Upside Down?

I recently read an article on MSN.com about underwater homeowners that made me a little angry. First, the article’s focus was on a young lemming, I mean man, who was only $30,000 “underwater” on his mortgage. I say “only” because though he may be slightly upside down on his mortgage, $30,000 isn’t nearly as much as some current homeowners today. Second, the reason this young man was the focus of the story was because he was hoping to find a job elsewhere and felt “tied-down” to his house. Didn’t he think about this commitment when he purchased his house to begin with? Obviously not.

The recent housing bubble seemed to entice many people into home ownership without thinking about the true consequences of owning a home. It sort of reminds me of the lemmings all falling off a cliff together. As a person on a mission to own a home in the near future (though that may be anywhere from 1-3 years from now), there are some definite advantages and disadvantages that need to be clarified:

Advantages of owning a home:

• If you live in your home long enough (usually a minimum of 5-7 years), you can make a small profit or at least recoup some of your mortgage payments. With renting, you never recoup any of the money you paid over time. Some will argue that renting costs much less than owning and you can invest the difference. However, I beg to differ. I live in an area where rent is about the same as a mortgage (at least at this moment in time).
• You can settle into your home knowing you’ll be there as long as you’d like (providing you continue making your mortgage payments!) Renting a house means you are subjected to the owner eventually selling the place or raising your rent beyond what you can afford. At least with a mortgage, you know how much you are paying each month (unless, of course, you didn’t read the fine print!)
• You can decorate your home anyway you feel. As a renter, I’ve had to repaint walls back to eggshell white because my creative inspiration ticked off the landlord.
• You can keep as many pets as your city allows you to. Another disadvantage with renting – some places don’t allow pets or have a maximum allowable amount (usually 2).
• Tax write-offs. Some of your interest can be written off your taxes. I’m not very familiar with this. Anyone care to comment on this advantage?

Disadvantages to owning a home:

• If you need to move to find a new job, you might have a harder time moving. With a mortgage, you’ve signed an agreement to pay on the property for 15 to 30-years. Of course, there are alternatives to selling your home, you could rent it if need be. In contrast, as a renter I can move with a 30-day notice; no strings attached.
• If you purchased your home at the peak of a housing bubble, your home may have lost thousands if not hundreds of thousands of dollars on your investment. Obviously, this could be a serious negative consequence of owning a home. However, if you’re willing to live in the house 15-30 years, you might be able to recoup that loss due to appreciation. This doesn’t apply to renters.
• You might see your home as an ATM and pull out whatever equity you’ve built up. A common trend seen during the past bubble was people taking out home equity loans, or easy money. Those loans need to be repaid and now that the homes aren’t worth what they were, they now have negative equity. Renters are never in a position to “borrow” back some of the rent they paid so that easy money loan stuff doesn’t exist.
• Home repairs. In order for homes to remain in a livable condition, annual maintenance and repairs need to be completed. Depending on the state and age of a home, those repairs can be costly. As a renter, I’m technically not responsible for repairs, which theoretically saves me money. (Someone needs to remind my landlord of this!)

I’m sure there are more advantages and disadvantages that I could list. The bottom line is most people have to pay for shelter. You can either own that shelter or rent it. Because of the recent housing fiasco, many people view owning property negatively. Yet there are still benefits to both renting and owning. So don’t be a lemming! Weight the pros and cons then make a sound financial decision based on your own needs.

Next week I’ll be reviewing a book called Renter’s Win, Homeowner’s Lose. The title alone piqued my interest. Stay tuned for my review….

What other advantages or disadvantages am I missing? I’m I way off the mark?

This guest post was written by Go Banking Rates, bringing you informative personal finance content and helpful tools, as well as the best interest rates on financial services nationwide.

Buying a home is especially difficult these days, especially because it’s hard to predict what will happen next. Mortgage interest rates and home prices are at their lowest in decades, but it doesn’t mean now is the time to buy.

The real issue is whether you’re really getting the best deal possible on your home: Interest rates are low, but they could keep dropping. Prices are down, but they may not seem so spectacular in a couple of years from now. A home you would have considered a steal five years ago may be ridiculously expensive now, right? So how do you buy a home in a down market and know you’re paying what you should?

How Market Value Is Determined

The market value of a home is what a seller can expect to receive from a buyer at any given time. It’s sort of like the Blue Book value on a car–an average asking price, but not necessarily the exact amount someone would pay.

