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One of the reasons I posted this was because in the past 5-6 months it seems like I have heard a lot more people complaining about the way things are going on down here. I live in Holly Springs so of course I hear about the nuclear power plants, the landfill, 540, etc.... It seems a lot of people like the sense of a small town and that small town feel seems to going away. I understand that growth is going to cause that, but it's only a matter of time before people aren't going to want to travel an hour to work one way or want to live on .15 acres of land or continue to worry about their child getting re-zoned. I think it's pretty cool to see Raleigh grow the way it is, personally.
I did not move here for a cheaper cost of living, but I have to say this is the most repeated misconception I see posted on this forum. I fully expect taxes to increase in this area as the need for services and infrastructre increases with the growth in the population. However it's not like taxes up north are static. In fact, the taxes in the North contiue to increase as well. Unless taxes actually decrease up North while they increase here the two will never ever meet. The next time taxes decrease in NJ will be the first time!
Frankin County (Columbus) Ohio are talking property tax cuts. Other counties in OH are considering this as well. I believe it's only a matter of time before taxes sharply rise in the South and lower in the North & Midwest. When you think about it, it's all about supply and demand. While you may have not have moved to NC for a cheaper COL, MANY of the posts I've read on this forum claim otherwise.
The change in Raleigh is hardly unique to just this area. I saw a lot of change and the growth that caused surburban sprawl 40-50 miles from Boston. Yes, a lot of Northeasterners have come here because of it. Smart growth walks a fine line. That is for sure. One thing that is constant is change! I weighed the pros and cons after reasearching the growth here. I felt that the pros outweigh the cons.
Frankin County (Columbus) Ohio are talking property tax cuts. Other counties in OH are considering this as well. I believe it's only a matter of time before taxes sharply rise in the South and lower in the North & Midwest. When you think about it, it's all about supply and demand. While you may have not have moved to NC for a cheaper COL, MANY of the posts I've read on this forum claim otherwise.
If you think taxes are going to lower in the northeast, or more specifically NY, you are very mistaken. There is not any way for it to happen unless the money comes from somewhere else. I haven't seen any big government downsizing projects, and I haven't seen any programs to reduce the cost of education. About the only hope would be if something like vouchers got put in place, which would immediately raise the dollars per student that public schools have available, but again... I don't see that happening because public education lobbies heavily against it to maintain their power and lack of competition. Most of the places with very high taxes have an exodus of people. As people leave, the burden on those that remain is going to go up, not down. Salaries for teachers and government workers are going to continue to go up. Roads, bridges, subways, etc. in the northeast are going to need more and more repairs. Mandated programs from a bloated federal and state government continue to go up. If a local government manages to lower property taxes at all, that will be the exception not the rule, and the thought that they are going to lower them enough to "catch up" with areas like Raleigh just isn't going to happen. If they lower taxes one year or two, it isn't going to be able to continue with the outgoing side continuing to slide steadily. I am in one of the lower taxed areas of NY and my house size and price is similar to what I'm buying in Raleigh. My taxes will be approximately 1/3 of what they are in NY, and areas closer to NYC would push that to 1/6 or better. It would take a double digit increase in Raleigh for the next ten years, with my NY taxes not changing at all, to catch up.
One of the reasons I posted this was because in the past 5-6 months it seems like I have heard a lot more people complaining about the way things are going on down here. I live in Holly Springs so of course I hear about the nuclear power plants, the landfill, 540, etc.... It seems a lot of people like the sense of a small town and that small town feel seems to going away. I understand that growth is going to cause that, but it's only a matter of time before people aren't going to want to travel an hour to work one way or want to live on .15 acres of land or continue to worry about their child getting re-zoned. I think it's pretty cool to see Raleigh grow the way it is, personally.
