Cheapest cost of living - DE, PA or MD? (Wilmington: real estate, new home)

[kris1421]

Mod cut - Please note that this post was started in 2009

My husband and I are considering moving from central Jersey to either DE, PA or MD. The reasons for the move are for a lower cost of living, however, I also have 2 sisters who live in Bel Air, MD. There is also a job available for me in the city of Baltimore, however, if we lived in DE or PA or northern MD, I would be willing to commute. My husband would need to get a job in the city of Philadelphia.

My question is: which state do you think would save us the most money in terms of housing, taxes, and general cost of living? Thank you.

[toobusytoday]

I think you can find an affordable place to live in ANY state. I would suggest trying to find a job in the same city for both of you. The cost of either keeping up two places or commuting a distance is going to be pretty high. If you have the prospect of a job in Baltimore, it seems that it would make the most sense for your husband to look for one there also and then just find a low cost of living area in the Baltimore region.

[kris1421]

Yes, finding a job in the same city for both of us would be much more convenient but my sisters can get me a job at their place of work in city of Baltimore and my husband needs to work at a stock exchange and the only ones on the East Coast are the NYSE (where he works now) and the Philly Exchange. I would be working at a hospital so I thought I could do 3 twelve hour shifts and still live in DE or PA somewhere and I would be commuting early in the morning for a 7am shift and then returning at 7pm so I wouldn't run into any of the traffic problems. Do you think this sounds like a bad idea?

Also, how do I get those font things off my post?

[toobusytoday]

There are quite a few hospitals in the Philadelphia-DE-NJ area. I-95 between Baltimore and Philadelphia is always busy. At rush hour it's worse, but even at slow times it's crowded. It may not seem bad just looking at a map, but that traffic is yucky. I can't imagine working for 12 hours and then driving any kind of distance. I don't mean to discourage you, but this is not a good commute, even if you live mid-way between the two cities.

The least I could do was fix your fonts. I'm not sure why your original post came up that way.

[kris1421]

Hi again. Thanks for taking the time to help me. I would rather have the truth than to make a big move like this and then find out that my life is tough b/c I am always tired b/c of the job/commute. I have driven on I-95 down to Baltimore from NJ so I know what you mean b/c everytime we get over the Delaware Mem Bridge, we run into alot of traffic there. I do want to move for the cheaper cost of living than in NJ...but not if we'll be unhappy. Plus, I have 3 children to move and a reluctant husband. I am trying to get him on board by listing all of the advantages...but the fact is, he will have to change jobs and get used to a whole new area. But the good part is we'll still be within driving distance to NYC where all his cronies and family are located (in tri-state area). Anyway, I guess I'll have to investigate more on this and see what is best. I just hate the fact that we're living in this high-cost state and feel we can have a better quality of life if we were able to live elsewhere.

[beckycat]

I would think DE would be the most affordable considering property taxes are cheap and no state tax from what understand.

[itsajourney]

Wow, I used to live in the Harrisburg, PA area and I can't imagine wanting to do what you are considering. We left PA in 2001 and by then there had already started to be a major migration of people out of the NYC area to places as far away as Allentown/Bethlehem PA and other north eastern PA cities. Obviously, you must already know that most of the Philly area is very expensive. I don't know if you would be interested in being in the Lancaster or York,PA area--which are less expensive than Philly/Baltimore. I just wouldn't want that commute you are talking about--esp. during the unpredictable winter weather months.

If the price of gas goes back up, you probably won't save any money. You also need to consider the stress that this type of commute could add to your life.

If you work in the medical field, I would think a job would be fairly easy to come by without going clear to Baltimore. Bel Aire is a nice town--maybe if you stayed with one of your sisters a couple of nights a week without the long commute--but is that something you would be comfortable with and how would your husband and kids feel?

I know how expensive Jersey is, but you are close enough to Philly/Baltimore that you could start taking some long weekend drives.

Good Luck!

[doctorjef]

If you would be planning to buy in your new home, you should know that DE definitely has the cheapest real estate taxes by a long shot. I've been looking at Baltimore MLS listings lately and taxes there are typically anywhere from 3 to 6 times what you pay in property taxes in DE. I'm not sure what accounts for Baltimore's/MD's widely varying tax rates on properties that are on the market within a similar price range. In DE I am paying less than 3K taxes annually on a 500K home. In Baltimore there's no doubt that this would be over 6K and possily as high as 12K in some instances. The taxes seem generally somewhat lower than NJ but not dramatically so. There are BTW some big hospitals in the Wilmington area.

[kris1421]

This is great information and ideas! You guys are so nice to take the time to help me. Frankly, my DH is sick of listening to me b/c as I mentioned, he is not really interested in moving anywhere, although he is trying to keep an open mind.

Another reason for the move (besides the general finances and being closer to my sisters) is to help with college expenses. I figured if we paid less for housing and taxes, we would have more money for college. We have 3 children.

Doctorjef – I see what you mean about DE being the cheapest place to live. We lived in NYC for 13 years and moved to NJ 3 years ago. These are expensive places (we paid $300 for our parking spot in NYC). We now live in a house that is valued at $400K and we pay $6,200 in property taxes...and going up. Our property is a little square with neighbors on either side close to us. My sister in Bel Aire lives in a very big house with a built in pool in the back and a lot of land in front and back (over an acre for sure). Her house is valued at $550K and she pays $5,000 in taxes.

Itsajourney – I did not know that most of Philly is very expensive. I guess coming from NYC and NJ, anything is cheaper, LOL! This is so interesting that you mentioned York/Lancaster b/c there is a company my DH could work for that is located in Lititz so I figured if we lived in York/Lancaster, he could commute to Lititz (although what is that traffic like during rush hour b/c there are no highways?)…and then I could drive down I-83 into Baltimore city (I know there are hospitals in PA and DE…but I guess I really want to work in the same hospital as my sisters). Would this commute be more reasonable? The only problem with this is that if we move here we would still need to get back to NY to visit my DH’s family. Wouldn’t that drive be about 4-5 hours? Is there an airport around York/Lancaster?

Also, I see what you’re saying about the gas prices and wear and tear on a car regarding my original plan to live in DE and commute to Baltimore City. And the stress! This is why it’s good to have you guys to talk to b/c this will be a BIG move for us. It would involve changing our entire lives. By the time we moved, our children would be in 11th, 9th and 6th grades. Not the best time to pick them up and move them, but the ones in 9th and 6th grades would be entering new schools in NJ anyway b/c those are transitional grades

That is interesting though that you mentioned staying with my sister in Bel Aire to make the commute easier. I thought of that. That would be fine to do once a week. It would allow me to visit her and my kids wouldn’t miss me for one night. They would be old enough that they wouldn’t need constant care and my DH would be around.

Anyway, again, thanks for your help. I await any more comments you might have!

[kris1421]

Sorry about these FONT things. I don't know why this is happening. These are my first few days on this forum. Does anybody know how to fix this?