Posted: 12/29/2014 4:20:38 PM EDT
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It's time for me to quit BS'n and buy a house of some sort; over 30, have the downpayment, steady job, recently got out of a long relationship, sick of paying off someone else's mortgage.
Unfortunately, I work in a high cost of living area and usually two incomes are needed to afford houses around here. $400K won't really get you a townhouse. I also have a dog that would love to run around in a yard, and I would love to open the door and let her run around instead of walking her through the concrete jungle. Commute times are total round-trip. Here are my options: A - 2 bedroom 2 bath condo, 1000-1200 SQFT, commute 10 minutes, semi-urban area, lots of attractive females, $3-400+ monthly HOA fee. B - Beater townhouse or run down small house, commute 50 minutes each day, suspect areas with .2 acres or less, bad schools (resale), lots of illegals and some milfs. C - Somewhat nice house, commute no more than 75 minutes each day, conservative/rural for here, 2-3 wooded acres, schools average, human contact limited to grocery store and work. D - Keep renting I've been debating this for a couple years and can't make a decision for some reason. Waited this long mostly because I thought me and the ex were going to get married but we split-up recently because she is a liberal and it would have ultimately ended in a disaster. |
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Can you shoot on the rural 2-3 acres? Also, is the commute times the total commute time or the one-way commute time? Commute times are total round trip. Pretty sure you can't shoot on them (prince William county in between lake ridge and manassas). I start work a couple hours before the main rush, traffic in the afternoon will suck. |
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Commute times are total round trip. Pretty sure you can't shoot on them (prince William county in between lake ridge and manassas) Quoted:
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Can you shoot on the rural 2-3 acres? Also, is the commute times the total commute time or the one-way commute time? Commute times are total round trip. Pretty sure you can't shoot on them (prince William county in between lake ridge and manassas) Cool. You'll be about 10 minutes from me. I'll come over and shoot. 
Definitely find out about the shooting. I'm on 5 acres and candidly I do not even know if it is kosher to shoot on my property. Thank god for suppressors. 
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Rural with acreage hand down. My wife and I went through the same thing. We chose this and my wife admits she was wrong, as she wanted to be in a condo or tight suburban neighborhood.
. No HOA's, No FSA, No traffic congestion, No nosy neighbors, low property taxes, Well water most likely, You can see the stars at night, Abundant wildlife. |
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I'm going through the same thing. I've been house searching for a few weeks now. Looking at one 30 minutes outside of town (only 10mins farther than I am now)
If I were you, take option C. Having a little something to show for that payment will make it even more worth it....more land, little bigger house, no one right on top of you to bother you, more freedom with your land... |
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I'm going through the same thing. I've been house searching for a few weeks now. Looking at one 30 minutes outside of town (only 10mins farther than I am now) If I were you, take option C. Having a little something to show for that payment will make it even more worth it....more land, little bigger house, no one right on top of you to bother you, more freedom with your land... Agreed. Someone pointed out in another thread that you should buy a house to sort of live in for the rest of your life or for a long time. I can't imagine living in some urban condo when I'm 35 or 40. Downside is meeting woman out there will be tough. All the women around here want to live in the city and be near metro stops, being in the woods isn't attractive at all to them for some reason. |
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I voted for condo in city with hot chicks, since you're single and you probably want to be close to everything. My next option, and the personal choice for me, would be a nice house in option C, but that commute sucks balls. Yeah, I'm not sure where or how I will meet woman, single one's sure as heck don't live out there. I am single but I've sat a ton of bar stools in my life and they aren't really my thing anymore. There are a bunch of bars and stuff like that right across the street from where I live and I've ventured over there maybe 3-4 times since moving here 3 years ago. The only reason I live here now is it's down the street from my work. |
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Are they all the same price?
