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he'll be too busy spending all those tax dollars he is saving to notice.
Actually, when I lived in the South, I didn't save any money. My water bill was 4 times what it was in NY. I had to pay personal property taxes on our vehicles. Groceries cost much more. And even though the price of gas is cheaper in some states (it was in mine), I had to drive much further to get anywhere so I spent more money on gas. Not to mention oil changes and vehicle maintenance.
Oh and the first thing we noticed was how dreadful the water tasted and a few days later we discovered Domino's was the best pizza in town. That's PATHETIC!
I actually lived in Miami for nearly a decade, and I am now planning on moving to Rochester within the year.
Florida certainly has its advantages; no state income tax, weather, high energy, positive people, and truly authentic ethnic nitches (Cuban, Spanish, Brazilian, Italian, Jewish, etc etc etc). The scenery is beautiful, the ocean is near perfect, and if you like latin cuisine.......the food is outstanding.
That being said, be prepared for some culture shock. The socioeconomic status and crime rates don't just vary community to community, but block to block; especially in Miami. You could have a 2 million dollar house on one side of the street, and a 80K shotgun house across from it. It makes the markets chaos. It also makes choosing a community to live in difficult unless you are flush with cash. Also, if you have kids, I hope you have the money for private schools, because the Dade County public school system is well below average. Forget the statistics, which are misleading because of the size of Dade County, the greater Miami / Fort Lauderdale public school systems are frightening. Also, little things will catch you off guard; like hurricanes, utilities costs, a 7.5% sales tax, the fact that 25% of the population struggles with the English language, and that any social event you want to attend will cost you 2-3 times what it would cost in Rochester (Opera, Restaurants, etc etc).
There are certainly pros and cons, and I enjoyed my decade in Miami (even as a Boston native) but be prepared, and know what you're doing. Dade County is like a social, political, and financial mine field, and you have to know how to navigate it.
While much of that goes to a higher mortgage. It all evens out, give or take.
While I'd rather live in Rochester than Miami, I don't agree that it evens out between higher mortgages and lower taxes. The money you pay into your mortgage serves as equity that helps you pay off your loan and potentially have money left over after you sell. Tax money goes down the toilet, never to be seen again.
While I'd rather live in Rochester than Miami, I don't agree that it evens out between higher mortgages and lower taxes. The money you pay into your mortgage serves as equity that helps you pay off your loan and potentially have money left over after you sell. Tax money goes down the toilet, never to be seen again.
Not completely true. If you itemize on your taxes, you can deduct the property taxes and interest on the mortgage. And you do get benefits from the taxes you pay. True, most are on things you don't see, but you do see new roads, new bridges, snowplowing, road salting/sanding, road cleanup, schools are open and filled with children, trash gets picked up from homes weekly, heck they even recycle and take leaves in many places! Without schools, many children would be running amuck and causing havoc all day long while their parents were at work. Not to mention they wouldn't be educated.
Not completely true. If you itemize on your taxes, you can deduct the property taxes and interest on the mortgage. And you do get benefits from the taxes you pay. True, most are on things you don't see, but you do see new roads, new bridges, snowplowing, road salting/sanding, road cleanup, schools are open and filled with children, trash gets picked up from homes weekly, heck they even recycle and take leaves in many places! Without schools, many children would be running amuck and causing havoc all day long while their parents were at work. Not to mention they wouldn't be educated.
Paying far less taxes in VA than NY, and I get leaf pickup, new roads, new bridges, schools, etc. I'm not saying infrastructure and schools should be left behind, I'm saying that I'd rather pay more for my house and less in taxes than the other way around, while getting the standard services. In other words, I want to channel my finances into an investment vs. giving the government my money and getting the same services. And yes, you can itemize your taxes, but that's merely an offset, depending on how much we're talking about.
Note: I'm not comparing VA to NY, it was just an example. I'm also not saying that place A is cheaper to live than place B. I'm merely saying that I don't agree with more taxes comparable to a higher mortgage.
