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Old 08-18-2019, 10:20 AM
 
4,011 posts, read 4,252,181 times
Reputation: 3118

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Grlzrl View Post
Well, she is 40 and from Poland and her English isn't great so....

Ironically, she is doing IVF. Must have good health insurance.
That may explain partially why she has likely never appealed her RE tax bills. A lot of well intentioned immigrants looking for the American dream are unfamiliar with the system here. (The whole RE tax situation is a bit different in Poland btw).

Regarding IVF, were you aware that in IL, the state mandates that insurers cover at least 4 rounds of IVF treatment? She is fortunate to have some coverage. I have friends who have endured multiple rounds paying out of pocket between $10-20k/each.
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Old 08-18-2019, 10:25 AM
 
4,011 posts, read 4,252,181 times
Reputation: 3118
Quote:
Originally Posted by mjstef View Post
My wife is a realtor here in Northern Wisconsin. About 1/2 to 3/4 of her offices clients are people leaving Illinois now or planning on leaving Illinois when they retire in a few years. One client owns a modest 3 bed 2 bath 250K home in Grayslake that is about 25 years old. Their taxes are over 12K a year. That will pay 6-8 years of taxes here and that same 250K home in Grayslake is under 200K here on 5x or more the land. The quality of life is MUCH better, No traffic, Virtually no crime, Wildlife all around, Great Fishing, Clean water, need i go on?? Can you blame people for leaving HELLinois??? As of November 20 years ago this year our whole family, Mother, Father, Grandparents, Aunt, Uncle left. Don't miss it one bit......
QOL is quite subjective.

99% of retirees won’t be heading to northern WI because the winter weather is too brutal and they don’t share the fishing/hunting/snowmobiling vibe.
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Old 08-19-2019, 08:00 AM
 
2,561 posts, read 2,181,447 times
Reputation: 1672
Quote:
Originally Posted by damba View Post
That may explain partially why she has likely never appealed her RE tax bills. A lot of well intentioned immigrants looking for the American dream are unfamiliar with the system here. (The whole RE tax situation is a bit different in Poland btw).

Regarding IVF, were you aware that in IL, the state mandates that insurers cover at least 4 rounds of IVF treatment? She is fortunate to have some coverage. I have friends who have endured multiple rounds paying out of pocket between $10-20k/each.
This is a good point. It's unfortunate that her home is worth less than her mortgage as Grzl is suggesting. But 1) if that is really the case, she should have no shortage of evidence to successfully appeal
2) even if she sold for a loss, she should not even need to move very far to be in a better mortgage/insurance/RE tax situation. It doesn't need to be in Indiana.
3) if she bought at the top of the market, she should refinance her mortgage today if she hasn't already - they were never below 6% between 2006 and the last few months of 2008.

Also, given that she's a Polish immigrant - I do feel bad for the situation, but I think those that ARE educated at the nuances of such topics need to realize the minimal investment required to bring up to speed those that aren't, whether they're immigrants or those that simply come from an area in which basic education or financial literacy are unavailable - because at the end of the day we are all better off for it. Obviously timing the market poorly does not discriminate regardless of demographic group.
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Old 08-19-2019, 09:37 AM
 
7,072 posts, read 9,617,672 times
Reputation: 4531
Quote:
Originally Posted by damba View Post
QOL is quite subjective.

99% of retirees won’t be heading to northern WI because the winter weather is too brutal and they don’t share the fishing/hunting/snowmobiling vibe.
Not sure about that. Many retirees from the Detroit, Mi area move to up northern Michigan.
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Old 08-19-2019, 09:39 AM
 
Location: broke leftist craphole Illizuela
10,326 posts, read 17,427,673 times
Reputation: 20337
For some retirees a small place by a lake in Wisconsin or Michigan is paradise. For others it is a condo in Florida or Arizona.
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Old 08-19-2019, 11:17 AM
 
Location: La Grange, WI
99 posts, read 70,291 times
Reputation: 145
One man’s paradise is another mans purgatory I suppose. It’s all about personal preference. However there is also the physical aspect of being in a rural area. I am on 5 acres and just getting out the tractor to get the grass done and maintain my fence line takes a considerable effort. As much as I would love to suppose that in 40 years I could still manage, I am guessing my perspectives will change when I am older. There is also the fact that in the event of an emergency nobody from the county is getting way out here rapidly. I pretty much have to fend for myself to a large degree. That is another potential concern for older folks.

