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When it comes to taxes its important to remember the actual tax is a symptom. The spending is the problem. So cities/towns/villages or whatever are spending X amount and have Y number of taxable houses. Looking to live in a high tax area and pay low taxes is somewhat like going to a casino. Keep in mind 22 of the 25 highest taxed counties in the US are in Upstate NY including all in the Syracuse area.
The real danger here is its the rates that are high not the value. So if something good ever happened here and houses started to have value the taxes would force almost everyone out within a year.
And don't forget you pay your land taxes after your income tax. Of coarse income tax will depend on, well, income. If you have any your gonna get beat on in NY. Its 7% over 40K and 40K in NY is staying just ahead of Foodstamps. My out of state cousin was crying about how much it cost to put a car on the road where she lives, I was like add a zero to that and you still ain't writing the check I will be in a couple weeks. I'd pay $2000 a year per car if they'd get rid of the income tax and still make money. And unless you worked for the government its right to the grave as pensions are taxed in NY. The income tax is the true evil in NY but it doesn't get alot of play. Maybe because most people get it withheld and many have forgotten that money belongs to them and not Albany. Welfare scums got a 10% raise in NY this year and that money has to come from somewhere.
When it comes to taxes its important to remember the actual tax is a symptom. The spending is the problem. So cities/towns/villages or whatever are spending X amount and have Y number of taxable houses. Looking to live in a high tax area and pay low taxes is somewhat like going to a casino. Keep in mind 22 of the 25 highest taxed counties in the US are in Upstate NY including all in the Syracuse area.
The real danger here is its the rates that are high not the value. So if something good ever happened here and houses started to have value the taxes would force almost everyone out within a year.
And don't forget you pay your land taxes after your income tax. Of coarse income tax will depend on, well, income. If you have any your gonna get beat on in NY. Its 7% over 40K and 40K in NY is staying just ahead of Foodstamps. My out of state cousin was crying about how much it cost to put a car on the road where she lives, I was like add a zero to that and you still ain't writing the check I will be in a couple weeks. I'd pay $2000 a year per car if they'd get rid of the income tax and still make money. And unless you worked for the government its right to the grave as pensions are taxed in NY. The income tax is the true evil in NY but it doesn't get alot of play. Maybe because most people get it withheld and many have forgotten that money belongs to them and not Albany. Welfare scums got a 10% raise in NY this year and that money has to come from somewhere.
Some pensions are not taxed and home values have at least held steady or had increased a little bit. Interestingly, Upstate metros have some of the lowest foreclosure rates in the US. So, people that have a home here, by and large, can stay in it.
People can any opinion they want, but when you are new to an area, it is tough to get idea of where things are if you do not ask and do not have a clue as to where to look.
Exactly! Which is why the first thing I did when started talking about moving back to NY and figuring out if we wanted to go back to Albany or if we wanted to give Rochester or Syracuse a shot was to post on here and ask a few questions. I got a great answer and have begun my research.
And coming from a house to an apartment can be an experience. The OP isn't realizing that Raleigh is a new city compared to Syracuse. Syracuse has had a population for decades. Raleigh has finally gotten a decent population. So with new people come new apartments, houses, townhouses, condos, etc.
And what one considers gross may be paradise to someone else. Who ever said apartments were cheap in NY? Haven't you heard about the taxes everyone complains about? How do you think those get paid? On average, wages are higher in NY than NC. How do you think those get paid?
Having pets is ALWAYS an issue in almost the entire country if you're an apartment dweller! If you want a pet, be prepared to pay for them!
Apartment life isn't about having a fitness center, pool, or laundry on site. Laundry mats are all over. Same with fitness centers. Pools are tricky in the North. They're open for a very short period of time and are expensive to maintain. You want cheap rent? You won't have those 3 things. In most homes, you will only get laundry and you have buy your own appliances. Well, you could build your own gym and a pool if you have the desire. Apartment living is NOT for everyone.
Why complain about places wanting security, first month's rent, last month's rent, pet deposit, pet rent, application fee, etc? This is how things are. The good news is that the utility companies don't require deposits unlike the South. Talk about a shock....$500 to put the electric in my name because I never had the company before. Meanwhile, I paid my bill on time for 13 years with Niagara Mohawk/National Grid.
