help, what should we do?
Life Situation:
Me: 42
Husband: 49
child: 3 whom we would like to help with college expenses
live in NYC suburb
Income:
me: $100k, hate my easy, boring, unrewarding office job but don't want to be a stay-at-home parent either.
husband: $50k, doesn't mind working and doesn't have good benefits from work and will likely never get good benefits due to his field of work
rental income: $5,150/mo.
Assets:
Investment Property(2family): worth about $600k, $18k in property taxes, Mort+Tax= $4,600
House: $260k, purchased and moved-in last year, $10k in property taxes, Mort + tax= $1,900
combined 401k accounts: $600K
Combined Roth: $190k
Non-Retirement: $180k
529: $40k
Liabilities:
Investment Property: $220k (about 5 years left)
House: $220k (29 year left)
no car or educational loans
Expenses: about $50k/yr. We don't really budget, but we live a frugal lifestyle.
Questions:
1. Should we move to LCOL area to save some $$$.
The problem is that we live in a HCOL area with high property taxes. Although we live in a close suburb, the commute into NYC still sucks.
Last year, we purchased a single family house in a cheaper nearby town to save money. However this neighborhood is not as nice and the schools are not so great. The apartment we lived in in the 2 family house now rents for $2,400/mo while our current mortgage on the new house is $1,900. Our 2 family house is in a very nice neighborhood with excellent public schools and this is where we would live once DD starts school in 3 years. They're lots of kids playing and running around and into each other's houses and yards like the good old days. Plus, its a very walkable town and NYC is very accessible during the weekends. We would love to live there except for the high property taxes. We have some family here also, though I don't know if that's a pro or a con. Should we move to a totally new LCOL which has nicer weather, good public schools and is a cosmopolitan walkable town? Does such a place exist? Any suggestions?
2. Is it wise to quit our safe, easy jobs now to explore location and vocation options?
The other problem is that I don't have other interests that I want to pursue, beside perhaps travelling (internationally and domestically), but that can get tiring after a few months, especially with a toddler in tow.
Husband wouldn't mind working. He is worried we will both have difficulties finding new jobs since we're "older" and we don't have very marketable or high-demand skills.
3. If we plan to travel for 6-12months, should we sell both properties or rent out? (If we can make the big leap and quit our jobs)
I know this all is very vague and something that we need to find the answers to ourselves, but haven't been able to for about a year. So I'm looking for your pearls of wisdom.
Thank you,
Indecisive long time lurker