Random Thoughts Thread

[AppleQueso]

even $600 would be more than I can afford... I'm paying $525 right now and that's kinda too much.

[J T]

Yeah, when I first moved to Seattle for graduate school my rent nearly doubled and my income was nearly cut in half. It was tough and I relied on student loans, even though I had tuition covered and a stipend. Things are far worse for people here now.

[Jmustang1968]

Yeah ridiculous. In 08 I shared a townhouse in apartment complex with a roommate and we split the 1700 rent, but it was also in a more upscale area of houston which was near my office.

I moved to a suburb and have a 2650 sq ft house I pay 1175 a month Mortgage (includes my taxes in an escrow). Housing down in TX is so cheap.

[Jmustang1968]

Looking at this CNN Money cost of living calculator, Seattle has 28% higher costs than Houston, with housing 52% higher. Crazy.

[SirGawain]

I'm pumped we got our house when we did. Our entire county is considered Rural Development, along with one of the lowest cost of living in the US, so we were able to go through the USDA even though our house is in the middle of town. No money down and a fixed rate of 4.2%. Mortgage, taxes and insurance run us $800 per month on a 4 bed 2 bath. We were paying $700 for a 2 bedroom apartment

[Nemoide]

My "backup plan" for this year is to move back to Buffalo, which is an extremely affordable city. According to that CNN Money calculator, housing is the same as Houston. I also like that the city has an Urban Homestead Program in which you can find a city-owned vacant house (there are many) and you can buy it for $1 if you fix all the code violations and agree to live there.
I know nothing about home repair but I think it's an exciting possible future regardless!

My "plan A" involves taking over a roadside attraction. It could be the best but it might be a little too unrealistic... I'll find out!

[TSTR]

My "plan A" involves taking over a roadside attraction.

[Nemoide]

I'm thinking a little more Mystery Shack but with dinosaurs.

[Ack]

Yeah ridiculous. In 08 I shared a townhouse in apartment complex with a roommate and we split the 1700 rent, but it was also in a more upscale area of houston which was near my office.

I moved to a suburb and have a 2650 sq ft house I pay 1175 a month Mortgage (includes my taxes in an escrow). Housing down in TX is so cheap.

My mother pays about $1200 on her mortgage every month in Auburn, AL. Before I moved, my apartment's monthly rent in Atlanta, GA, was $1500 a month. It's now down to $1350 since I moved, but I remember the good old days in college where I thought paying $400 was steep and $600 was murder. I wish I paid only $600 for rent now.

Major cities. I'm glad Atlanta is considered so cheap compared to most of the other big names.

[BoneSnapDeez]

I've never paid more than $500 a month in rent.

My current mortgage payment is about $1300 monthly for a 3,000 sq ft hizzouse.