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I think the problem for that poster then becomes the cost of living aspect, as Conway has a lower cost of living than the Charleston area. Remember that the original post was about the low cost of living of that area and not about SC as a whole. So, if the original poster, who essentially is gone and hasn't come back to this thread, wants a lower cost of living, it would be best that he/she stayed with the Myrtle Beach metro for their search.
That area also has the lowest average annual income for any metro area in the US, according to the latest information I could find. So, that may be something else the OP would have to keep in mind.
Ironically, if you look at the Wall Street Journal list, which comes from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Myrtle beach and Buffalo areas are essntially the same in terms of COL.
They may have made points for COL, but the tone of the post is certainly after QOL. Also, the salary/income comparison between areas is tired and illogical. A middle school social studies teacher will not automatically make what these guides say, because they ignore supply and demand levels in both areas, people's qualifications, and varying levels of nepotism (like preferences for local colleges); the first being, what I believe to be is the most important. All of these guides were saying an IT Director position was going to be $10k less in SC, but it was the same, not any less. Knowing data analyst salaries of people in both areas, it was $5k-$10k more in SC. Go figure.
They may have made points for COL, but the tone of the post is certainly after QOL. Also, the salary/income comparison between areas is tired and illogical. A middle school social studies teacher will not automatically make what these guides say, because they ignore supply and demand levels in both areas, people's qualifications, and varying levels of nepotism (like preferences for local colleges); the first being, what I believe to be is the most important. All of these guides were saying an IT Director position was going to be $10k less in SC, but it was the same, not any less. Knowing data analyst salaries of people in both areas, it was $5k-$10k more in SC. Go figure.
Also, I don't know about the "tone" of the post, but again, if it is about cost of living, which we can see regardless of supposed tone or not, there are things to think about in that regard.
Last edited by ckhthankgod; 05-13-2014 at 08:15 AM..
Also, I don't know about the "tone" of the post, but again, if it is about cost of living, which we can see regardless of supposed tone or not, there are things to think about in that regard.
I think his angry tone kind of gets at the psyche of the OP.
This is the site I used for COL comparison prior to moving:Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed
I knew what I was getting into at the time, it costs more to live in a high demand area such as the coast, but when I compare my experience living here to the website, I get mixed results that you just couldn't find on lists or comparison pages. I run the heat a lot less, but the A/C a lot more. Gas costs less, but I travel more because there is more to see and do for my interests. Property taxes are ridiculously cheap, but on average, $/sqft is more. I'm paying less for groceries, pretty much because the supermarket market here is highly competitive, but paying more sometimes when going out to eat because everything is local, fresh, a great deal are professional nationally-recognized chef-run places, and there is a huge push for SC-based ingredients. Cable and internet ALWAYS have been rising everywhere. Daycare is cheaper.
I certainly wouldn't recommend Charleston to someone seeking a better cost of living. Frankly, I wouldn't recommend any coastal city because that's generally the pattern. From those that pop their head into the Charleston forum after living in Myrtle/Conway, though, they seem to paint a picture not like what you'd find when comparing Buffalo to Conway.
But QOL is another story.
PS - are we going to keep moving our discussions from NY-sub-forum to NY-sub-forum?
SC has 2826 hours a year of SUNSHINE with 115 days a year of CLEAR skies...
NY has 2120 hours a year of SUNSHINE with 63 days a year of CLEAR skies.
SC has 706 more hours a year of SUNSHINE than NYS each year AND 52 more days of CLEAR skies.
NOW.. Add in NYS high cost of living according to cityrating.com that everyone keeps mentioning vs The LOW cost of living in SC and when we do that.. We cant deny the temptation that some would want to just pack up and move.
Especially on a day like today.. It is so cold here in Alden NY (near buffalo) today May 16, with a temperature of ONLY 46 degrees AND cloudy. VS South Carolina Myrtle Beach 75 degrees with SUNNY CLEAR SKIES.
SC has 2826 hours a year of SUNSHINE with 115 days a year of CLEAR skies...
NY has 2120 hours a year of SUNSHINE with 63 days a year of CLEAR skies.
SC has 706 more hours a year of SUNSHINE than NYS each year AND 52 more days of CLEAR skies.
NOW.. Add in NYS high cost of living according to cityrating.com that everyone keeps mentioning vs The LOW cost of living in SC and when we do that.. We cant deny the temptation that some would want to just pack up and move.
Especially on a day like today.. It is so cold here in Alden NY (near buffalo) today May 16, with a temperature of ONLY 46 degrees AND cloudy. VS South Carolina Myrtle Beach 75 degrees with SUNNY CLEAR SKIES.