Everyone’s circumstances are different.
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Old 08-19-2019, 12:23 PM
 
629 posts, read 543,458 times
Reputation: 994
Quote:
Originally Posted by arzdfd View Post
He appreciates Chicago’s diversity, restaurants, cultural opportunities and sporting events, and doesn’t feel any less safe than when he lived in Dallas. When he posts pictures of snow on social media, friends in Texas comment that they’re jealous. He doesn’t miss scorching hot summers.”
  • diversity is hilariously overrated in Chicago... one of the most segregated cities in the US...
  • good restaurants exist in nearly every town in the USA now...
  • Other cities have lots of cultural opportunities and its not even that important anymore with the invention of the internet (you can literally stream most symphonies or theater online now)
  • Sporting events, lol, who can afford to attend these in person anymore?
  • crime is much much much worse in Chicago than most other cities in the united states, especially if you want to live in a "diverse" neighborhood
  • Sure, summers are hot in other places, but horrible wet cloudy or cold weather in Chicago for 9 months out of the year doesn't really make it better
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Old 08-19-2019, 01:22 PM
 
Location: Chicagoland
5,751 posts, read 10,377,273 times
Reputation: 7010
Quote:
Originally Posted by smegmatite View Post
  • diversity is hilariously overrated in Chicago... one of the most segregated cities in the US...
  • good restaurants exist in nearly every town in the USA now...
  • Other cities have lots of cultural opportunities and its not even that important anymore with the invention of the internet (you can literally stream most symphonies or theater online now)
  • Sporting events, lol, who can afford to attend these in person anymore?
  • crime is much much much worse in Chicago than most other cities in the united states, especially if you want to live in a "diverse" neighborhood
  • Sure, summers are hot in other places, but horrible wet cloudy or cold weather in Chicago for 9 months out of the year doesn't really make it better
I was going to take the time to pick apart each of your very flawed points, but then I read your third point:

“Other cities have lots of cultural opportunities and its not even that important anymore with the invention of the internet (you can literally stream most symphonies or theater online now)

And then I realized it’s futile to even attempt to argue with someone who thinks watching symphonies streamed over the Internet is the same as actually sitting in the acoustically superior Orchestral Hall or on the lawn of Ravinia and listening to a LIVE performance by CSO, one of the best orchestras in the world, conducted by Muti, one of the best conductors in the world...

Enjoy watching your streaming orchestra and YouTube theater in your lower tax area.. And I will continue to happily live and pay higher taxes in Chicago, while people like you just don’t get it...
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Old 08-19-2019, 01:32 PM
 
Location: Chicagoland
5,751 posts, read 10,377,273 times
Reputation: 7010
Quote:
Originally Posted by damba View Post
QOL is quite subjective.

.

100% agree... weird some posters here don’t get that. Living year round in northern WI would not be at all enjoyable to me. And I know that area quite well and I’m also a “winter person.” No thanks - the occasional trip there for fishing, skiing, snowmobiling will suffice...
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Old 08-19-2019, 01:40 PM
 
Location: C.R. K-T
6,202 posts, read 11,451,251 times
Reputation: 3809
Quote:
Originally Posted by GoCUBS1 View Post
Enjoy watching your streaming orchestra and YouTube theater in your lower tax area.. And I will continue to happily live and pay higher taxes in Chicago, while people like you just don’t get it...
Man I would be jealous if my big airport was the hub of two domestic airlines!

I really admire how the state's and the region's economic activity is concentrated in Chicago. I would have my pick of jobs within an hour's drive without having to move; unlike in Texas where it's not just Houston, but Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, and San Antonio.

The Metra train is pretty efficient compared to the multi-polar suburban job centers in the other (not Houston) Texas big cities, saving wear-and-tear on the personal car. Houston is the only city in Texas with a park-and-ride bus system that can approximate the Metra train system--so if you don't work in DT Houston, you're SOL.
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