The market value is determined by a professional like a real estate appraiser or agent based on a number of considerations. These can include what homes of similar size and location have sold for in the past six months to a year, but does not factor in things like cosmetic improvements made to the property. Importantly, the market value of a home can change dramatically over a short period of time, which is why the number is not completely reliable.

How To Tell If a Home is Worth Its Price

One way many potential buyers gauge whether the property they’re interested in is a fair price is similar to how appraisers judge market value–by comparing it to similar homes for sale in the area. However, this can be misleading. According to lendingtree.com, homes that have been on the market for just over three weeks might be priced too high.

Valuation

This is why valuation is important to consider. Valuation is the difference between what a home should cost and what the actual price is. For example, CNNMoney reports in mid-2006, at the height of the housing bubble, 53 metro areas were considered to have over-valued properties. Just two years later, that number dropped to only 8.

Aim for Pre-Bubble Prices

Right now, most areas are considered to be undervalued, which means you could score a good deal on a home. Additionally, due to the recession, unemployment and high rates of foreclosure, the demand for homes for sale is weak. This means sellers are forced to cut prices even further to entice buyers.

Even if it’s already a bargain basement price, judging the accuracy of a home’s market value can still be difficult. To be sure you’re really going to get your money’s worth from a purchase and not want to kick yourself years down the road when prices drop further, judge how closely the asking price matches what you would expect in a “pre-bubble” environment.

MSN Real Estate writer Luke Mullins describes a scenario where we will return to pre-bubble prices where there was only an increase of one to two percent above the inflation rate over the next decade. This is in line with average historical appreciation rate of about half a percent every year when adjusted for inflation. So, with this trend in mind, compare the historical value of a property you’re interested in against the asking price today. Ascertain whether the two match up by starting from 1995 and adding a percentage point or two above inflation each year until you get to 2010.

Will Home Prices Continue to Drop?

Even if home prices are abnormally low now, they might continue falling, making a premature purchase more expensive than necessary. Associated Press real estate writer, Alan Zibel, explains that home values are projected to to decline well into 2011 and maybe even 2012. He writes that Moody’s Analytics senior director expects “home prices could drop another 20 percent by early 2012 if there is another recession. If the economic recovery remains on track, she sees prices falling another 5 percent and hitting bottom early next year.”

Waiting for home prices to fall further could really be a gamble, though. It seems they will trend downward at least for a little while longer, but wait too long and you might miss out on rock-bottom numbers. Homes are already priced at historical lows, so if you use the above criteria to judge a home’s true value and find you’re set-up to profit from your purchase in the future, you might want to snag the opportunity while it presents itself. Of course, missing the boat and buying on the way up will still ensure that you’re purchasing during a time when home prices will continue up.

This is a guest post from Lender411 who allows consumers to compare today’s mortgage rates in their area instantly and for free online, consumers are also matched with 4 local lenders who can take care of their specific mortgage needs and compete for their business. 

Money flows in a lot of different directions when you buy a house.  There’s the down payment, the mortgage interest, the closing fees, and numerous other costs.  But there are ways to save money in the midst of the chaos.

Compare your options.  Don’t pick a loan package until you’ve thoroughly researched at least five or six different offers.  Check out rates, fees, and terms.  Get a Good Faith Estimate (GFE) from any lender you are seriously considering.  A GFE itemizes every cost associated with the mortgage so you can see exactly how much the deal will cost.  Lenders are required by law to provide this document to you if you request it.  Don’t be afraid to negotiate, either.  It’s not hard to find the best mortgage rates if you’re willing to take some time and do some research.

Get a shorter mortgage.  The shorter your mortgage term, the less money you’ll pay in the long run.  You can save literally hundreds of thousands of dollars, depending on your overall loan amount, by going with a 15-year mortgage instead of a 30-year mortgage.  This has been financially proven over and over again.  If you can afford to make slightly higher monthly payments, get the mortgage with the shortest term possible.

Assume an existing mortgage.  If the seller of the home has not paid off the current mortgage, you might be able to simply take over the existing mortgage.  If the mortgage is transferrable and the seller agrees, you could end up with a significantly lower interest rate. Of course, you need to guarantee that the interest rate on the existing mortgage is lower than the interest rate you could get on a new mortgage, and you’ll still have to pay the difference between the home value and the current mortgage balance, but you may be able to save a substantial amount of money in lower interest over the years and you may not have to pay any closing costs at all.

Skip the mortgage insurance.  If you’re a risky borrower, some lenders may require you to pay for mortgage insurance before the loan closes.  Once you’ve taken out the mortgage and you’ve made a few payments, however, your lender will likely allow you to drop the insurance.  This can save you a great deal of money.

