My ultimate goal is to own a house on a couple acres and commute roughly an hour to work in a big city such as Chicago or NY. I'm actually enrolling to complete my MBA focusing in Marketing and currently an outside sales rep for a major building material supplier.


I'm thinking living somewhere like Sloatsburg, NY or Wadsworth, IL. Something along those lines where some nice property can be bought for relatively reasonable money.


Personally, I'd love downtown in a high-rise but my wife would never go for that lol


Anyone have any experience doing something like this? We live pretty comfortably on $45k a year here in TN, wife is able to stay at home with the baby. I'm thinking for sure I'd have to be looking at a salary at least 1.5 times my current. Hopefully when I get that MBA and a couple more years experience/training at my current job I can get into something fitting, maybe even within the same company.


Feel free to share your experiences

---

IT WAS ALWAYS THE JAGS

I drive about 40 miles into orange park for work. We have about 5 acres and a small homestead, looking at expanding soon but the job is pretty demanding right now. My advice budget for gas and make stops before you get home.

---

I have my CDL and haul a lot of medical equipment. I usually go from Jax to Orlando, then up to Georgia, then over to Alabama and sometimes Mississippi.


Sometimes they throw a wrinkle into my route and have me go from Georgia then South Carolina then Bama and Miss..


Got tired of the everyday grind of office work and such.. Love being on the road..

---

Why yes Skeet, I do have experience doing something like that.


All though I don't travel to any cities mandatorily every day, I go back and forth often enough.


I'd say your biggest challenges will be things like finding babysitters, coordinating school pickups between multiple children - especially if any start sports and the others don't for example.


Getting things like trash or lawn service could be harder, finding companies that will travel out for things like AC repair or plumbers, any of that stuff will be much more limited. Internet is a big problem for me, max speed of 10MB in my area, functional speed is usually about 6.


Oh, and if you're really out in the country you'll probably be dealing with a lot of wild animals, or possibly packs of feral dogs, if you take your kids for walks or bike rides or that kind of stuff.


Also, the spider amount in the house might take a little leap haha.

---

Is there anywhere an hour outside of NYC that you can live for that amount of money comfortably?

---

What in the Wide Wide World of Sports is agoin' on here???

Go towards the banjo music.

---

With no traffic, it takes me about 7 minutes to get to work.

---

Have you seen my baseball?

Is there anywhere an hour outside of NYC that you can live for that amount of money comfortably?

I think in the $70k ish range it can be done. I've looked at real estate already and it can be found under $200k. As for other cost of living, I grew up in Western NY, it's really not much different cost/tax wise. It's once you get inside NY that housing and everything multiplies.


For what it's worth, I could live very comfortably on $70k in Western NY.

---

IT WAS ALWAYS THE JAGS

Why yes Skeet, I do have experience doing something like that.


All though I don't travel to any cities mandatorily every day, I go back and forth often enough.


I'd say your biggest challenges will be things like finding babysitters, coordinating school pickups between multiple children - especially if any start sports and the others don't for example.


Getting things like trash or lawn service could be harder, finding companies that will travel out for things like AC repair or plumbers, any of that stuff will be much more limited. Internet is a big problem for me, max speed of 10MB in my area, functional speed is usually about 6.


Oh, and if you're really out in the country you'll probably be dealing with a lot of wild animals, or possibly packs of feral dogs, if you take your kids for walks or bike rides or that kind of stuff.


Also, the spider amount in the house might take a little leap haha.

Thanks man, I'm not too concerned with the wildlife and such. We both have lived in the woods before lol.


Babysitting may pose a problem, but my daughter will be school age by the time this comes around which makes it slightly easier.

---

IT WAS ALWAYS THE JAGS

But there's snow and sub-freezing temperatures in New York. Why would you want to live there?

---

But there's snow and sub-freezing temperatures in New York. Why would you want to live there?

I love snow and sub freezing temps. I'll take that any day over a FL summer. I live for Winter

---

IT WAS ALWAYS THE JAGS

I love snow and sub freezing temps. I'll take that any day over a FL summer. I live for Winter

Post reported for offensive thought.

---

My ultimate goal is to own a house on a couple acres and commute roughly an hour to work in a big city such as Chicago or NY. I'm actually enrolling to complete my MBA focusing in Marketing and currently an outside sales rep for a major building material supplier.


I'm thinking living somewhere like Sloatsburg, NY or Wadsworth, IL. Something along those lines where some nice property can be bought for relatively reasonable money.


Personally, I'd love downtown in a high-rise but my wife would never go for that lol


Anyone have any experience doing something like this? We live pretty comfortably on $45k a year here in TN, wife is able to stay at home with the baby. I'm thinking for sure I'd have to be looking at a salary at least 1.5 times my current. Hopefully when I get that MBA and a couple more years experience/training at my current job I can get into something fitting, maybe even within the same company.


Feel free to share your experiences

 

Here's what I did (and I wouldn't change anything)

 

* Grew up in the suburbs of Pittsburgh

* Moved to Washington DC after getting my BS Degree (until age 27)

* Transferred to Jacksonville (3 years) -- bought land by the beach

* Moved back to DC (4 years)

*** Had a few kids ***

* Moved back to Jacksonville (17 years and counting)

 

Personally, I'd take advantage of the city life while you're in your 20's, get the most work experience at the highest pay possible, then bolt to a smaller city.  If you find something affordable by a condo (in the city) or something to get you by and possible keep for investment the pull the trigger (but keep your vision on the long term future in the suburbs or smaller city so your girlfriend knows her style of living is in the future).

 

Take chances and live out your youthful dreams while you're still young and don't have kids.  Once the kids come, the priority is on stability and giving them the best possible childhood & future possible.

---

Thanks man, I'm not too concerned with the wildlife and such. We both have lived in the woods before lol.

Babysitting may pose a problem, but my daughter will be school age by the time this comes around which makes it slightly easier.

I kinda thought you might have after I thought about it. Hard to judge who that kind of stuff will bother so I just included it. Sometimes people come out here and practically jump in a tree when they hear a coyote haha.

---

I'm currently looking at buying anywhere between 40 and 60 acres outside of the city (Jacksonville) and further away.  However, I won't have to worry about a commute though since I'll be retiring soon.

---

There are 10 kinds of people in this world.  Those who understand binary and those who don't.

My folks have 40 acres an hour plus west of Jacksonville not too far from the Suwanee.  A few miles off of any paved road.  

 

They want to sell soon and I'm hoping to convince them to divide the parcel and let me purchase 5 acres from them. 

 

I'd love to build a small cabin there in 5 or 6 years  - and a garage to house a couple of project cars.

 I'm trying to buy a house at the beach and I won't have room for hot-rodding and a home music studio on the small lot.

---

Thanks man, I'm not too concerned with the wildlife and such. We both have lived in the woods before lol.

Babysitting may pose a problem, but my daughter will be school age by the time this comes around which makes it slightly easier.

 

Disregard my post about experiencing the city prior to having kids.  I didn't see the above post.

---