way down the road... i'm starting to occasionally think about where i would like to park a rocking chair i live on the outskirts of inside the beltway --- It has always been a great area in some ways, but as Tysons explodes to the left of me, and with DC squeezing from the right, we are losing all our woods in some ways this area is starting to become (or in danger of becoming) the worst combination of some bad worlds- all the congestion and inconvenience, without living right in the mix of the cool downtown neighborhoods, for the full city benefit. Fights with Zoony aside, i always liked lots of aspects of (some) small-to-mid-size cities, for the same reasons in reverse... some of the "cool" benefits of living in a downtown neighborhood, without most of the high costs and congestion <<<Although, obviously, the "cool" of a midsize city has to be measured on its own scale, and could never attain the pantheon of fig-hammocks and bearded acai totem dances>>> anyway.. it begs the question of how much you actually save in terms of congestion and $$$ in these smaller cities. on the $$$ front i found the following site... that i am not sure is so very accurate..??? http://www.epi.org/resources/budget/ it gives you the cost of living in different cities, for different family sizes. However... the "lower cost housing" that is averaged in to get the average and median in Baltimore might not look as appealing as the "lower cost housing" in Lexington, Ky... but who knows?? anyway, a first shot is the cost of a family of 5 in Downtown DC, the DC suburbs, and Lexington KY. i am surprised that the HOUSING cost isn't AS different from DC to Lexington as i expected. (yes, it is almost double, but honestly i expected it to be even more). Also it isn't ANY different in the DC suburbs....versus downtown DC? hmmmmm Maybe Bethesda??? but rockville or manassas averaged in...? i am also surprised that childcare is THREE TIMES!!! as expensive in DC as it is in lexington ... wow!!! also, taxes are three times higher in DC.... ... but taxes and childcare are MUCH higher in DC than in the DC suburbs as well... when you shift to a couple, the childcare disappears, and the much of the differences melt away... is this accurate? at all??? when you go to zillow... you sure see a lot more $100-200k houses for sale than you see $200-400k houses in DC.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TradeTheBeal! Posted July 28, 2017 Share Posted July 28, 2017 I moved out to the country about two years ago after city living for 15 years. I'll flip this joint and my business in 7-10 years and I'll be sipping mojitos in Costa Rica before I'm 60. As far as cost of living, I'm single with no kids so I keep it very liquid and travel frequently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PleaseBlitz Posted July 29, 2017 Share Posted July 29, 2017 My plan is to retire at 65, sell whatever house in Alexandria I have at the time, buy a condo wherever the grandkids are, and just use it as a base for when Im not traveling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcsluggo Posted July 29, 2017 Author Share Posted July 29, 2017 that is the thing about planning to move when you retire... most of the people i know live around HERE noplace else will have the same density of friends/family that here has... do i really wanna move AWAY from that...just as i retire? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PleaseBlitz Posted July 29, 2017 Share Posted July 29, 2017 6 minutes ago, mcsluggo said: that is the thing about planning to move when you retire... most of the people i know live around HERE noplace else will have the same density of friends/family that here has... do i really wanna move AWAY from that...just as i retire? Depends on your family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elessar78 Posted July 29, 2017 Share Posted July 29, 2017 58 minutes ago, mcsluggo said: that is the thing about planning to move when you retire... most of the people i know live around HERE noplace else will have the same density of friends/family that here has... do i really wanna move AWAY from that...just as i retire? From a soft science perspective: no research shows that people who have community and family nearby tend to live longer and have a higher quality of life. Where I live seems to be similar to Lexington KY. Remember that job I was asking about in the other thread? Well moving closer would increase my housing cost basically wiping out the raise-even of my commute were shorter. bit overall it's much less expensive here than in DC. My family lives in Bethesda and Froenship heights respectively and cost of living is ridiculous. My sisters household prob makes more than double but our standard of living is roughly the same. I was never ever impressed by the D.C. scene, no offense. Restaurants, museums, the people. But really it was just congestion on the roads all the time that burned me out. Just give me a good book, hbo, and some video games and I'm good. Where we moved still has ****ty people so it's not that great. But I just find most people uninteresting or philistines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsHokieFan Posted July 29, 2017 Share Posted July 29, 2017 Having this discussion now with my wife as we plan a return to northern VA Raleigh is dirt cheap in housing compared to D.C. but salaries are actually comparable (62 percent difference vs 14 percent) However having family/friends and being in my hometown just might get me back there in a year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesMadisonSkins Posted July 29, 2017 Share Posted July 