In a housing pickle. Thoughts? Ideas?

[ToomuchStuff]

A ready made family is when two that get married, and one of them already has kids.

[Kestra]

"Ready made family?" What do you mean?

I don't intend to have kids, hopefully I don't have any accidents!

She means marrying someone who already has kids. At least that doesn't happen by accident.

[Ultralight]

She means marrying someone who already has kids. At least that doesn't happen by accident.

Around these parts we call that a "pre-fam."

[ToomuchStuff]

He means marrying someone who already has kids. At least that doesn't happen by accident.

Corrected, for you!

[freshstart]

High taxes and low taxes are not the only thing. If people don't want to go to that school district, it will affect both your cost and resale value. It may also affect later decisions if you get married/have new kids (either by or ready made family).

this is what I'm trying to say. The suburb next to mine happens to fall into another city, their city went "broke", my friend has a 60 yr old very tiny home and pays almost as much as i do but does not benefit from the same things, good schools, town upkeep- roads, snow plowing, etc, crappy library, etc. Buying a home just a few miles from me, results in a totally different picture without lower costs. IMO, most realtors are not upfront about this stuff, try to ask people you know there or meet potential neighbors, see what they have to say, read the local paper of where you want to go for a while.

honestly, the situation you have with your sister sounds sweet, you can't get much lower than that. If you have a good relationship, of course. Now that I'm older, I would love to live with my brother, he drives me nuts but I love the fool and a few years of co-habitation would actually be great. 20 yrs ago, there was not enough money in the world to live with him. Can you renegotiate the cleaning fish deal? If you're paying your fair share, why should you be treated like a kid about the fish stuff? As long as you clean up, why do they care? This sounds like the cheapest option that might allow you to sock money away for when you do know exactly what you want.

Are you already in a gov't job that will help with your student loans? Because that sounds pretty critical. If you already are, wouldn't you want to stay relatively nearby to get that loan deal? And if you're not already in the right job situation for this, wouldn't that decision need to come before you choose where you live and maybe end up somewhere that does not have a gov't job suitable for you? So I think I missed a post because I can't tell what the deal is on the job front.

kudos on paying off car, ex-wife, etc

[Ultralight]

this is what I'm trying to say. The suburb next to mine happens to fall into another city, their city went "broke", my friend has a 60 yr old very tiny home and pays almost as much as i do but does not benefit from the same things, good schools, town upkeep- roads, snow plowing, etc, crappy library, etc. Buying a home just a few miles from me, results in a totally different picture without lower costs. IMO, most realtors are not upfront about this stuff, try to ask people you know there or meet potential neighbors, see what they have to say, read the local paper of where you want to go for a while.

honestly, the situation you have with your sister sounds sweet, you can't get much lower than that. If you have a good relationship, of course. Now that I'm older, I would love to live with my brother, he drives me nuts but I love the fool and a few years of co-habitation would actually be great. 20 yrs ago, there was not enough money in the world to live with him. Can you renegotiate the cleaning fish deal? If you're paying your fair share, why should you be treated like a kid about the fish stuff? As long as you clean up, why do they care? This sounds like the cheapest option that might allow you to sock money away for when you do know exactly what you want.

Are you already in a gov't job that will help with your student loans? Because that sounds pretty critical. If you already are, wouldn't you want to stay relatively nearby to get that loan deal? And if you're not already in the right job situation for this, wouldn't that decision need to come before you choose where you live and maybe end up somewhere that does not have a gov't job suitable for you? So I think I missed a post because I can't tell what the deal is on the job front.

kudos on paying off car, ex-wife, etc

Well... I lived with my sis and BIL from April 2013 until May 2015. I moved in with a couple housemates who turned out to be horribly irresponsible, rude, lazy, and total slobs. So when I told my sis I was moving out of that place at the end of June she said I could move back in, but with only three stipulations. I had to vacuum the living room once a month, I had to pay $400 instead of $350 for rent. And I could only filet fish once per month. I am allowed to live here until May of 2016.

