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.
You will likely need a car unless your universe is restricted to Downtown Raleigh. Great breweries and dive bars in the area including Players Retreat, Village Draft House, Raleigh Beer Garden, and the local breweries such as Raleigh, Big Boss, Clouds, Crank Arm, etc. Have fun in your visit. Keep an open mind.
Raleigh Beer Garden has a Guinness record for most taps, although that is spread across several bars. I had several very unique beers there last week that I had not had on tap since leaving the Midwest two years ago.
Don’t underestimate the cost of owning a car since you said you don’t have one now. Add that into your cost of living increase what you need here. Factor in purchase price, yearly property tax, gasoline, insurance, and maintenance.
We are originally from Central, and also Boston, MA. Been here 30 years and still love it!
While there is a yearly property tax on a car, the insurance was much cheaper than in MA. At least half for us. AND as you mentioned purchasing a car here, there will be less weather-related damage to the car. Very rare to see an NC vehicle with all of the rust and salt damage like in MA...
While there is a yearly property tax on a car, the insurance was much cheaper than in MA. At least half for us. AND as you mentioned purchasing a car here, there will be less weather-related damage to the car. Very rare to see an NC vehicle with all of the rust and salt damage like in MA...
Very true, and one of the first things I have noticed in used vehicle prices (we only brought an SUV with us from MA as my lease was up when we left MA) down here.
A used vehicle in MA with 80-100K miles on it is priced based on the knowledge that the undercarriage may have less than a few years left before it rots through because of the salt.
Here Ive seen full sized pickup trucks with 150K+ miles on them selling for $20K+.
Here's my reasoning - which is going to send this thread on a tangent, but that's how we roll here.
Never underestimate the value of real estate in a high cost of living area. I love living in the Triangle, and will likely be here until retirement, but that retirement can come much sooner if you live in a high cost of living area, and retire to a lower cost of living area.
Real estate equity in a higher cost of living area is going to increase at a more rapid pace than a lower cost of living area. Higher cost of living markets are also affected less by economic/real estate downturns. A lot of my friends where I grew up have more home equity currently than what my house here in NC is worth.
So, in my opinion that leaves you with two choices:
1. If you like everything about where you live except the cost of living, stick it out, live a more frugal life, invest in real estate, and enjoy retiring early to a lower cost of living area.
2. Live a more lavish life in a lower cost of of living area, but retire later.
Of course, it's a coin flip whether or not any given person will even make it to retirement age, whether it's early retirement or not. So that's part of the decision as well.
My home/land here will never be worth what my home/land would have been worth in MA had I stayed there. Because of that, even if I wanted to retire back to Boston, I would never be able to - at least not easily. Had I stayed in Boston, by the time I'm of retirement age, I could take my probable 1.5-2M dollars in home equity, plus retirement savings, and retire pretty much anywhere I choose.
Now if Amazon, Apple, etc come here, then we end up one of those high cost of living areas, and we all hit the jackpot.
Your logic is flawed, here's why:
You need money to invest in real estate, most people don't have that luxury.
The house we sold on Long Island in 2007 for $589k has sold twice in the eleven years since without appreciating in value, at all.
If you already are struggling financially where you live and it's early in the game for you, odds are that it won't improve much anytime soon. That's an awful amount of stress to endure, for any reason.
You need money to invest in real estate, most people don't have that luxury.
The house we sold on Long Island in 2007 for $589k has sold twice in the eleven years since without appreciating in value, at all.
If you already are struggling financially where you live and it's early in the game for you, odds are that it won't improve much anytime soon. That's an awful amount of stress to endure, for any reason.
I stand behind my advice.
1. I do agree on this point. But it is possible, it just takes work. It all comes down to how much you like living there, and how important friends and family are.
2. 2007 was a real estate peak just prior to a non-typical recession. The Great Recession was far from the norm.
3. Agreed, but sometimes you need to make sacrifices. Is moving out to the suburbs within driving or commuter rail distance of Boston, better or worse than moving to Raleigh which is a completely different type of city than Boston?
Advising someone to buy real estate in a HCOL area just because of anecdotal evidence of past performance in one location is incredibly flawed. Some areas continue to grow and see appreciation. Some areas stagnate. Some areas contract. You also need to compare the opportunity cost of that higher rent relative to just investing in an index fund for all those years.
Advising someone to buy real estate in a HCOL area just because of anecdotal evidence of past performance in one location is incredibly flawed. Some areas continue to grow and see appreciation. Some areas stagnate. Some areas contract. You also need to compare the opportunity cost of that higher rent relative to just investing in an index fund for all those years.
Man people LOVE the word anecdotal in this forum.
You can look up historic real estate prices in the Boston metro over if you want. Long term real estate investment in a place like Boston is a very safe investment.
You can look up historic real estate prices in the Boston metro over if you want. Long term real estate investment in a place like Boston is a very safe investment.
I agree on this point.
RE in MA, east of say Auburn and Spencer, is and has been a safe bet to return on the investment since about 1990.
Even in the recession economy we saw 7-10 years ago, 4.5% annual return was pretty much the floor you were going to see (unless you bought at the peak in 2008).
Eastern MA's limited supply of real estate (most towns no longer allow anything approaching the type of development we see here in the burbs or Raliegh) ensures that the most basic of Economic Principles will win the day.
I am originally from the Monadnock Region in southern NH. Buying right now is out of the question, so I am looking to rent.I know a lot of people who gives Boston the 5 to 7 year mark and want out of the city, it's becoming a trend. Some of my friends are looking to move out as well, so I'm hoping they will jump on board with me. I understand of the lower cost of living down there and that probably means lower pay then what i'm what used to-but I have my options open.
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.
