Choosing Charleston for school and Relo

[Big_Al]

wvsky.c'mon. it's too much pessimism in you. Kanawha Co is in a good shape and its real estate tax isn't bad. Cell phone tax and other such taxes are almost invisible. extra $30 a year? Real estate- this is a tax which matters most. And this tax is low.

[harborlady]

NYS registration fee is about $40 per yer, inspection $30, everywhere a fee fee. reminds me of that extended murphys law:
"No one's life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session" lol

[corgis]

Back on topic - Charleston does need to have its streets cleaned more often, there is a lot of trash and garbage on city streets, especially the boulevard. I have lived in Charleston for 55 years and will be retiring soon, selling the house and moving.

I can tell you that property taxes are low here compared to many, many other states. Wages are also on the low side but housing prices are affordable, as are utilities here.

I don't know anything about cell phone prices here as I wouldn't have a cell phone glued to my ear for any amount of money. I dislike them greatly.

Crime is up in Charleston, all over Charleston, mostly meth and other drugs but also drive by shootings, murders, fraud and theft. Papers and local news report on many a day.

My biggest pet peeve though and one of the reasons I will retire and move away is that stupid, stupid user tax that was just doubled. It will be doubled again in another two years. I hate to pay the city for the priviledge of working here, I already pay to park, eat lunch and shop, I think it's already quite enough.

[wvsky]

Originally Posted by Big_Al

wvsky.c'mon. it's too much pessimism in you. Kanawha Co is in a good shape and its real estate tax isn't bad. Cell phone tax and other such taxes are almost invisible. extra $30 a year? Real estate- this is a tax which matters most. And this tax is low.

Our property taxes are only low compared to other prosperous cities. For instance, my taxes were just raised to $1,500 a year on $175,000 property. Readers should be aware that about 75% of property taxes in Kanawha County go to the school system. That system operates on a 300 million dollar budget for about 26,000 kids. You do the math. The school system is so bloated with money for administrators that they hire more and more each year, while teachers have to buy supplies out of their own pockets, and kids still sell candy from door to door.

What's the point in having "relatively" low property taxes when (as you mentioned) all the OTHER taxes and fees eat you alive? And I will say it again: We have hidden taxes from hell that MORE than make up for our "relatively" low property taxes.

Finally: I would much prefer to pay taxes and fees in a location where there's something to do besides waiting to die. Our former mayor called Charleston "Gods waiting room", and brother... he wasn't far from wrong.

[mtneeratheart]

Originally Posted by corgis

Back on topic - Charleston does need to have its streets cleaned more often, there is a lot of trash and garbage on city streets, especially the boulevard. I have lived in Charleston for 55 years and will be retiring soon, selling the house and moving.

I can tell you that property taxes are low here compared to many, many other states. Wages are also on the low side but housing prices are affordable, as are utilities here.

I don't know anything about cell phone prices here as I wouldn't have a cell phone glued to my ear for any amount of money. I dislike them greatly.

Crime is up in Charleston, all over Charleston, mostly meth and other drugs but also drive by shootings, murders, fraud and theft. Papers and local news report on many a day.

My biggest pet peeve though and one of the reasons I will retire and move away is that stupid, stupid user tax that was just doubled. It will be doubled again in another two years. I hate to pay the city for the priviledge of working here, I already pay to park, eat lunch and shop, I think it's already quite enough.

I read the Gazette online up here in DC and I must say I simply don't understand the perpetual whining about the city user fee. They started that fee during my last years of college and I never had a problem paying it on my summer restaurant salary even though I was a resident of Charleston. So what if it goes up to $2 all of the commuters complain about paying it yet a lot of them live in unincorporated places like Cross Lanes, Elkview and Teays Valley where you don't have to pay city taxes. Try paying $20 a day, yes I said day for parking here in Washington DC (monthly passes average around $350), not to mention $1400 a month rent for a one bedroom apt, monthly subway fare cards, on top of city taxes etc. I think you will realize that a mere $2 a wk isn't really that significant. When you drive to work in Charleston do you not use the roads? guess what they'll need paved eventually. If you are in an accident wouldn't you expect the Charleston police to have an adequate force so they could respond promptly? You talk about how crime is really high in Charleston (which it isn't) yet complain about a fee that has allowed the city to hire more police officers to patrol the streets. Come on people it could be so much worse...