Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > New York > New York City
 [Register]
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.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 05-05-2015, 11:23 AM
 
4 posts, read 5,677 times
Reputation: 10

Advertisements

I don't know what to do. My partner and I currently live in a lovely 3bd apartment in Washington Heights with our kids (7 and 5) and dog. We love our neighbors, our neighborhood, our friends, and NYC life. Our kids love their school and their friends. My partner is a 4th generation NYer, and neither of us could ever imagine leaving, until we inherited a free house.

My mother recently passed away and left me her fully paid off house in Redwood City, which is a suburb on the peninsula of the Bay Area, CA. I grew up in Petaluma and only visited Redwood City a few times, and it was fine - pretty white, good schools, 30 mins from SF, some independent shops. We are considering it because to not have to pay for housing and still live in a relatively urban liberal area would be incredible. But I just don't know if I can give up my life here.

What would you do? Is this area cheaper than where we are now? What would it take for you to leave NY?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 05-05-2015, 11:37 AM
 
Location: NYC
443 posts, read 434,087 times
Reputation: 942
Have you considered using the house as an income property? I know nothing about the area so I'm really not much help but it doesn't sound like either of you are really interested in leaving NY. What about vacationing there this summer to get an idea of what the day-to-day life would be like?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-05-2015, 11:38 AM
 
2,248 posts, read 2,336,390 times
Reputation: 4234
Sorry about your mothers passing. I'm sure others will give you better advice than I can.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-05-2015, 11:39 AM
 
Location: Dallas
282 posts, read 349,062 times
Reputation: 292
No.

But why are you asking strangers? Just do what your heart tells you to do.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-05-2015, 11:40 AM
 
Location: Beautiful Pelham Parkway,The Bronx
9,239 posts, read 24,000,228 times
Reputation: 7748
The SF Bay area isn't really any cheaper than NYC and the "free" house will likely come with a whopping tax bill and lots of yearly maintenance. If you are happy in NYC, I'd sell the house and buy a place here.That's what I'd do,I'd sell the house.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-05-2015, 12:02 PM
 
1,252 posts, read 1,715,596 times
Reputation: 510
so quick it'd make your head spin
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-05-2015, 12:15 PM
 
Location: Honolulu/DMV Area/NYC
30,530 posts, read 17,991,733 times
Reputation: 34273
Quote:
Originally Posted by a l'ouest View Post
Have you considered using the house as an income property? I know nothing about the area so I'm really not much help but it doesn't sound like either of you are really interested in leaving NY. What about vacationing there this summer to get an idea of what the day-to-day life would be like?
That was going to be my suggestion as well, although the OP should keep in mind that, living so far from the rental property, upkeep of the rental property likely would be very expensive (if the OP wanted to check in on the house him/herself, that's money go get to the Bay Area. The OP could also pay for a maintenance company to monitory things, but that's also more money). Now, the money in rental income could work out in the OP's favor even with the added expenses, but that's just something to keep in mind!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-05-2015, 12:18 PM
 
Location: Honolulu/DMV Area/NYC
30,530 posts, read 17,991,733 times
Reputation: 34273
Quote:
Originally Posted by bluedog2 View Post
The SF Bay area isn't really any cheaper than NYC and the "free" house will likely come with a whopping tax bill and lots of yearly maintenance. If you are happy in NYC, I'd sell the house and buy a place here.That's what I'd do,I'd sell the house.
Definitely another reasonable option. I just looked at some homes for sale in Redwood City, and they seem to be going for a pretty penny. The OP could definitely buy a nice-sized condo in Washington Heights if s/he's able to get a good price for the Redwood house.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-05-2015, 12:34 PM
 
Location: Bergen County, NJ
9,847 posts, read 25,181,006 times
Reputation: 3629
The attractive parts of the Bay Area ie San Fran and it's satellites/suburbs are equally expensive if not more expensive than NYC. NYC metro is a bigger area and you can shop around a bit more I find and I mean that looking at all costs including food, transportation, etc. That being said your situation is unique. As someone who has lived in NYC most of my life and has visited Bay Area several times I would choose Bay Area and never look back. For me personally I am tired (burnt out would be more adequate word) of NYC living and I just feel looking at overall picture California offers a higher quality of life with my one major reservation being the water issue.

But I would advise you to really think it through and if you truly feel happy in NYC, stay. You can always sell/rent out the house you've inherited and improve your life here in NYC with the earnings.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-05-2015, 12:41 PM
 
3,452 posts, read 4,602,350 times
Reputation: 4985
You are one lucky guy. Wish I had family that left me a paid off house.

Tough decision. I would probably keep the place and use it as a rental property for a couple of years.

Enjoy NYC for a while and then make the move to California when you are ready. The properties there are only going to make more money.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
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.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:




Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > New York > New York City
View detailed profiles of:

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top