what do you consider exspensive?

Come on down here to vacation, bring those fat wallets and live it up! We'll be in the Carolinas spending all our money! The grass is always greener looking on the other side of the county!

Nothing jacks up land values & taxes, faster then some rich dude forking out the big $$$ for your neighborhood's spread and then building a mansion.[/QUOTE]

Seriously though all their "money" has not helped South Jersey at ALL.
The taxes collected from the Casinos don't stay here. The tourists do come and spend money so we have plenty of junk stores selling tourist items, employing highschoolers for minimum wage. Our barrier islands are so over developed and unstable the state is constantly dredging and rebuilding them. A few years ago the state finished a project on one island at a little more then 2 million to "replenish" the beach. This was funded with our taxes, it took ONE nor'easter to erase over 2 million dollars worth of taxes. The only people making money off the tourists are the real estate agents and bar owners. Up in Atlantic City just off the boardwalk it is as bad as any major inner city.
For some "the grass is greener" proverb holds but for us there is no grass!

Answers to your questions,

1. 160 acres purchase cost = $22,000 USD (about $34,000 CDN)
2. Property taxes = about $150 USD (about 225 CDN) the gravel road is always plowed, that's about it, schools, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, hospital, etc, worth it.
3. House size = 1100 ft2, 2 bedroom, 1 bath, log home
4. Provincial Sales Tax = 7.5%
5. Federal Sales Tax = 7.0%
6. Medical Cost = $69 USD ($92 CDN) per month for two of us
7. Truck insurance (F150 03) = $about 1000 USD ($about 1,300 CDN)
8. Electricity cost = $about 0.05 USD (about $0.07 CDN) per kW/Hr
9. Closest city Chetwynd BC = 26 miles away, about 3,000 people
10. Jobs = Logging, mills, farming, ranching, mining, gas plant, lots of hard physical work.
11. Water = shallow well 15' high quality, needs softener, lots of mineralization (underground - not surface).
12. Building Inspector = never seen one.
13. Electrical Inspector = local licenced contractor
14. Grass, wood and vegies grow like mad.
15. If you decide to eat meat, moose, deer, elk, fish, bear, etc abound.
16. Northern lights, 50 F below winters with warming Chinooks of plus 50F often.
17. Up to two feet of snow.
18. Up to 80 F in summer.
19. Long summer days to work sun up at 4am, down at 11 pm.
20. Short winter days sun up and brilliant at 9am, down at 3:30 or 4:00 pm.
21. Great neighbours.
22. What else can I say, what more do you want to know?

From another post,

Alex

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Thou art That

I have learned that the more remote one is and the lack of jobs there are, usually taxes on property are dirt cheap! Most of the people I knew in the Ozarks were paying $400 or so a year in taxes on considerable amounts of acrage. With improvements such as out building and such it varied. Here in Orlando the average homeowner pays about $3,000 a year for a house sitting on less that 1/5th of an acre.

Ernest

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Success--The progressive realization of a worthwhile goal or dream.

Live Simply and Pay As You Go!

But HOW are those we supposed to continue to live in a place where the freakin' taxes keep going up and up and up and up...our school (where there was just a shooting the other day) is putting on some multi-million dollar expansion. For what, I ask you? The expanding suburbs, that's what. The freakin' Targets and Walmarts and junky strip malls with their freakin' Verizon/Nextel/AT&T cellular-Chinese Dragon-DryCleaner-Mini-Bank-Home Despot-Homogenization-of-America-CRAP. Grrrrrrrrrrrr! I'm so angry about the development of our rural areas and the subsequent flight of the farmers and people who had lived there sometimes for generations I could just scream. And then I say, "That's IT. We're leaving." But where to go? And wouldn't that be just the same? Moving somewhere else and taking up some more land because I don't want to have to look at my stupid neighbors "security lighting" that stays on 24/7?
And WHO is buying these plastic three story Colonial McMansions, anyway? I thought our economy was shot and nobody had a job or any money?? So What The Heck is going on?
Anyway, it's expensive to live here. For sure. And it's just going to keep getting more and more expensive.
Thanks for letting me vent!!

We have a 1600 sq ft log cabin on 113 acres with a solid older dairy barn that's been converted for horses. About 30 acres open (10 in hayfield, the rest in pasture) the remainder in hardwood, hemlock, and Christmas trees. We paid $120,000 for the place, and the taxes are a bit high at a smidge over $4000.00 a year. Very good school district, the town keeps the roads up well, and the people are nice and friendly. The farm is within easy distance of Rte. 17 and about a 20 minute drive to a good sized city.There are two colleges and while jobs aren't hard to find most don't pay well-$6-7 average, unless you have a specialized job-medical, legal, teacher, etc.. It's reasonable to register your vehicle and the sales tax is 8%. Car insurance on 2 vehicles is $850.00 a year for full coverage on both.

All in all, even though the weather isn't the greatest some years, I love living in Upstate NY.

Stacy in NY

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People say I can't multi-task. Well, I can tick you off and amuse myself at the same time.

The economy isn't that bad for a lot of people. It depends what industry you work in.

There are plenty of people with lots of money, and in the city, housing is at a fixed supply so prices will just continue to go up. I am also starting to see ads for 40 yr mortgages, this will help to keep prices up and sales strong since people can get a bigger loan for the same amount of monthly mortgage payment. In some places overseas they even have 100yr mortgages. A house a few houses down from my parents just sold for 950k and it sold the very first weekend it was on the market. 7 years ago that same house was selling for about 275k. The population is getting bigger and there will always be people with money but the number of houses in the city is not growing so prices will go up an up since there is a housing shortage.

I am also amazed that there is always someone out there to buy these expensive homes but when you sit down and think about it, it makes sense.

NW IL, in the middle of nowhere.

Real estate taxes on the half acre 4 BR house in subdivision outside of town valued at $90K: $3,000 a year,.

About 10 miles down the road, different school district, 11 acres zoned agriculture farm with house, barn and 2 other outbuildings total farm current valuation is $110K but will probably go up after refinance to around $175K: $700 a year.

7.25% retail tax – no tax on food

I heard the FOID (firearm owners ID card) went up to $500 bucks this year (ours won’t expire for a couple year) thanks to Chicago gun owners!! Just how many illegal firearm owners actually get a FOID anyway??

Farm insurance (covers all land and buildings on both properties, $850 a year)

Vehicle insurance for 2 trucks and a van $1200 a year

Vehicle tags $70 each yearly

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Cyndi (and sometimes Paul)

Muller's Lane Farm
"Lessons in Homesteading"

Well, in Kansas, my home on one acre has taxes of $2,200 a year. My 5 acres about 20 minutes away has taxes of $16 a year.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION!!!!