Relocating to Ohio

[Anonymous]

I am relocating to Ohio. Perhaps I will be closer to my friends. How is the living expense there? I am going to live in Cleveland area. Thanks!

[John Smith]

How is the living expense there?
Compared to what? You may be interested in a Salary Comparison Calculator that takes into account the cost of living.

[Anonymous]

thanks for the link!
looks like the living cost is way below SF area. i want to buy a house. i hope i can rent it out after i leave ohio maybe a couple of years down the road. that way, tenant will pay the mortgage for me. i hope.
any advice on what kind of house to buy. i heard you can buy a pretty good one for $200,000 in Cleveland area.

[Joe Ess]

Originally posted by <David>:
looks like the living cost is way below SF area.

It's a fraction. One of my friends relocated from Ohio to SF in 2001 to work for Dreamworks. They doubled the salary he was making at the time and he still ended up living in a run-down studio apartment. Of course, you aren't going to get an opportunity like getting a credit on the movie Shrek in Ohio.

any advice on what kind of house to buy. i heard you can buy a pretty good one for $200,000 in Cleveland area.

What kind of house to buy? Books have been written on that subject. Best bet is to drive through the neighborhoods yourself. If you want to rent your pad out someday, you'd best stay close to downtown (i.e. Treemont or Cleveland Heights). Not the best neighborhoods, but with a large rental population (public transportation, some trendy shops+restaurants).
For 200k you could buy a city block in some areas of Cleveland. 30 minutes south, it wouldn't make a downpayment on some of the mansions in the Cuyahoga Valley. There's a wide variety. Keep your options open until you get the lay of the land.
Ohio plusses: Little chance of natural disaster (tornados, blizzards are about it). Cheap. Four seasons (if you are into that kind of thing). Traffic isn't nearly as bad as SF.
Ohio negatives: Small tech scene. Little pure tech: most opportunities are IT related. Lake Erie an't the Pacific.

[Paul Stevens]

The Cuyahoga river hasn't caught fire in decades.

[Dave Vick]

Originally posted by Joe Ess:
[QB...(i.e. Treemont or Cleveland Heights). Not the best neighborhoods, but with a large rental population (public transportation, some trendy shops+restaurants). ...[/QB]

Ahh, an east sider apparently. Nothing wrong here on the west side of Cleveland
Joe, is right though, $200,000 can get you a very nice house in some areas, while in others it might not even make a dent in the downpayment. Depending on what your looking for there are a lot of places you can look at. If you're going to be working downtowna dn want to live there, there are lots of apartments and condos yopu can check out. If your more into the rural scene and a longer commmute then you can get a house anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour away from downtown. Lots of different things depending on what you like. If you've got any specific questions let me know.

[John Smith]

any advice on what kind of house to buy. i heard you can buy a pretty good one for $200,000 in Cleveland area.
Realtor.com is the best source. I ran a query for you for houses in Cleveland, OH, between $175,000 and $200,000, here are the 348 results. Looks like 200K buys you a pretty decent house in Cleveland, -- you can expect 1/2 acre of land, 3-4 bedrooms, 2-3 baths. Betcha you couldn't buy a trailer for that money in SF, huh?

[Joe Ess]

Originally posted by Dave Vick:

Ahh, an east sider apparently. Nothing wrong here on the west side of Cleveland

Had some interesting times in Ohio City, so I know about those West Siders. I'm down south in Summit Co, but I worked at NASA Glenn for two years.

[Anonymous]

thanks for all the input!
i just got the offer from a company in cleveland, $96k / yr. not too bad. especially when converting to $196,035 in san jose.
i guess i better buy property, otherwise, the waste on tax is too much. but what would be my best investment strategy?
% on 401k, % on mortgage, % on cash, anything else? any principle to stick to?

[Joe Ess]

Originally posted by <David>:

% on 401k, % on mortgage, % on cash, anything else? any principle to stick to?

The Motley Fool for all your financial needs.

[Dave Vick]

Nice offer, congrats. Are they still hiring?

[John Smith]

i just got the offer from a company in cleveland, $96k / yr. not too bad.
What kind of position and responsibilities? Hard to tell if $96K is a good deal without knowing what they are paying for.
i guess i better buy property, otherwise, the waste on tax is too much. but what would be my best investment strategy?
I'd say talk to your investment advisor, not to cowboys here. On the other hand, they all will tell you the same: maximize 401K, diversify, dollar cost average (i.e invest regularly on a weekly/monthly basis), and look for investment options with the highest possible return for the least possible amount of volatility (risk).

[Anonymous]

yes, they are planning to hire more in the future. i will let you know, if you are interested.
I will be working as a staff engineer. the company works with automobile industries and air force.