29, 2017 Yeah my wife and I make a combined number annually that would be "living large" in 90% of the communities in this fine country. With 2 small kids (childcare) and both working in Arlington and needing to live nearby ... we are basically paycheck to paycheck. But we are also both in our mid to late 20's and on the lower end of our income potential ... and have great retirement / pensions through work. Talk to me in 3-4 years and see if I'm not completely beat down though. This area is definitely tough. We always wanted to move back to Harrisonburg to raise a family ... could probably make that work on 60% of what we make now. And to answer some of the above points/questions ... I'd retire somewhere near a mountain or a river / ocean / bay within an hour or DC. If your friends and family are here but you want to retire and save money, depending on where they're all centrally located, I'd move to the exurbs in a scenic spot and call it a day. Front royal / Shenandoah valley if my family is in NOVA and eastern shore to the east or Frederick area to the west if I have a MoCo centric family Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Major Harris Posted July 29, 2017 Share Posted July 29, 2017 Come on over Sluggo. But please, don't tell your friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TradeTheBeal! Posted July 29, 2017 Share Posted July 29, 2017 Speaking for myself, I'm looking forward to the challenge of making new friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoony Posted July 29, 2017 Share Posted July 29, 2017 I dont pay state income tax and my property taxes are around 1200 a year i think. Actually i dont even know what my property taxes are. New construction is about $110 per square foot for decent quality. Land is about $30k per lot in subdivisions, however the lots behind me are quite a bit more because of their views. The real problem is that there is not a whole lot for sale. Lots of people cashing out of their lives from around the country and moving here I think there are a lot of nice places throughout the south. Also i really like a lot of parts of the midwest, however it gets pretty cold. If I were you I would look hard at Greenville SC and Hendersonville/Asheville NC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riggo-toni Posted July 29, 2017 Share Posted July 29, 2017 I cut my property taxes by >$1k/month (yes, per month) when I moved from NJ to GA. And yet, my wife makes MORE as a teacher here than she did in NJ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinsfan1311 Posted July 29, 2017 Share Posted July 29, 2017 8 hours ago, TryTheBeal! said: Speaking for myself, I'm looking forward to the challenge of making new friends. That's tougher to do, as you get older. My folks have friends, who picked up and moved from Northern Va, to Nevada. They were in their late 60's at the time. They're outgoing, friendly, smart, and easy to get along with. They were miserable. As people age, they get set in their ways, and any friends that they have, they have already. I've heard the same iteration of that story, from many people that I know, who moved out of MD, for a cheaper cost of living. Most of them have regretted it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadySkinsFan Posted July 29, 2017 Share Posted July 29, 2017 In moving to Austin, apartments directly in the city are comparable to around here. I'm moving to north of the city where it's considerably cheaper. As my daughter works in a food co-op, I get the family discount, so food will be a little cheaper than here for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlvinWaltonIsMyBoy Posted July 29, 2017 Share Posted July 29, 2017 4 hours ago, zoony said: If I were you I would look hard at Greenville SC and Hendersonville/Asheville NC I live in Asheville now. I would highly recommend a strong look here as well. Outskirts places like Candler are probably easier on the wallet, but the city is fantastic The food and beer scene here is incredible. You can get in the middle of it or as far away from civilization as you want. The OBX in NC is pricey but one of the greatest places on Earth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corcaigh Posted July 29, 2017 Share Posted July 29, 2017 I'm thinking about this quite a bit recently. Local property taxes are higher than I'd like here in NoVA but many other quality of life factors are very good in Loudoun. I don't commute so traffic isn't a concern. Mortgage is paid off, we have more than enough of everything ... we've no aspirations to live in a palace somewhere, or buy a yacht etc. Recent vacations have explored possible destinations ... VA/WV mountains for being reasonably close to kids, Mediterranean coastal town; historic town in the Pyrenees; NC mountains; southwest Ireland and others. i'm not that worried about moving away from friends ... we'd make new ones through the various hobbies and volunteer activities. I think that's very important from seeing what our parents have experienced in retirement. Given that, I think the destination will include a community where people have similar enough values and the things we like to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corcaigh Posted July 29, 2017 Share Posted July 29, 2017 18 hours ago, PleaseBlitz said: Depends on your family. Moving an ocean and 3600 miles away helps mitigate, but doesn't enitrely eliminate, family visits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tshile Posted July 29, 2017 Share Posted July 29, 2017 it is one of the sad things about growing up in northern va. as your family gets into retirement