Housing prices in the North!

that's the freemarket economy...supply and demand, prices and wages are all tied together....it's no different where I live, high wages drive up land value because people want those high paying jobs, high land value drive up home ownership costs and rent
...a 3 bedroom home here will rent from $650 to $3800, and you dont want to be the 650 home or neighborhood , then add on the utility bills and gas at $5 pergal...

 

good old claw foots are valuable, they're usually deeper more comfortable than newer tubs and the cast iron holds the heat better than contemporary fiberglass tubs....I dont understand the hangups people have with tubs as probably 99% of the population showers...

 

typical however, a large new employer moves in and wages and land values go up...the smarter locals take advantage of the opportunity and others on fixed or low incomes miss out and fall further behind...

 

I don't think a basement will any more humid than Florida, does humidity short circut computers there?...the problem with basements and humidity is poor criculation, mold....I keep my main computer in my basement, but my home was built in 1984, vapour barriers, heated, dehumidifier. ..

 

I'm a renovator/contractor so feel free to ask if you have any building questions...basements in northern climates are needed to keep homes warm, not an issue in southern climates, basements also add considerable extra cost to a home...

 

LOL I guess to each his own. I look forward to winter. Snow shoeing, hiking, snowmobiles, no cutting the grass......etc., On those clawfoot tubs, DO NOT throw them out if you can get one! As they don't make them anymore of the same quality (thickness of the metal) people will pay you top dollar for any shape tub, they refinish them and make them like new and then sell them for a good penny. A guy on cape cod has a business refinishing them. If you take a bath in a home depot special the water gets cold in a couple minutes, in a clawfoot, you'll stay toasty until you decide to get out. That's why a lot of people remodeling high end homes pay top dollar for a refinished clawfoot.

 

If it helps, sometimes on the weekends I see those shows where people are shown some homes and they pick on of the three. Some of them are really nice houses and they say the price and its always like a 120k and Im like WTF. Up here you have to pay 4 times that for the exact same thing. Its just the cost of everything up here. If you go further north like upper maine, they start to go drastically low again. I moved closer to Boston out of a house I owned into another one of equal size for an extra 150K. For me its worth it, due to traffic it went from a 1.5hr commute down to 12 minutes. I pay much higher taxes but Ill get my money back when I sell it. Supply and demand I guess. Houses in my town sell in a few days whereas in my last town 30 minutes further south it took me over a year.

 

I actually hit my limit today. I needed some screws to hang cabinets and they were a 1.59 each. I needed 20 of them. I was pissed but sorta needed them. I got home and decided I am not paying a 1.59 for a single screw. I am returning them tomorrow. Ill buy them online for cheaper and simply wait.

 

The reason rent is high in California and New York is because people want to live in those places. I'd bet you could get a 4-bedroom ranch with a yard and pool in Biloxi for $600 a month. Who has Mississippi been controlled by?

 

A solution to the costs of cigarettes is of course to quit. Most military bases are moving towards tobacco free zones as it is. You will go through a rough week or two of physical withdrawals, and later a psychological withdrawal, from nicotine but do consider quitting as an option.

It is not an easy habit to break, I became addicted to cigars...basically just another source of nicotine..and I went through hell for a week or two giving them up. There's also chew, which I noticed many in the military have that habit....I know of a young officer who died of mouth cancer at 35 y/o from taking up the habit while in the Army. The cancer metastasized and spread to his lymph nodes. He was dead within a year of the initial diagnosis.

Not to hijack the thread, but do give serious consideration to quitting the nicotine habit..not only for money reasons but the long term health benefit. You may consider smokes like an old friend, a way to take the edge off of a stressful moment, a way to deal with boredom...but it's a vile weed in the final analysis...change your mindset to look upon it as your enemy, not your friend. Forget nicotine patches and smokeless options....the way to quit the habit is cold turkey...and accept the fact you will always have an addiction to nicotine. It'll be hell for a week or so, but millions have quit the habit; you can too!

 

Unfortunately the cost of living in different places is going to really hurt you because I'm sure your pay stays consistent. You have to make over $80,000 in New York to have the same lifestyle $40,000 a year would bring you in Oklahoma.

The Military should adjust for cost of living.

 

The BAH or basic allowance for housing given to service members who qualify, does indeed factor in the variations in regional cost of housing/rent.

 

I'm willing to bet they don't offer enough if you can't find something comparable to what you are used to in other regions.

 

BAH Calculator = http://www.defensetravel.dod.mil/site/bahCalc.cfm

Upstate NY zipcode = 13602
Nightmare's pay grade = W-3 (educated guess, he mentioned he was a Chief Warrant officer)

Military housing area: Fort Drum/Watertown, NY

Monthly allowance for W 3 with dependents = $2,034
W 3 without dependents = $1,602

I've PCSd numerous times while in the service...complaining about it goes with the territory. Nightmare is just venting.

You adapt...if smokes are 8 bucks a pack in the region...either cut back or quit...it's a start.

At least he's CONUS, a far bigger pain in the patoot is a permanent change of duty station based OCONUS.

 

You're still addicted to nicotine and nicotine is a pesticide...think about that.

It will be hell on Earth for a week, but at some point give up nicotine all together...and give it the permanent middle finger. It's the equivalent to an opiate addiction, so I know what it is like to crave it. I finally said to myself...(*)(*)(*)(*) this and decided to face the withdrawals.

 

Minot AFB in North Dakota reaches temperatures approaching 40 below zero. Going outside for just a few minutes can be hazardous. I would take Upstate NY over Minot any day. I was never based there, but I was stuck there for 3 days because the cold temperatures shut down the flightline.