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What do you *get* for paying taxes that high? Do you have smooth beautiful roads, fabulous schools? Where does that money go?
.....no we do not get more roads (that's town taxes) or better more fabulous schools, the $$ for school taxes which is the higher )i pay $5000 to school and $300o to town) it goes to the salary, health care, pensions of the teachers, the average teacher here makes over $50k and those in a district for several years in the 70's and 80's....while our educational system is good, when we talk about re-districting, etc...the bottom line is, is the child getting the education - are they learning? are they challenged? THe place should not matter as much as what they get when they are there.
I am another yet another Nyer considering a re loc. I see another thread re the cost of reg for your car. My consideration to leave NY and go to NC, is for Quality, costs are relative no matter where you go. I reg my car for about $81 every two years yet pay $8000 in taxes for home that is about 2000-2500 square feet. I like people thinking the area is cheap is not the word. If I wante cheap, I could find a nice trailer park anywhere...it is the quality and what you get for your money is the difference...coming from NY that means a lot and many of us, are middle class being priced out of our neighborhoods due to the high cost of taxes, oil, electric , etc.....We all want better for our families and children....Years (and I mean years) ago LI too went through growth and crowding in the schools...this has been resolved and our schools are considered quite good...any area that is growing will go through those "growing pains." Everyone needs to be patient and work together in a community instead of against each other.
Bravo !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NC Here I come !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you - we seem to agree on something, you see, the north and south can work together are not that much different and by the way, on my local news here today NYC was vored as one of the most polite cities in NY. if i can find the study, I will post.
Back to the thread issue..
From my view of the statistics, again these are just that, numbers, most of the schools in the area do rather well in terms of meeting the stds...
I heard a rumor that a new superintendant was coming in, is this true and will be try once again to change the system?
You will probably just tell me I'm bashing the south again, but I'm going to tell you this anyway. We got here last summer. My oldest son was going into the sixth grade. He has always been a straight A student. When we first enrolled him they told me he would be evaluated and placed in an appropriate class. After a month or two he told me that they were teaching him the same things he had learned last year in NY. After several weeks of going back and forth with the administration, they agreed to give him an aptitude test so he could go into advanced classes. Of course there is only one person in charge of this test, and she has to cover several schools. After all that, the advanced classes weren't much better.
I have not researched the std curriculum down there but here is the same, until you go to HS there are no AP (advanced placement) classes and children who are above average get board...Many schools, teachers, etc (here and I am sure down there) just focus on what the state mandates and to pass a test to get a could %... I feel here, even though our schools are considered "good" the students are taught to pass state mandated tests and do well as that is how the district is evaluated rather that educated...In my own household, I do not rely on the public education system to teach my children everything - my daugher is advanced in some areas so I try to challenge and encourage her with harder material in those areas she could benefit....I think we all place too much emphasis on the public system, education begins at home!
Our house in Dutchess County (mind you just a simple starter home)....3 beds, 2 baths 1992 build, 1.4 acres of land (best school district in dutchess).
We pay 8500K in taxes, have a lovely 70 mile commute...I actually quit my job after the second one was born and while money isnt an issue for us.....we still get hit with the alternative minimum tax, have no right offs except the kiddos and the mortgage taxes, our homeowners and car insurance is 300 a month...
Our daughters childcare/preschool runs us 1200 a month.
What do we get for all that....
1. To say that we live in the big apple (big wow...I am a southern cal girl anyway)
2. We get a stressed out quality of life.
3. Everyone assumes all of us are rolling in the dough because of huge salaries and such...so NOT true..you need at least 200k GROSS income to survive here.
Look the bottom line, is that we all want similar things....there is no one that has rights over one state or another...and we should all be doing whats best for our families and kids.
IF it floats your boat to have the NYC manhattan experience..GO for it. IF it floats your boat to live in a small town...try it out. But do what is best for you....its tough enough making the commitment to move, if the towns natives are already against you.
Uuggh, Mom2gurls, I hear you. $8,000 in taxes for a 2100 sq. ft. home w/no yard to speak of, $137 a month in association fees, $1800 in auto insurance, a 2 hour commute each way, tolls and parking in NYC which amount to a car payment, preschool $400 a month for a few days a week.....YIKES! I just stressed myself out. Get me out of here!!!!
I'm with mum2 and jersey girl, and you are so right about income. I will say me and my husband combined make close to the $200k figure and at the end of the month we have nothing - placing a mortage asise as we all have - my taxes are $8000 yr/ car ins $2000 yr, oil in the winter over $2000, my electric bill every two mos $600 - everything keeps going up and up and raises we get do not cover the increse in cost to live, forget about food, clother which is similar all over...
I have travelled and most airports and there vicinity are nice, come look at JFK or LaGuardia and every time I return I say :why am I here - it is just not that easy to leave everything and pick and to move.
It's starting to see A LOT of residents - especially young artsy types - moving out. Supposedly they're moving to Philly, & Balt.
My sister's co-worker - a youth pastor - just left Times Square Church to take a job in Southern Pines. In NYC, he and his family lived 1:45 minutes upstate to be able to afford something reasonable. My sister says she'd follow if she is given the chance. The city life is awesome but after awhile most people seem ready for some "normalcy."
Who knows, maybe the exodus will result in a drop in real estate / rental prices (though perhaps not very much). I did see a show saying the South Bronx is a relative bargain right now.
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NYC is great but ...