My sis and I get along well enough. My BIL get along well enough too. We sometimes go fishing together and such. But my sis is a "clean freak." I have talked about this in other threads. Both my parents are compulsive hoarders so we grew up in filth. My sister's problem with cleaning fish stems from the filth we grew up in. So I don't make a big deal out of it. I clean the place like a pro. OSHA and the health department would give me an award!

Yes, I do have a government job. It sucks though, and I might be subject to lay-offs between Sep. and Jan. I have nine more years to go. Nine long years. Nine hard ones! hahaha

[freshstart]

Well... I lived with my sis and BIL from April 2013 until May 2015. I moved in with a couple housemates who turned out to be horribly irresponsible, rude, lazy, and total slobs. So when I told my sis I was moving out of that place at the end of June she said I could move back in, but with only three stipulations. I had to vacuum the living room once a month, I had to pay $400 instead of $350 for rent. And I could only filet fish once per month. I am allowed to live here until May of 2016.

My sis and I get along well enough. My BIL get along well enough too. We sometimes go fishing together and such. But my sis is a "clean freak." I have talked about this in other threads. Both my parents are compulsive hoarders so we grew up in filth. My sister's problem with cleaning fish stems from the filth we grew up in. So I don't make a big deal out of it. I clean the place like a pro. OSHA and the health department would give me an award!

Yes, I do have a government job. It sucks though, and I might be subject to lay-offs between Sep. and Jan. I have nine more years to go. Nine long years. Nine hard ones! hahaha

I'm sorry, my memory stinks, totally forgot about your sister's clean thing. Maybe you'll find a gov't job you like, hey, maybe OSHA's hiring! I don't know how these things work, do you really save a lot on your loans by doing the gov't jobs? I guess if you do, it's a toss up, better, more enjoyable job vs loan help. Just curious- perfect job, what would it be? would it use one of your degrees or be something totally different

[Ultralight]

I'm sorry, my memory stinks, totally forgot about your sister's clean thing. Maybe you'll find a gov't job you like, hey, maybe OSHA's hiring! I don't know how these things work, do you really save a lot on your loans by doing the gov't jobs? I guess if you do, it's a toss up, better, more enjoyable job vs loan help. Just curious- perfect job, what would it be? would it use one of your degrees or be something totally different

OSHA! Yeah... I like that idea. I will check with them when I start applying for jobs next month. I like the way you think!

[awakenedsoul]

You've done really well so far paying off your debts. To me, your sister's requests sound reasonable, but it's your situation. (not my business.) You sound very passionate. It would be great if you had a job that you love, that uses your talents. With all of your education, hopefully it would pay really well, too.

I'm a big believer in the concept of right work, right relationship. I think I would take a side job delivering pizzas or something for now to pay off the debt faster. Sometimes when you do that, new opportunities fall into your lap. It sounds like you don't want to have to pay back the loan, so you are in a job that is sucking your soul. I think you could find something you love and be able to get out of debt.

[Ultralight]

You've done really well so far paying off your debts. To me, your sister's requests sound reasonable, but it's your situation. (not my business.) You sound very passionate. It would be great if you had a job that you love, that uses your talents. With all of your education, hopefully it would pay really well, too.

I'm a big believer in the concept of right work, right relationship. I think I would take a side job delivering pizzas or something for now to pay off the debt faster. Sometimes when you do that, new opportunities fall into your lap. It sounds like you don't want to have to pay back the loan, so you are in a job that is sucking your soul. I think you could find something you love and be able to get out of debt.

Yeah, my sis and her BIL's requests are reasonable, especially considering that they take care of my dog when I am not around, which can be often because I am involved with several groups in my community. I know my complaints are mostly FWP. haha

Well, delivering pizzas would probably not allow me to pay off the loan much faster because of compound interest. I can't keep up with it.