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You could get anything from a big house in a bad neighborhood to a small condo in a nice neighborhood or something in between. There are plenty of good houses in Milwaukee for $200k or under.
In my little corner of Milwaukee Metro, $200k will limit you to a 2/1 condo.
Well, we do get a lot of house for the money in the sense of square footage and lot size. Everything's bigger in Texas - including electric and water bills in the summer! (Though to be fair, we do have low electric bills in the winter - I see a variance usually of around $150 a month between summer and winter and I've paid several electric bills of over $400 in one month in the summer though the average is typically around $285.)
Just paid our water bill for last month and it was around $200. Now last month was May - one of the most temperate months of the year - and so our electric bill was only $165. But with the heat spell coming on this month, I expect next month's bill to be at least $200, probably more.
Property taxes run about $4900 a year for our home.
Also, we pay about $200 a month for lawn service, and then several times a year we buy a huge amount of mulch for all the beds in the yard - just paid about $400 for mulch last month in fact. I mean, we have a big, beautiful yard but it's an ongoing cost.
So you do have to factor in all costs, not just the price of a home.
All of which are in top tier school districts. If you don't have kids, or don't subscribe to school rankings, you can choose alternative suburbs for a cheaper home.
All of which are in top tier school districts. If you don't have kids, or don't subscribe to school rankings, you can choose alternative suburbs for a cheaper home.
All of which are in top tier school districts. If you don't have kids, or don't subscribe to school rankings, you can choose alternative suburbs for a cheaper home.
That Chicago unit is in Lakeview, not Lincoln Park. If it were zoned for Lincoln or Mayer elementary schools, it would cost 100-200k more.
I do, however, agree that Chicago is the best bargain in the country.
That Chicago unit is in Lakeview, not Lincoln Park. If it were zoned for Lincoln or Mayer elementary schools, it would cost 100-200k more.
I do, however, agree that Chicago is the best bargain in the country.
Says it's zoned for Lincoln Park High school. Either way, as we know, a posting in that neighborhood likely says Lincoln Park to draw traffic to the listing.
One of the things I'm beginning to realize more and more is that high salaries (100K+) are truly difficult to obtain (only 10-12% make that, coastal elites included) and you really do need about 100K to live comfortably in the pricey metros if you had a family, and say 70K if you're single. Also, each additional dollar nets you less and less take home pay the more you make due to tax.
For myself, I have begun to tone down my salary expectations and effort in my career and begun to work harder on making what I do have go farther. I can't predict what my future all holds, but statistically, aiming for say an 80K salary and buying in a lower COL area is my best bet.
What is exciting, even with these high home prices, is that there are options all over the US to pick from, except for the west coast, which is entirely crazy.
About 46% of households in the SF Bay Area make over 100K a year.
About 46% of households in the SF Bay Area make over 100K a year.
At the risk of sounding pretentious, 100k household isn’t difficult. $50,000 is a reasonably attainable middle class salary just about anywhere, and two-ncome households aren’t all that uncommon. Single earners of 100k+ aren’t that common, but once you reach that threshold, you’re likely to find yourself in social circles and neighborhoods that make it seem more common than it actually is.
Last edited by gladhands; 05-30-2018 at 10:32 AM..
At the risk of sounding pretentious, 100k household isn’t difficult. $50,000 is a reasonably attainable middle class salary just about anywhere, and to income households aren’t all that uncommon. Single earners of 100k+ aren’t that common, but once you reach that threshold, you’re likely to find yourself in social circles and neighborhoods that make it seem more common than it actually is.
That's kind of what I was trying to point out, $100K+ HH's are a lot more common than just 10-12% of the population for many metro areas.
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