If anything, many Syracuse haters think if Armory Square were extended to the entire downtown area and filled with young people it would make the city attractive. In my experience the only people who find it "overrated" or outright objectionable are those that can't afford to buy the merchandise in the stores, prefer a more working class and blue collar environment or those that frown upon "yuppies" or affluent people with cars that involve anything other than crapboxes.
This reminds me of my cousin telling me I should avoid the South Park Mall in Charlotte because I could never afford to shop there. For awhile I did avoid it, but one day I wanted to go to Cheesecake Factory and that's where it's located. Yes, there is a Tiffany's in the mall and I don't shop there. However, there were plenty of other places I DO in fact shop at! And it's a lovely mall. I HATE HATE HATE HATE malls so for me to say a mall is lovely means a lot. Carousel Center doesn't thrill me. It's just an everyday average mall to me. To others it may be the greatest mall ever made. And I'm ok with that and have no reason to argue especially since I HATE malls.....did I mention that already?
If you're looking for WalMart or Target, there's always a place to go. But why not at least LOOK and see what's in the world around you? You never know what you may find! Some stores have things that are just plain amusing so you might get a good laugh and really who couldn't use a good laugh?
Likewise. We didn't buy this home until Step 4 - 2008 (started in 2005, with an annual income of $15K as *gross*)- was reached and, with some help from a health-related suit to propel us beyond the minimum of Ramsey's standards, were able to complete our goal.
There's so much room for self-sufficiency in the village of Manlius, if there's enough peer-pressure on the village trustees. I'm planning a presentation for them, this spring, on the practicality of allowing private livestock on personal property... and modifying traditional layouts to suit noise ordinances and disturbances to neighbors. I plan to take full advantage of current trends. We are very intent on being as self-sufficient as possible... and passersby OFTEN remark on our property. It brings them back to a simpler, happier time, when every-day life was a lot of work but still- beautiful, to behold. As silly as it seems, people love our laundry. Colorful quilts, bleaching sheets and cloth diapers in the sunshine and cloth napkins. This is a welcoming community, even if it does take a while. There's that deep-seeded love of simplicity that captivates even the hardest of chemically-treated yard that's free of dandelions neighbors. :P
The village trustees aren't unreasonable. With enough forethought and conflict PRE-resolution, anything is possible. There is an ENORMOUS difference between the village and the town [of Manlius].
What exactly do you do for a living? Your posts on this thread have been fascinating to read.
Kindergarteners don't need $17K in education. Yet- taxpayers are being charged for it.
Would seniors and no-children homes, who have no children in school, prefer to pay $5K or $17K for what would AMOUNT to the same education... especially if lesser funds were spent on children who expressed a desire to go on to apprenticeships, based on a REAL, free market?
I'm waiting for the day when school taxes are a thing of the past. You have kids in public school, then you pay for it. Watch that $17K drop like a rock! With 3 or 4 kids very few could afford that price. Things would HAVE to be cut and the unions would need to get over themselves or else they'd be out of a job.
I'm all for home-schooling. There's a lot of nonsense going on in schools today and very little actual learning. The kids are taught to get a decent score on a test not how to read or write or have a thought.
What exactly do you do for a living? Your posts on this thread have been fascinating to read.
lol - thank you!
I dabble in this and that and I like money, so I tend to turn my interests into some kind of profitable project. At the moment, I'm a project manager for a graphic design firm and have a side business in organization. (Hoarders-style, which is the most interesting and rewarding.) My dad is a lover of learning and passed that on to me... he went from being an oil-rigger>electrician>sheet metal worker>welder>nurse, getting his RN at 52 years old. He also taught himself (and the entire family, in the process) how to build a mortis-and-tenon, post-and-beam home. Our family has a small farm, which I plan to eventually expand.
What I do depends on my interests. Again, I like money [and thus, saving it] so anything that I can learn to do myself and not have to hire another to do, and can be paid to do for others - carpentry, electrical, plumbing, mechanics, etc. - rates pretty high, for me. lol
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At the moment, I'm a project manager for a graphic design firm and have a side business in organization. (Hoarders-style, which is the most interesting and rewarding.) My dad is a lover of learning and passed that on to me... he went from being an oil-rigger>electrician>sheet metal worker>welder>nurse, getting his RN at 52 years old. He also taught himself (and the entire family, in the process) how to build a mortis-and-tenon, post-and-beam home. Our family has a small farm, which I plan to eventually expand.
