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I'm considering quitting my corporate career, starting out as a freelancer, working from home somewhere with a much cheaper cost of living (I'm currently in NYC, very expensive and high taxes). I'd buy a house with savings, rent out 1 BR just to have extra money flowing in, and live off additional savings until the freelance career gets rolling.
Things I'd want:
- cheap housing that'll likely be a good investment in the long term
- state/city with low tax burden (income tax and/or property tax)
- decent sized city so there's at least some economic activity
- warm weather or pleasant weather a majority of the year
- lots of young people, single people, etc. Not a retirement city or city where average age is 45
- not in Northeast US
What I don't need
- proximity to ocean
- any typical political bias (conservative, liberal, etc.)
- any particular industry or company nearby
Ideas?
I've already thought about lots of cities.. here are a few: Las Vegas, Austin TX, Nashville, Phoenix, Denver, Seattle, Jacksonville Beach.
If your new endeavor would require extensive travel I'd recommend Atlanta. Housing is a relative bargain, it has a young population with a number of neighborhoods where young professionals live/work, a somewhat mild four season climate and of course the benefit of having one of the busiest airports in the world nearby. Check out places like Avondale Estates, Cabbagetown, Kirkwood, Old Fourth Ward or Westside.
If you can stand ungodly heat and humidity and aren't an outdoorsy person you might wanna try Dallas-Fort Worth. Low overall cost of living and no state income tax.
I'm considering quitting my corporate career, starting out as a freelancer, working from home somewhere with a much cheaper cost of living (I'm currently in NYC, very expensive and high taxes). I'd buy a house with savings, rent out 1 BR just to have extra money flowing in, and live off additional savings until the freelance career gets rolling.
Things I'd want:
- cheap housing that'll likely be a good investment in the long term
- state/city with low tax burden (income tax and/or property tax)
- decent sized city so there's at least some economic activity
- warm weather or pleasant weather a majority of the year
- lots of young people, single people, etc. Not a retirement city or city where average age is 45
- not in Northeast US
What I don't need
- proximity to ocean
- any typical political bias (conservative, liberal, etc.)
- any particular industry or company nearby
Ideas?
I've already thought about lots of cities.. here are a few: Las Vegas, Austin TX, Nashville, Phoenix, Denver, Seattle, Jacksonville Beach.
Jacksonville hits on all your wants. For real estate investment it's about as good as you can find in this country.
Taxes are extremely low…I know a lot of people, myself included, who wouldn't mind higher taxes to fund more QOL improvements.
1.4 million population is a decent sized city and the business environment is excellent
warm weather for sure…only south florida, southern cal, and south texas are better.
Jax is a very young city for FL, but not necessarily lots of single people. The community is a bit more conservative and a disproportionate number of young people are already married. That said, unlike many parts of FL it's not a retirement haven at all.
Jacksonville hits on all your wants. For real estate investment it's about as good as you can find in this country.
Taxes are extremely low…I know a lot of people, myself included, who wouldn't mind higher taxes to fund more QOL improvements.
1.4 million population is a decent sized city and the business environment is excellent
warm weather for sure…only south florida, southern cal, and south texas are better.
Jax is a very young city for FL, but not necessarily lots of single people. The community is a bit more conservative and a disproportionate number of young people are already married. That said, unlike many parts of FL it's not a retirement haven at all.
I've seriously considered Jax in the past..
1 question though.. and I've only been to Southern FL (Ft Lauderdale, Miami, St Pete) so this could be a dumb question.. but is Jax a high risk area for flooding?
I guess with sea level rising I'd hate to buy a place that's like 2 feet above sea level and on the edge of being flooded. And I know Jax has a big river as well so there's quite a bit of water near most houses.
That'd be my only concern from a real estate standpoint
Not a bad question. I actually do a lot of REI, and my family does a lot in Miami. We obviously don't think it's an issue in the short term down there, especially inland from Miami Beach.
So with that in mind, I definitely do not believe it to be an issue in Jax. There are indeed low-lying areas that are very popular in the city's core, so you are right that it's not just the oceanfront that is susceptible, but it's not something that's even on our radar. And I am concerned about rising sea levels in general, so it's not like I'm denying climate change or anything. In any case, you can always choose to buy in the non-flood zones of Jax.
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