[Anonymous]

have been doing some research lately. i think the two motivation for me to buy house are:
1) reduce tax;
2) property appreciation
since i am not sure i can stay in cleveland area for 30 years, what i want on house are:
1) good growth potential;
2) easy to rent
with 1), i hope i can make some money >5 years down the road. with 2), i hope to find someone pay mortgage for me.
based on my salary, i can buy a primary home, then a second home (or investment property) and rent it out. after establishing stable rent income, i can even go for the third.
based on previous reasons, i am almost certain to buy home. but what will happen if i leave in 5 years? i guess i want to take my chance to find a property management company to rent it out. renter won't take good care of the home as i do, but i hope to take the chance anyway. if i have one home to worry about, i guess it won't be too much more trouble to worry about second, or even third. that is my rationale.
i am almost running out of option.
so any input? i guess as a starter, i got to find a second hand truck first.

[Dave Vick]

David
Yes, bying is almost always better than renting for the very reasons you mentioned. however, I wouldn't expect to see too much of an increase in the value of your home in just 5 years. Yes, it'll go up but will it go up enough that you'll still make money after you consider all of the fees and other expenses involved in selling the house. Also, depending ont he area you buy in it may go up faster or slower than the average. A good realtor in the area should be able to tell you the places expecting to see better appreciation in the next few years. Of course it might be becasue the neighborhood has nowhere to go but up
You're right, you can always rent it out after you leave town but, you're also right in that the tenants will almost cetainly not take as good of care of it as you yourself. I think there are managment companies or something similiar that you can pay to maintair it for you. ie, fixing light bulbs, repairing damage and things like that that the tenant would expect to have done. Or maybe in the time you're here you could find someone you trust enough to do that for you. My wife and I did that for our old landlord (he owned several properties in the area), all I did was mow the lawns and take care small repairs, we also collected all of the rent checks and mailed them to him. The biggest advantage is that there is local presence that has an interest in your house. If the tenant knows that you live several hundred miles away and that there is no one else that will be checking in on the property then there is a chance that they'll destroy the house and pack up and leave with out you ever seeing them again.
I would have to argue with your assumption that one more house is no big deal if you're already taking care of one. It can be a huge headache, tenants calling at two in the morning because the pipes froze in the winter and they expect you to get them fixed in time to for them to take their shower in the morning
But, as an investment, property is great. If you get it in a good neighborhood it might alleviate many of the potential problems I listed.
OK, that was a lot, sorry.
In reference to your post a while ago, sure if they are hiring let me know - always interested!!

[Anonymous]

Hi Dave:
Thanks a lot for the inside informations! I really appreciate it!
I am sure Cleveland is a very beautiful place by great lakes. it will be wonderful if i can spend the rest of life there. So the job will be my first priority. this is how i got it:
i spent a couple of months working overseas, the last one month of it, i sent out a lot of resumes. i got several phone interviews even i was overseas. after i came back, more phone interview but no onsite interview. a couple of promising ones turned out to be disappointment. i almost got disappointed. i figured if i can't secure a job by the end of the year, then i will go to UAF (university of alaska, fairbanks) to pursue my PHD. a professor there had agreed to hire me. by the way, UAF is the only US university in arctic, its arctic study is top ranked.
then i got email from this company, a phone interview first, then inviting me for an onsite interview. and i got offer right after the interview. from the day they first contact me to the day i got oral offer, it took less than 2 weeks.
i guess you live in cleveland area. so keep in touch. thanks for the informations!
Best Regards,
David

[Anonymous]

will be working in Mentor, i like to buy houses in Mentor, Kirtland, Willowby,..area. Yes, you are right, some house in that area easily costs millions. talked to several realtors, the ideal house i am getting at is:
>= 3 bedroom;
>= 2 full bathroom;
>= 1 car garage ;
rent <= $1,100/month ;
lot is not too big;
the reason behind the requirement on bathroom is many people get divorced these days, and get re-married. two full rooms to seperate step father and step daughter. sounds resonable to me.

[Dave Vick]

Doesn't sound like too much to ask for, although you might get stuck with a 2 car garage But then you'll have plenty of room for the lawn mower and other stuff that garages seem to accumulate.
You're right I am in the area, on the west side. Glad I could help out, if you need any more info let me know. Good luck on the job.

[Anonymous]

Thanks Dave!
Actually I have not decided whether to buy home yet. that is a lot of commitment. the problem is that i can not put a big down payment up front. so the home equity will grow very slowly. yes, the payment toward the loan interest will be tax-excepted, then again, if i sell the house too quickly, then i won't accumulate much home equity. the closing cost and so on will cost a lot. so looks like there is no easy way to become rich overnight.
anyway, thank for the informations! i really appreciate it. good luck with everything!