When I think of Myrtle Beach I think of golf, condos, beach, Olive Garden. Then I think of golf, condos, beach, Applebee's. Then I think of golf, condos, beach, Red Lobster. Anything else going on there?
When I think of Myrtle Beach I think of golf, condos, beach, Olive Garden. Then I think of golf, condos, beach, Applebee's. Then I think of golf, condos, beach, Red Lobster. Anything else going on there?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In the Myrtle Beach area - Alabama Theatre, The Carolina Opry, Carolina Improv Company, Dixie Stampede, Legends in Concert, Medieval Times, The Palace Theatre and more
Yeah all the FREE live concerts and entertainment on the beach 7 days/nights a week.. Heat Heat HEAT.
And everything above that you mentioned sounds like living to me... With lots of SUNSHINE!
What did you do with temperature at 45 degrees all day today now dropping to 38 tonight?
Were not getting above 60 degrees for the next 7 days And this is mid May.
We might be lucky in June to get some warmth and begin to unthaw from last winters brutal Cold but June will be followed with July and August, when our bodies will unthaw long enough to head to the bank and withdraw thousands of dollars from our bank accounts to pay our Septembers School taxes then September the leaves will begin to change color signs of fall and cooler temperatures.
Not long before Octobers brisk cold evenings and then Novembers snow fall with December, January, February, March, snowstorms bringing us (Heating bills climbing above thousands of dollars for them cold months) and massive snow storms. Oh wait... Did I forget to mention its time to head to the bank again to withdraw another thousands of dollars to pay the "Property Taxes"? Then Aprils cold/wet rainy cloudy days brings Mays Wet Cold damp days/nights.
I went out and played tennis yesterday with my kids and I didn't feel like I was going to pass out. Did I mention that I paid $2200 last year in property / school taxes on a $113K property (that has 3000 sq. ft of living space)? Did I also mention that I paid $1K in NYS taxes (50K salary + 3 kids). Oh hey, guess what, my family of five has one car because I can bike to work (5 miles each way) or take the train on really bad days.
If you are not creative and swallow the dominant paradigms of what you think you "need" then perhaps you are right SallyNY. I seem to put enough away each year to buy some rental property and do quite nicely for my family here in WNY. This includes my wife not having to work outside the house and instead dedicate her time to raising a family, etc. (Which, by the way, is a lot of work). Not too many single income families these days, and not too many places can support that I suppose.
I love all the seasons. Here's a crazy idea? Why not buy this stuff called "clothing" to adapt to the different seasons? I think a rain-jacket might be nice for spring? Maybe a parka for winter? How about a bathing suit for summer?
I live in Alden NY (Very close to Buffalo) and my husband is a Production Manager over 20 years making $50,000 a year.. Our taxes are $4,200 dollars a year to be exact.. which includes School taxes in September and then Land taxes in January on a 3 acre property with 1300 sq feet. Im happy for you that you can brag about the luxury of your wife staying at home not working and raising 3 kids on your $50,000. a year salary because my husband and I are in our 50's and with just the two of us living alone "we can not make it on his $50,000 a year salary". Therefore I have no choice but to work "outside" the home (Which I have enjoyed helping my husband support our family of 5 financially) for the past 30 years
If you are buying a home.. Our local channel 2 news of buffalo just ran a story about OUR AREA having the 5th HIGHEST PROPERTY TAX IN THE NATION. No way can anyone in WESTERN NY raise a family of 5 with only one income of $50,000 a year, (Like it or not its impossible) and you can sit there (probably some kinda constituent of Buffalo NY) catching heat for people leaving our area OR beginning to have fear of what it may do to you in time with everyone leaving our area and how eventually the tax burden will be left for you to pick up the loss. Or a Realtor trying to sell property in Western NY. What ever your agenda is "I myself whos trying to sell my property to get the heck out of Western has NO reason to mislead anyone" But if someone buys my property then at-least I will feel good about myself knowing I didn't put a tax burden upon anyone else and they knew what they needed to live here comfortably without the everyday money burden.
What would be in it for me, to sit here and lie on a blog or mislead people? NOTHING " Instead, I am here to warn people (Just like the OP and several others who have already left and/or planning on it in the very near future,) We only want people who are considering Western NY as a place to live to know that...UNLESS they plan on two people working and making at-least $75,000. a year in Salary... if you want the American dream of owning your own home with a piece of land someday and raising a family as long as WESTERN NY has the 5th highest property tax in the NATION then I would not recommend this area for anyone.
In my opinion along with one third of western NYERS who are leaving, Western NY needs to seriously "Re-evaluate" the lands property taxes from Rochester NY to the Erie PA state line and until this is done.. You along with the rest of Western NY will see your neighbors abandoning their own property to head across NYS line for a lesser tax burden state!! We live to far from NYC and much poorer than NYC to pay for the ones who choose to live there!! They are making the big bucks in NYC and we are left to pay for them!
If people read this blog and do not heed the warnings of the bloggers who experienced living here in WNY and they decide to make WNY their home then that's the decision they will need to live with the rest of their lives. I refuse to go back and forth with anyone on here that sees it different. I'm stating what I know as the facts after owning a home here for 30 years, Now its time to move on.. IN BLOGGING ON THIS THREAD AND IN LIFE SOMEWHERE OTHER THAN NYS.
I live in Alden NY (Very close to Buffalo) and my husband is a Production Manager over 20 years making $50,000 a year.. Our taxes are $4,200 dollars a year to be exact.. which includes School taxes in September and then Land taxes in January on a 3 acre property with 1300 sq feet. Im happy for you that you can brag about the luxury of your wife staying at home not working and raising 3 kids on your $50,000. a year salary because my husband and I are in our 50's and with just the two of us living alone "we can not make it on his $50,000 a year salary". Therefore I have no choice but to work "outside" the home (Which I have enjoyed helping my husband support our family of 5 financially) for the past 30 years
I would love to be able to have a home on 3 acres in the countryside and only pay 4200 in property taxes!
I will definitely say that you would have difficulty finding the grass greener where I live (and I am not just talking about the drought).
Our former residence in Texas, 30 miles from downtown Houston, was 1980 square feet, with an 8400 square foot lot (about 1/5 of an acre). Property taxes, including school and water (which were separate) and HOA came to a total of $4200 a year back in 2005, and that was after the 20% homestead exemption. To compare to houses in WNY, the houses in Houston have no attics or basements, houses are stacked close together in the newer suburban areas (no large lots typically), and the lowest monthly electric bills are rarely below $100 a month in the most moderate months. Water is relatively cheap, but the rates doubled last year when the new "drainage fee" was added due to flooding issues in the city. Homeowners insurance in that area was about $4000 a year (due to wind and water risk, NOT including extra flood insurance) but a range of 2000 to 5000+ is typical depending upon locations near surge zones or flood plains (it is flat, so lots of flood plains). In the Houston area many insurance companies charge extra or refuse to insure wood shingled homes (due to wind risk), and many do not insure pre-WW2 built homes at all - we have different insurance companies for auto and home due to these differences. In the last 2 years tax assessments have gone up from 20% to over 100% in many parts of town, generally due to increasing land values. The most taxes can be raised is 10% a year, so for at least the next 2 or 3 years I can look forward to our property taxes going up 10% a year to catch up with our assessment.
No Texas income tax, so I "save" about $2500 a year (assuming the 50,000 salary you identified) - good thing as my property taxes went up about $700 last year, and about $800 this year. Sales tax is the same (8.75%), . The median home sale price in Houston is now $235,000 compared to $104,000 in Buffalo area, so someone moving or just starting out in Houston needs to have a minimum income of at least $70k and put down at least $55k down payment to qualify.
The point is you cannot generalize that things are always better or cheaper just by leaving. Each area of the country is different, and just by living in a "low tax" state like Texas doesn't guarantee that it will be low cost.
The point is you cannot generalize that things are always better or cheaper just by leaving. Each area of the country is different, and just by living in a "low tax" state like Texas doesn't guarantee that it will be low cost.
This ^^.
Incidentally, SallyNY, I was not trying to brag, but to point out that the taxation issue, while not unreal is not necessarily universal to all of WNY.
The highest tax rate is because of the lowest property values. Furthermore, you forgot to include that higher home prices will lead to higher mortgage interest rates (tax deductible, but you have to be making some serious cash to begin to see tax benefits versus appreciation and gains on appreciation).
Anyhow, you can make it (family of five) on $50K in WNY without being a tax burden. Is it easy? No. I work on our only car myself, do all my own home repairs (except roof), have rental properties, etc. Do we take lavish vacations? No. Do I have a new car? No. I've been smart, but I've busted my behind to make it happen.
I'm handy and I fix things that break. I spend time researching problems and I bike to work, etc. etc.
Yes, it can be done, you just have to be careful.
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