You can have that where we live in Rochester, NY (it's about an hour away from Buffalo). I often hear on the radio that we have a growing little tech industry here. One thing is, you have to like snow
We live here too What neighborhood do you guys live in? We're in Brighton.
We're in Greece. I'm jealous you're in Brighton! That was our top area when we were house hunting, but inventory seems to be perpetually low. DH loves to tell people about the Brighton house with the secret passage that we waited too long to put an offer on.
Sounds intriguing! A secret passage way would be so fun for kids.
You can have that where we live in Rochester, NY (it's about an hour away from Buffalo). I often hear on the radio that we have a growing little tech industry here. One thing is, you have to like snow
on average, Buffalo usually has less snow
we have that bio-medical complex going on downtown (HWI, Roswell, Gates Vascular, UB etc.)
chicken wings, pizza, & breweries everywhere!
bikes, water bikes, ice bikes, land beer bikes, water beer bikes!
plenty of festivals celebrating all kinds of foods and nationalities!
What about Albuquerque? I really enjoyed living there, and I know it's gotten even better. Weather is fantastic, people are kind, the University is a huge part of the community, most of the schools are actually pretty decent. I told DH we should think about retiring there.
I love this post...so many places I'd never thought of. Anyone care to chime in on where teachers married to teachers can afford to live?
Post by Queen Mamadala on Apr 24, 2017 16:11:41 GMT -5
Sacramento, CA? You'd be an hour and a half drive to the Bay Area and an hour or so from Lake Tahoe. It's one of the most diverse cities in the U.S. and it's fairly MCOL. I loved Atlanta, and parts of Atlanta metro are affordable.
Another native Austinite here, seconding the poster earlier who said to leave Austin off your list (I tried to quote, but am for some reason having trouble). We actually left in 2002 because traffic/sprawl/quality of life had already gone too far for us, and occasional visits back suggest that things have gotten much worse since then. House prices anywhere in Austin proper, which were already high, have gone up significantly, too. Also, as AJL said, although Austin is liberal for TX, it is still TX, and things like funding for public schools, infrastructure/zoning, social safety net, etc., all reflect the state's overall very conservative bent. This is the state that keeps sending Ted Cruz back to Washington. And don't even get me started on Greg Abbott.
That said, Austin does have its good points. I still miss the BBQ and Tex-Mex! And weekends at Lake Travis.
Would you be willing to move ALLLLL the way across the country? I think Bangor, Maine is getting super-cool, yet I am blown AWAY by what you can get there, housing-wise, for like $150K. There would not be a ton of tech jobs available, but we have 3.0% unemployment in Maine, so there is less competition.
I'd also recommend Portland Maine, where we live, although the housing market is way tighter. It's so beautiful here, the people are cool and progressive, there are amazing restaurant and microbrew scenes, and there ARE tech jobs (my H works in tech and gets recruited locally all the time). Plus, while Portland isn't particularly diverse yet, our school system's kindergarten class is about 50/50 white/non-white and I think that bodes well for the city in 20 years. I have lived in Berkeley and Chicago, and those were great places, but I love this city best and never want to leave!
Would you be willing to move ALLLLL the way across the country? I think Bangor, Maine is getting super-cool, yet I am blown AWAY by what you can get there, housing-wise, for like $150K. There would not be a ton of tech jobs available, but we have 3.0% unemployment in Maine, so there is less competition.
I'd also recommend Portland Maine, where we live, although the housing market is way tighter. It's so beautiful here, the people are cool and progressive, there are amazing restaurant and microbrew scenes, and there ARE tech jobs (my H works in tech and gets recruited locally all the time). Plus, while Portland isn't particularly diverse yet, our school system's kindergarten class is about 50/50 white/non-white and I think that bodes well for the city in 20 years. I have lived in Berkeley and Chicago, and those were great places, but I love this city best and never want to leave!
maine is at the top of my "must visit" list! definitely can't wait to check it out!
What about Albuquerque? I really enjoyed living there, and I know it's gotten even better. Weather is fantastic, people are kind, the University is a huge part of the community, most of the schools are actually pretty decent. I told DH we should think about retiring there.
I love this post...so many places I'd never thought of. Anyone care to chime in on where teachers married to teachers can afford to live?
Western NY in general is pretty good. Several of my coworkers are part of two-teacher families and I can see the decent pay + low COL making it possible. I'm a 5th year teacher in Rochester, and I'm making 50k. We have some 30-year-veterans at my school making in the 80s. We paid 165k for a 2700 sq ft 4 bd, 2.5 bath in a school district with mediocre test scores. (You can probably tell my personal opinion on GreatSchools rankings lol). I grew up in Buffalo and teacher pay and COL is similar there. Our governor (Cuomo) hasn't been the kindest to teachers the past few years, but overall, NY still seems to treat its teachers pretty well. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions!
Lexington, KY. I relocated here from D.C. And the living is much easier. It's still Kentucky, but since it's a college town, it's a very liberal and cultural city.
I'll second Lexington. We've been here almost 8 years and really like it overall.
