property tax comparison cobb, fulton, dekalb (home, income, exemption)

[plessthanpointohfive]

janp,

I live in Atlanta (DeKalb). This is a small portion of both Atlanta and Dekalb. My property taxes are quite high because I pay both city and county property taxes.

I think it's similar to Decatur City.

Are you targeting East Cobb because of your housing budget?

[janp]

Pless, Depending on where my H interviews, I start internet house hunting in different areas Today it is E Cobb (I also have been looking in Roswell and Alpharetta). Budget (~$300K), schools (we have a rising 8th grader), and commute times all come into play.

I really love what I have read about Decatur City. Love the idea of being ITP and in a walkable village. But, taxes seem a bit high not to mention I want a decent sized house with at least 3 BR and 2 BA (amazing how many of the cute bungalows in the Oakhurst area have only 1 BA)...I'm sure if we keep our eyes opened, we could find something...but we'll see.

A couple of weeks ago, H was interviewing with a company by the airport, and I had my fingers crossed cause I really would love living in Peachtree City.

I'm just ready to be able to house hunt for real (once there is a job offer), but I am doing my homework in the mean time and appreciate all of the feedback!

[plessthanpointohfive]

All those areas are very different as far as vibe go so make sure you visit to pick the one best suited for you.

It would be tough to get into a 3/2 in Decatur City for 300K but I bet it could be done. I can't speak for East Cobb or PTC.

Best of luck!

[neil0311]

Originally Posted by RainyRainyDay

Don't all the voters around here feel that if people want to read they should buy books with their own money, not borrow them from a socialistic public library? We got a dog park in our area recently too, after a long and energetic campaign by a citizens' group. I don't understand it but I'm not complaining.

Nope. Speaking for myself, with a Libertarian bent, government is best that does those things we can't do (as opposed to won't do or are too lazy to do) for ourselves. That includes building roads, schools, police/fire/EMS, libraries, etc. A library is a basic government service that fosters an informed society.

I think you assume that the charge of "socialism" against some government action implies that some believe government should never provide for the common good. That's a wrong assumption, but the operative word is "common" and gov't has an obligation to do those things for the common good that we can't do as individuals. Those are the things for which we pay taxes. Our trouble today is we can't tell one from the other and gov't has become our nanny and care giver. But I digress....

[plessthanpointohfive]

You just defined the gray area of subjectivity. What's nanny to one mindset is common good to the other.

My trash, your treasure.

Even relativity is relative.

[RainyRainyDay]

Indeed, I just googled on the two words libertarian libraries and the very first link I got was this one Public Services: practical examples which actually uses the S word, specifically, to characterize public libraries. According to this page, libertarian libraries would be on a pay model like video cafes.

Evidently there are degrees of libertarianism. That's not surprising.

I have the impression that lots of people around here think there's no such thing as the common good, and government should be whittled back to national defense only.

[plessthanpointohfive]

And some even think that should be privatized!

I have to say, working as a contractor to a federal agency, that MOST federal employees could make a whole lot more money in private industry BUT they feel the worth they do on behalf of the people is way more important to them.

When it comes to things like national defense, public health, and education I take a LOT of comfort in knowing that.

And I don't take any in the idea of privatizing those things.

I mean really...I do analysis on health data from our military, meaning I have access to the medical records of all of our military servicemembers for the purposes of research. There are massive protections in place, besides my own careful steps, to make sure that data doesn't get into the hands of people who would exploit it.

Does anyone really believe that if we contracted out the medical care and the care of medical records and private information for ALL of our military servicemembers that it would be BETTER than having the government control it?

[RainyRainyDay]

Originally Posted by plessthanpointohfive

Does anyone really believe that if we contracted out the medical care and the care of medical records and private information for ALL of our military servicemembers that it would be BETTER than having the government control it?

Curiously, the way some rhetoric around this goes, it seems like people believe that anything done by government is automatically of poor quality and over-priced - like USSR shoe stores. So yeah, I'd guess there are people who feel that your work would be done better if the government had less control of it. Apparently you'd be more ethical and diligent if not reporting to a government employee.

You can really notice this in people's comments on public and private schools. Some people just seem to have an iron-clad belief that all private schools are better than all public schools, simply because they're private. QED.

[dianelirs]

I'm a bit confused with the homestead exemption. How does it work exactly? Do you deduct it when you file your income taxes each year? Or does it just automatically come out of your escrow with your mortgage company? How do you file? Is there a form you have to fill out?
If you have been living in your home for 9 years, and have never filed, can you go back and retrieve
anything from the past?

[dianelirs]

Well you would have to name me one government run business that has been successful before you can convince me that we shouldn't be whittling down every government run function. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the postal service, Medicare, Social Security...any success stories found here????