Is $100K/year salary comfortable for family of 3 in Johnson County? (Overland: sales, real estate)

[East Coast RN]

Hello everyone,

This is my first time posting on here. Long story short, my husband and I will be relocating from the East Coast to Johnson County (Overland Park or Olathe area). In order for us to move, we will be taking a huge pay cut but I think it's worth it. I'm just afraid that we will not be financially stable with our combined salaries of around $100k. We have a 3 year old that will need childcare.

So my question is based on your experience will we be okay? I figured after taxes we may collectively bring home about $6k a month. We wouldn't have debt aside from a mortgage payment and two reasonable car payments.

Reason I asked is where we are coming from making six figures is barely enough to get you considered middle class.

Thanks in advance for the advice.

[kcmo]

Depends on the lifestyle you want. I think you can easily live comfortably in the KC area with an income of 100k. You could live in a nice home, drive decent cars etc. I mean, you probably couldn't live in the most affluent suburbs or the more affluent parts of some suburbs, but Parts of Olathe, Lenexa and Northern Overland Park have plenty of homes in the 225-300k range which is probably where you will be looking depending on any down payment you have. A 250k home in suburban metro KC would be about 700-800k in a similar area in the DC area.

100k will certainly go much further in KC than the east coast (at least the bigger cities along the east coast).

[East Coast RN]

Thanks for responding.

We are middle class people who just want to stay financially stable and live in a nice home (nothing fancy). I think we are going to try to stay in the 250k range and under for home price. It will definitely be better than what we have now. We're not big spenders nor do we drive expensive cars. So it sounds like we will be okay since I'm sure cost of living is a little lower out there even though the sales tax is a little higher.

Thanks for the info!

[zach_33]

according the stats on wikipedia it would put you above average. Anecdotally speaking, I think you will live large. It's pretty darn inexpensive. A $200-$250k mortgage should secure you a comfortable home in a safe neighborhood. Just curious though - why JoCo? Did you consider other similar areas?

[luzianne]

You will be fine. Johnson County is a great place to live.

[TinaMcG]

You will be fine as long as you choose a home very carefully. I live in JoCo and am very concerned that the quality of many new homes is grossly substandard. Building codes aren't as strict as in many other parts of the country, and I personally know of one builder who is throwing up $250K homes who shouldn't even have a license -- but the planning department seems to think he's fine. We have neighbors whose home was built by this company and it is not so structurally unsound that they have had to let it go to foreclosure. It is THAT bad.

Another neighbor, in a brick home that would probably be listed at close to a million dollars, has had two roofs (in six years), all new windows installed, and every sheet of drywall in the house replaced. This is a home that was approved for inhabitation in 2006, and within a year it was falling apart. It looks magnificent from the outside, but it's a disaster in every other way. That homeowner happens to have enough money to keep repairing it.

So get an extremely thorough inspection, and if possible, select your own inspector. Foundation problems, bad roofing, shoddy workmanship and improperly installed windows, chimneys and flashing could cost you a fortune. Johnson County is a nice place to live, but I am extremely leery of what goes into the approval processes for building homes.

[East Coast RN]

Zach_33,

We considered JoCo because hubby went to high school out there 20 years ago and recently went back for the HS reunion and loved it so much he wouldn't stop talking about it. We went out there together to see the area last week and I really liked it (the people, the cleanliness, the schools, the roads, etc.)
Also hubby has some old friends in the area that he recently reconnected with.

Tina,

Thank you for the advice. I did read somewhere to be careful of some of the homes that were thrown up quickly. We met with a real estate agent while we were out there and he also said the same thing and that he would be our "negative Nancy" when it came to home buying.

Are there any downsides to JoCo? I'm only asking to so I can see it from all angles. I like to be informed.

[TabulaRasa]

You COULD definitely outspend that income in Johnson County...but you certainly wouldn't have to.

[East Coast RN]

Originally Posted by TabulaRasa

You COULD definitely outspend that income in Johnson County...but you certainly wouldn't have to.

I just want to be financially stable and provide for my little guy. No big spending here unless said child eats us out of house and home. I just realized that groceries are taxed in KS. I'm hoping despite different taxes that we be still be ahead of where were are now. Basically we are working like crazy right now and spending an arm and a leg on basic cost of living.

[luzianne]

Originally Posted by East Coast RN

Are there any downsides to JoCo? I'm only asking to so I can see it from all angles. I like to be informed.

I have lived in Johnson County almost all my life and I'm still here because I love it. To me, there are no downsides. Two great things about Johnson County are the schools and low crime. When it snows, the roads are cleared quickly.

My husband would say the downside is the city codes - like you can only have a 10 x 12 shed, etc. But I think it's a good thing - it's to protect neighbors from people like my husband, who would build a monstrosity of a shed in the back yard if the city would allow it!