Boring city but nice house or exciting city and rent? (cheap, school)

[cpg35223]

Originally Posted by doglover29

My husband and I (early 30's, no kids) live in DC and are considering moving to a city with a lower cost of living, in order to buy a decent house. Here in DC, we cannot afford a decent house with a relatively short commute to the city for work. The houses we've been looking at that are small crap shacks are around $900,000. Thus, we are strongly looking at moving out of the area to the midwest, cities like Indianapolis, Cleveland, etc.

However, we are big city folk and love everything that DC has to offer--museums, cultural events, great nightlife, etc. We have lived in other big cities and really love the big city atmosphere, plus after living in a place like DC with so much to do it's hard to then move to a city where there's not much to do. We think we would miss the big city excitement in a place like Indy. Also, we love living on the East Coast because we are so close to great places for weekend trips within easy driving distance, like NYC, Philly, the Atlantic beaches, the Poconos, etc. If we lived in Indy or another midwest city, there's not that much around there to drive to that's very exciting.

We just can't decide if a nice house that's a decent price is worth being in a boring city. Or, should we stay and continue renting in order to be in an exciting city like DC? We've always rented and are ready to settle down and buy a house. On the other hand, we love going out and experiencing all the city has to offer.

We don't have any ties to anywhere and can move anywhere, so that makes this decision harder.

I've lived a lot of places, large towns and small. I'm a museum and culture junkie, too. I've found there are no such things as boring cities...only boring people who do not have the initiative to find interesting things to do.

[therewego]

Originally Posted by doglover29

So we started looking here in DC with a realtor--we're looking further out than we originally wanted to go, in the hopes that we'll find a better deal further out--we looked at some gorgeous houses, that had everything we're looking for--unfortunately they were all in the $900,000-1 million range. Basically, we could get these same houses in Indianapolis for about $300K. Is it worth it, to have our dream home, but in a place like Indy? It's not that we even need a big house--just a nice house. We're only looking at 3 or 4 bedrooms. But most of the houses in a reasonable price range are just not what we're looking for.

Can you afford a home in the $900,000-1 million range? If not, shame on the realtor for taking you to those homes. Of course the houses are gorgeous and have everything you're looking for but at that price! If you can afford $300k and want to stay in DC, it will be a shack you will have to tear down and rebuild. It is usually the same in any metro area. How about a condo or loft? From the sounds of it, you probably won't have the energy to keep up a big house or the yard that comes with it.

[5chevin5]

Originally Posted by doglover29

So we started looking here in DC with a realtor--we're looking further out than we originally wanted to go, in the hopes that we'll find a better deal further out--we looked at some gorgeous houses, that had everything we're looking for--unfortunately they were all in the $900,000-1 million range. Basically, we could get these same houses in Indianapolis for about $300K. Is it worth it, to have our dream home, but in a place like Indy? It's not that we even need a big house--just a nice house. We're only looking at 3 or 4 bedrooms. But most of the houses in a reasonable price range are just not what we're looking for.

The main problem we see with leaving the East Coast is that we love to take weekend trips to interesting places that are close by. DC has so many of those--Philly, NYC, Charlottesville, the Atlantic beaches, etc. The midwest doesn't have that much to drive to generally--I mean in Indy Chicago is just 2.5 hours by car, but besides that there isn't much.

We're also strongly considering Minneapolis, a city I absolutely love and lived in for a year.

It's just so depressing that we'd have to settle for a house that we don't love that will be very expensive and a long commute, but we'd have lots of fun things to do. Or, we can move to a midwestern city and get the dream house but perhaps be bored. We just cannot seem to figure out the answer to this question. DH and I go back and forth every day. Just yesterday we were thinking, "let's stay in DC" and today after seeing houses with the realtor last night, we're thinking, "let's definitely move."

I have no idea how much a mortgage payment (plus all the property taxes and extra xyz) a $900,000 home would be, but I would be so stressed out a bout that house that I would never go into the city and spend money on museums and cultural events....etc
Then add commute times, gas prices...Your life would become a service to the house. (maybe?)
May I ask why you need 3-4 bedrooms when you have no kids? If you are planning for the future then you should really plan for the future and look at the reasons you want to stay in DC as a risk to the plan...
I have never been to DC, so my knowledge is nill

And if you dont "love" the house also...yikes talk about an emotional ball and chain.

Sounds a bit like you want your cake and eat it too, which we all do, but you may need to re-evaluate the real focus of what makes you and hubby tick, then find the living situation that completes both while minimizing the compromise.

The answer will come to you, and all the advise on this forum from us strangers means only a little to your process.

Good Luck DL
5

[5chevin5]

Also, why so fixated on Indy??

I think there about 25 cities in the US that would be a considerable city for "most" the fun things you love about DC.
Im sure DC has its downside too besides cost....

