4 ms·

This only works if you move out of the expensive areas and live a more simple life in probably a rural area. $2M invested at 4% a year is $80k a year. $2M inves

This only works if you move out of the expensive areas and live a more simple life in probably a rural area. $2M invested at 4% a year is $80k a year. $2M invested at 7% a year is $120k a year. That's already outside the realm of possible in most top cities. And if you're taking all of your interest each year, it's not growing. $2M and $80k/yr might sound OK in 2023, but by 2040... it won't be.

scarface_74 3y ago
I never knew that metro Atlanta was “rural”. The median household income in the US is $80K. Yet, people aren’t all living on the street or living in the MiddleOfNowhere Nebraska
- criley2 3y ago
  Lol, I actually live in Atlanta (are we a "top" city? we're like #10 largest metro in the US), and while our house prices are not as insane as SF or NYC, they're still astronomically high. Houses in Cartersville and Adairsville an hour north of GA go for $400-600k all day long. Yes, the median salary in 2023 is 80k, and if you spend 100% of your interest, you'll average that. Now how does that $80k look in 20 years? Is it still the median? Or is it approaching bottom quintile?
  - scarface_74 3y ago
    I had a house built in 2016 in Forsyth County in 2016 for $335K with a 3.5% down payment FHA mortgage. While the median income is $80K, the median income for a college educated couple is $130K. I qualified for my mortgage when I was making $135k being the only one on the mortgage. At 400K the rule of thumb is that a mortgage shouldn’t be more than 3.5x your gross income - that’s still less than the $120K that the parent poster said would cause you to live in a “rural area”.
    - criley2 3y ago
      IMO, I think Forsyth is pretty far out. Most of it is exurban and far enough from Atlanta that most aren't visiting much. You pass a lot of suburbs on the way into the city. As a county that voted 70% red in 2020, it's a WORLD OF DIFFERENCE culturally for a blue state tech worker in a way that Atlanta ITP, Cobb, Gwinnett and the actual core suburbs are not. Even so, a lot has changed since 2016! A $335k house is $500k or more now. Which is the entire point I am trying to help you understand: even if you think the money is ok TODAY, when discussing 20-30+ years of retirement, you have to think about how well it will be in the future. With places like Forsyth going from $350k to $500k houses in about 6 years, you can only imagine how inflation will eat away at your $80k.
      - scarface_74 3y ago
        I’m a Black guy who lived in Forsyth county from 2016-2022 and I still own my home there. I know it’s very red and I know all about it’s history (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rSqMiqZsCiY https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rSqMiqZsCiY). While none of my family including my 6 foot 3 very big step son has had any hint of overt racism, when I walked into the school, they automatically knew who I was there to pick up. His friendship circle is like the rainbow coalition and he has often been the “guess who is coming to dinner” guy and hasn’t had any issues with parents. On a side note, one of my sons best friends (a white guy) did help me prank the school administrator in high school when I went to pick my son up and they assumed my (step) son was my son because “he looks just like me” and I said I “didn’t know who that guy was (my son)” and his friend overheard the conversation and ran up to me and said “Dad!” But back on topic as long as you stay out of the inner part of Forsyth (Cumming) you will find a lot of northern expats and professionals moving to Forsyth and while it’s still conservative, it’s more of a Bush/Romney “conservative” than what is the Republican Party today. I haven’t seen any MAGA signs, any mention of the culture wars, and none of the “we see a strange Black man breaking into a house by using a garage door opener and driving in”.

scarface_74 3y ago

I never knew that metro Atlanta was “rural”. The median household income in the US is $80K. Yet, people aren’t all living on the street or living in the MiddleOfNowhere Nebraska

criley2 3y ago
Lol, I actually live in Atlanta (are we a "top" city? we're like #10 largest metro in the US), and while our house prices are not as insane as SF or NYC, they're still astronomically high. Houses in Cartersville and Adairsville an hour north of GA go for $400-600k all day long. Yes, the median salary in 2023 is 80k, and if you spend 100% of your interest, you'll average that. Now how does that $80k look in 20 years? Is it still the median? Or is it approaching bottom quintile?
- scarface_74 3y ago
  I had a house built in 2016 in Forsyth County in 2016 for $335K with a 3.5% down payment FHA mortgage. While the median income is $80K, the median income for a college educated couple is $130K. I qualified for my mortgage when I was making $135k being the only one on the mortgage. At 400K the rule of thumb is that a mortgage shouldn’t be more than 3.5x your gross income - that’s still less than the $120K that the parent poster said would cause you to live in a “rural area”.
  - criley2 3y ago
    IMO, I think Forsyth is pretty far out. Most of it is exurban and far enough from Atlanta that most aren't visiting much. You pass a lot of suburbs on the way into the city. As a county that voted 70% red in 2020, it's a WORLD OF DIFFERENCE culturally for a blue state tech worker in a way that Atlanta ITP, Cobb, Gwinnett and the actual core suburbs are not. Even so, a lot has changed since 2016! A $335k house is $500k or more now. Which is the entire point I am trying to help you understand: even if you think the money is ok TODAY, when discussing 20-30+ years of retirement, you have to think about how well it will be in the future. With places like Forsyth going from $350k to $500k houses in about 6 years, you can only imagine how inflation will eat away at your $80k.
    - scarface_74 3y ago
      I’m a Black guy who lived in Forsyth county from 2016-2022 and I still own my home there. I know it’s very red and I know all about it’s history (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rSqMiqZsCiY https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rSqMiqZsCiY). While none of my family including my 6 foot 3 very big step son has had any hint of overt racism, when I walked into the school, they automatically knew who I was there to pick up. His friendship circle is like the rainbow coalition and he has often been the “guess who is coming to dinner” guy and hasn’t had any issues with parents. On a side note, one of my sons best friends (a white guy) did help me prank the school administrator in high school when I went to pick my son up and they assumed my (step) son was my son because “he looks just like me” and I said I “didn’t know who that guy was (my son)” and his friend overheard the conversation and ran up to me and said “Dad!” But back on topic as long as you stay out of the inner part of Forsyth (Cumming) you will find a lot of northern expats and professionals moving to Forsyth and while it’s still conservative, it’s more of a Bush/Romney “conservative” than what is the Republican Party today. I haven’t seen any MAGA signs, any mention of the culture wars, and none of the “we see a strange Black man breaking into a house by using a garage door opener and driving in”.