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It is tricky... I know it's easy to feel (and say) "wow, the property taxes are high here"... But when you dig into it like above, it turns out to not be as bad as you think... On a percentage basis, YES - very bad. But when you look at apples-to-apples on the type of house you get, it comes into focus... I know many will disagree, but until you've lived somewhere else, and compared a truly comparable house, you probably won't agree.
Perhaps the thread title should be "Why are housing prices so low in Rochester" LOL :-) :-)
Taxes are high because there are many layers of government. We have county taxes, town taxes, school taxes, and village taxes. Come steps towards consolidation have been taken and really most NY state residents have had ENOUGH and the leaders finally have to address it. This is something that happened in MA and CA....and those states now have fairly reasonable property taxes and, at least in the case of Mass, a good economy and balanced budget.
Property taxes are definitely too high here...but I think too many people equate that with being "an expensive place to live"...not accurate. Property taxes are high but many other factors in COL of fairly low. More affordable housing prices, lower grocery/food prices, and though gas price by the gallon tends to be about average or a little above, Rochester has a very good and convenient infrastructure for its size and you don't have to drive nearly as much/use as much gas as in many other areas of the country. I probably spend about 25%-30% less on gas here than I did when I lived in Sprawleigh, NC....even though gas prices here tend to be about 5 -10 cents higher.
This is a fairly balanced view... I do think there are too many layers of government also. Too many competing agendas, which tends to leave some groups under-served. I just have not seen a great proposal for fixing it.
You also have to consider what you get for living here. You get 4 actual seasons. Access to the Finger Lakes, Great Lakes, and Adirondacks. There's no place else in the world with anything like the Finger Lakes. Plenty of parks and historic sites to see. Canada is nearby. NYC and Boston aren't far either. Neither is an oceanside vacation. No hurricanes! Sure it snows, but that's what makes winter fun and you appreciate spring. Oh and we have lots of water. Many parts of the country don't. In general, our education system is better than many other states. When I lived in SC, I wouldn't have sent my dogs to public school. Forget a child.
None of the above apply to NYS justifying the inexplicably high property taxes.
Education does. Schools and teachers aren't free. Winter does. Snow removal and salt are far from free.
If you've ever lived somewhere where the taxes are dirt cheap, you see what you get for your money. Crappy roads, crappy education, etc. The education difference is huge and very noticeable.
Historic preservation is far from cheap. Parks cost money as well. All of these things factor into a great quality of life. Smetimes quality is more important than cost.
I moved to Raleigh, NC, about twenty years ago only because employment options were better here. No other reason.
Here in Raleigh, we have excellent schools, great museums, libraries, street cleaners, leaf pickup, incredibly responsive police officers, EMS, and firefighters, garbage pickup (we do have to pay a big whoppin' $30 for a very large pickup, of say, a couch and a bunch of other stuff), a beautiful modern downtown, a beautiful new aquatic center that is "green" and LEED certified (there are several public pools, but that one is the newest), and we're near lakes, have plenty of parks, are two hours from the ocean and four hours from the mountains.
(Oh, with the education my son received here, from kindergarten to high school, he earned a full pre-med scholarship to the University of Rochester -- yes, in Rochester, New York. He decided he didn't want to become a doctor, and he missed Raleigh. He is now a high school math teacher after receiving a graduate degree in math from NC State in Raleigh.)
I pay the exact same amount of taxes now on my Raleigh house that I did on my Rochester house -- but my Raleigh house is now more than double the value of my Rochester house which has hardly gone up at all in value.
My Raleigh taxes have gone up only $100 (total) in nearly twenty years. I don't know the current taxes of my Rochester house because Rochester doesn't make it easy to find out, but I believe they are three or four times what they were twenty years ago. Rochester makes it difficult to get tax information for specific homes. Raleigh makes it quite easy.
I see the value of many newer Rochester homes are now quite close to Raleigh values. Older city homes, of course, are a steal in Rochester, but you're dealing with a higher crime rate in many neighborhoods.
We also get four actual seasons, but sometimes in winter, we don't have snow. We have cool winters, fresh lovely springs (starting on the first day of spring, March 21), warm summers, and comfortable falls with colorful leaves.
So, again, why are Rochester taxes so high?
Last edited by lovebrentwood; 01-07-2013 at 09:59 PM..
It's great you love NC. Good for you. It's great you found a place you love.
When was the last time Raleigh got hit with over a foot of snow and had to clear the roads and salt them and maintain them from snow drifts and snow fall almost every day for a week?
My Raleigh taxes have gone up only $100 (total) in nearly twenty years. I don't know the current taxes of my Rochester house because Rochester doesn't make it easy to find out, but I believe they are three or four times what they were twenty years ago. Rochester makes it difficult to get tax information for specific homes. Raleigh makes it quite easy.
Monroe County makes it EXTREMELY easy to view taxes and other information! Just go here and you can look at any piece of resi or commercial property you wish
It's great you love NC. Good for you. It's great you found a place you love.
When was the last time Raleigh got hit with over a foot of snow and had to clear the roads and salt them and maintain them from snow drifts and snow fall almost every day for a week?
Sorry, but a few weeks of snow removal per year still doesn't quite justify our higher taxes. Maybe that's something that they should account for before the fact, instead of just piling on? But that would be fiscally responsible, which we know is not quite a politicians forte
As far as what you previously said earlier that I responded to, this is what I was talking about:
Quote:
You get 4 actual seasons. Access to the Finger Lakes, Great Lakes, and Adirondacks. There's no place else in the world with anything like the Finger Lakes. Plenty of parks and historic sites to see. Canada is nearby. NYC and Boston aren't far either. Neither is an oceanside vacation. No hurricanes! Sure it snows, but that's what makes winter fun and you appreciate spring. Oh and we have lots of water. Many parts of the country don't.
None of that justifies the NYS government imposing higher taxes than other areas of the country. Those are perks of this region that can increase the quality of life for those who take advantage of them, and nothing more. Those are reasons to live here, not a reason to pay more for living here.
Too many layers of government and having too many overpaid do nothing administrator types on our corrupt school systems help put the taxes high. While the schools are great performance wise in many areas, the people who run them are criminals who steal our tax payer money.
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