How much is that commute time worth to you? Which options reflects your long term plans best? Can you shoot on the land? If you bought C would you pay someone to do all the exterior work on your home? Cause that is what the HOA fees are doing in A. Do you want to be able to decorate the exterior of your residence? (Christmas lights, etc) If price is equal, A is for sleeping with chicks, C is for long term family plans, and B sounds like a bad deal. |
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I'm familiar with the area you are talking about OP. Based on what you describe that 75 minute commute can be 150 minutes on any given day with the maddening traffic around here.
I love living in a rural area, but my commute to work is typically about 20 minutes with light traffic. I would blow my brains out if I had to go back to a bumper-to-bumper traffic commute again for five days a week. You should give the commute a few test runs to see if you can really hack it. Just some thoughts. |
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Agreed. Someone pointed out in another thread that you should buy a house to sort of live in for the rest of your life or for a long time. I can't imagine living in some urban condo when I'm 35 or 40. Downside is meeting woman out there will be tough. All the women around here want to live in the city and be near metro stops, being in the woods isn't attractive at all to them for some reason. Quoted:
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I'm going through the same thing. I've been house searching for a few weeks now. Looking at one 30 minutes outside of town (only 10mins farther than I am now) If I were you, take option C. Having a little something to show for that payment will make it even more worth it....more land, little bigger house, no one right on top of you to bother you, more freedom with your land... Agreed. Someone pointed out in another thread that you should buy a house to sort of live in for the rest of your life or for a long time. I can't imagine living in some urban condo when I'm 35 or 40. Downside is meeting woman out there will be tough. All the women around here want to live in the city and be near metro stops, being in the woods isn't attractive at all to them for some reason. If the women you meet are more concerned about living close to the city to be near shops, friends, social night life, etc....then they might not be the right women for you. Find you a good woman that doesn't care about that, and you might be much happier with them...and they with you. |
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I'm familiar with the area you are talking about OP. Based on what you describe that 75 minute commute can be 150 minutes on any given day with the maddening traffic around here. I love living in a rural area, but my commute to work is typically about 20 minutes with light traffic. I would blow my brains out if I had to go back to a bumper-to-bumper traffic commute again for five days a week. You should give the commute a few test runs to see if you can really hack it. Just some thoughts. I know.. everyone has tried to talk me out of that and similar areas with that type of commute. I'm at work at 6am and OTD at 3PM so that will help with traffic a little. Traffic won't be an issue in the morning but could (and will) be really really bad in the afternoon. FFX county real estate prices makes me want to blow my brains out because I can't afford anything worth buying IMO. |
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I know.. everyone has tried to talk me out of that and similar areas with that type of commute. I'm at work at 6am and OTD at 3PM so that will help with traffic a little. Traffic won't be an issue in the morning but could (and will) be really really bad in the afternoon. FFX county real estate prices makes me want to blow my brains out because I can't afford anything worth buying IMO. Quoted:
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I'm familiar with the area you are talking about OP. Based on what you describe that 75 minute commute can be 150 minutes on any given day with the maddening traffic around here. I love living in a rural area, but my commute to work is typically about 20 minutes with light traffic. I would blow my brains out if I had to go back to a bumper-to-bumper traffic commute again for five days a week. You should give the commute a few test runs to see if you can really hack it. Just some thoughts. I know.. everyone has tried to talk me out of that and similar areas with that type of commute. I'm at work at 6am and OTD at 3PM so that will help with traffic a little. Traffic won't be an issue in the morning but could (and will) be really really bad in the afternoon. FFX county real estate prices makes me want to blow my brains out because I can't afford anything worth buying IMO. I guess it all depends on where you are working. If you've got to take either I-66 or I-495/I-95 you can count on a high degree of variability in the afternoon with no apparent rhyme or reason to it. If you happen to be in the Fairfax area, Braddock through Clifton isn't too bad. The traffic can be heavy but it moves and it's a nicer drive. I would seriously give it a few test runs after leaving work. Maybe you will find it tolerable. All things considered, I'd rather be of the landed gentry than a condo/townhouse dweller. |
