Another Relocating to Columbus thread (Westerville, Gahanna: to rent, lawyer, houses)

[bimori]

Hi everyone, I guess this is more of a proper thread for me.

I accepted an offer today with a very good company, and I'll be working in Granville, OH. I've been to Columbus once before and I really liked the area. I had another offer in Nashville, TN, but my wife and I chose the Columbus area.

We definitely are going to rent before we buy in the area. We do not have any kids at the moment, but looking to have some in the year future.

Any recommendations of upper class suburbs that are within 30 minutes of Granville where we can start checking out the homes. We'll prefer newer homes preferably from 2007. My wife has something against using vinyl as sidings for the house so we are looking for something that preferably all brick. Our price range is in the $350k +. We'll definitely go up for the right price.

Any help is appreciated.

[cooks50]

New Albany, Gahanna, Westerville (Polaris Area)

[behindenemylines]

New Albany is the closest Columbus sub to Granville. Easy commute now that the 161 is complete. You can find all brick houses for around $350k in neighborhoods like Hampsted Village/Hampsted Heath (built between 1995 and 2005), Harrison Pond (Gahanna schools, New Albany mailing address, early-mid 90s I believe), New Albany Links (early 00s to new construction) and perhaps North of Woods (mostly 90s builds). Upper Clarenton is a newer neighborhood and is at the price point but I am not sure if they have all brick homes (still building, though). Most homes at that price range will be at least partial vinyl but there are all brick homes out there. I hate vinyl, too, so I understand where she is coming from. I am not a realtor nor do I have any affiliation with the website realliving.com but I found it an excellent tool for property searches because you could search by subdivision.

Good luck and congrats on the new job.

[bimori]

Thanks guys, I'm checking out new albany links, and it seems pretty good.

[chet_kinkaid]

granville itself is one of the most affluent suburbs of columbus..i would start there and of course new albany and even northern gahanna are very upscale

[bimori]

So I have 1 more question: My understanding is that in Ohio, folks pay school tax. Is the school tax included in the property tax, or is it taken separately from one's income?

[CortlandGirl79]

It's included in your property tax, if you don't own property you don't have to pay.

[bimori]

Thanks CortlandGirl. For the local taxes, do you get taxed for the city you live in, or the city where you work?

[cbusgal614]

Originally Posted by CortlandGirl79

It's included in your property tax, if you don't own property you don't have to pay.

It depends, some school districts have an income tax instead of property tax, but not nearly as many as those who use a property tax. You can look up the info on the Ohio IRS website I believe...

[wrightflyer]

As far as local city income taxes, I believe that you pay for the city you reside in, but if there is also an income tax in your workplace city and the % rate is higher in workplace city, then you pay both the total income tax for the city you reside in and the difference for the city in which you work. I am not entirely positive what happens if you live in a higher income taxed city and work in a city with a lower income tax.

Hypothetical example: I live in New Albany which has, let's make this up, a 1.5% income tax. However, I work in the City of Columbus (let's say the Easton area too make my commute time short), which has a 2.75% income tax. I pay 1.5% to New Albany and a remaining 1.25% to the City of Columbus.

If anyone noticed I screwed up that example, let me know. This is my understanding of the local tax laws, but I am by no means an lawyer in this field so if you have a really detailed question or concern, I'd consult the Ohio IRS website or a local tax attorney. I paid income taxes to Columbus (though I made so little as a college student at the time that I got most of my money back), but had residence in a city without a local income tax, so I didn't have to worry about the split income tax situation.