You guys are crazy. The traffic is terrible and it has a large population of snobby social climbers lol. But I do think Louisville is pretty great. I have lived in both places and grew up in between. Louisville has a food scene that is getting national attention and an awesome park system designed by Fredrick Law Olmstead. The public schools get national press for staying integrated and if you are more of a Catholic schools person, there are lots of high quality options. You shouldn't have an problem finding a house in your budget in a desirable area. If you want to go a bit further out from the city you should be able to afford a pretty good size house on a large lot (.5-1 acre).
Ditto wambam about Columbus. Cost of living depends on the suburb/area of town, but I love it. For the last 3 years we've lived 35 minutes east, but are finally buying a house in one of the suburbs. For a 4-br, 2.5 bath, 1970 square feet, we're paying 245k.
I'd suggest MT, because we moved to get out of the driving and crazy expansion with lots of traffic of Denver area, but after looking at some of these other options, I think your DH could make more money in IT in these other areas and buy a house for quite a bit cheaper. Our house is far from finished and it was around $220k 5 years ago - needs work in every room still. Plus just looked and every house under $280k is pretty much under contract within a day or two for our walkable areas of the city (in-town near the mountains), so I guess the market is different then even 5 years ago. Oh and flying family in/out of MT is way more expensive, so even if you're two states closer, it's not cheaper.
But I also own a tiny house in Denver metro area (went from <$200k purchase in 2005 to >$350k estimate now) and so if you want to ever want to talk about how you can have two FHA mortgages if you move a good distance for work and how to keep your house as a rental to even get more equity, I'd chat. I'm not an expert, but we decided we'd get more benefit in the long run from that.
And it's sort of fun to have a tour of the US with people suggesting certain areas and real estate listings.
I'd suggest MT, because we moved to get out of the driving and crazy expansion with lots of traffic of Denver area, but after looking at some of these other options, I think your DH could make more money in IT in these other areas and buy a house for quite a bit cheaper. Our house is far from finished and it was around $220k 5 years ago - needs work in every room still. Plus just looked and every house under $280k is pretty much under contract within a day or two for our walkable areas of the city (in-town near the mountains), so I guess the market is different then even 5 years ago. Oh and flying family in/out of MT is way more expensive, so even if you're two states closer, it's not cheaper.
But I also own a tiny house in Denver metro area (went from <$200k purchase in 2005 to >$350k estimate now) and so if you want to ever want to talk about how you can have two FHA mortgages if you move a good distance for work and how to keep your house as a rental to even get more equity, I'd chat. I'm not an expert, but we decided we'd get more benefit in the long run from that.
And it's sort of fun to have a tour of the US with people suggesting certain areas and real estate listings.
I'll second Lexington. We've been here almost 8 years and really like it overall.
You guys are crazy. The traffic is terrible and it has a large population of snobby social climbers lol. But I do think Louisville is pretty great. I have lived in both places and grew up in between. Louisville has a food scene that is getting national attention and an awesome park system designed by Fredrick Law Olmstead. The public schools get national press for staying integrated and if you are more of a Catholic schools person, there are lots of high quality options. You shouldn't have an problem finding a house in your budget in a desirable area. If you want to go a bit further out from the city you should be able to afford a pretty good size house on a large lot (.5-1 acre).
LOUISVILLE FOR LIFE (that's where I grew up - but only in the city sense. The Cards can kiss my ass).
What about Albuquerque? I really enjoyed living there, and I know it's gotten even better. Weather is fantastic, people are kind, the University is a huge part of the community, most of the schools are actually pretty decent. I told DH we should think about retiring there.
I love this post...so many places I'd never thought of. Anyone care to chime in on where teachers married to teachers can afford to live?
Western NY in general is pretty good. Several of my coworkers are part of two-teacher families and I can see the decent pay + low COL making it possible. I'm a 5th year teacher in Rochester, and I'm making 50k. We have some 30-year-veterans at my school making in the 80s. We paid 165k for a 2700 sq ft 4 bd, 2.5 bath in a school district with mediocre test scores. (You can probably tell my personal opinion on GreatSchools rankings lol). I grew up in Buffalo and teacher pay and COL is similar there. Our governor (Cuomo) hasn't been the kindest to teachers the past few years, but overall, NY still seems to treat its teachers pretty well. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions!
Really? That's somewhere I've never really thought about. A cousin used to live in Rochester. We are totally happy where we are, but the COL is ridiculous, and we have been talking about moving when our middle graduates from high school. Thanks for the info!
I'll second Lexington. We've been here almost 8 years and really like it overall.
You guys are crazy. The traffic is terrible and it has a large population of snobby social climbers lol. But I do think Louisville is pretty great. I have lived in both places and grew up in between. Louisville has a food scene that is getting national attention and an awesome park system designed by Fredrick Law Olmstead. The public schools get national press for staying integrated and if you are more of a Catholic schools person, there are lots of high quality options. You shouldn't have an problem finding a house in your budget in a desirable area. If you want to go a bit further out from the city you should be able to afford a pretty good size house on a large lot (.5-1 acre).
Haha. Can't say I disagree with what you said, but I moved here from Orlando where traffic was waaay worse, and I hang out with fellow transplants to avoid the snobby social climbers.
I'm from Seattle and moved to Minneapolis 7 years ago. We live in a 3 bedroom house in a neighborhood similar to Wedgewood with great schools. Excellent location. We paid under $200k in 2010. The house across the street just sold for $250k. In Seattle it would be like what? 850?. I LOVE living here. LOVE. I will never leave. I miss some things about Seattle but it's not the same city anymore, so when we visit now I don't even really get homesick. We enjoy it and then come back to the Midwest, happily. I have never regretted leaving. Winter takes some getting used to but you DO get used to it.
Edit to add the job market here is good / wages are good. Education highly valued. Blue state. 👌🏻
No, we own a house. But my girlfriend is looking. She has four boys and they're currently in a 2 bedroom condo with no yard. It's too much boy! She's going nuts. I've looked around and I'm a bit concerned about how high rents are....
ETA: any insight on what websites to search? How did you find your renters?
No, we own a house. But my girlfriend is looking. She has four boys and they're currently in a 2 bedroom condo with no yard. It's too much boy! She's going nuts. I've looked around and I'm a bit concerned about how high rents are....
ETA: any insight on what websites to search? How did you find your renters?
Our renter is our friend, but our house is tiny - 800 sq ft on main floor and 2 official bedroom, 1.5 bath- one bonus room in basement and an extra 350 sq ft down there. Huge lot, tiny house.
I don't envy your friend - we charge less than we should and it's creeping toward $1500/month for a tiny house.
No, we own a house. But my girlfriend is looking. She has four boys and they're currently in a 2 bedroom condo with no yard. It's too much boy! She's going nuts. I've looked around and I'm a bit concerned about how high rents are....
ETA: any insight on what websites to search? How did you find your renters?
Our renter is our friend, but our house is tiny - 800 sq ft on main floor and 2 official bedroom, 1.5 bath- one bonus room in basement and an extra 350 sq ft down there. Huge lot, tiny house.
I don't envy your friend - we charge less than we should and it's creeping toward $1500/month for a tiny house.
That's insane. Five years ago we rented a house in highlands ranch three times that size for $1500. Now, I think she'd sign a lease sight unseen for that price. It's terrible! What part of town, generally, if you don't mind sharing? I'm trying to take note of the older, smaller neighborhoods to see if that's less expensive. Although frankly, I'm seeing very few houses for rent than when we rented. I have a feeling that if we hadn't bought when we did, we'd be forced out altogether.
Our renter is our friend, but our house is tiny - 800 sq ft on main floor and 2 official bedroom, 1.5 bath- one bonus room in basement and an extra 350 sq ft down there. Huge lot, tiny house.
I don't envy your friend - we charge less than we should and it's creeping toward $1500/month for a tiny house.
That's insane. Five years ago we rented a house in highlands ranch three times that size for $1500. Now, I think she'd sign a lease sight unseen for that price. It's terrible! What part of town, generally, if you don't mind sharing? I'm trying to take note of the older, smaller neighborhoods to see if that's less expensive. Although frankly, I'm seeing very few houses for rent than when we rented. I have a feeling that if we hadn't bought when we did, we'd be forced out altogether.
80214 - wheat ridge technically, but shares a zip code with highlands and Sloans/edgewater
That's insane. Five years ago we rented a house in highlands ranch three times that size for $1500. Now, I think she'd sign a lease sight unseen for that price. It's terrible! What part of town, generally, if you don't mind sharing? I'm trying to take note of the older, smaller neighborhoods to see if that's less expensive. Although frankly, I'm seeing very few houses for rent than when we rented. I have a feeling that if we hadn't bought when we did, we'd be forced out altogether.
80214 - wheat ridge technically, but shares a zip code with highlands and Sloans/edgewater
That area is ripe for redevelopment and gentrification, so close to the Highlands. We're down south near the new Breckinridge Brewery and associated redevelopment and gentrification.
Let me throw Oklahoma City's hat in the ring. State politics suck, but I've carved out a little liberal, community-service-focused community here and I love it. I never have a lack of a sporting event, fundraiser, theater show, or art event to attend. The local brewery scene is starting to blow up, as is the food scene. I can't speak much to tech jobs, and there are some neighborhoods downtown-adjacent where I think the home prices are a little insane (but keep in mind I'm from here and used to LCOL.) If you're a city person (I am and I ache for the day I can move closer to downtown) Mesta Park, Crown Heights, Edgemere, and Gatewood are your more established neighborhoods. If you want to be downtown in a transitional area, look at Jefferson Park and Classen-Ten-Penn. If you hate the city, Edmond, Deer Creek, Yukon, and Piedmont are your typical 'burbs. The Village, Warr Acres, and Bethany are also 'burbs but closer in. (UHHM, I'm trying to be objective, but Yukon, Warr Acres, and Bethany kinda suck.)