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I feel like the outlier, I grew up nearish Ithaca and couldn’t wait to leave when I graduated high school. I agree the area is visually appealing, but I found it rather stagnant. In my area you either worked for one of the few big companies or were struggling, there wasn’t the energy we see here with our growth. I have teens and I’m thankful for the opportunities this area has afforded them, they’ve been exposed to so much more than I could have imagined growing up. You seem very open-minded, I think you could find your niche here, but wouldn’t say Holly Springs or FV.
Thanks- my kids were eager to leave, too. I'm really glad we raised our kids there, it is exactly the kind of place we wanted them to grow up. I felt the opposite- they had tons of exposure to different opportunities, different cultures, different points of view. But now they're both living out of state, out west, and are happy where they are.
Yeah, we know we're giving up a lot to leave Ithaca, but it's time. (Besides all our friends are here, we can come spend lots of time in the pretty pretty summers.)
Budget for a new house is in the $250-300K range, depending on how much our house here sells for.
I would suggest Apex, Wake Forest and Hillsborough for the “town” atmosphere you want but your budget will be tight for those places (maybe a townhouse or condo?). Cary has encouraged major development for a walkable downtown with a great new regional library, restaurants, breweries and a big new park with many features (coming soon). But, again, you would need to check on how high the real estate prices have been driven up nearby.
I would not recommend eastern Wake County for what you want.
I lived in the Finger Lakes/Western NY area for many years and personally would recommend keeping your home there and your condo at Topsail, spending time at both according to the best seasons. You really have the best of both worlds and will miss those NY summers!
Taxes on a $340k house in Ithaca= $8500/year
Taxes on a $340k house in Apex= $3000/year
difference in montly payment= $460/month
That's significant. Part of the goal of moving is that I can cut back from working 2 jobs and have a better work/balance life, and that we can eventually retire. NY is not especially retirement friendly.
We can't keep our NY house unless I keep my full time job which at this point, I'm not willing to do.
So we'll have to look at what we can get for our budget (which will in part be determined by how much we get for our NY house, and prices are rising in our neighborhood, too), and then make decisions about what we can live with and without.
All this information is incredibly helpful in figuring out the areas we're going to look more closely. I know in my original post I shared all the things we love about Ithaca, but we know we're not going to get all- or, probably even most- of those. And yes, there are a lot of things we're going to miss about NY. We appreciate all the advice- we truly do- and maybe as we explore more, we'll decide staying in NY is better for us in the long run. But for now, the plan is to relocate, unless we find out that it's just not feasible as we look more specifically at it.
Taxes on a $340k house in Ithaca= $8500/year
Taxes on a $340k house in Apex= $3000/year
difference in montly payment= $460/month
That's significant. Part of the goal of moving is that I can cut back from working 2 jobs and have a better work/balance life, and that we can eventually retire. NY is not especially retirement friendly.
We can't keep our NY house unless I keep my full time job which at this point, I'm not willing to do.
So we'll have to look at what we can get for our budget (which will in part be determined by how much we get for our NY house, and prices are rising in our neighborhood, too), and then make decisions about what we can live with and without.
All this information is incredibly helpful in figuring out the areas we're going to look more closely. I know in my original post I shared all the things we love about Ithaca, but we know we're not going to get all- or, probably even most- of those. And yes, there are a lot of things we're going to miss about NY. We appreciate all the advice- we truly do- and maybe as we explore more, we'll decide staying in NY is better for us in the long run. But for now, the plan is to relocate, unless we find out that it's just not feasible as we look more specifically at it.
Have you taken into account things like sales tax, grocery costs, etc? $460/mo really isn't much and you can easily blow through that depending on other cost differentials.
Have you taken into account things like sales tax, grocery costs, etc? $460/mo really isn't much and you can easily blow through that depending on other cost differentials.
Yes, using a variety of sites to compare COL. Varies depending on where in NC we compare.
Plus we will both be working from home, cutting costs as well.
Taxes on a $340k house in Ithaca= $8500/year Taxes on a $340k house in Apex= $3000/year
difference in montly payment= $460/month
That's significant. Part of the goal of moving is that I can cut back from working 2 jobs and have a better work/balance life, and that we can eventually retire. NY is not especially retirement friendly.
We can't keep our NY house unless I keep my full time job which at this point, I'm not willing to do.
So we'll have to look at what we can get for our budget (which will in part be determined by how much we get for our NY house, and prices are rising in our neighborhood, too), and then make decisions about what we can live with and without.
All this information is incredibly helpful in figuring out the areas we're going to look more closely. I know in my original post I shared all the things we love about Ithaca, but we know we're not going to get all- or, probably even most- of those. And yes, there are a lot of things we're going to miss about NY. We appreciate all the advice- we truly do- and maybe as we explore more, we'll decide staying in NY is better for us in the long run. But for now, the plan is to relocate, unless we find out that it's just not feasible as we look more specifically at it.
