Moving from Texas on single income and "ok" increase - will it work? (New York: mortgage)

[newnewyorkers]

I was offered a good opportunity to move to NY, and i will get a salary increase, but it's not like i will be making "double" what i was making... also my husband will be having to quit his very good job and look for another very good job in New York.

My question is... is it crazy to move losing one income, from a low tax area to Westchester and, going from a comfortable $2k mortgage to a $4k (looking for a home in the $1m-$1.3 range)? I am running the numbers over and over and it seems we can get by with my income alone and will eventually go back to a more comfortable financial level when he finds a job... Is this move crazy? Has anyone here moved from a low cost of living without getting 70%+ increase?

[kletter1mann]

Originally Posted by newnewyorkers

I was offered a good opportunity to move to NY, and i will get a salary increase, but it's not like i will be making "double" what i was making... also my husband will be having to quit his very good job and look for another very good job in New York.

My question is... is it crazy to move losing one income, from a low tax area to Westchester and, going from a comfortable $2k mortgage to a $4k (looking for a home in the $1m-$1.3 range)? I am running the numbers over and over and it seems we can get by with my income alone and will eventually go back to a more comfortable financial level when he finds a job... Is this move crazy? Has anyone here moved from a low cost of living without getting 70%+ increase?

I'm sure someone has. If you're making, say, $500k you could probably do it with no increase. But the issue isn't the size of your increase, nor is it the COL where you're coming from. It's whether your future financials can support you here in way that's acceptable. Understand that your taxes on that $1-$1.3 house up here could easily be $2k a month for that alone. You know your situation. You just need to run the numbers.

Also, and I don't know if it matters, your TX $1mio house will likely bear little resemblance to your Westchester $1mio house. And if you're one of those people that simply >>must<< have a new house, likelihood of finding new construction is not very high, especially in lower Westchester.

[streetsmart]

Yeah, in some towns around here $1mil will buy you a tiny, old, dump of a house on a teeny weeny lot. Have you done any research into this yet? Be prepared!

[newnewyorkers]

Yeah. We have done tons of research and have a handful of properties that are btw 1 and 1.2 mil that meet out needs (sq. footage, schools, commute). We currently pay about $14k in taxes. So going up to $25k seems acceptable and part of the COL adjustment. I think we will be fine... But maybe someone hassle the jump and has some idea of the reality of the move...