Do you regret moving to Dallas? (Highland Park, West: home, school, university)

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by crazyforger

Exactly......you will love Dallas while you are into money.
Once you have more money than you need or if your focus shifts away from it, that is when your opinion would change.

Dallas is good for accumulating wealth. That's it.

That fails the reality test. Dallas is one of the top cities worldwide for rich and very rich people. Rich people tend to stay here not leave.

[albert648]

Originally Posted by homerboy

What is your take on property taxes? TX's property tax rate is high, say $8k-$9k/yr on a $550k house in Frisco I saw listed on Redfin.

It doesn't bother me. My property taxes are about $9k exempt and $13k unexempt. Meh. Whatever. It's tax deductible and I don't pay income tax. A property tax rate at say, 1% would only bring the max I can afford up another $100k but prices would go up by a much bigger margin than that. My parents pay about that for a house worth twice as much in California but I would have paid more rent during my 'build up a down payment' stage, I'd have a far bigger mortgage payment if I eventually even get to a position to buy, have to set aside even more money for contingencies because homes are older, AND I would have to pay another few $5-6k in income tax had I lived there. In any other comparable metro I'd be priced out of the housing market altogether.

What's the total cost of ownership (mortgage interest + tax + insurance + other ancillary costs) on a comparable home to the one you saw on Redfin in the major metros and in areas comparable to Frisco? E.g. a decent, upper middle class suburb of, say, New York, LA or Chicago. And if you thought Frisco property taxes were high, just wait till you see the tax bills that come with some of those homes in Westchester.

I can almost guarantee you that in New York or LA, a comparable home will be over $1 million with property tax bills to go with it. And you pay state and/or city income tax.

[CatTX]

Originally Posted by homerboy

Yes, but my property in WA state is valued at $1.5M for 2022 and I'm not very happy (among other things) the way this liberal state keeps jacking up the rate and assessed value. And it's just a simple 1970s built 2300 sq foot house with a 2 car garage, nothing fancy.

My personal take is property taxes are a re-occurring expense I have no control over, unless I qualify for some sort of exemption (which is often rare and may be difficult to qualify) or if I move to a state with lower COL. I would prefer to keep said expense as low as possible, though I would admit there is no perfect place.

One great thing about TX property taxes, once you turn 65 you get an additional $10,000 deduction on assessment for school taxes and, best of all, your property tax rates are frozen. They can reassess and raise your rates only if they vote in a tax increase for everyone (very unlikely), or if you make major improvements to your property, like adding outbuildings or a house addition or a pool. Basically, anything that requires a building permit will be reported to your local taxing entity and they may reassess your property value and increase your taxes. If you don't do any of that, your property taxes won't increase.

[Rakin]

Originally Posted by homerboy

My personal take is property taxes are a re-occurring expense I have no control over, unless I qualify for some sort of exemption (which is often rare and may be difficult to qualify) or if I move to a state with lower COL. I would prefer to keep said expense as low as possible, though I would admit there is no perfect place.

About the only state that is really reasonably cheap is Nevada due to the gambling income.

You might consider it to make you happy.

[michaeltx9412]

Originally Posted by EDS_

That fails the reality test. Dallas is one of the top cities worldwide for rich and very rich people. Rich people tend to stay here not leave.

True. Not to mention Dallas is home to Highland Park, the wealthiest neighborhood in all of Texas. I would love to live there.

[crazyforger]

Originally Posted by EDS_

That fails the reality test. Dallas is one of the top cities worldwide for rich and very rich people. Rich people tend to stay here not leave.

Maybe they are still trying to accumulate wealth or tied to their business.
There is also this inertia once you are set at one place while accumulating wealth, that you tend to stay as you would form a circle, make friends, kids education etc.

People who have lived in South East before tend to move out.
3 friends of mine moved out in past 1 year and they love it there.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by crazyforger

Maybe they are still trying to accumulate wealth or tied to their business.
There is also this inertia once you are set at one place while accumulating wealth, that you tend to stay as you would form a circle, make friends, kids education etc.

People who have lived in South East before tend to move out.
3 friends of mine moved out in past 1 year and they love it there.

No matter the group I noted hasn't left.

[Trimmings]

Originally Posted by fwsavemoney

I do miss the countryside and short 2-3 hour trips to picturesque towns. Much of the countryside around the DFW metro isn't that pretty but that is a small price to pay for everything you get by living here.

There are some pretty places in the country side and cute towns within 2-3 hours from Dallas. East Texas, for example. I am not from TX originally (or even from the US), and I was pleasantly surprised to discover the cute lakes, lush forests and rolling hills within that 3 hour limit. And if you take a 2-3 hour trip on the other side of DFW you can discover quaint towns there too, with completely different vegetation/climate. And how about 2-3 hours south of Dallas....? Waco/Austin. And north? 2-3 hours north of Dallas there are beautiful spots in Oklahoma.

[Rakin]

Originally Posted by michaeltx9412

True. Not to mention Dallas is home to Highland Park, the wealthiest neighborhood in all of Texas. I would love to live there.

Not the wealthiest but in the top 3-5 probably.

There is a city of about 600 in Ft Worth you never hear about called Westover Hills. Home of Texas Oil and Cattle Barrons from West TX and Mega Money. Much more wealthy overall than HP. Names you seldom hear about in TX like Bass, Walmart, Rainwater.

[homerboy]

Originally Posted by Rakin

About the only state that is really reasonably cheap is Nevada due to the gambling income.

You might consider it to make you happy.

You read my mind. LV is on my short list. Very low property tax rate, likely offset by gaming.