so, what *is* cheaper in SA? (honest question, not trying to stir up trouble) (Dallas: insurance, how much)

[firstclassflyer]

Originally Posted by needsomeinfo

thanks- I guess I am just spoiled!

Plano's property tax is 2.074 (yes, in the "city" (it's all city)). for that, I get an exemplary elem schools and great middle/high schools, wonderful parks, libraries, etc. all within 2-3 miles of my house.

gas is around $3.94 right now.

I do pay $.11/kwh for electricty, which stinks. My summer electric bill is usually $350, and that's for a 2500 sq ft home set at 80 degrees most of the time.

not sure of the rates for the gas bill, but summer is usually $35 a month, winter is higher- maybe $150, due to the gas furnaces.

our HOA is voluntary, and even the mandatory ones for "normal" neighborhoods (not gated) are usually not over $300. (very expensive neighborhoods are much more, naturally). virtually none of the neighborhoods are gated, even the most exclusive ones (willow bend country, etc.)

I pay $3/gallon for milk (on sale or at Target/Wal-Mart).

so, I guess we had it really good, I just never realized *how* good!

Our tax rate = 2.047 (not in city) similar to Plano. Homestead/other exemptions not included.
We have an all electric home- Winter bills are around $60 and summer slightly over $100 (we hit an all time record of $163 last month..but then again lots of folks were shocked with last months bill) for approx 3000 sq ft. 5 years old. No gas bill.
We keep the house at 75. We are home during the day as wife is a SAHM and I work from home frequently.
Our HOA runs $257/annually...mandatory. Not gated.

Gas 3.89/gallon is common.
Milk (I don't know..wife does the grocery shopping)

So, it doesn't seem much (if any) less expensive than Plano

[needsomeinfo]

Originally Posted by mamatotex97

Hey. I'm from Plano. That's where I grew up. I remember property taxes being outrageous there. What area or price range are you considering? Plano can vary by area too, just as any city. Which end of Plano are you at? dm me if ya want.

thanks- I have been looking at i-10, north of 1604. seems like it is a good location, nice homes, cheaper taxes since we would be outside the city limits. the prices do seem higher there, though.

I have also looked at 1604/281, and that would also be good for us, but all the talk of bad traffic has scared me off (we will look there anyway). I like the cheaper home prices and the ammenities seem nice, but the city tax seems so high and the capped schools concern me (we have 2 preschoolers).

We currently live in west plano, just off the tollway. we love the area we live in. we are one of the smallest homes in our neighborhood and the largest ones (3200 sq ft or so) list for about $360k- no idea what they sell for. the homes are around 15 years old and the neighborhood is nice and the location is wonderful.

[needsomeinfo]

Originally Posted by firstclassflyer

Our tax rate = 2.047 (not in city) similar to Plano. Homestead/other exemptions not included.
We have an all electric home- Winter bills are around $60 and summer slightly over $100 (we hit an all time record of $163 last month..but then again lots of folks were shocked with last months bill) for approx 3000 sq ft. 5 years old. No gas bill.
We keep the house at 75. We are home during the day as wife is a SAHM and I work from home frequently.
Our HOA runs $257/annually...mandatory. Not gated.

Gas 3.89/gallon is common.
Milk (I don't know..wife does the grocery shopping)

So, it doesn't seem much (if any) less expensive than Plano

sounds like I need to live in your neighborhood, lol. I could handle that. Everywhere I am looking, I see 2.5%+ tax rates and $700 hoa fees. looks like I need to look harder.

btw, I am a sahm mom too. so, we are living in the 80 all the time! you do get used to it though. just would love to set it on 78 (*gasp*)!

[pobre]

NEISD will be opening 2 new schools in Fall, 2010...Tuscany Heights (281 east side, right near Summerglen) and Bulverde Village.

Traffic @ 281/1604=yes, it's bad at rush hour. IMHO, worse for those who live east of 281 (Encino, etc.)

You can easily stay under 360K for a 3200 sq ft home (of course, you can easily pay more, too.

The good thing about SA is that you have lots of choice as to home/neighborhood, while still living in safe neghborhoods with good schools.

[firstclassflyer]

Well, we are in the Far West area near Sea World (just outside of 1604). Lots of new development. C'mon over!
A lot depends on if/where you will be working. My wife is home with DS (16 month old) and I'm a consultant. I'm either working from home or traveling to client sites (so I just needed to be within a reasonable distance to the airport...and it's 20-25 minutes from here. I refuse to commute! Good luck in your search.

[mamatotex97]

I know exactly where you are at. Both areas you are looking at are great. The traffic off 1604/281 to me isn't anything worse than you see in the general area you are at. I drive thru there every day to and from work. So I wouldn't let that scare you off. The home prices might be a bit higher. It seems much of NEISD and NISD schools are capped. We dealt with that when we moved here with our son who was in elementary school. There's just so much growth here and new schools keep popping up. I'm sure you've probably already seen that on their websites.
I miss Plano but love it here.

[Bo]

I'm not convinced housing has caught up everywhere. Granted, there are markets where values have collapsed by huge percentages, like as much as 50% in parts of California.

I moved here 6 years ago and got a lot more house for the money at that time than I could have gotten in the midwest. Since that time, the assessed value of my house here and the house I left behind have both increased by around 25%. The house here went up 1-2% more than the house there over that span, but it's not statistically significant.

Nobody has quoted electricity yet. CPS has the lowest rates of any major city utility in the state, or at least it did until the recent increase.

[firstclassflyer]

The OP acknowledged that the electric bill would be much cheaper than the .11 per KW she was paying.

I also gave examples of our electric bill (house is all electric).

OP says that HOA's are much higher in Plano and that the lower electric bill is probably one of the the only things that is lower in SA.

[needsomeinfo]

Originally Posted by mamatotex97

I know exactly where you are at. Both areas you are looking at are great. The traffic off 1604/281 to me isn't anything worse than you see in the general area you are at. I drive thru there every day to and from work. So I wouldn't let that scare you off. The home prices might be a bit higher. It seems much of NEISD and NISD schools are capped. We dealt with that when we moved here with our son who was in elementary school. There's just so much growth here and new schools keep popping up. I'm sure you've probably already seen that on their websites.
I miss Plano but love it here.

thanks- good to know about the traffic. when people say "bad", I am imagining 635/75/tollway during rush hour bad. or even 75 on the weekend, where you will come to a dead stop at 10 am on a Saturday morning for no reason whatsoever.

we will look at both areas when we come down next month. I am also open to other suggestions for neighborhoods. so, please keep them coming!

our main criteria is a newer home (4years or less) and a yard. we got really tired of fixing everything on this home, even though we love it (we bought it at 7 years old and have replaced the ac units, hot water heaters, dishwasher, garage door opener, fence, sink disposal, painted inside & out, updated hardware, remodeled bathrooms, etc. over the past 7 years. It just never ended and we would like to have a break from that.)

[Bo]

Originally Posted by firstclassflyer

The OP acknowledged that the electric bill would be much cheaper than the .11 per KW she was paying.

I also gave examples of our electric bill (house is all electric).

OP says that HOA's are much higher in Plano and that the lower electric bill is probably one of the the only things that is lower in SA.

I guess we've got that covered. In wanting to make sure that electricity costs weren't overlooked, it appears I did just that.