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Old 12-01-2015, 05:45 PM   #81
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Originally Posted by youbet View Post
+1 It's pricey here in the Chicago suburbs. My RE taxes alone, on a very modest six room ranch, exceed what many say their total housing costs are........ Sigh.....

But DW (and I to a lesser extent) are anchored to grand kids, kids, extended family, friends and the entertainment and cultural attractions. I wouldn't mind moving to a location with top notch natural beauty and superb outdoor recreational opportunities, especially fishing and paddling. And with those attractions not just "nearby." For example, if we moved someplace to enjoy easy access to great fishing, I'd want to live on the water not just with easy access from a nearby location.

IOW, the only places we'd be interested in moving to might also be expensive places to live. So, here we are!
There are many, many places that would fill your bill--especially in the south. We have a 6 mile water view, and our sunsets are absolutely incredible. Our lake is 50' to 100' deep and is one of the best smallmouth and catfish lakes in the country. Pickwick Lake is 6 miles away, and Wheeler Lake is 10 miles upstream--both premier fisheries.

Alabama property taxes are ridiculously cheap, with $350K house taxes @ $1000 per year--half that if it's your main residence. Disabled people have no property taxes.

Lakefront property is expensive by our standards, but cheap to most people. Decent houses can be bought for $350K. Our average house is 5000 square feet with a concrete boathouse, and they run $550K or so.

I'm fortunate to have two Robert Trent Jones championship golf courses on my street--8050 yards from the back tees. There's another RTJ golf course at the local yacht club across the lake. This is golf heaven and part of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail.

When I used to travel to Chicago and Racine on business I was appalled at the cost of houses--and especially the cost of property taxes. Our whole cost of housing is less than just property taxes in Wisconsin. I was always afraid of getting transferred to "home office" to lose our high standard of living.

It's nice living in a medium size city that's 2 hours from 3 large cities. And virtually every large city in the south has one or more large lakes within 1/2 hour--and relatively low costs of living.
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Old 12-01-2015, 08:21 PM   #82
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There are many, many places that would fill your bill--especially in the south. We have a 6 mile water view, and our sunsets are absolutely incredible. Our lake is 50' to 100' deep and is one of the best smallmouth and catfish lakes in the country. Pickwick Lake is 6 miles away, and Wheeler Lake is 10 miles upstream--both premier fisheries.

Alabama property taxes are ridiculously cheap, with $350K house taxes @ $1000 per year--half that if it's your main residence. Disabled people have no property taxes.

Lakefront property is expensive by our standards, but cheap to most people. Decent houses can be bought for $350K. Our average house is 5000 square feet with a concrete boathouse, and they run $550K or so.

I'm fortunate to have two Robert Trent Jones championship golf courses on my street--8050 yards from the back tees. There's another RTJ golf course at the local yacht club across the lake. This is golf heaven and part of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail.

When I used to travel to Chicago and Racine on business I was appalled at the cost of houses--and especially the cost of property taxes. Our whole cost of housing is less than just property taxes in Wisconsin. I was always afraid of getting transferred to "home office" to lose our high standard of living.

It's nice living in a medium size city that's 2 hours from 3 large cities. And virtually every large city in the south has one or more large lakes within 1/2 hour--and relatively low costs of living.

Sounds like a great place to live. But if I was forced to hit from the back tees it would be a deal killer. Hitting the green accurately from 140 is difficult enough for me, let alone having to pull out the 3 wood on second shots to the green.


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Old 12-03-2015, 09:59 AM   #83
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We average about $950 month on our Whidbey Island home including insurance, utilities and property taxes. I'm not sure about maintenance costs as we aren't there 100% of time until next spring when DH retires. (I spend about 75% of my time there).
The square footage is smaller, house more energy efficient than primary home, but this house has more property and is on the Puget Sound, so we expect a bit more maintenance.
I expect we could tighten costs up a bit if need be.


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Old 12-03-2015, 10:14 AM   #84
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Where we live it is now cheaper to rent. We sold with the intention of buying a condo or something smaller. Our RE market has turned sour so there is absolutely no point in buying.

More to the point, it is less expensive for us to rent our condo that it would be to own it when our return on our home equity is factored into the equation. The savings actually cover off about a month of extra travel per year.

It was difficult to rent at first after so many years of owning. There is a strong emotional tie to owning when that is what your parent, your peers have always done. Not so much now though since we look at it from a strictly financial perspective. We will probably buy again but only when we see the market bottoming out AND when it makes financial sense. Renting gives us far more freedom to rent and go plus it removes the risk of an unexpected home repair or condo assessment. Nor do we have the risk of being stuck with a large 'stranded' asset.
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Old 12-03-2015, 10:03 PM   #85
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We sold the Texas house and Colorado cabin and semi-retired to Reno about 6 months ago, using the proceeds from the sales to buy the Reno home.
We have a note of about 44000, so the cost for now with utilities and taxes is about $900. That will get cut almost in half either in 15 years or in a couple years if we just pay off the note.
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