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$175, that would get you a 1-bed condo in a very dangerous area in MD (Suitland, Oxon Hill, etc.) that is why i'm tryin to move to Charlotte. what would a two bed TH/condo cost me there?
Historic South End (nice area near uptown), 1 bed/1 ba, 10-ft ceilings, near trolly line $160k.
In Harrisburg (very nice town 25 minutes rom uptown CLT) 2MBRs/2ba, dr, grear rm, $145k
Boardwalk (on the water of Lake Norman) Lake front 2br/2ba, open feel, great rm w/gas fire place, TV niche $220k
your house in NOVA would run over 400k today. with out the 1/3 acre. most lots here are .15 or less. The house across the street just sold for $489k .18acre lot (it does back to woods!!) it's probably about 2500 sqft 3 finished levels, 3bed 2 bath up, living dining kitchen 1/2 ba main level, finished basement with 1bed 1 full bath.
we bought ours 18mo ago just as described above as the market was dropping (except we have a horrible yard...no woods just houses .11 acre!!!) for $499k it was originally priced at $535k and yes the houses were selling for that price in 1 day in June of 2005!!
it's crazy... but now that the market has slumped and we are looking to move I am glad to see the sales going for over $480!! this winter they were going for 430-460 (not good for us!!)
Average list price in Bozeman, MT, is now over $400K and average wage earner makes less than $40K annually. The bubble is not scheduled to burst there anytime soon.
I love NoVA, but I would never be able to afford it with the field I'm going into. What my friend is paying for her 2 BR/2 BA condo in the suburbs, someone here in the Charlotte area could buy a really nice house...all brick if you're lucky! :P
I love NoVA, but I would never be able to afford it with the field I'm going into. What my friend is paying for her 2 BR/2 BA condo in the suburbs, someone here in the Charlotte area could buy a really nice house...all brick if you're lucky! :P
I dont much care for Northern Virginia. It may have been nice 50 years ago. Now its plastic and vanilla
I much prefer Richmond, Charlottesville and Williamsburg.
I dont much care for Northern Virginia. It may have been nice 50 years ago. Now its plastic and vanilla
I much prefer Richmond, Charlottesville and Williamsburg.
I've not seen much of Richmond besides just driving up and down 95, and the Wendy's I went to in Henrico County
And it's been a lonnnnnnnnnnnnnnng time since I went to Williamsburg. I only went to Busch Gardens, so I didn't see much.
I kinda like plastic and vanilla...my eye just likes new. I have grown to appreciate some older architecture too, but it's taken a while. You can thank "Flip That House" for my newly grown appreciation of older homes
My big gripe with NoVA is traffic. If I were to move anywhere that close to DC, I'd make sure I was making a reverse commute if I were to drive at all.
I hear that Charlottesville is a nice place though. Ive never had the opportunity to visit.
I think California was once upon a time one of the most beautiful places in the entire world. It had a certain feel to it that really doesnt exist anywhere else. Atleast in my mind. I think of a great basin with open jungles that blend with a desert climate and an ocean drift. It also makes me think of tar pits and sabretoothe tigers. Dinosaurs neandering around basking in the sun eating the tropical vegitation and decidious plants.
But I cant bring myself to think that location should be a reason for value vs worth. I think the worth price for a house should be a standard price on what people agree its worth it. Not based on the desirabilty of the land(unless its hawaii). Thats' just going to cut off all the nice places for low income families or even middle class families. Eventually that kind of thing leads to all kinds of infastructure problems. My dream was to move to California every since I was a kid. I was fascinated by the giant trees and the lay of the land that reminded me of dinosaurs.
Anyway I thought I would settle for Oregon perhaps with its fern forests and semi giant trees. But the costs there have probably increased over two times what they were just ten or fifteen years ago. Its coast isnt even populated, it its a huge state. Im sure the cold and overcast was a big reason people moved to other places for so long. But since people want out of the eastern US in large numbers because of its oldness, and they want out of the midwest because of the rust that occured and made cities very ugly, and people want out of the southeast believe it or not because of dangerous weather, the west is burgeoning once again.
I want the same thing as any other family. Job stability, family security(I dont want to worry about my girls playing outside), and affordability. I definitely dont haver to have beaches. I would actually prefer mountains over beaches. I dont swim in the coean very much. Its usually way to hot in Florida to swim in the ocean during the summer. Even the water gets up to 88 degrees here. When you get in it feels like you're getting into a hot to very hot bath. This keeps sharks and jellyfish near the shores for some reason. Im not keen on swimming with sharks one bit. I would rather get actual excersize swimming in a pool.
I am looking for the next best thing. Affordability is absent in any of the neatier areas of the country now. Its reserved for retirement folks who have already benefitted from life and sold properties for much more than they paid for them. Or its reserved for the wealthly and people who dont value family life. America is becoming anti-family quickly. Its like a differtent country than just ten or fifteen years ago.
I want to settle down somewhere and buy a home and maybe pay it off if I live long enough so my girls could have it or something. But I dont want to buy a home unless its a place where im comfrtable. Im looking for fresh air, a city close by, and fresh habitat. Ohio lost most of its wild life, the rivers were polluted, all the forests were erased for farming a long time ago.
The west looks a lot more attractive to me than any place in the eastern US because its less humid, and it has a heck of a lot more wilderness. But even little places out there cost a fortune now.
Ive looked at kit homes, manufactured homes, modular homes, and starter homes. Ive looked into any way possible to find or build a family home for five. With the building codes, permits, land costs, and everything else its becoming impractical to try and build even the simplest structures.
I would have no problem living in a trailer in Oregon since there is little lightning out there. As long as it wasnt trashy and it was nearby to things. I doubt you can find trailers in areas with good schools though. Even a trailer probably costs a fortune out there if it has good schools in the area.
I know I dont want to live in Florida for a number of reasons. I dont like that state that much. I think I would be completely miserable living in the great plains states. I need greenery with lots of trees. Lots of plants around. Otherwise I feel out of place. Although I could live with that if prices were a lot more reasonable. It comes down to the cost of living. No one can be happy living out of their means. Paying in excess to live in a certain location seems to be the way these days.
I think regardless of the area houses should cost what they're worth, not what some sucker is willing to pay for it. Im traditonal in that sense. If I were rich and a home builder I wouldnt say well in these times this house is going to cost this much. I would sell it for what I think its worth. Since houses are the most important and common thing theres no need for them to cost even one or two lifetimes worth of a mans work. You cant do that though because of permits, codes, and the cost of land now days. The problem looks like the system to it.
My mind cant understand why with todays technology why things cant be cheaper than they were. There are also more alternatives to what there used to be. My mind tells me we should have been bringing the cost of living down as we advanced as a society not going the other direction. I dont know who that's benefitting.
Phoenix and most of Arizona is overpriced. I'd say the West and Southwest states are probably the worst, everyone seems to be moving West and it just drove up the prices.
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