So you have to be rich to live in the NW suburbs I guess? (Ohio: credit, house)

[Orangeish]

To confuse everyone more, we basically have no debt what so ever. Maybe 700-1000 in CC debt at anytime which we always pay off. This thread has helped me reevaluate what we can afford. 20% down on a 300+ house though is not something we have saved unfortunatelly, but the wedding money should help!

[Orangeish]

Originally Posted by cdc3217

With your salary I would think you should be able to afford more like 200-250K and still be well within expected budgets. Maybe further NW in McHenry County your housing dolllar will stretch further.

Yes, this seems to be a very viable option for us, I have been thinking of the Crystal Lake area recently.

[Careless]

It's kind of funny reading this thread after the last year had all those stories about people making $20k a year defaulting on $700k mortgages

[smartestblonde]

OP, my husband and I will be moving out the the SW suburbs in the next month or two....I'm a SAHM, and my husband makes roughly around $130k, and we are looking at houses in the $330-360k range with around 10-15% down (we've already been pre-approved for this down payment at a 4.75% rate and 1 point at closing). So as others have said, if you have good credit I'm surprised you aren't able to swing something in the $200's.

Good luck with your decision!

[cdc3217]

Originally Posted by Orangeish

Yes, this seems to be a very viable option for us, I have been thinking of the Crystal Lake area recently.

I like Crystal Lake, its a little bigger and more urban feeling compared to other areas in McHenry, (which I like.) Little more to do - also means more congested and big box/mall-like, which you may or may not enjoy. Buts its a pretty middle-middle class town, with decent schools, IMO.

I appreciate your conservatism in home buying, my DH is super-careful this way, and I have to say as it turns out, it was a good thing. Even so, the numbers I tossed out earlier would probably get his approval.

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by cdc3217

I like Crystal Lake, its a little bigger and more urban feeling compared to other areas in McHenry, (which I like.) Little more to do - also means more congested and big box/mall-like, which you may or may not enjoy. Buts its a pretty middle-middle class town, with decent schools, IMO.

Crystal Lake is not exactly inexpensive although it is less expensive than some of the areas mentioned. Woodstock would be another option although that adds an additional fifteen minutes to the commute to most places in the Chicago area.

When we moved to McHenry Co. from Cleveland, we made the decision to buy a cheap condo for cash in lieu of the 5 BR house that we had in the Cleveland suburbs and invest the rest. After ten years, I am happy with the decision.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by jlawrence01

Crystal Lake is not exactly inexpensive although it is less expensive than some of the areas mentioned. Woodstock would be another option although that adds an additional fifteen minutes to the commute to most places in the Chicago area.

When we moved to McHenry Co. from Cleveland, we made the decision to buy a cheap condo for cash in lieu of the 5 BR house that we had in the Cleveland suburbs and invest the rest. After ten years, I am happy with the decision.

Did you have any use for the 5 bedrooms? Did you buy a condo that has 5 bedrooms?

Very confusing...

"When I traded in my Rolls Royce for Hyundai the dealer was very reluctant to give me a check for $140,000, with that and the 10 year bumper to bumper warranty but I am happy with the decision"...

Or maybe:

"At first the guy who had the VW Camper listed on Craig's List thought I was kidding when I said I would trade him my Madden Cruiser for the Camper and two hundred thousand dollars, but I am happy with the decision"...


Or maybe:

"The folks at the aircraft exchange had a real hard time understanding why I wanted to get rid of my Gulfstream V and just exchange it for a powered hang glider and 10 A-Class Shares of Berkshire-Hathaway, but t I am happy with the decision"...

[jlawrence01]

Good point.

I traded down to a smaller home in Chicago so that I could keep my living costs on Chicagoland pretty close to Cleveland.

Other than housing costs, costs in Chicagoland are not much different than other midwestern cities.

[ccjarider]

Originally Posted by jlawrence01

Good point.

I traded down to a smaller home in Chicago so that I could keep my living costs on Chicagoland pretty close to Cleveland.

Other than housing costs, costs in Chicagoland are not much different than other midwestern cities.

Agree. We have reduced cost of living (except for house cost) due to downsizing than when we lived in Wisconsin. Slight cost increases in some things are offest by lower IL taxes, better wages and fact that we just consume less.

Bottom line - more $ going to growth/investment.

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by ccjarider

Agree. We have reduced cost of living (except for house cost) due to downsizing than when we lived in Wisconsin. Slight cost increases in some things are offest by lower IL taxes, better wages and fact that we just consume less.

Bottom line - more $ going to growth/investment.

We were surprised that other than the housing prices, our costs were very similar to St. Louis and Cleveland. And the taxes are MUCH lower in IL than OH.