Pay off your mortgage early.  You’ve heard this one before.  If you can scrape enough money together, make extra payments on your mortgage as often as possible.  Tell your bank to apply these extra payments directly to the principal of the loan.  In effect, this shortens the term of your mortgage, which will lower the amount of interest you’ll have to pay over the course of the loan, as mentioned above.  Make sure your mortgage won’t penalize you for early repayment, however.  This is common.  Try to arrange a deal that allows for this.  It’s staggering how much you can save.

Rent Across the Nation

My husband and I are gearing up to move to another rental house by the end of summer, beginning of fall. We’re just not quite ready to purchase our own little house in the valley, so for now we must settle for living in someone else’s little house. We currently rent a small, run-down house for $1,800 a month. We’re hoping to move to a nicer neighborhood and into a much nicer home for about the same amount. We’ve been scoping out a few prime areas and rent seems to have stablized, though hasn’t dropped much from 5 years ago when we first rented our current house. Reading other blog posts about average mortgages and keeping one’s living expenses low, made me decide to research rental costs in other parts of the USA. Here are a few random metros I chose to compare, with the range factoring in 2-bedroom apartments and small, 3-bedroom rental homes:

West

• Los Angeles: $1,100 – $2,400 a month
• San Francisco: $2,100 – $3,500 a month
• Scottsdale, AZ: $1,000  – $1,800 a month
• Las Vegas, NV: $800 – $2,400 a month

MidWest

• Denver, CO: $500 – $1,700 a month
• Omaha, NE: $550 – $2,500 a month
• Dallas, TX: $650 – $2,800 a month
• Chicago, IL: $725 – $2,600 a month
  

East

• Newark, DE: $600 – $1,300 a month
• Baltimore, MD: $700 – $3,500 a month
• New York, NY: $2,995 – $20,000 a month
• Boston, MA: $1,200 – $3,750 a month

Much of my data came from Zillow.com, then I cross-checked those prices through Craigslist.com to verify they were in the ball park. What my data doesn’t tell me is the condition of the house or the decency of the neighborhood. Choosing larger metros also may not be a good indication of rent prices in the outlying suburbs. I live in an outlying suburb of Los Angeles, so my rent range is based on that area, not within the city of Los Angeles. Using Zillow, I could have scanned outlying areas, but then I wouldn’t have any clue as to the economic status of those areas. For instance, the lower priced rentals in all of the above cities may be located in shady areas of the city, where the higher priced rentals may be in more prestigious areas. There’s just no way for me to know for sure without visiting these cities myself.

However, it looks like rent varies within each city, and this could be based on neighborhood crime rates, poverty levels, and demographics. I don’t feel like I’m paying too much in comparison to New York and San Francisco. Yet, Scottsdale and Denver seem like bargains!

My next research project on rent across the nation will be looking at monthly rent prices as opposed to mortgage payments in the area. I’m guessing some cities deeply discount their rent in comparison to what one might pay on a mortgage, while other cities cost about the same or more.

Do you rent? What are you paying? Do you live in a suburb, metro, or rural area? Do you think you pay a fair price?

This is a guest post from Crystal of Budgeting in the Fun Stuff: A Personal Financial Blog about the Next Financial Step. It’s an open fiscal diary and a personal finance blog rolled into one.

My husband does not want to stay in our current home forever. He wants more room…specifically more rooms. After board gaming at a few different homes, he is lusting after more space. Luckily, he has a cheap streak too, so we will wait until our house is paid off before even approaching the idea of moving. But our conversation did lead me to think, how much house is enough house for us?

I’m happy with our 3 bedroom home. I love our Master bedroom with our attached bathroom. I’m cool with the fact we use one of the spare bedrooms as my husband’s office. I’m also fine with turning the other bedroom into a guest bedroom/hobby room if he’d like.

I don’t think we need a separate library, office, hobby room, guest bedroom, and gaming area.

Our friends have some pretty awesome houses. I know exactly where he got these ideas. But I also know that those same friends make way more than we do. I don’t want to suffer from lifestyle inflation.

I also hate the idea of moving at all. Buying our home was not a fun process at all. It was stressful. Even the moving part was awful since the first movers never showed up and we had to wait all day to get fit in on a different company’s schedule. I also don’t enjoy the whole unpacking process. I just hate moving.

That hatred could easily convince me to stay exactly where we are until I’m too old to go up the stairs.

