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So I am CO and selling my 5bedroom 2bath home for 155K and moving to VA for job reasons. I am completely floored at what the cost of living is where I am going- Williamsburg. Our salary isn't increasing at all. What I want to know is will I ever get over how expensive it is to live there? DH and I make around 100K annually and can't afford to buy a home there- which is ridculous. I can't believe that if I wanted to own a home there I would have to buy something around 300K. That's insane. I will be a renter forever! Will I ever get over the home prices emotionally? Am I just nuts? I can't fathom spending that much on a house. When I visit with my friend from OK, she is still swallowing our CO home prices compared to homes in Lawton, OK.
Do people eventually suck it up and purchase a house?
Well I'll only buy a house to a certain price no matter where we are because I can't accept paying X amount of dollars for 30 years. I want a payment that we can swing if things get bad and I like to see the deed in my hand
Here in Ca. I am told so often by the natives "you pay for the lifestyle" so yes some people do accept the higher prices and even believe it's a good deal.
So I am CO and selling my 5bedroom 2bath home for 155K and moving to VA for job reasons. I am completely floored at what the cost of living is where I am going- Williamsburg. Our salary isn't increasing at all. What I want to know is will I ever get over how expensive it is to live there? DH and I make around 100K annually and can't afford to buy a home there- which is ridculous. I can't believe that if I wanted to own a home there I would have to buy something around 300K. That's insane. I will be a renter forever! Will I ever get over the home prices emotionally? Am I just nuts? I can't fathom spending that much on a house. When I visit with my friend from OK, she is still swallowing our CO home prices compared to homes in Lawton, OK.
Do people eventually suck it up and purchase a house?
If there was no increase in salary I think I would reconsider moving, since you say the move is only for job reasons.
If you move, you may learn to accept higher prices, once it becomes your new reality.
DH will lose his job here due to a hearing problem and is changing jobs so we are going there. So we are moving so he gets to keep a job. He is a fire fighter- can't wear a hearing aide in a fire- it will melt to your head. So he is going to be a fire inspector...where he can wear his hearing aide. So, if we stayed, we would have to live off of my salary which isn't enough. This way we both can continue working.
DH will lose his job here due to a hearing problem and is changing jobs so we are going there. So we are moving so he gets to keep a job. He is a fire fighter- can't wear a hearing aide in a fire- it will melt to your head. So he is going to be a fire inspector...where he can wear his hearing aide. So, if we stayed, we would have to live off of my salary which isn't enough. This way we both can continue working.
Any way you guys could consider a different state?
You will be getting a pay decrease if you move to VA for job reasons. If it costs you more to live there on the same salary, you are pocketing less money. You should reconsider moving. Have you considered that you have to make new friends when you move? That selling a house costs money? That moving costs money? You might not like VA as much as CO? It kind of sounds like you think moving will be easier than finding a new job.
If you do move, make sure you are guaranteed at least 2 years of pay after you move, even if they terminate you early. (My father moved and was terminated after 6 months, but luckily his contract was for 2 years.)
Owning a home is a privilege, not a god given right.
The United States of America is not an entitlement, although the current administration would leave you to believe that people should be given entitlements.
There is absolute nothing wrong with renting.
Unless you are outright paying cash for the home and getting a deed to the home without any liens, you do not own your own home.
I suggest you rent for 1 year, get a feel for the current real estate market before making a decision to buy.
Move to where the jobs are. Keep a roof over your head.
The above suggestions are mostly good. The reality is that when you move to an area with a higher housing cost from an area with a lower housing cost you have to look at the whole picture. That includes the alternatives of staying put and hoping that a suitable job opens up locally as well as broadening your search to include areas with lower housing cost.
In the case of the OP and her husband I would personally recommend exploring more alternatives -- seems unlikely that the only place with openings that match qualifications and medical limitations are in VA. Maybe some more effort might turn up a situation where husband's background could be used to work for a firm that sells / makes fire fighting equipment. Maybe more education could result in teaching fire fighting at state fire academy or college. Always alternatives...
If the move means that you won't be able to afford to own house, and you won't be happy as a renter, that would be a big reason not to move. That said I would bet that eventually you can find something that is maybe a longer commute or needs some more work that you can afford in almost every market. Even San Fran and NYC have some places that are affordable for the cops and firefighters, so maybe you could also explore the possibility of some sort of municipal employee home ownership program...
I think much of what you're talking about IS an emotional response. My husband (then-boyfriend) and I bought our first home (a tiny starter home) for 335k and we at the time made just under 100k. We also had 2 car payments, $500 in student loan bills, and general expenses each month. We're fine. I now stay home with our son and do a bit of freelance work when I have the chance, and we're selling at a loss so we can purchase a larger home.
I don't know your personal financial situation, but I think for some people it's more about getting over that initial shock of the cost of living differential. People in urban areas like Boston, DC, NYC, SanFran, etc. can only dream of living in someplace with a cost of living as low as Williamsburg. Heck, we considered ourselves fortunate to find a house for under 350k at the time.
Take a deep breath, look at where you can "cut the fat", so to speak. It's going to be fine.
So I am CO and selling my 5bedroom 2bath home for 155K and moving to VA for job reasons. I am completely floored at what the cost of living is where I am going- Williamsburg. Our salary isn't increasing at all. What I want to know is will I ever get over how expensive it is to live there? DH and I make around 100K annually and can't afford to buy a home there- which is ridculous. I can't believe that if I wanted to own a home there I would have to buy something around 300K. That's insane. I will be a renter forever! Will I ever get over the home prices emotionally? Am I just nuts? I can't fathom spending that much on a house. When I visit with my friend from OK, she is still swallowing our CO home prices compared to homes in Lawton, OK.
Do people eventually suck it up and purchase a house?
The problem with moving to where the jobs are, is that everyone else is doing it too. So housing is more expensive. Around NY metro, nice suburban houses go for about 500k, so you need to be pulling in about 200k to manage that comfortably. If you earn less than 100k or so here, you more or less have a college student lifestyle.
I agree with the others who suggest renting for a year or so. You have a much better chance of finding suitable housing at a good price, if you take time to become familiar with the area first, and house prices aren't going anywhere in the next year. If you really get familiar with the market, you may find that you can get something suitable for 250 instead of 300.
And yes, people do tend to "suck it up". Buying a 300k house off a 100k income is hardly unheard of. That's the price you pay for living in a place that has jobs.
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