Hi Joy, I don't know how much you want to reveal about your present situation, but roughly where are you living now that you don't enjoy, what are the housing costs like, and what are the comparables in Raleigh that you think are LCOL?
I ask because I can see the appeal of Raleigh (I think I'd perhaps lean to Durham as well), but it seems that housing costs have increased a lot recently. It's not something I would consider dirt cheap, so I'd appreciate your research on what led you there.
Hi Canuck Expat! I would like to avoid revealing what city we live in so we can remain anonymous. However, I can tell you that compared to where we live now, housing prices are more than fifty percent lower in Raleigh. We live in a townhouse that we would expect to quickly sell for 450K. We could get a newer townhouse in the Raleigh area for 225K and our property taxes would be 200 per month instead of 600. We are leaning towards renting right now. We have found rentals that would meet our needs for $1200 per month.
Is there any possibility of your husband selling his business? Even if it's heavily dependent on his own skills, someone would likely be interested in the client list and possibly name recognition. Alternatively, he could take on an apprentice for a year or two and then sell the business to him or run it as a silent partner. Just an idea because I didn't see any discussion about the business value.
Another option (depends on your kids age) might be to homeschool since education is one of your top priorities. This could allow you to move to a cheaper area that is still close enough to your husband's clients while cutting costs.
Good points Ocinfo! We have talked about selling his business, however at this point we are hesitant to do so. I love your idea of having an apprentice and running it as a silent partner. We will definitely discuss this possibility and explore it further.
As for your suggestion about homeschooling. I would have to give up my work as a teacher and then we would lose our health coverage and my salary, so I don’t think we could make it work.
Joy, your high salaries are not providing you with high quality of life if you don't feel safe where you live. Given the examples you listed above, and the experience of the kids you teach, it sounds like your concerns are warranted.
You have to sell a house, and spring is absolutely the time to do it, pretty much regardless of locale. So if you are really thinking of moving at the end of the school year, now is the time to get your house ready to sell. Be aware that buyers may not be thick on the ground to move to a neighborhood with drive-by shootings, so it may take longer and/or bring you a lower price than you anticipate.
Have you applied for any teaching jobs in NC? Explored what's available in the areas where you think you'd like to live? Another area of NC you could consider is the "Triad" area - Winston-Salem, Greensboro, High Point. Of the three Greensboro is the more progressive, though none of them are as progressive as the Triangle area. But lower cost of living, decent schools, lower crime.
I really appreciate all of your comments and the info you have shared with me Begood!
We live in a neighborhood filled with very expensive homes right next to a neighborhood filled with public housing and crime. Inventory is tight at our price point (most homes around us are single families in the 1-3 million range. If the market stays the same into the spring, I expect to sell our townhome quickly at the 450K price point. However, I do have a nagging worry that we are on a sinking ship and that our home price will start drop if things continue on the way that they are now.
I have not applied to jobs yet, however I have seen listings that sound promising. I would not move until the end of the school year, so I would start applying in the spring.
Hi Retire Canada! According to my generous budget with luxuries such as travel and kids activities, we would need to net around 42,000 per year to meet our expenses.
Thankfully, we have not been directly victimized by crimes, however we have had two drive by shootings take place in front of us. Thankfully we did not see anyone hit. The first time we were in our car stuck behind an SUV that was shooting at group of boys who were on foot running past our car returning fire at the SUV. We did a u-turn and got out of there before seeing how it ended. Also, one morning when my husband was raking leaves at 9:30am a man ran past our yard while being chased by a car that was shooting at him. People are robbed by gunpoint during daylight and after work in my neighborhood on a regular basis (at least once per month). Break ins are very common. Within a half of a mile from me, people are shot and killed on a weekly basis in the warmer months. I am so worried that my children will one day witness this.
Every year students that I work with lose family member to the violence. Every year it gets worse. It is a very sad situation.
So that's $42K after taxes? What do you think you'd need including taxes?
Okay. I would say that if you are in the immediate vicinity of a drive by shooting you are the victim of a crime. You may no have been hit by the bullets, but that's not the only damage done. So I would get the heck out of there. I don't know if I would head to that area of NC, but I don't disagree you need to move and that you have enough financial resources to do so.
Since you are going through all the trouble of moving I would cast a wider net as far as places to consider. Your first choice sounds poor from an employment/income stand point and is not low cost for other important factors like housing. I would keep looking until you find a spot with decent employment opportunities, a reasonable cost of living and decent schools. The US is a big country and if you are going to load up a truck and move it's worth finding the best destination you can.
We would need to gross 55K to cover all of our costs comfortably.
We would be saving fifty percent on our housing costs. Do you think that with that reduction in costs Raleigh could be a favorable option? We are set on moving to a progressive area and we want diversity and culture. We want warm weather and lots of outdoor activities. If you have any suggestions of other areas I would love to hear them. I will keep an open mind and do more research, because you are right about this being a big country.
Also, you are correct that witnessing the crime did impact us. I noticed that when I was writing about it my heart was pounding as hard as it did when it happened. It also brought me to tears to think of the violence that is going on around us. It certainly fuels my impatience to get out of here. I think my husband and I often push our fears aside in an effort to keep our nose to the grindstone and meet our goals.