I know that my husband would never put his wants ahead of our finances, but I’m already trying to come up with ways to make our house seem bigger to him. I just think that as long and the TV works and we have a table to play games on, we’re doing just fine…

What do you think? How much house is enough house for you?

Ventura County at dusk

I love exploring city statistics, comparing them with the city I live in, and making comparisons to cities I contemplate moving to. One site I always go back to is BestPlaces.net. I can quickly use their city compare link and glance through their copious amounts of data. (The one draw back to using this site is much of their data is a few years old. I’m hoping that when the 2010 census is published, they will update their statistics.) Another feature I find helpful is personal quotes and opinions about cities that people leave on their site. This helps narrow down the positives and negatives of an unknown city.

I use this site when considering my options for moving. For instance, I’m currently thinking of moving to a neighboring county, Ventura. It’s only a 30 minute drive away from where I live in Los Angeles County. But their population is 1/10 the size. According to Google, Los Angeles County is busting at the seams at almost 10,000,000 people – Whoa! Ventura County’s population, just to the north west, is under a cool million.  Ventura County is almost half the size, but even factoring this in, the population density is 1/6th of that of LA County (according to Wikipedia). What a difference! Less density means:

• Less traffic! A huge problem with LA county.
• Better, smoother roads due to fewer cars. I’m really tired of the pot holes chewing up my car.
• Less people! I love our city’s diversity, but I feel a little like a sardine lately. Too many people in such a small area.
• Better bicycle infrastructure. Ventura county is more bike-friendly with bike lanes painted on most of their roads.
• Less graffiti. Because we have so many people, there’s more chance of hoodlums messing up the city. Lately, many of them have been having a heyday with spray paint!

When comparing counties, I’m also looking for a little break in the cost of living. According to BestPlaces.net, I will be saving money on most of my expenses. Below is a graph directly from their website:

City Cost of Living Comparison

I’m not claiming Ventura County is cheap in any sense of the word. But it is cheaper than where I live.

Another factor to consider is their employment, or unemployment rate, and future expected growth. Los Angeles, and California in general, is pushing an unemployment rate of 13%. Ventura, however, is slightly lower than that. Since I will also have to search for a new teaching job, or something temporary for a while, this may bring me more prospects. You’ll also notice from this data below that most people in Ventura make more money than those in LA county, promising at least!

Cost of Living

Because this data is slightly outdated, I know that the sales tax has increased about 1%, but it has all over California. Ventura County’s sales tax is still 1% or more less than LA’s. Again, another reason for me to think seriously about moving.

On a side note, Ultimate Money Blog is doing something similar, but comparing all 50 states. I find this data fascinating. If any one is thinking of moving out of state, this might be a good window into what other states have to offer. If you use her descriptions along with BestPlaces.net city comparisons, you might find a city and state you would prefer to live in.

What city do you live in? Have you recently moved to a new city? What data did you use? Are you contemplating moving?

A nice house. But should I buy it?

As I browse the business sections of MSN.com, so many articles are written to encourage prospective buyers to take the plunge and buy a house. Headlines read like a “going out of business” sale, “Mortgage rates at rock bottom, buy now” is the theme. But just because mortgage rates are the lowest they’ve been in years, and home prices are much more reasonable than three years ago, does that mean everyone should go out and buy a house?

I’m playing devil’s advocate here, even though my goal is to purchase a home of my own, because I think these articles that are appearing in the business section of major news sources mislead prospective buyers. My stance is this: No one should buy a home unless they are financially prepared to do so, no matter how low interest rates are or how inexpensive homes may seem. Financial Samurai recently posted his interview with Consumerism Commentary and stated that he believes in the 30/30/2 rule when it comes to purchasing property. That is you have 30 percent saved, for a 30 year mortgage (I think this is the second 30, I can’t remember this one – Sam?), and pay no more than twice your annual income for the house. I agree, but with a slightly different variation; a person can probably comfortably afford a home at 2.5 time their income.

This means, however, that if you want to purchase a $300,000 house, you need $90,000 saved. How many new home buyers do you know that put down that much in cash for a house? It’s difficult to save that much money when an average salary hovers around $40,000. And, if you only make $40,000 a year (add a spouse that may equate to $80,000 total income), your home should cost no more than $200,000. Where I live, there are few homes in this price range. So what does this mean? It means I’m not ready to own a home yet, even with articles luring me to purchase because mortgage rates have never been this low and are primed for spiking within the next year.