The only issue with this comparison; is that a $340k house in Apex...doesn't really exist anymore. If you were to find a condo/townhome in that price range (even that is questionable at this point) you would also have higher monthly HOA fees that would eat into that monthly payment differential even more.
The average closed sales price of a SFH in Apex in the last 90 days is $621,000; median $582,500
Take out the 27539 zipcode (large unincorporated area in southern Wake County that has "Apex" mailing address but is mostly far removed from the "town")..and those numbers rise to $648k and $590k respectively.
Townhomes/condos for the same area in the last 90 days: Average $419k, median $411k. Hoa fees range from $100ish on the low end to upwards of $400 for condos with high end amenities.
Are there sales below the mean and medians of both of those metrics; of course. Looking through those that actually closed under $400k though (assume anything you see listed as active or pending at $340k will most likely close closer to $400k or higher) it's SLIM pickins if you don't want to do significant updates/renovations.
These are the FOUR SFH in "Apex proper" that have closed below $350k in the past 90 days:
If you are selling your NY house with a ton of equity and have enough to purchase cash; that's a somewhat different story.
One of two expectations/priorities would have to compromise on in order for the Triangle area to be a realistic/practical place for your relocation.
1. Budget
2. Vibe and atmosphere
As someone who spent about half of each summer break as a kid vacationing/staying with relatives in Upstate NY; personally if I had the option of summering there and "wintering" here...that does sound like the best of both worlds. Summer up there is just about the ideal weather.
Again; budgetary-wise you will have far more options in Eastern Wake County....but there will be 0 of the culture/vibe/atmosphere you have described as being important.
Last edited by TarHeelNick; 02-26-2022 at 08:11 AM..
One of two expectations/priorities would have to compromise on in order for the Triangle area to be a realistic/practical place for your relocation.
1. Budget
2. Vibe and atmosphere
As someone who spent about half of each summer break as a kid vacationing/staying with relatives in Upstate NY; personally if I had the option of summering there and "wintering" here...that does sound like the best of both worlds. Summer up there is just about the ideal weather.
Again; budgetary-wise you will have far more options in Eastern Wake County....but there will be 0 of the culture/vibe/atmosphere you have described as being important.
Thanks. We're going to spend some time after we move down here exploring the areas that sound interesting. We may have some additional room in the budget- not over $400k, but some- and are definitely willing to consider a townhouse or condo. (I actually sort of prefer that, given our advancing ages and my zero-interest in maintaining a yard or exterior of a house anymore). I think we'll likely be compromising on some of that vibe, since that's more negotiable than budget.
We'll actually be spending time in NY over the summers, too- all our friends and family are pretty much in NY and we'll be doing a lot of visiting in the nice weather. But maintaining a house there and one here that meet our needs for long-term living really isn't feasible. We'd essentially need two 3 bed/2 bath homes, one in NC and one in NY, and that's just not realistic. I can't spend 4-6 months a year in a 1 bed condo and work from home doing teletherapy, and hubby is pretty insistent that my sewing room is non-negotiable
Believe me, if snowbirding was a feasible option, we'd be all over it. But we don't easily fit into a half-year lifestyle. Maybe post-retirement, but we have at least a decade before we start downshifting into retiring.
The thing with property taxes in NY is they are always going up. I think if you haven't owned a home there you can't really fathom that it is a yearly thing. We bought a house in NY in 1997 and the taxes were $4900 - they are now $17,500. I can assure you the current owners are not getting over $10K better services than we did.
I don't recommend Wake Forest either frankly. In general I think it's ok but you're again going to deal with that "butting up against the rural roots" thing. My DD and I got our COVID vaccines there and both times we went there were trucks with Confederate flags in the parking lot, unmasked people making a big deal out of being unmasked (this is when that was a much bigger deal, no one really seems to care one way or another anymore).
You may want to check out the Chatham County areas close to Apex and Cary. None of this has to be an all or nothing proposition....but checking out each town till you can figure out if it will work for you means renting for a year or so is really your best bet. You don't need the schools so some of the reasons people avoid certain areas definitely doesn't apply to you. Unfortunately the ship has sailed on this being an afforable place for anyone to move to.
There are some condos for sale in Camelot Village in Chapel Hill on S. Estes Dr. DO NOT BUY THOSE! They are cheap because they flood every few years. The town has talked about buying them. I hope they do!
This is a good condo neighborhood called Village West: https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...6_M54374-04099 It is easily walkable to parks and the Bolin Creek greenway. I would definitely considering buying this place. If you're still here this weekend and ready to buy consider putting an offer in on it. It will go very fast.
Can you rent out your home in Ithaca for a year and rent here? Or continue to live there another year and give yourself more time to explore other options, like maybe Georgia or Florida? When I had to move from California because of housing costs, I had to give myself a big reality check on where I could afford to live. Your reasons for wanting this area are valid but I’d like to see you spend time exploring other areas too that would work with your budget. Finding the best place is time consuming, and can be costly but it’s s big decision so I hope you don’t limit yourself. And you’re not retiring for quite awhile yet.
Last edited by loveautumn; 02-26-2022 at 04:46 PM..
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