u/Party-Possibility958

Im so stressed out I don't know where to begin. NYC nurse with family, we want to own/buy a 3 bedroom condo or townhome and stop renting. Spouse works but it's not enough ($17/hr, 3-5 days weekly, medical clerical office stuff, no degree or license, thus much harder for her to find work if moving). Although I make a lot, my spouse makes much less and overall what we make is not enough to afford a mortgage anywhere near NYC. The only grace is I have $175k inheritance money in savings but I'm not looking to throw away the entire thing on a down payment. Monthly cost is the issue.

Right now our rent is $3200 (including utilities). Mortgages are $4000-5000 and up (with 20% down) in NYC boros, Yonkers, white plains, Jersey City, North Bergen, fort lee, orange, etc. the only thing affordable anywhere near NYC limits, that would allow us to keep our current jobs and reasonably commute, are co-ops.

Early this year , We were displaced from our previous rental after 3 years because the landlord decided to sell the house. I can't put into words how stressful and unexpected this was. I had no choice but to get us an "emergency" apartment in the nearby area to replace it. Tbh it's not as great as the last one and this landlord is lazy and not that bright.

This displacement experience has put our desire to buy and own into overdrive. We don't want to renew our lease with this guy. My wife doesn't want to rent anymore, I don't blame her.

She's not as worried/stressed about it, saying she believes we will find something and we have time, but I am because as the main money maker, I feel like I'm carrying everyone as my responsibility. My diet and fitness have gone to crap the past 6 months,.all because I don't know what's going to happen or where we'll be living next year.

We considering relocating entirely (job and home) to other states but anywhere else I will 1) need to buy a car, 2) find a job that pays enough to afford a mortgage and carry my family because I feel like my spouse Will probably have a harder time finding a job in her line of work. The transitions overall seem daunting and overwhelming at first glance.

There's a hospital in south NJ that seems interested in me but it's non-union and I would make $6500/month net if I take it. I heard cost of living there is hit or miss.

I've ruled out the south states like FL, nope. Minnesota seems ideal but we don't think we can handle that winter. Texas sounds ideal too but that open carry gun policy kinda makes me nervous (people with bad tempers are everywhere). I don't know where to go, I just want this to be over so I can get back to my life.

Hi all, I'm not from Philly but Im looking to move to the south NJ area and got an interview for temple hospital in philly (I'm not sure which campus/division, but just gonna assume the main one for now). My concern is safety. What I've heard about north philly hasn't been good, tbh. Like I've worked in south Bronx in NY and I can handle that, but what I'm hearing sounds way worse. Can anyone weigh in?

If I get the position, it will be for 3 days a week, either morning shift (7am-7pm) or night shift (7pm-7am). I don't have a car at the moment but plan on getting on after the move.

Update: it's possibly the episcopal campus.

I'm a nurse currently working psych in NYC. I just accepted a new RN position at a major NY hospital in med-surg/tele. The pay is significantly higher, it's the same union, and the specialty should give me more career options long-term. I'm only in my first week of orientation and haven't resigned from my current job yet (instead I am using my scheduled paid time off).

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At the same time, my spouse and I are getting tired of renting and want to buy a condo or townhome. We have 20% saved, but NYC/North Jersey housing costs are so high that the total monthly payment (mortgage, taxes, HOA, etc.) would still eat up a huge portion of our income.

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Because of that, we've been considering relocating to Bucks County, PA or the Cherry Hill area of South Jersey, buying a home there, and finding jobs in the Philly market instead. The tradeoff would be somewhat lower pay and needing a car, but housing would be much more affordable..... And from what I hear, it's a lower cost of living overall.

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Our rental lease ends in March, but we'd ideally like to move before then if it makes sense.

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My question: how long should I stay at this new NYC job before relocating? If I apply to hospitals in PA or South Jersey after only a couple of months, will recruiters see that as a red flag, or is it understandable given the housing/life situation?

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Second question: do you think this move is even worth the trouble?

We're a family of four seeking to escape from NYC. I work as a nurse, I make good money but can't afford to buy a home because cost of living here sucks. And I won't miss the fast paced lifestyle, something a little slower and less stressful would be much welcomed.

We have plenty saved for a down payment and then some, but a decent home in a decent neighborhood is going for like 650k to 1.4 million. 20% on the lower end of that will eat up 60-75% of our savings. Even then, there's no silver lining because the lowest monthly mortgage you can get around here is about $4000-4500, even with my credit score 810.

For reference, I make $72/hr and net roughly $3800-3900 biweekly. Wifey makes a lot less and only covers the groceries, so I'm only using my numbers here since I cover housing. We currently rent a house for $3200.

We're trying to find something that's not too far away from the necessities and amenities, even if it's a reasonable drive ... High schools, drug stores, supermarket, gym, etc. We're also a mixed family (white and black Hispanic) so diversity is a factor. These are the places we've been looking into, I'm open to other suggestions....

PA:

1. Allentown/Lehigh valley area

2. Scranton or wilkes-barre

3. Stroudsburg

South Jersey:

1. One of the towns bordering Philly (Cherry Hill, haddonfield, collingswood)

2. One of the towns further down near the shore (Egg Harbor township, etc).

We haven't visited any of them yet, id like to narrow the list down beforehand. We are familiar with Atlantic City as it's a favorite vacation spot, we visit once a year. We've also been to the water parks in the poconos/Stroudsburg area.

I am seeing that housing costs are definitely lower in these areas on the list, but also nursing pay is lower so I'm beginning to wonder if this kind of move would make sense or not.

Lets use Egg Harbor for example:

1. Atlanticare pays $42-60/hr depending on experience, education level, differentials etc. I have a BSN with 3 years experience, so let's assume they start me with $46. According to the hourly paycheck calculator on ADP, I will net $2869 biweekly. That's without deducting health insurance (or union dues if they're union) or retirement.

2. According to Zillow, this house https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/255-Hermosa-Dr-Egg-Harbor-Township-NJ-08234/461733973\_zpid/ in egg harbor is going for $357,990. 20% down gives a monthly mortgage of $2771. Great price, don't get me wrong, This type of home would cost like $800k in Bronx or Queens.

3. This will leave me with $2967/month ($1483.50 biweekly). I don't know what the other costs look like if added onto this.... Car (which I don't have yet but have to buy), food, and utilities. Oh and of course having enough left over to save.

I repeated this experiment with the other places on the list and got similar results.

Would this lower cost of living + lower pay put us in a situation that really isn't much better than the one we're currently in? Or am I missing something here?