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I'm familiar with the area you are talking about OP. Based on what you describe that 75 minute commute can be 150 minutes on any given day with the maddening traffic around here. I love living in a rural area, but my commute to work is typically about 20 minutes with light traffic. I would blow my brains out if I had to go back to a bumper-to-bumper traffic commute again for five days a week. You should give the commute a few test runs to see if you can really hack it. Just some thoughts. I'm very familiar with the commute and your right my estimate was a little low. The PM commute will take at least an hour. |
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I guess it all depends on where you are working. If you've got to take either I-66 or I-495/I-95 you can count on a high degree of variability in the afternoon with no apparent rhyme or reason to it. If you happen to be in the Fairfax area, Braddock through Clifton isn't too bad. The traffic can be heavy but it moves and it's a nicer drive. I would seriously give it a few test runs after leaving work. Maybe you will find it tolerable. All things considered, I'd rather be of the landed gentry than a condo/townhouse dweller. Quoted:
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I'm familiar with the area you are talking about OP. Based on what you describe that 75 minute commute can be 150 minutes on any given day with the maddening traffic around here. I love living in a rural area, but my commute to work is typically about 20 minutes with light traffic. I would blow my brains out if I had to go back to a bumper-to-bumper traffic commute again for five days a week. You should give the commute a few test runs to see if you can really hack it. Just some thoughts. I know.. everyone has tried to talk me out of that and similar areas with that type of commute. I'm at work at 6am and OTD at 3PM so that will help with traffic a little. Traffic won't be an issue in the morning but could (and will) be really really bad in the afternoon. FFX county real estate prices makes me want to blow my brains out because I can't afford anything worth buying IMO. I guess it all depends on where you are working. If you've got to take either I-66 or I-495/I-95 you can count on a high degree of variability in the afternoon with no apparent rhyme or reason to it. If you happen to be in the Fairfax area, Braddock through Clifton isn't too bad. The traffic can be heavy but it moves and it's a nicer drive. I would seriously give it a few test runs after leaving work. Maybe you will find it tolerable. All things considered, I'd rather be of the landed gentry than a condo/townhouse dweller. That to 123 (but i start at 6 and get off at 3) |
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That to 123 (but i start at 6 and get off at 3) Quoted:
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I'm familiar with the area you are talking about OP. Based on what you describe that 75 minute commute can be 150 minutes on any given day with the maddening traffic around here. I love living in a rural area, but my commute to work is typically about 20 minutes with light traffic. I would blow my brains out if I had to go back to a bumper-to-bumper traffic commute again for five days a week. You should give the commute a few test runs to see if you can really hack it. Just some thoughts. I know.. everyone has tried to talk me out of that and similar areas with that type of commute. I'm at work at 6am and OTD at 3PM so that will help with traffic a little. Traffic won't be an issue in the morning but could (and will) be really really bad in the afternoon. FFX county real estate prices makes me want to blow my brains out because I can't afford anything worth buying IMO. I guess it all depends on where you are working. If you've got to take either I-66 or I-495/I-95 you can count on a high degree of variability in the afternoon with no apparent rhyme or reason to it. If you happen to be in the Fairfax area, Braddock through Clifton isn't too bad. The traffic can be heavy but it moves and it's a nicer drive. I would seriously give it a few test runs after leaving work. Maybe you will find it tolerable. All things considered, I'd rather be of the landed gentry than a condo/townhouse dweller. That to 123 (but i start at 6 and get off at 3) I hate the idea, but they have a commuter lot at 123 and Lakeridge where people grab rides in a slug line. Not sure if that is an option but it means a quicker trip up I-95 in HOV. |
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Here's my thought, especially with a dog. You'd be gone too long, living out in the sticks. Many days, you'd be gone 12 hours, maybe more. Dog wants his pack, doesn't give a shit where the pack is.
I'd probably continue renting close to work, keep the extra hours in your day. I want to live in the middle of nowhere, but not by myself. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |