Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
There will be a lot of factors like housing choice and existing debt that will ultimately answer the question for you. However, $75k has the possibility of getting you much further here then in many other parts of the country.
Last edited by Hhlebiczki; 04-13-2014 at 12:53 PM..
Reason: Spelling
Is an annual income of 75000 USD (take home around 57000 USD) reasonable for a family of 4 in the RTP area, especially in the Wake county school district?
Since Wake County is a countywide district and costs of housing vary widely from area to area, you'll certainly be able to support a family of 4 on that income but you might not be in the exact area that you prefer.
Use the real estate site of your choice to find houses as similar in size/quality/age/location as the one you currently live in.
This is a very quick apples to apples comparison, as housing will likely be your largest expense. It's not perfect, but in several state moves, it has been a very good indicator for us.
After living near Cleveland and Atlanta, I find real estate in the Triangle to be shockingly expensive. My house in our old Atlanta suburb would literally have been *rougly $100k more in the Triangle*. You could have knocked me over with a feather.
I also find groceries to be more expensive her than Cleveland or Atlanta areas. My friends from the NE of course have the opposite experience
That's a cool looking map CHTransplant (I saw it posted somewhere yesterday as well), but it's hardly reflective of the cost of living in a certain metro area, or even smaller parts of metro areas. The Triangle is slightly more expensive than the US as a whole. I can't remember the exact figure, but it was something like $100 was worth $98+- here. Northern Va drags the rest of Virginia down significantly with the cost of living average, so I know certain areas of states can cause a huge fluctuation that might not be representative of the entire state. Looking at an entire state does not give a true representation of metro areas within a state with good job opportunities, safe communities, abundant cultural opportunities, etc.
Not as inexpensive here as people think. There are taxes people are unaware of on food purchases/services and housing/rent has gone up significantly. Don't get me wrong probably cheaper here than Major Metro City's but at the same time it's not easy street on that income. RE Market here is tight with more demand than supply so prices are high.
That's a cool looking map CHTransplant (I saw it posted somewhere yesterday as well), but it's hardly reflective of the cost of living in a certain metro area, or even smaller parts of metro areas.
Agreed. A nice comparison of state-wide averages, but as always, the devil is in the details.
While you can live here on that amount for 4 people. I would be very nervous about it. I personally don't think it's enough for 4ppl. I can't imagine buying clothes, paying for vacations, car payment(s), etc. Assuming you have kids and don't mean parents, kids are so expensive whether it's for camps, afterschool care, or athletics. If you have 2 kids in any of these, you will be on a very tight budget. If you can live on a bare bones budget, in a starter home, then it might work. This area is getting more expensive and crammed with people. If you can go somewhere cheaper that meets your needs, I would.
OP - I just noticed you didn't use the $ symbol, which country do you live in? Perhaps some folks here can do a comparison for you based on your existing location. We have loads of foreigners here (me included).
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
