Considering moving to area in 2-3 years - advice needed

[Brian07095]

Great points. Thanks. Please keep them coming.

Of the lower costs of living its the home costs that are the biggest factor for me. We simply can't afford the type of home we want in our area of NJ. Our current home is a fixer upper requiring $50k (NJ) in improvements. It'll sell quickly for $350,000 as-is. We could pay cash (I wouldn't) for a $200,000 home in Raleigh with the proceeds from our sale of our house. That same $200,000 house in Raleigh would cost us $400,000 here with property taxes approximately $6-8k per year. Search realtor.com for 3bed/2ba in zip code 07095 and see.
Basically, I want to do better for my kids but I want to stay on the east coast in an area with a relatively similar climate.
I do have family in Elon and others planning to move to the area in a few years.

I'm still need answers to some questions...

How does the yearly personal property tax work?

What are the costs for some of these items? Gallon of milk, gallon of regular gas, 6 pack of Budweiser?

Are cars registered with the state yearly? Costs?

What could a person expect to pay for an average car insurance policy if they have no accident or ticket history?

Costs of home owners insurance?

[mishellina]

I will have to get back to you on the other expenses..lol Hubby is the bill guy and I can't recall what we pay exactly. I know though we are not paying anything exorbitant (sp?) for either home or car insurance.

Gas here is now about $2.65 by me , yet we went to Raleigh and off of 70 it was $2.45! Stinks for me..lol. NJ was always a little cheaper. My parents would pay maybe .20 cents less or so. Gas comes right into the ports there in Elizabeth etc.. we make up the transport cost.

- Food as we mentioned is really the same. There are supermarkets here that are on a par with an A&P ( over priced ) and then we have a couple closer to a Pathmark or Shop Rite. I usually shop at Trader Joe's now only because their brand of milk is cheaper. Usually hangs around the 2.99 -3 something range. Again, you won't see a big difference.

- Unlike NJ you pay sales tax on clothes. Think the rate is 6.75, could be 7 now. It's up there.
- Places to eat are the same, chain and local. Some are cheaper than others etc.
- Alcohol is also the same. Bud is cheaper than say a six pack of Corona. Sorry, not a Bud fan but I like Miller Genuine - which is about $9 and change for a 12 pack.

[Brian07095]

Thanks mishellina. Where I'm at gas is ~$2.55/gal for regular right now. You're right, other than the sales tax on clothes there isn't much of a difference. If we spend $3,000/yr on clothes I can deal with paying an extra $210 in tax.

[Francois]

You mentioned that your wife would be wanting a library job. Be aware that UNC-Chapel Hill is the #1-ranked Library School in the US, right here in the Triangle. NC Central also has a Library School. What this means is that library jobs are saturated with applicants, whether public, special, or academic. Now of course, her 18 years' experiece would count a lot, but it may not be quite as easy to step inn and snap up a librarian job as she is expecting (see: NC's #7 in the USA unemployment rate, as well). One public library is on the chopping block right now, in Southeastern Wake county, even as the population grows in that vicinity.

Re: traffic. I'm sure nothing compared to NNJ, but I'm not sure "not as bad as NNJ" is such a great standard to use when you're setting out to start a new life. Traffic here is no picnic, and getting worse by the year. I think we will be approaching Atlanta-level traffic in 10 years or so if things don't slow down.

Re: Personal property tax--most people pay tax on their home and their car(s). I don't know the rates offhand. The tax is mainly used to fund the school system, but you can go to the individual counties' websites (Wake, Durham, Orange, Johnston, Chatham, etc) for specific info in each county.

Re: yearly car registration: It's about $30 per year for a sticker for your license plate to show that your registration is up to date and that you have insurance (you can't renew without proof of insurance). Also, we have yearly emissions/safety inspections that can be done at service stations or also at the Quick Oil change places or even a couple of places whose whole business is doing car inspections. They have just this past year synchronized these two yearly requirements so they will fall on the same month, to make it easier to remember to have them done.

[Brian07095]

My wife is not a librarian.
The traffic cant possibly be worse than it is here. I live in the most densely populated half of the state that is the most densely populated in the country.
I just paid $75 for 1 year registration of my 6 year old truck and $65 for my 4 year old motorcycle but inspections are free but the state or you can go to a local garage here and pay for the convenience.