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I'm exploring the possibility of moving the family to Raleigh, but trying to learn a bit more about the area, history of real estate, and general cost of living. Can anyone help?
We currently reside in Phoenix, AZ and with the addition of our second child in October we're finding our 1700 sq. ft, 3 bed 2.75 bath home is too small. We're wanting to get into something no more than 10 years old and no smaller than 2500 sq. ft. Is that do-able in Raleigh?
From what I've read it seems NC is a "tax happy" state. Is this true? Are taxes high? I make around $130k, but have two car payments and other expenses - just like most. I'm just trying to get a feel for things, so again any honest advice would be greatly appreciated - things like utilities, gas, etc. Thanks.
We currently reside in Phoenix, AZ and with the addition of our second child in October we're finding our 1700 sq. ft, 3 bed 2.75 bath home is too small. We're wanting to get into something no more than 10 years old and no smaller than 2500 sq. ft. Is that do-able in Raleigh?
Are you asking if there are any houses in the entire Triangle area (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, plus surrounding areas) that are less than 10 years old and at least 2500 sq ft in size? Well of course there are! I just did a search on Realtor.com and it showed 2600+ homes. Perhaps you need to be a little more specific with your criteria.
I don't know the area at all. Just looking for some help with 1) Is NC a state that has very high taxes? 2) Can someone tell me about the area? We're not exactly close enough or able to visit just yet, but getting some help as to where the nicer areas are, how the schools are, where the better school districts are, which areas are high in crime, etc. For instance, here in AZ you can live in the area of Phoenix that borders Scottsdale and looks just a nice, but taxes are not as high as those who live across the street in "Scottsdale proper" just because its Scottsdale. Of course I know there are houses in the area within those vague criteria, but again I don't know the area and was hoping for some help from the locals who have been there for a while and can provide some local knowledge. Thanks.
As a general rule of thumb property taxes on a single family home run around 1 to 1.2% of the home's value per year. Some municipalities are slightly lower.
A 2500 square foot home in Raleigh would cost anywhere from $250 to $325K and have taxes around $3,000 per year.
There is also a personal property tax assessed on your car at the same rate-drive a $25,000 car and pay $250 per year in property taxes on it. Those are tax deductible just like the property taxes on a home.
I don't feel taxed to death here but I come from metro NY which is a high taxation region.
Insurance rates for homeowners' and auto are low here IMO. Utilities are on the low side as well.
YMMV-
FC
Keep in mind that you can live in the 'county' -- eg: not raleigh or cary proper -- and pay county taxes. They are *much* lower than 'city' taxes. In wake county, it is the same school system but you need to pay for own garbage pickup.
Perhaps the CNN Cost of Living Comparison calculator will help you. When I plugged $130k salary for Phoenix, it calculated that a salary of $128,562 in Raleigh would give a similar standard of living
Arizona is, on aveage, a lower tax state than most. The Tax Foundation ranks its effective tax burden at 41st out of 50, with an average effective rate of 8.5%. It ranks NC as 20th, with an average effective rate of 9.8%. [Data as of 2008]
Thank you all so much!! This all helps a lot! Are there any sketchy places in the triangle that I should definitely not even consider looking at? Again, I can only compare to Phoenix, but there are like GREAT neighborhoods here, and then around the block there is the hood. Definitely wanting to avoid that type of housing scenario.
First, you'd want to make sure that your $130K job would be A) even available here and B) pay the same. Lower cost of living usually equates to lower salaries, as well, unless you are completely self-employed, of course.
Every city has "sketchy" areas--for both Raleigh and Durham, these tend to be concentrated in the Southeastern part of the city. Both cities (like 'most anywhere) also have some nice areas not far from those areas, though N. Raleigh and Cary/Apex/Morrisville are characterized as "very suburban" by any definition. The Triangle area in general is low-density compared to a big city--poor public transportation and having a car is a must. I'm not sure how PHX ranks on that front or whether you care.
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I just did a search on Realtor.com and it showed 2600+ homes. Perhaps you need to be a little more specific with your criteria.
