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I know a lot of college grads from my neighborhood have moved away and I see nothing wrong with it (and not always to more exciting areas, TBH). I think it's healthy to be raised with the mindset that you should have an adventure while you're young, and go where there's a job you'd like to have. Having been raised on LI which has the complete opposite mindset, which is really unhealthy and has led to a lot of unhappy people who feel stuck there, this is one of the things I like about living here.
I also see nothing wrong with wanting to go out of state for college. The vast majority of kids here seem intent on staying in NC which is a little weird to me so if they want to spread their wings a little instead of taking that path I think it's a good thing. I am not keen on my kids going to school so very far away but if they want to, we will let them.
For college..at least undergrad...yes. And that makes sense. In-state tuition for UNC system schools is one of the best bang for your buck in higher education in the country.
I was tempted to go to Boston College or University of Miami for undergrad..got into both...was told by pops that he'd cover the cost of in-state expenses and I'd have to make up the difference in loans if going out of state. Easy decision.
Post graduation; be it for a masters/doctorate degree or a job....most are looking to get out and try something new. This is the case everywhere. The NC pipeline seems to be strongest to NYC, DC, and Atlanta based on my admittedly very anecdotal evidence of folks I know in my peer group.
Last edited by TarHeelNick; 10-14-2017 at 08:05 AM..
If the cost of living in the Triangle rises to the level of where you left, will you move?
The COL in The Triangle was higher than where we left (Phoenix Metro) when we moved here in 2012. And we lost a small bit of income from DH's pool playing skills as they won't gamble here - at least, not the guys who play during the day. We knew that going in.
The ridiculous, antiquated liquor laws in NC is one that hurts, especially the lack of happy hours.
If the cost of living in the Triangle rises to the level of where you left, will you move?
First off, I moved here because that's where my job took me. The COL (property taxes) were a very pleasant surprise, and had nothing to do with my decision. Therefore, they would likely have little to do with any future decision, at least until retirement.
Secondly, folks need to realize why (property) taxes are lower here than they are in the northeast. In the northeast, there are multitudes of school districts and local municipalities. I can only speak about Allegheny County (Pittsburgh), Pennsylvania, but there are over 90 separate municipalities and 45 separate school districts in that county. In Wake County here, there are 12 municipalities and only one school district.
Let that sink in for a minute, and start to think about all the cost of government and administration that exists there. Additionally, each municipality has its own road crews, snow removal equipment, and so forth. Spread all those costs across the (slowly declining) population of residents, and it becomes pretty daunting.
My point is, I don't ever see this area getting to that point of massive numbers of bureaucracies in both local government and schools that it would push the costs to a comparable point of most of the metropolitan areas of the northeast and upper midwest.
For college..at least undergrad...yes. And that makes sense. In-state tuition for UNC system schools is one of the best bang for your buck in higher education in the country.
I was tempted to go to Boston College or University of Miami for undergrad..got into both...was told by pops that he'd cover the cost of in-state expenses and I'd have to make up the difference in loans if going out of state. Easy decision.
Post graduation; be it for a masters/doctorate degree or a job....most are looking to get out and try something new. This is the case everywhere. The NC pipeline seems to be strongest to NYC, DC, and Atlanta based on my admittedly very anecdotal evidence of folks I know in my peer group.
Yup agree, but the mindset where I'm from is completely different, the town we moved from the kids all go to the BCs, Providence, Villanova, etc etc and the southern schools are huge right now - U of Miami, Elon, High Point, VA state schoolsetc....with no thought or regard to how much debt you're accumulating. One of the things I like best about living here (and just had this conversation with my husband yesterday as we have two high schoolers) is how acceptable it is to go to just about any of the state schools here. It's not like that in NY.
First off, I moved here because that's where my job took me. The COL (property taxes) were a very pleasant surprise, and had nothing to do with my decision. Therefore, they would likely have little to do with any future decision, at least until retirement.
Secondly, folks need to realize why (property) taxes are lower here than they are in the northeast. In the northeast, there are multitudes of school districts and local municipalities. I can only speak about Allegheny County (Pittsburgh), Pennsylvania, but there are over 90 separate municipalities and 45 separate school districts in that county. In Wake County here, there are 12 municipalities and only one school district.
Let that sink in for a minute, and start to think about all the cost of government and administration that exists there. Additionally, each municipality has its own road crews, snow removal equipment, and so forth. Spread all those costs across the (slowly declining) population of residents, and it becomes pretty daunting.
My point is, I don't ever see this area getting to that point of massive numbers of bureaucracies in both local government and schools that it would push the costs to a comparable point of most of the metropolitan areas of the northeast and upper midwest.
I THINK I understand what you are saying; however, using your school district analogy, comparing Maricopa County, AZ with Wake County shows that there are 50 school districts in Maricopa. Yet, the real estate taxes are roughly 1/2 to 1/3 less than Wake County.
First off, I moved here because that's where my job took me. The COL (property taxes) were a very pleasant surprise, and had nothing to do with my decision. Therefore, they would likely have little to do with any future decision, at least until retirement.
Secondly, folks need to realize why (property) taxes are lower here than they are in the northeast. In the northeast, there are multitudes of school districts and local municipalities. I can only speak about Allegheny County (Pittsburgh), Pennsylvania, but there are over 90 separate municipalities and 45 separate school districts in that county. In Wake County here, there are 12 municipalities and only one school district.
Let that sink in for a minute, and start to think about all the cost of government and administration that exists there. Additionally, each municipality has its own road crews, snow removal equipment, and so forth. Spread all those costs across the (slowly declining) population of residents, and it becomes pretty daunting.
My point is, I don't ever see this area getting to that point of massive numbers of bureaucracies in both local government and schools that it would push the costs to a comparable point of most of the metropolitan areas of the northeast and upper midwest.
Not really sure that I buy that as the reason. Sure towns had their own schools generally, but they also pooled resources if the costs were lower. NC generally spends a lot less on education than other places.
NC taxes are structured differently, but they not as low as some people make it out to be. The overall tax burden in NC is 8.33% (Wallethub), in PA it's 8.52%. Rest of the NE is much higher though, but at same time, they are high tax, higher service.
We're getting ready for retirement, about 18 months away. We (briefly) thought about moving back to RI to be close to family and beaches. In addition to the weather, home prices are high, not as high as NY or Boston but still a lot higher than here. Property taxes are are also much higher.
When we were considering returning to RI, we found a house a mile from the beach. 1030sf built in 1970's, (yes, not joking), 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, no garage, nice sized lot and the entire house needed updating. Cost $420K!!!!!!
So, we're staying in NC, headed to the coast (Southport). Bought a home built in 2015, 2100sf, 1/4 acre lot, 5 minutes to the beach for a heck of a lot less. It's not just the money, or the beach....it's also the weather, much less hectic lifestyle. A huge bonus for us is that Southport reminds us of a small New England coastal town.
Not really sure that I buy that as the reason. Sure towns had their own schools generally, but they also pooled resources if the costs were lower. NC generally spends a lot less on education than other places.
NC taxes are structured differently, but they not as low as some people make it out to be. The overall tax burden in NC is 8.33% (Wallethub), in PA it's 8.52%. Rest of the NE is much higher though, but at same time, they are high tax, higher service.
It’s impossibe to compare tax burdens on a generic % basis without knowing additional information.
If the cost of living in the Triangle rises to the level of where you left, will you move?
This is a strange question. The places with the highest COL are in general the more desirable places to live. Where would the COL sensitive people go? Oklahoma, Utah, Kansas, maybe Iowa lol? There is a trade off in quality of life that factors in where you want to live, no?
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