Marketing pressure is what lead to the recent housing bubble, hopefully this pressure isn’t leading more purchasers down this same path. With tighter lending practices in place, due to the financial melt down, this should remedy some of the problems of the housing market. However, no matter how enticing home prices and mortgage rates seem,  I won’t be making that plunge until I’m sure I can afford a home comfortably.

What is your thought on buying a home? Is it always the best option? Are renters financially illiterate people? What about all the articles sounding like advertisements for prospective home buyers? Should people follow the advice and just buy a home before it’s too late?

Recycled House by DRW

I love writing about little house plans, or residential architecture in general. Yet it takes some research, on my part, to find new home designs, links to great sites, and then time for me to organize my thoughts into legible paragraphs. I keep thinking that I’ll set aside one day a week for house plan posts, but with my limited amount of time, this isn’t going to happen any time soon.

But with that being said, I did find time this week to research some ecofriendly house designs that I thought were interesting.

• Circular home designs - Deltec Homes: I’ve never been a big fan of octagonal or circular homes. I just didn’t understand the purpose to them. However, I found the Deltec site that explains it. In so many words, the point of them being there are no “load-bearing” interior walls allowing for just about any floor plan layout. Their roof acts as the supporting beams, so the modifications to the interior are endless. I can see this being a huge factor if one wants a very open floor plan. The only drawback I see to circular homes is that many of the walls are curved. This would drive me crazy placing furniture against them.
• Passive Solar Designs – The Plan Collection: Passive solar is a up and coming word these days. Basically, if you design the house with enough light and windows pointing in just the right direction, you can heat your house naturally. This would save money on your gas bill during the fall and winter months. Though, I would worry about the summer months in warmer regions, like say, Arizona! You don’t want your house acting as a sauna.
• More Passive Solar Designs - SunTerra: I like the fact that SunTerra explains the point of a passive solar home and includes the importance of overhangs for shade. They also calculate how much money could be saved on heating a house passively, approximately 1/3 overall. Their home plans include explanations of how each home’s architecture reinforces green building ideas such as a zero energy home and an earth sheltered home. I also learned the purpose of a flatter pitched roof:  it decreases the interior volume improving the energy efficiency.

As a more critical consumer, many house plan sites I come across boast about “green building.” But to put things in perspective, green building really boils down to being resource efficient. The more recycled materials, the less stress is put upon the environment. My all time favorite home builders is Phoenix Commotion: taking one persons junk and turning it into another person’s treasure.

Mesa House in Arizona

My trips to Arizona always leave me questioning life style choices. I think it’s because central Arizona, to me, is a conundrum: It’s a beautiful state in the winter, and a horrid place in the summer. The newly paved roads make driving pleasant, yet the endless mini-marts and beige-colored housing developments make for a boring and repetitive landscape. Which brings me to the topic of endless housing developments.

With each visit, usually twice a year, I notice a new community that wasn’t there before. Of course building has slowed over the last 18 months, but there are still areas that are going strong. For instance, my sister-in-law lives in a new development in the far east end of Maricopa county. On our last visit, her’s was the only one in that vicinity, making it easy to find. This visit, we noticed many more had been completed and we had the darndest time finding her street. Every house was brown or beige, or a variation of taupe, making it very confusing to find the right street to turn on. With housing communities all butted up against each other, there are very few landmarks to cue a driver where to go. Eventually, we figured out that by counting the streets, we could navigate her look-alike community.

After four years of my sister-in-law (SIL) and her family living in their newish house, many things are already falling apart and looking worn. Some of this may have to do with their three children. Children usually aren’t very careful with banisters, doors, or cleaning up after themselves. However, some of the things my husband and I noticed, had nothing to do with little hands touching it. They seemed to have more to do with the quality of the houses. Like the creaky doors, for instance. I live in a rental house that is over 50 years old. My interior and exterior doors don’t creak when opened. The back patio door of my SIL’s house sounded like a door off a haunted house. Since my husband smokes, he would remove himself to the back patio, but felt horrible that every time he opened it, it would make a loud crrrrrreaking sound. Another item that seemed like it was really poorly made were their bathroom floor tiles. The edges were already chipping and the grout was completely cracked in many places.

Knowing that they paid a premium price for their home four years ago, I decided to keep my opinions about the quality of their house to myself. Or in other words, I kept my mouth shut. Yet I realized that they may not have had much choice in the matter. With home builders developing mass quantities of homes in short periods of time, the quality of the homes seems to have been at the bottom of the contractor’s check list. Why pay for premium materials when the home owner may not notice the difference? Or at least, not when the house is brand new. A few years back, when buying homes was a frenzied activity, home builders could get away with building quick and crappy homes. With time and wear, however, the lack of quality really stands out. I’m not sure if my in-laws are thinking of selling their home anytime soon, but the wear and tear will definitely have to be remedied before they do.

