Texas is also extremely hot and will likely get hotter. It has a terrible government that doesn't respect human rights, doesn't want to education its citizenry,It's hard to compete with size and cost, along with the power of full possession and reduce nuisances(this is what city caged rat idealists dismiss despite living the high life). Current prices on Redfin is like 400k for a fully endowed 2 card garage and 200k+ for a SFH. And he's been there for a while, so his price MUST have been less, possibly under 200k.
Texas is big, thick, and hot, with two holes to fill, and low maintenance on the wallet.
Built in 1994, 2000K+ sq ft. In MD, you're not getting 300k and that much unless you live way out.
I'm not sure I'd want to live in Vallejo...the crime rate there was pretty high the last time I worked in the area. Pinole/El Sobrante is too close to Richmond for my liking. I retired from the Richmond/San Rafael bridge retrofit in 2003. Those areas COULD be nice...but the crime is just out of hand.Of course, now she saw the price tags and what we could get, she was like.. we might as well move back to Pinole or Vallejo in the Bay Area.. lol
I am not going to argue or say anything, she is in that mood now....
It doesn't appear to be a material significance for his wife, or himself for that matter. It's expensive for someone to migrate to Maryland, and then you're just living in the burbs anyway, going to the local batch of stores that service the area.Texas is also extremely hot and will likely get hotter. It has a terrible government that doesn't respect human rights, doesn't want to education its citizenry,
I enjoyed my time in Texas, but I wouldn't really move back to anywhere in the south if I can avoid it. I want to live in a place that believes in science, treats people with dignity, protects the environment, and wants an education citizenry
Wife hates the heat here in Texas, been wanting to move for years but want to wait until the kid is out of the house since his school was one of the top one around. Now that he is in college, she is wanting to move to somewhere not too cold, and not too hot. Perfect place would be, of course, Fremont CA area... but unless I hit the Loto jackpot that is a pipe dream.What is your main reason for the potential move here? If you want to live cheaply, move to Delaware (low property tax and no sales tax). It's still relatively close to the college and it's between Baltimore and Philadelphia.
Some VA counties do charge property tax on vehicles. My county has been cutting the rate in half for the past two years.
Don't expect the metro to get you anywhere fast unless you live right next to a metro station from VA. In the morning, it takes me 20 minutes to drive into DC (no traffic) but the nearest metro will take an hour because I have to drive 14 minutes to get there. They also charge $5 extra for parking. The VRE is 6 minutes away, has free parking, and takes 35 minutes to enter DC.
Many houses don't have a garage because they are old.
The climate in San Diego is MUCH more pleasant...as long as you don't go too far inland.Wife hates the heat here in Texas, been wanting to move for years but want to wait until the kid is out of the house since his school was one of the top one around. Now that he is in college, she is wanting to move to somewhere not too cold, and not too hot. Perfect place would be, of course, Fremont CA area... but unless I hit the Loto jackpot that is a pipe dream.
With two properties and some saving enough for down payment for a 'small house", we could live very comfortabily in TX. But it just getting too hot, plus government is not the best, and high property tax (even after they reduced it). Wife just wants somewhere better. If her cancer is really coming back (which she blames on the heat but who knows. she is getting a biospy done), we will surely pickup and go. Good areas with good weather, not too high ocst of living, and housing, is just not that easy to find. Too far North is too cold for her too...It doesn't appear to be a material significance for his wife, or himself for that matter. It's expensive for someone to migrate to Maryland, and then you're just living in the burbs anyway, going to the local batch of stores that service the area.
Ironically, the Austin area is loaded with tech companies and Whole Foods literally started there.
The HS performance in SAT scores for Round Rock is above the national average scores, and his boy is probably going to be just fine in medicine.
If they are living off some 200k mortgage or something with a suburban life, it's makes very little sense to jump to a 400-500k locale with a similar suburban life, and tack on the numerous "beyond sticker" fees that a densely populated area demands; that's exactly the vibes his wife appears to be giving off.
Good areas with good weather, not too high ocst of living, and housing, is just not that easy to find. Too far North is too cold for her too...
Denver is going to be crazy expensive but my god the state is beautiful. Same with Durango.For S&G, I looked at Redfin's migration guide and the "Leaving" Austin (although the numbers weren't that high) had Raleigh and Denver. Probably wouldn't be happy with either places weather but there does look like there's more affordable SFH (by 2024 standards)
Denver is going to be crazy expensive
Yeah, i recalled the city goen bankrupt during the crash of 2008, and is doing better now, but still struggling in a way... but the houses are cheaper there!I'm not sure I'd want to live in Vallejo...the crime rate there was pretty high the last time I worked in the area. Pinole/El Sobrante is too close to Richmond for my liking. I retired from the Richmond/San Rafael bridge retrofit in 2003. Those areas COULD be nice...but the crime is just out of hand.
