My husband and I have been living abroad for a few years and we recently moved back to the US to get married. We were lucky to find pretty well-paying positions for our first full time jobs. We are both 25 and we net about 70k together after taxes. In some parts of the country, this would be outstanding. Not in ours.
We work in a major US city and commute from a suburb. My family has lived there for generations, long before a shack would cost you 400k. That's not an exaggeration. Coupled with extremely high property taxes, living here would be impossible if we weren't living with a relative in a large house. We're all very happy with the arrangement and my family is overjoyed to have us close again. Relocating outside of the metro is not possible for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately, our commute is 2 hours long door to door (one way!) to the tune of $600 a month (together).
This is obviously equivalent to a rent in many parts of the country, but for us, this is a huge savings. What we're trying to figure out now is where to go from here? Renting feels like throwing money away but should we really blow 400-500k on a fixerupper? No idea when we would even have that kind of money. And anyway when you factor in repairs, insurance, taxes, is owning a home really cheaper in end? I'm not talking about a mortgage payment to rent comparison, but the actual costs over time.
We are very dedicated to living a frugal lifestyle and it has enabled us to do a lot with our modest income. We're feeling very torn about this, though. We also plan on having at least one child in the next 4 years and staying close to family would alleviate the cost of childcare.... but for a 2 hour commute and way inflated housing prices?
I know a lot of people would advise us to just move, but it's not possible right now. My company provides such amazing benefits that even taking a job with equal pay would feel like a huge salary cut. Any advice from big city frugals?
Thank you!
March 29, 2017 at 01:18PM