I still also wonder why you dont consider some towns on the west coast, I mean a place like Portland has pretty much everything you need and is mostly affordable....if its a weather thing, then thats a whole other issue. Plus your folks are out west, its always nice being close (but not too close) to the folks when able.

I grew up in NYC, and I love the east coast and all its east coastness....but there is a big country out there, dont go back to any city you lived in before (indy, minn...) just because its familiar and easy....my advise...take a chance, you are young!

As long as the job situation is good, nothing will be too tragic, and you can always move again.

5

[dreamofmonterey]

Originally Posted by doglover29

My husband and I (early 30's, no kids) live in DC and are considering moving to a city with a lower cost of living, in order to buy a decent house. Here in DC, we cannot afford a decent house with a relatively short commute to the city for work. The houses we've been looking at that are small crap shacks are around $900,000. Thus, we are strongly looking at moving out of the area to the midwest, cities like Indianapolis, Cleveland, etc.

However, we are big city folk and love everything that DC has to offer--museums, cultural events, great nightlife, etc. We have lived in other big cities and really love the big city atmosphere, plus after living in a place like DC with so much to do it's hard to then move to a city where there's not much to do. We think we would miss the big city excitement in a place like Indy. Also, we love living on the East Coast because we are so close to great places for weekend trips within easy driving distance, like NYC, Philly, the Atlantic beaches, the Poconos, etc. If we lived in Indy or another midwest city, there's not that much around there to drive to that's very exciting.

We just can't decide if a nice house that's a decent price is worth being in a boring city. Or, should we stay and continue renting in order to be in an exciting city like DC? We've always rented and are ready to settle down and buy a house. On the other hand, we love going out and experiencing all the city has to offer.

We don't have any ties to anywhere and can move anywhere, so that makes this decision harder.

Good post. I escaped NY years ago, but now, love my house, but there is no culture here (plays, museums, etc.) . I attached a picture of the house-

[dreamofmonterey]

Originally Posted by 5chevin5

Also, why so fixated on Indy??

I think there about 25 cities in the US that would be a considerable city for "most" the fun things you love about DC.
Im sure DC has its downside too besides cost....

I still also wonder why you dont consider some towns on the west coast, I mean a place like Portland has pretty much everything you need and is mostly affordable....if its a weather thing, then thats a whole other issue. Plus your folks are out west, its always nice being close (but not too close) to the folks when able.

I grew up in NYC, and I love the east coast and all its east coastness....but there is a big country out there, dont go back to any city you lived in before (indy, minn...) just because its familiar and easy....my advise...take a chance, you are young!

As long as the job situation is good, nothing will be too tragic, and you can always move again.

5

Good advice. Dont move to a place sight unseen either-lol (I did that and learned the hard way)

One thing I learned when we sold the house in Boca- my realtor was very experienced, she said you get in a comfort zone, sometimes its hard to sell, but no one can predict the future, try and move to a place you always dreamed of.

[mikenbacismama]

If you want to stay on the eastern seaboard, I'd have to agree with the poster who mentioned Boston. Hey, if you aren't looking to escape cold winters, I'd think Boston would be a great place to live. Granted, I only visited there...but I thought it was a great town.

Another suggestion...have you looked into the area of Princeton, NJ? I've actually never been, but have heard a lot of good things about the area.

[doglover29]

I think we've made a decision--after a lot of soul-searching, we've decided to not buy a house here in DC and to leave the area. We're considering cheaper cities on the East Coast (like Hartford and Richmond, VA) as well as the Midwest. Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Indy and Cleveland are at the top of our lists.

We just realized that paying $700 K for a crapshack here in DC that's in an area that's a decent commute for my hubby is just not worth it. We don't want to pay that kind of money for a house that's old, small and needs major work. We've been going to open houses, searching online, and seeing properties on our own by contacting listing agents, and these are the kinds of houses we've been seeing. So now we just have to decide where we're going to move, and when. We don't mind renting for a few more years and staying here in DC in order to make a better decision, but we could also move at any time, since we're renters.

[DawnW]

Do NOT move if you feel that way about DC. Seriously. I moved out of the overpriced city that I loved (LA) to a lower cost of living area and have regretted it (and DH has not, so for now I am stuck!)

Live where you love living.

Dawn

[doglover29]

Originally Posted by DawnW

Do NOT move if you feel that way about DC. Seriously. I moved out of the overpriced city that I loved (LA) to a lower cost of living area and have regretted it (and DH has not, so for now I am stuck!)

Live where you love living.

Dawn

I hear you on that, but at the same time, for us it's equally important to love the house we're in. And there haven't been any houses in our price range that we've seen (online or in person) that we even remotely like. We don't want a fixer upper either. We want a house we love. That is more important to us than location. So that's why we decided to leave DC. It was a really hard decision, though. We debated this for months.