Good weather. Okay, this area I'm in is not great, and definitely not Pacific coast. You have to deal with only hot. It gets cold and hot here. It's not Texas hot, but it gets 90+, humid and steamy in summer. It's not super cold, but because of that, the few times there is snow, people are running on old all-seasons that slip and slide on ice and snow.With two properties and some saving enough for down payment for a 'small house", we could live very comfortabily in TX. But it just getting too hot, plus government is not the best, and high property tax (even after they reduced it). Wife just wants somewhere better. If her cancer is really coming back (which she blames on the heat but who knows. she is getting a biospy done), we will surely pickup and go. Good areas with good weather, not too high ocst of living, and housing, is just not that easy to find. Too far North is too cold for her too...
If the general Bay area is your goal, Livermore, Pleasanton, Dublin, Walnut Creek are decent…but expensive.(or were…we moved out of CA 12 years ago) However, they can get over 100F during the summer. (Dry heat…but still hot)Yeah, i recalled the city goen bankrupt during the crash of 2008, and is doing better now, but still struggling in a way... but the houses are cheaper there!
Actually now that you mentioned about crime, wife did pointed out why most houses have metal gate and windows have bars...
If the general Bay area is your goal, Livermore, Pleasanton, Dublin, Walnut Creek are decent…but expensive.(or were…we moved out of CA 12 years ago) However, they can get over 100F during the summer. (Dry heat…but still hot)
I’ll advocate again for the coastal San Diego area…no farther north than San Clemente…and within a few miles of the coast. Go inland…blazing hot in the summer. If I could afford it…La Jolla is pretty sweet.
I don’t like Seattle or the Puget Sound area…too crowded and expensive for my taste/budget, but the climate is decent most of the year, and other than housing, the overall CoL isn’t terrible.
I had some friends who lived in NoVa that moved to San Diego for about 10 years, and they moved back here like 3-4 years ago. It's definitely much cheaper in NoVa compared to that part of CA, relatively speaking.
Not just that, his utilities were stupid expensive out there. He was shocked at how "low" they were here after they bought a house, and it's not cheap or anything lol.San Diego is like one of the most expensive areas in the entire country for SFH. NoVa is up there but not that level.
Not just that, his utilities were stupid expensive out there.
Yeah and that made it even worse.I'm sure the rates are very high, but the weather is such that you should never have to run the AC or heat there.
Thanks for the detail information!I'm in MD and grew up here as well. I live in Montgomery County, which surprisingly isn't on your list. I expected you to be looking at that part of MD since it was between Nova and MD. Montgomery County is basically bordering NoVa in the parts you are looking at.
I go back/forth between both of the areas often and I mean, they are not very different as far as what it would be like to live in the areas and your every day life. I do think traffic in NoVa is much worse though, and for some reason it feels like everywhere I drive in NoVa, they are just doing never ending road work.
You are correct about the property taxes in VA on cars though. My friends in VA have mentioned that to me before. You also have to get your car inspected either annually or every 2 years, whereas in MD you only need it inspected one time when you purchase it.
Manassass is out there. It's far away from anything and you have to take 66 to get there, which again is always under construction and one of those nightmare roads you never want to be on. Sterling is like not quite as far out there but it is also quite a bit away from DC, but it is a nice area and I have a couple friends who live out that way. It just takes a while to get there from where we were in MD.
My wife grew up in Annandale and depending where you are, can be a bit shady. It's closer to DC than Sterling for sure. Fairfax proper is nicer than Annandale for sure but it will be pricier to live there too.
The general COL in both areas is pretty comparable though - housing, electricity, gas, etc. In general, in MD or VA, the closer you are to DC, the more housing costs. I will say though housing has definitely gone up quite a bit in the past decade or so. My house was purchased in 2012 for $420k and is probably worth like $700k-800k now. Our friends who purchased a house in Sterling in 2020 for like $700k was just sold for $1.1million and they only sold because they went through a divorce.
But you mention parts of MD that I personally have no interest in living. I dislike Baltimore and Towson is pretty close by to it. The only thing I really know about Towson is there is a college there so I would assume it's basically living in a college town, but I could be totally wrong.
Annapolis is a nice area and I would assume would be more expensive the closer you are to the water. I go there every now and then but it's usually downtown Annapolis just to go out for dinner or something like that. I always thought Annapolis was far from everything as well but that is probably due to where I grew up.
I had some friends who lived in NoVa that moved to San Diego for about 10 years, and they moved back here like 3-4 years ago. It's definitely much cheaper in NoVa compared to that part of CA, relatively speaking.