what you get for the money sac vs. (Los Angeles, San Francisco: middle-class, how much)

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by New2Tn

It appears the Sacramento property is an active short sale while the NC property is not. Is that really a fair comparison? The question posed by the OP is really open ended due to so many variables, so perhaps comparing two properties where the actual living space is similar would be helpful. By comparing the asking prices you can get a feel for what you get for your money, which was the basic question, and I don't believe the OP had any intention of restricting the answer to area's which are similar to Sacramento.

Here is an active listing in Sacramento; http://www.realtor.com/realestateand...474?source=web

Here is an active listing in Tn; http://www.realtor.com/realestateand...698?source=web

While comparing these note the 5 acres that comes along with the drastic reduction in price on the Tn property. Figure in no State income tax, much cheaper utilities, cheaper gasoline and food and the choice is obvious.

Hmm! I would also factor in cleaner air, significantly lower crime, less crowds and traffic. But I would also factor in a sizeable metropolitan area with many restaurants, historic significance, cultural offerings, entertainment and proximity to much more compared to being out in the middle of nowhere with potential small town isolation. Weather would also be a consideration.

In the end it all comes down to personal preferences and finances.

[New2Tn]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

Hmm! I would also factor in cleaner air, significantly lower crime, less crowds and traffic. But I would also factor in a sizeable metropolitan area with many restaurants, historic significance, cultural offerings, entertainment and proximity to much more compared to being out in the middle of nowhere with potential small town isolation. Weather would also be a consideration.

In the end it all comes down to personal preferences and finances.

I agree with what you say. However I would point out that travel time to Nashville is less than the travel time from Sacramento to San Francisco. I understand Nashville isn't San Francisco but it's a large metropolitan area with plenty of the items you mentioned. Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau - Tennessee Vacation

I absolutely agree with your statement of personal preferences, living in rolling green hills with no traffic sounds, no sirens or helicopters, where locking your front door is still an option isn't for everybody. I say that tongue in cheek but I do seriously realize country life doesn't fit everyone. I'm glad someone enjoys city life, it gives me somewhere to go to have a good time and then drive back home out of the chaos.

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by New2Tn

I agree with what you say. However I would point out that travel time to Nashville is less than the travel time from Sacramento to San Francisco. I understand Nashville isn't San Francisco but it's a large metropolitan area with plenty of the items you mentioned. Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau - Tennessee Vacation

I absolutely agree with your statement of personal preferences, living in rolling green hills with no traffic sounds, no sirens or helicopters, where locking your front door is still an option isn't for everybody. I say that tongue in cheek but I do seriously realize country life doesn't fit everyone. I'm glad someone enjoys city life, it gives me somewhere to go to have a good time and then drive back home out of the chaos.

We live rurally and enoy all you mentioned; especially the senses of calm and safety. We also enjoy the hill country's beautiful scenery and abundant nature/wildlife. Adequate-to-good shopping is 20-some miles away as are plenty of entertainment options. For a "city fix" (small - 160K) we have but to drive for an hour or a bit less. For us it all makes for a perfect combination.

[Coughlan616]

Originally Posted by caligirlz

I can't imagine why someone who loves living in California would even be interested in moving to KY. I sure wouldn't. I've never made a decision on where to live based on the "cheapness" of housing, food, etc. It is a factor I consider in the overall picture, but never a major decision point. I'm blessed to have a "I can work anywhere" type of job.


I certainly don't expect my parents to leave their house to me. Perhaps in my younger, selfish days when I wanted handouts, but not now. I'd rather see them spend their money on things that bring them happiness, or to provide the best healthcare in their golden years. I do value their teaching me how to build wealth and manage my money. It certainly does help to have chosen a great career that has enabled me to live just about anywhere.

BTW, I hate being a renter, and what's even worse, is being a renting roommate - Yuk!!

AND, I LOVE my cookie cutter newer home in the Folsom suburbs. I love that it has relatively low maintenance, and that it is the perfect size for my family, and so what if I paid more than someone else is comfortable paying...I can afford it!

You were lucky to have a good upbringing. Some people did not have the same luxury or I know I sure didn't. There wasn't really enough stability in my life and I started late at a lot. My mom SPENDS more money than she invests. My dad has a house he could possibly leave me yrs from now but its back east.

[K-Luv]

Originally Posted by hydro

When you take the average home in Sac, sell it and move back east, where do you end up being able to afford? Baltimore or somewhere in the south? Just curious what you get for the money.

I went from Sacramento to Baltimore (via an indirect route). You could definitely afford Baltimore outside of Roland Park, Canton, Fells Point, and Resivoire Hill. But there are plenty of other places on the East Coast you could afford, too.