Have you bought a new home recently? Is it made of quality material? Have you lived in an older home and noticed that the home seemed more durable?

Returning from my trip to Arizona, I began comparing my city (a suburb of Los Angeles) to the Phoenix/Mesa/Tempe area of Arizona. I observed some drastic differences that got me thinking about my quality of life here in Los Angeles.  Let me preface this by saying that I’ve lived in the Los Angeles area for over 33 years and consider it my home. But, I began thinking about what makes a city run smoothly, remain clean, and how cities keep up with their population growth.

A few things that really stood out when I was visiting in Arizona, that got me comparing it with Los Angeles, are the following:

• Roads and traffic
• Cleanliness
• Air quality
• Cost of living

Los Angeles is a sprawling city of too narrow roads and freeways with endless tail lights as far as the eye can see. Our potholes are almost as famous as New York’s, they can swallow whole SUV’s in a matter of seconds. Our population is larger than the Phoenix metro, by about 5 million. But in contrast, the  roads in Arizona are 6 lanes wide and newly repaved. Their highways are smooth, wide, and the city is continually adding more connections and highways to link their also sprawling communities making traveling around the city pleasant. The difference between these two cities, at least with city planning, is that Phoenix is anticipating a larger population – they are thinking ahead. Los Angeles, being an older city, never planned on so many people inhabiting the area. By the time our population had swelled to current numbers, we were land locked and unable to expand our highways. Obviously, geography does play a part. We are slightly more mountainous than the Phoenix area. Yet, for the amount of money I pay in auto registration and insurance, I feel shortchanged in the quality of roads I travel on.

Another drastic difference I noticed while in Arizona was the clean road sides and NO graffiti. Phoenix either has a terrific road side crew of maintenance people, or their population is more conscientious of throwing trash out their car window. Los Angeles, on the other hand, is littered with garbage from one end to the other. Our road side crews can’t keep up with the amount of trash, and somehow people can’t make it into the trash cans! Graffiti is another problem in our city, everywhere you turn you can find graffiti somewhere on a wall or side of a building. Again, in Phoenix I didn’t see one dab of spray paint anywhere. Unless their roadside crews are also constantly repainting walls and buildings, their population must be less likely to “tag” their turfs. As a city with one of the highest sales tax rates (almost 10%), I think my money is getting lost in the shuffle. It surely isn’t being invested in keeping the city clean.

California was one of the first states to implement zero emissions on their vehicles. Yet, in Los Angeles, you’d never know it. Our air is frequently a warm shade of beige. The coastal fog combined with factory and auto emissions equals smog. Considering our population is very health-minded, it’s ironic that we have the worst air quality in the nation. While in Phoenix, I noticed that I couldn’t see the air. This is a good thing, because air is supposed to be clear! I know that during their sweltering summers, their air quality isn’t as good as during the winter months, but at least they have a period of clean air.

Finally, there is the cost of living comparison. I’m always flabbergasted by how inexpensive other cities are compared to Los Angeles (except New York, of course). For example, the sales tax in Phoenix is just above 6%, that’s almost 4% less than L.A. Groceries, restaurants, and gas are much less as well. And homes? Well, let me just say that because of all the new communities popping up in Phoenix, you can nab a new home for under $100,000. The home prices are posted on all of the new development signs, ranging from $99,999 to the low $200,000’s. Finding a decent home for mid- to low- $200K in Los Angeles county is a near impossible feat. (I do want to touch more upon home developments, but I’ll save this for another post).

My comparison between these two cities made me realize that my husband and I need to move out of Los Angeles county. We are currently considering Ventura county, or moving just north of Los Angeles. We still want some of the benefits of being near a large metro, like the opera, shopping, the Getty Museum, and a variety of restaurants. We also like the idea of living within an hour of the beach, even though we really aren’t beach people. So, with a county population under 1 million, traveling around town will make life much more pleasant. Bike riding will also feel safer as many of Ventura counties’ cities have marked bicycle lanes. As we begin planning our move, I’ll be keeping these items in mind when choosing our new “home” city.

What do you like about your city? What do you dislike? Have you recently moved because of similar problems? Do you see your city becoming run down? How does that effect your psyche?