The Pros And Cons Of Where You Live

[joey89]

If there were houses like his available for the price he paid in your area you would have a solid argument, the fact that housing is cheaper where he lives is a pro not a con. Now let's compare based on square footage and see who pays more.

+1, my monthly mortgage payment (including tax and insurance) on a 2,000 sqft home (7,000 sq ft lot) is under $1,350 which is less then my siblings are paying for rent on 1 bedrooms in Brooklyn

[joey89]

Also, full disclosure (it's public record), I probably paid less for my house than @joey89 paid for his (and his father might have paid a similar price), though there's probably close to a 2 decade time difference between the purchases.

True. I don’t ever expect to see this appreciation where I live

[ExGingi]

+1, my monthly mortgage payment (including tax and insurance) on a 2,000 sqft home (7,000 sq ft lot) is under $1,350 which is less then my siblings are paying for rent on 1 bedrooms in Brooklyn

Let's just say that there's no argument here. Choosing to live in Brooklyn is rarely due to some financial advantage (except if a good job keeps one here).

[ExGingi]

True. I don’t ever expect to see this appreciation where I live

The point I was making wasn't so much about the actual appreciation, it was more about the divergence between the FMV appreciation and the increase in the tax.

[joey89]

The point I was making wasn't so much about the actual appreciation, it was more about the divergence between the FMV appreciation and the increase in the tax.

Noted, however the conversation was premised on the question of how can people afford to retire when their property taxes are so high, to which you added that it is more manageable in Brooklyn than in the Monsey area. While being true, the question is still valid as most retirees are on a fixed income of which a big chunk is spent on property taxes, whether the “manageable” form in Brooklyn or worse upstate. (You can argue that the insane appreciation opens avenues to tap into the equity to pay said taxes).

I entered the conversation just to comment about the article that you posted.

[ExGingi]

While being true, the question is still valid as most retirees are on a fixed income of which a big chunk is spent on property taxes, whether the “manageable” form in Brooklyn or worse upstate. (You can argue that the insane appreciation opens avenues to tap into the equity to pay said taxes).

I don't know the details, but I believe there could be discounts available (or whatever they might call them) on the real estate taxes for people over 65 in NYC.

[thaber]

Another mehalech, in many states, such as CA and AZ, the property taxes are set at the time of sale and there is a cap on increases. In CA property taxes can only be raised 1% per year.
So, if you buy a house in CA 30 years ago you're all set
https://www.californiataxdata.com/pdf/Prop13.pdf

AZ - I think the values were set in 2011 and there is a minimal yearly increase regardless of sales. so even if you buy now you should do pretty well.

[ExGingi]

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-06-25/new-york-s-urban-renewal-hurt-by-inequality-and-housing-costs?srnd=premium

[Moshe123]

Rocland includes airmount pomona ext. And taxes vary drastically.

Being that there are so many Yidden who dont send to public schools why dont they petition to change the taxes? sue the county? IDK.

Because our assemblypeople are an outspoken anti-semite and a self-hating Jew and they try to hurt us at every corner.

The state formula needs to be changed to cater to the unique needs of Rockland County, but they won't lift a finger.

Thank God, the people who they represent and one of them were utterly humiliated in the primaries this week.

Also, a few of the villages have ridiculous debt to pay off because they had and lost RLUIPA suits that cost them millions and they need to pay it off, and we end up paying, because we live there. They fought it (except Chestnut Ridge that got sechel) because they're vile anti-semites.

The rhetoric among some of them wouldn't embarrass the Nazis of the 1930s.

Here you have a sitting Republican Rockland County legislator, one day ago on Facebook.

[Moshe123]

And by the way, the Monsey area heimishe olam, is split into 3 different assembly districts, in a brazen gerrymander that we shouldn't have any influence in Albany. Brabenec, Jaffe, and Zebrowski.

If Ramapo would have had an assembly district, you would've had a heimishe representative.

[Yonah]

Another mehalech, in many states, such as CA and AZ, the property taxes are set at the time of sale and there is a cap on increases. In CA property taxes can only be raised 1% per year.
So, if you buy a house in CA 30 years ago you're all set
https://www.californiataxdata.com/pdf/Prop13.pdf

AZ - I think the values were set in 2011 and there is a minimal yearly increase regardless of sales. so even if you buy now you should do pretty well.

I used to have a neighbor who didn't grow up frum, in an LA suburb that is no where near any of the frum communities in LA. When her parents died, she wanted to sell the house, but because the house hadn't changed hands in over 35 years, the taxes would've exploded. So she opted to move in to her parent's house and get a shabbos apartment near their shul, because with the amount of taxes on the house it would have been hard to sell.

[Yonah]

Because our assemblypeople are an outspoken anti-semite and a self-hating Jew and they try to hurt us at every corner.

The state formula needs to be changed to cater to the unique needs of Rockland County, but they won't lift a finger.

Thank God, the people who they represent and one of them were utterly humiliated in the primaries this week.

Also, a few of the villages have ridiculous debt to pay off because they had and lost RLUIPA suits that cost them millions and they need to pay it off, and we end up paying, because we live there. They fought it (except Chestnut Ridge that got sechel) because they're vile anti-semites.

The rhetoric among some of them wouldn't embarrass the Nazis of the 1930s.

Here you have a sitting Republican Rockland County legislator, one day ago on Facebook.

I remember having an argument with someone about an article that was published by the NY Times (of course) on Rosh Hashana (double of course) about 10 years ago. The article talked suggested that the school board had 'Overly Ultra-Orthodox Representation' and that the 'Hasidim stuff the ballot boxes'. The people I was arguing with suggested that the Chasidim unfairly divert the money from the school board to weaken the school districts. They also argued it wasn't fair for people who didn't send their children to public school to be involved in the school board.

I pointed out to them that at least 2/3 of the district's children (as pointed out by the article) went to yeshivas - are they not entitled to proper support services? Speech and Language, OT, etc? They started to see my point - but they were still uncomfortable about the 'chasidim' running the school board - I pointed out that a) they were the clear majority of voters and b) their representation on the school board wasn't out of line with their demographics (I think it was 5/7 seats).

So they regurgitated their argument of 'people without kids in the district...', I asked what if we replaced chasidim with 'Old People?' - what if the people on the school board were empty nesters who no longer needed the school district? Would they feel the same way? That made them think.

[Yonah]

The housing market in Toronto (and NYC, Boston & LA) is another example why certain OOT communities with a certain amount of Jewish infrastructure are exploding. A close family member just moved from Toronto to Boca Raton and told me they got another 40 families that moved into the community last summer. They are living near one of the newer shuls (not the main one) but 600k there can get you a huge home with a pool, that backs onto a lake in a gated community.

If I am not mistaken, my In-laws snowbird in this community. They've had their place there for about 13 years, and we spend about a week or two a year with them. It was really small for the first few years, but in the last 4-5 it's exploded.There are at least 20-30 new families a year. To the point where one of the shuls in that community has outgrown it's current space and moved to a bigger location! Another shul that was meeting in a storefront built their own facility a few years ago, and they've also seen a lot of growth as well.

[Yonah]

I'm surprised that I never chimed in on this thread before, so I'll bite. I live in White Plains, NY. The frum community is definitely a little more modern, but we have two orthodox shuls (Young Israel and Hebrew Institute) with about 350-400 families.

The pros
- It's a relatively affordable community still within a stone's throw of NYC.
- Taxes are relatively good (but not great) most 4Bd will run between 10-13K per year
- Metro North to midtown is about 35-40 minutes by train, and reliable
- Conveniences of a city - supermarkets open late (Every once in a while I'll find myself in stop and shop at 11pm on Thursday getting the one thing my wife needs to finish cooking for shabbos and I meet 5 other people doing the same thing), 24-hour pharmacies.
- Not far from anything - in less than an hour you can be in Riverdale (20m), Monsey (30-35), Queens (about 40), UWS (25-30), Teaneck (35-40)- and Five Towns or Brooklyn on a Sunday morning.

The cons:
- Lack of restaurants - there's Pizza and Chinese in New Rochelle
- Only one large kosher supermarket nearby, and it's expensive (but most people go to Costco in New Rochelle, which has kosher meat or buy meat/cheese in Monsey/Riverdale/Queens)
- Yeshiva Choices - there are a few, but they're all co-ed - works for some, not for others.

I'm sure that for many of you this might not be a good fit, but if you have any interest and want to know more, please feel free to DM me.

[whYME]

in less than an hour you can be in ... Five Towns or Brooklyn on a Sunday morning.

lol