Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Cleveland rents aren't too bad. Lots of apartments. New here but so far weather isn't horrendous. It feels like Cleveland is on the upswing but still affordable.
Unfortunately, OP, it takes money to live in half-way decent areas. People live rural because not having stores and libraries makes it affordable, if they have a job out there, and generally those jobs don't pay all that well.
I don't know your field, but I'm not sure of anywhere that has "jobs, jobs, jobs" at the moment. It sounds like you might be in retail or food service, nothing specialized.
And that's my first thought: maybe you don't earn enough money right now and need more training so that you can either advance in your job or do something that's higher paying. For example, if you are a server, what training would you need to become a manager or district manager?
I would suggest starting there. If you need to return to college, do that in your home state so that you don't have to deal with out-of-state tuition costs. What does your son want to do? Same thing: look at opportunities in your home state. Perhaps a move to a suburb of a larger town, perhaps both of you rent rooms in a house (with multiple housemates) for now, near the community college that has the programs you both want.
If you have a dog/dogs, you may need to consider re-homing them to make that work, as many student landlords (not all) don't allow dogs. I know that sounds mean! But sometimes we hold ourselves back with pets at the wrong time.
If you do plan to move out of state, check the length of time for college residency requirements on the college web site.
There's no easy fix here. Ten years ago, you might've packed up your vehicle and moved to ______ (where ever) and rebooted your life with the better economy, but I can't point to anywhere right now that is truly booming in the US.
FedEx is paying $15 an hour to start for package handlers. With the two new centers opening I expect that will go up since unemployment here is around 4%.
Just remember it's cheaper to live here as we don't have exorbitant taxes like the northern states. And we don't have heart attacks shoveling 6 feet of snow so we can go to work.
I don't agree about being cheaper. I've lived in both income tax and non income tax states. In the end, the state needs money to operate and finds a way to get it.
In another state my income taxes were about $2k and property tax on a comparable home was about $1k. Here in Florida I have no state income tax, but sales taxes are higher & property taxes are higher leading to higher rent prices. I'm paying well over that other state's total tax rate to live here, just in smaller chunks over the course of the year.
I think in order to benefit in states without income tax you need to make a lot of money and live a lifestyle that is well below others with the same income.
Quote:
Originally Posted by VM1138
I've done a lot of research over the years because I'm constantly dreaming about moving and we don't make a ton of money, so the main big cities and beautiful landscape cities are out of the question. I'd concur with Little Pink that Indianapolis is a good spot. It's an up and coming city, low cost of living, you're not too far from day trips to other big cities with lots of cultural amenities, weather is pretty moderate, lots of jobs.
Nashville has really become a notable city, but I imagine costs would be skyrocketing as it quickly modernizes and transforms.
Don't spend your life dreaming! Moving isn't solely for the rich. If you hate where you are and move to somewhere you love with the same income and monthly expense ratio your life is improved with no loss.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ultrarunner
Again... rent is tied to what it costs to purchase.
If rents are too high in relationship to the cost of purchasing... many will buy... especially if renting single family homes.
One can almost always "Rent" in the short term in a better neighborhood, school district, location than buy the same.
That's not really what I'm seeing with people in their mid thirties and below. Many of my friends bought into the hype of the boom only to lose their job and house in the crash. At this point many of them are closing in on ten years removed from losing their house and still choose to rent.
When asked they say they prefer to have someone else financially responsible for repairs, saying "If my AC quits I need to call a guy. If I'm calling a landlord it just means someone else has to pay the repair guy." As someone with mechanical ability, this makes me sad.
I also have some friends who choose to rent for mobility. Really, I fall in this category to a certain degree. A lot of them are living somewhere because of their job waiting for an opportunity "back home". They don't want to be chained to a house in topeka when they really want to go back to austin.
I sort of fall into this category. Had to go through a short sale in 2012 and have rented ever since. But I've also lived in 6 different cities since then pursuing career growth. I'm now renting in Tampa while my wife completes grad school to become a Nurse Anesthetist. In about a year and a half we'll be moving somewhere else. I'm not willing to buy a place and end up being unwilling landlords because the cost to sell is too much or there is a stall in the market. The interest, closing costs and realtor commission would be nearly as much as I'm paying to live in someone else's house during this 2 year period.
FedEx is paying $15 an hour to start for package handlers. With the two new centers opening I expect that will go up since unemployment here is around 4%.
Just remember it's cheaper to live here as we don't have exorbitant taxes like the northern states. And we don't have heart attacks shoveling 6 feet of snow so we can go to work.
Fed ex may advertise 15.00 a hr. This will be part time with a split shift of 3-4 hrs before dawn then 1-3 hrs in the late afternoon about 18 - 30 hrs a wk. Don't expect any benefits. It can lead to better full time employment when the moon turns blue. Most of fed ex ground is all contractors, not directly apart of the over night fed ex. This is in Florida and there is a reason they are actively hiring in sept for seasonal, casual or part time worker's.
Don't assume rental prices in Texas are low. They used to be, but those have become pretty expensive in most areas in recent years.
I guess your words are more true today than they were on August 24th, at least in east and central texas.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
