Money Question (Mount Juliet: sales, real estate, mortgage)

[LI2South]

We are planning a move to TN. We were wondering what income you would need to live not worrying. I know this is a question with no exact answer, but I am looking for a ball park. We don't want to move and find out we can't make it. We have young children and that is a huge factor. If it were just hubby and I we would just go.
Mount Juliet is an option for us but the taxes are higher than areas immediately surrounding it.

I found this on city data - it is just a median income scale... what do you really need to live?

Estimated median household income in 2007: $69,926 (it was $58,600 in 2000)
Mount Juliet: $69,926Tennessee: $42,367

[Mary_Moon]

That's going to depend on your particular lifestyle, IMO. Do you need to vacation every summer or buy a new car every other year? I have friends with small children who live quite comfortably on a salary of $50 or $60K and others who make much more than that living paycheck to paycheck because they spend money like there's no tomorrow.

I'll tell you this - dance lessons run about $60 a month, gymnastics about the same, karate is around $125 and horse riding is approx. $40 per lesson. Birthday gifts to friends/classmates are around $15 to $20 and parties at the skating rink, bowling alley, etc run approx. $200 to $300. This is just my own experience with elementary age kids. Your mileage may vary. ;-)

[LI2South]

We don't vacation other than a few days away locally. We don't buy a new car every year. We have one car payment and one paid for car. We don't over spend by eating out frequently... if we do it is budgeted. We go locally for a 2 for $20 meal deal.
I was asking this question because my Aunt lives in Old Hickory (37138) and she was telling us that we need about 40-45K to live there. I know she REALLY wants us to move ASAP, but I need real numbers first. We are going to have a mortgage around $800 a month without taxes when we move.

[ExIslander]

The main City-Data site reports: "2008 cost of living index in zip code 37122: 86.2 (less than average, U.S. average is 100)."

Taxes here are the Wilson County property tax (about normal for these parts) and the sales tax (high, like everywhere else in Tennessee). There isn't a city property tax in MJ (so far) and no state income tax.

It's hard to answer your question without knowing specifics that are none of our business anyway. I assume you didn't pull your mortgage figure out of thin air, so you've probably done the math there. You've checked Realtracs, you know what houses go for around here. You know what your other fixed expenses are. You know how much it costs you to live, right now, after the bills are paid. What is it that you feel like you don't know about the cost of living in this area?

[LI2South]

I guess it is nervousness coming in. Hubby is leaving a very secure good paying job and it is scary I guess in this economy. We are beating our heads against the wall just to live here and I assume from your screen name you know what it is like on Long Island. The cost of living here is getting out of hand. We just got our school tax bill... $6600.. JUST the school part... not the other stuff like property tax, gov't services & the new tax on energy, etc.

I just want to be as careful as possible not to go into this move thinking one thing and when we get there it is another when it comes to money. We did do research and went down to TN a few times and just LOVE it. The people, the places, the weather. We can totally see ourselves there blending in (meaning not being one of those people who say "back in NY... or in NY we do things this way" - we are moving for change in our lives... not to try to change the area we move to) and because we just don't like it around here anymore. The people for the most part are not nice at all - the traffic congestion, dirt and cost of living are horrible.

The math we came up with was $4300/month. I figured in $50/month more for food tax and got some utility numbers from my family there. Maybe coming from NY the numbers seem too good to be true?? Whatever it is I just wanted to check in with you guys down there to see if I am doing this right and $4300/month is realistic with an $800/mo mortgage... What is your opinion?

[Diane Giam]

I moved here from NJ, but orgimally had owned 2 homes in LI, where I was raised. My husband was able to secure a transfer here, so we moved here on a NY salary, Taxes are much less, I pay $3600 total for real estate taxes on a home built in 2001, which I paid in the low $400,000.

What I am concerned with is your husband coming here without a Job. Without knowing what he does. I would secure a job first. It's possible to do as my son did that a few months ago. Some jobs are easy to get, some hard.

Good Luck!!!! I really do love it here.

Diane G