Paying far less taxes in VA than NY, and I get leaf pickup, new roads, new bridges, schools, etc. I'm not saying infrastructure and schools should be left behind, I'm saying that I'd rather pay more for my house and less in taxes than the other way around, while getting the standard services. In other words, I want to channel my finances into an investment vs. giving the government my money and getting the same services. And yes, you can itemize your taxes, but that's merely an offset, depending on how much we're talking about.
Note: I'm not comparing VA to NY, it was just an example. I'm also not saying that place A is cheaper to live than place B. I'm merely saying that I don't agree with more taxes comparable to a higher mortgage.
NY is the 3rd most populated state in the nation so it's very hard to compare to others with regard to taxes especially since the 2 most populated states are more than twice the size of NY. No doubt taxes are high here and that really needs to be fixed, but that means a lot of people are going to have to give up things and so far people have been reluctant to do that.
Unions definitely get their way far too often. Southern states, in general, don't have unions and I think that's where a lot of the problems come from. For example, teachers here get paid a hell of a lot more than in the South. Where I was in SC, teachers were paid about $26-$30K a year. Here I know teachers who make over $60K a year and they have much more in benefits. Most were getting free health insurance until recently. And even now some are only paying 10% of the cost of the premiums. Sure wish we only paid 10% of our health insurance costs. And they have pensions.
How many jobs nowadays have pensions? They have caused companies to go bankrupt and people didn't care. They just wanted their $$$$$. There's only so much people have to give and we are hitting that point where it's too much. It needs to change or else there will be numerous municipalities going bankrupt. And then everyone will be told tough luck no more. Maybe that's what needs to happen to wake people up!
NY is the 3rd most populated state in the nation so it's very hard to compare to others with regard to taxes especially since the 2 most populated states are more than twice the size of NY. No doubt taxes are high here and that really needs to be fixed, but that means a lot of people are going to have to give up things and so far people have been reluctant to do that.
Agreed. Every state has different factors. NY has a lot of old infrastructure, which is constantly pounded by tough winters; that's expensive to finance. IMO, other states that are seeing rapid growth will eventually have massive amounts of aging infrastructure in 20 - 30 years that will spike taxes. However, it also has to do with population levels (as you pointed to), and state-level economic policy.
In terms of people giving things up, good luck. I don't think it will happen until bankruptcy and financial ruin literally forces change; the public is far too entrenched with what they want instead of making change for the better of all.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ss20ts
Unions definitely get their way far too often. Southern states, in general, don't have unions and I think that's where a lot of the problems come from. For example, teachers here get paid a hell of a lot more than in the South. Where I was in SC, teachers were paid about $26-$30K a year. Here I know teachers who make over $60K a year and they have much more in benefits. Most were getting free health insurance until recently. And even now some are only paying 10% of the cost of the premiums. Sure wish we only paid 10% of our health insurance costs. And they have pensions.
Too many municipalities (from small counties to larger cities) are going bankrupt due to pensions. Politicians promised far too much while things were still (seemingly) good. While it's nice to bless workers with benefits like that, it was unrealistic to finance it. Now that it's time to pay out, no one has the money. I believe that bankruptcy will excuse pension obligations as more of them sprout up, and that's if lawsuits against officials or municipalities don't deem such promises as criminal.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ss20ts
How many jobs nowadays have pensions? They have caused companies to go bankrupt and people didn't care. They just wanted their $$$$$. There's only so much people have to give and we are hitting that point where it's too much. It needs to change or else there will be numerous municipalities going bankrupt. And then everyone will be told tough luck no more. Maybe that's what needs to happen to wake people up!
Economics, greed and entitlement work no different in modern America than they did in ancient Rome. Things will change, but I believe that there is far too much dependency on the government (e.g. government jobs, infrastructure, social services, etc.) to make cuts and restore financial sanity without first going over the cliff.
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That's PATHETIC!