age they all move away, and you can't blame them. it's hard to live here on a fixed income unless you paid your house off along the way... and for my parents generation, at least around here, that (still) think you should refinance your house every 4-5 years (gotta get that tax deduction!) the idea of having your house paid off by retirement is not really an option. my parents retired to a lake where pretty much the only people who live there are retired people, or people close to retirement that secured a retirement home, and of course just rich people who can afford a lake house as an extra house. when you move to a community like that it's easy to make friends because everyone's old looking for new friends too. my inlaws are retiring in the near future and want to move far away and it's sad because they think we're going to come visit all the time, well everyone in the family seems to, but i know better. once you get over an hour away visiting becomes harder, especially when your kids are into activities that tie up the middle of a saturday or sunday. life just gets in the way, and a trip that requires staying the night means a trip you just don't make that often. there's no stopping over for dinner when you're 4 hours away. i'm ready to get out of the northern va environment, but my wife is not so much. so we're staying here probably until our kids are graduate high school. then it's off to somewhere cheaper and more relaxing. i'm also someone who doesn't think the $ you make means anything if your work-life balance, or happiness, is out of whack. i'll take 50k and happy over 150k and miserable every day of the week. i can find a way to live with 50k, i can't fathom living and being unhappy (and not working to fix it) we pay somewhere around 13k a year for daycare. which sounds ridiculous, but you're paying someone to watch your kid. 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, that works out to $6.25 an hour. How much is watching your kid worth to you? Minimum wage? Eh... when kid number two comes along it'll be about 26k a year. You can get an Au Pair for about the same money. it's an interesting decision to make - more one on one time, less general socialization, kids grow up at your house and makes going to work/getting home easier, shouldn't get as sick as much, but you have this person living with you... it's interesting, to say the least. oh **** an au pair is less than 20k/year... and you don't have to take off when they're sick... hrm..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinfan2k Posted July 29, 2017 Share Posted July 29, 2017 15 hours ago, TryTheBeal! said: Speaking for myself, I'm looking forward to the challenge of making new friends. eaiser said than done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weganator Posted July 29, 2017 Share Posted July 29, 2017 I have 2 places in DC right now. I rent out one and live in the other with my fiance. Cost of living is pretty expensive out here. Looking forward to moving somewhere cheaper so that I can stretch the income further, but that won't be for another few years. Similar to what tshille was saying, my parents barely have any equity in their home thanks to refinancing and the struggles of raising 6 kids. The big debate has been whether or not to take over my parents mortgage and live with them for a few years (maybe have a free au pair) so they can keep the house in retirement or just move somewhere cheap away from the DMV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcsluggo Posted July 30, 2017 Author Share Posted July 30, 2017 5 hours ago, AlvinWaltonIsMyBoy said: I live in Asheville now. I would highly recommend a strong look here as well. Outskirts places like Candler are probably easier on the wallet, but the city is fantastic The food and beer scene here is incredible. You can get in the middle of it or as far away from civilization as you want. The OBX in NC is pricey but one of the greatest places on Earth. i was in Rodanthe (in the outer banks, just south of the Pea Island Resreve)... and houses there are still way suppressed from the crash... i think they are are 50% of the peak still (according to Zilow) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlvinWaltonIsMyBoy Posted July 30, 2017 Share Posted July 30, 2017 4 minutes ago, mcsluggo said: i was in Rodanthe (in the outer banks, just south of the Pea Island Resreve)... and houses there are still way suppressed from the crash... i think they are are 50% of the peak still (according to Zilow) I should've been more specific...too pricey for me. Glad you got to spend some time in Rodanthe. It's a beautiful place. I'm from eastern NC, so I can be a bit biased. I just love it out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcsluggo Posted July 30, 2017 Author Share Posted July 30, 2017 i love it there ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corcaigh Posted July 30, 2017 Share Posted July 30, 2017 18 minutes ago, mcsluggo said: i was in Rodanthe (in the outer banks, just south of the Pea Island Resreve)... and houses there are still way suppressed from the crash... i think they are are 50% of the peak still (according to Zilow) Some houses are even cheaper than that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoony Posted July 30, 2017 Share Posted July 30, 2017 6 hours ago, Corcaigh said: . Given that, I think the destination will include a community where people have similar enough values and the things we like to do. Thats a hanging curve im just gonna watch go by Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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