Before the mid 90's there wasn't much of anything for which to wax poetic in Holly Springs. Of course, the proud citizens who were primarily poor can share stories of when it was not much more than a hamlet. To do so, you would really only have had to live there for more than 20 years. But, I am guessing these aren't the folks who talk about the good old days in the area. Almost everything that makes up Holly Springs today is less than 15 years old. I remember riding bikes in Southern Wake Cty with friends on weekends in the early 90s. We used to pass through Holly Springs and I was always struck by how an old, poor small town could exist so close to so much wealth of its neighbors. Other than a few small houses and local businesses, there was almost nothing there that would indicate that time progressed since WWII. One probably could have bought the entire town back in the 1980's for less than the cost of one McMansion today. Seriously, a film crew could have set up shop to do a film about an old Southern town in the 50's and probably wouldn't have had to do much except move the cars. It always struck me as a very interesting place to be in modern times. Other than its lovely citizens, the only things that the town seemed to be blessed with were 1.) its charming name and 2.) its proximity to other places in Wake County.
I suspect that the location of the nuclear power plant and the initial long term planning of the newly opened landfill leveraged the fact that the poor people of Holly Springs and surrounds could not muster the strong political voice necessary to prevent the projects from happening.
Ironically, the "small town" feel that others might now remember with fondness is probably what the long term residents of Holly Springs remember as what killed their real town.
We've lived in Raleigh 20 years and there have been primarily bad changes in the last few years.
Overcrowding of schools and roads along with air pollution (ozone) are some of the negative blessings we've received along with taxes and bonds to support the demands not funded up front by impact fees.
The influx of folks used to paying more for things has raised rents, home prices, and introduced a bunch of high priced retail that leaves out the middle class working people that used to make up most of Raleigh's economic base.
With a steady government and educational base, Raleigh was in good shape without the growth.
Things will only slide worse unless growth is either stifled off or managed correctly.
My family moved to Raleigh in '74 and even back then folks complained about the good ole days and how things were horrible now. So, keep in mind that one person's good ole days is another person's horror.
That said, I don't subscribe to the notion that Raleigh has to stop growing to "re-gain" its quality of life. I do, however, subscribe to the school of thought that the growth has to be managed and PAID FOR. The idea that growth will eventually pay for itself in increased tax revenues does nothing for the immediate needs that growth brings. That's why I am all for impact fees on new development.
I'm moving from Albany, NY to Raleigh. Albany is probably one of the areas in NY/NJ with the lowest taxes. My taxes are currently $8K/year. The house we are buying in Raleigh our taxes are going to be $2.5K/year, and its a similar size and priced house. For Raleigh to even remotely approach MY current taxes, it would need to have double digit increases every year for 10 years, and that is assuming that my current taxes didn't go up. I can assure you that that won't happen ever. So you would need a pretty dramatic event to cause Raleigh taxes approach NY/NJ taxes. And, that is not taking into consideration all the other "taxes" that NY has... just starting with gasoline that is 40 cents a gallon more, right out of the gate.
never say never. The governer is pushing a property tax cap...meaning eventually there will be a time when the taxes here wont go up anymore. Again, with so many people moving from higher taxed and more expensive areas to NC you'd have to be very naive to not think that it will ever reach their level of cost of living. Have you never heard of South Florida? (and they had it easier...everyone in S FL was just coming from Long Island, NC has people coming from ALL of the expensive places; LI, NJ, CA, Fl, etc.) My taxes on my 1800 sq ft house that i bought this summer for well under 200k in a Rochester suburb are barely over $4000. So Albany must not have the lowest taxes in NY/NJ
What may happen, and I'd hate to see people hurt, is that the tech sector may contract violently throwing many high paid transplants out of work.
Since normal NC jobs won't pay for McMansions and Hummers, many of these folks will have to abandon their homes and scurry back like rats fleeing the Orkin man.
Companies like Nortel love to hire like mad, then lay off the same way.
This could make a real mess when tax revenues collapse.
Its weird being born and raised in Raleigh. I'm now 25 and the area of N. Raleigh I grew up in has changed for the worse. I'm relatively close to capital blvd and it seems to be a conduit for the scum of america. Everything is spreading west from capital in N. raleigh and its a little sad to see. This is the first time I've noticed more crime moving this way as well.
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