Originally Posted by shelato

The problem with these types of arguments is cherry picking. While you pointed to a 4310 sqft home built in 2000 for $399,500 in Cornerville Tennessee, I can return with a newer (2007) much bigger 5,586 sqft home in the Rancho Cordova for $415,000. So by moving out from Cornerville Tennessee I arguably could get almost a much bigger home for almost the same amount of money. So is the cost of living really that much more expensive or less expensive to live in the Sacramento region vs the Cornerville Tenn. region?

I remember a point in time when if someone could afford a $399,500 home than they could afford a $415,000 home. These days, not so much. I personally do not see it as too much of a difference since both monetary values are large to begin with, but to many current homebuyers that $15,000 is a huge difference that could make or break the sale for both the seller and/or the buyer. People haggle over the difference of a few thousand dollars as if an 'extra' $5,000 spread out over twenty years is a killer.

Originally Posted by u225615

Continuing on the fatally flawed tour of homes...here's one in Baltimore. Wish it had pics of the interior. Love the wordwork and period detail in some of these older homes.

905 WOODBOURNE AVE, BALTIMORE, MD Property Listing - For Sale - MLS# BA7924962 - ZipRealty

That home is in a good area of Baltimore. Not the best. Not the coolest. Not the funnest. But probably one of the safest. Johns Hopkins is near by as well as two nice, free, museums (one of the a part of JHU).

[shelato]

The National Association of Homebuilders along with Wells Fargo puts out something called the housing opportunity index. You can read more about the index here.

NAHB: What is the NAHB-Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI)?

What this index allows you do is to compare how expensive housing is in one metro region of the country vs another region of the country so you can figure if housing prices relative to average incomes in the area are higher or lower than the part of the country you are moving from. For instance right now, the housing index for Sacramento, Arden Arcade, Roseville is 78.3, for San Francisco, San Mateo Redwood City its 32 and for the nation as a whole its 73.8. According to this index housing in Sacramento is both more affordible in Sacramento than the bay area, but also that housing is more affordible right now than housing is nationally. Specifically a family earning the median income in the bay area has much harder time buying a median priced home in the bay area than in the Sacramento family earning the median income in Sacramento trying to buy the a home priced at the median Sacramento price level. Similarly the family earning the median US income has a harder time buy a home priced at the median US housing price than a family in Sacramento earning the median Sacramento area income has right now in buying a home at the median Sacramento area price.

Housing prices in Sacramento are now cheaper than the rest of the country. There may be some parts of the rest of the country that are more affordable than Sacramento and if so they should have even higher scores on this index than Sacramento's 78.3

http://www.nahb.org/fileUpload_detai...ontentID=34325

[bluevelo]

The schools would have to improve here a MASSIVE amount before I'd buy a house. I can't afford private, but none of the public schools in Sacramento or its suburbs are worth a damn. I'm not happy that my kids are living in CT with their mother, but at least they're in a much better school where I'm not worrying about their personal safety or being overtly influenced by gang culture.

[u225615]

Originally Posted by bluevelo

The schools would have to improve here a MASSIVE amount before I'd buy a house. I can't afford private, but none of the public schools in Sacramento or its suburbs are worth a damn. I'm not happy that my kids are living in CT with their mother, but at least they're in a much better school where I'm not worrying about their personal safety or being overtly influenced by gang culture.

None of the public schools in Sacramento or its suburbs?

SAT scores are commonly used in evaluating the academic strength of schools. For better or for worse SAT scores make a difference when applying to institutions of higher learning.

Mira Loma High School students in Sacramento scored an average SAT score of 1853 in 2011

Rio Americano is another high performing school in Sacramento...

As is Folsom High School in the Sac suburb of Folsom

Wilton High School students (Wilton High is arguably Connecticut's best high school) scored an average SAT score of 1810 in 2001

And, if you were to buy a house in the Wilton School District it could cost upwards of 800k or more. Same if you were to purchase a home in some of the other high performing school districts in CT like New Canaan. That's certainly less affordable then housing in Sacramento.


I'm sure there are areas/schools in CT where gangs exist and/or personal safety isn't the best. Just about every large metro area has those.

[NorCal Dude]

Sacramento's metro's real estate prices are actually very similar to Chicago, both in rent and housing.


That's why Chicago is such an underrated city. You pretty much get the urban amenities of SF or LA, with a cost of living that is sane.

[wburg]

Of course, property taxes are several times higher, the city government is still a national model for graft and corruption, and snow is considerably more work to shovel off the driveway than sunshine. But other than that, yeah, Chicago's pretty great. Good public transit, lots of museums, and some terrific neighborhoods.