25k In Murfreesboro?? (Hendersonville, Henderson: real estate, rent, homeowners association) - Nashville - Tennessee (TN) - City-Data Forum

mpassaro · 02-27-2007, 06:30 AM

I'm currently in the process of trying to relocate from ny to murfreesboro. I have a job offer for 25k per year, I have a wife and 2 boys (8 and 2). I would only have a mortgage of about 50k, and I'd have about 50k in the bank to fall back on. The real estate agent is telling me I could swing it on that salary for 2 1/2 yrs until my wife can work when the little one goes to school. Coming from ny, that's very hard to believe. Can I really survive on that salary for a few years in Murfreesboro?? I realize ny is VERY expensive, and Tennessee has a low cost of living, but is it possible, or is she just trying to swindle me into buying a house?? Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance!!!! Also, does anyone have an opinion of Murfreesboro, good or bad?? I'm looking right by where they are building the new supermarket. (publix)??

alleycat · 02-27-2007, 07:41 AM

I'll just answer in general since I live in Nashville and not Murfreesboro. You probably could swing living on $25K a year, but I would sure hate to try with a family with two children. You would probably find yourself drawing down your savings to do it. Just a wild guess: I would suspect you'd need another $10K a year just to have a comfortable lifestyle unless you and your wife can accept living a very frugal life for the next 2 1/2 years.

I don't want to pry into your business, but why such a low salary? With any kind of training or experience you should be able to find a better job than that here. $10/hr. is the very bottom of pay here; maybe a little less for teens working in fast food restaurants and those just starting out.

houselady · 02-27-2007, 01:54 PM

I live alone, and $25,000 a year, before taxes, would be a challenge for me, and I'm frugal. The cost of living is cheaper than say, a place like NY, but it's not at the bottom, and it's steadily inching up. The one thing working in your favor is your relatively inexpensive housing. I assume you've seen the residence and are satisfied with its location, etc.? Inside of Nashville, that price range, if you could find it -- which is unlikely, would put you in the middle of blight. Not sure about Murfreesboro, but with it's phenomenal growth over recent years, I can't imagine that it's far behind Nashville in pricing.

JMT · 02-27-2007, 02:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by houselady

I live alone, and $25,000 a year, before taxes, would be a challenge for me, and I'm frugal. The cost of living is cheaper than say, a place like NY, but it's not at the bottom, and it's steadily inching up. The one thing working in your favor is your relatively inexpensive housing. I assume you've seen the residence and are satisfied with its location, etc.? Inside of Nashville, that price range, if you could find it -- which is unlikely, would put you in the middle of blight. Not sure about Murfreesboro, but with it's phenomenal growth over recent years, I can't imagine that it's far behind Nashville in pricing.

About the only advantage I can see is that with a salary of $25k and three dependents (a wife and 2 kids) surely that would qualify for public assistance. I'm usually not one who encourages people to seek government assistance, but I can't imagine four people living on $25k/year.

On the bright side, I don't think there are any "bad" neighborhoods in Murfreesboro, certainly not compared to Nashville. Still (and there's nothing wrong with this) I suppose if your clothes are all bought at Goodwill and you never eat out and have only one car, it's possible to live on that kind of an income in Murfreesboro.

houselady · 02-28-2007, 09:42 AM

It just occurred to me that maybe the balance 'left' on his mortgage would be $50K. Anyway--- not really my business, is it?

The last time I successfully lived off $25,000 was over 20 years ago --- in another state. I mean, really, take off income tax, factor in mortgage payments and utitilities -- it's just not much money. And goodness, don't let the gas prices go back up (which they're creeping again).

peekoos · 03-01-2007, 10:47 AM

I make about $25k a year, and my husband makes about $20k. We have no kids, have one car payment, and rent each month (we live in Hendersonville but work in Nashville - our rent is around $750 a month.) We also have your normal bills - utilities, insurance, credit cards, student loans, gas (we have 2 cars, but one is paid for.) After groceries we barely have enough money to live on, and we're very frugal. We spend at most $50 a week on groceries. I can't tell you the last time we bought any new clothes - it's been a few years, I'm sure.

We do both have cell phones and we have basic cable tv and internet. I guess those things aren't necessities, but we like to have them. You could always not get things like that.

We aren't struggling to pay our bills, but we sure don't have much leftover, and that's with a combined income of $45k a year for 2 people. There's no way we could afford a kid.

Angelrocks · 03-15-2007, 07:49 PM

I think you need to find another job or start a business while in Tennessee. It's the realtors job to sell homes. They work on commision. They will say whatever it takes to sell a home. You may want to consider starting an Ebay business to suppliment your income if you move there. Your wife could do that while you work your 25k a year job, but I wouldn't want to be in that position.

25k a year? That's horrible. I don't know how anybody could live on that.

My husband and I own our own home. Our mortage is so low it's almost nothing. How in the heck could you live on 25K and have two kids? We live on much more and only have two cats.

How much do you think medical insurance alone costs for a family of four? I wouldn't put my trust or security in a job to pay for medical insurance. I have a friend who had medical insurance when he became ill. True, his job offered him medical insurance which he gladly accepted but they did that to lure employees in. When he got sick and needed an operation, his boss claimed he had a pre-existing condition, therefore he was unable to receive any compensation for his illness (which wasn't a pre-existing condition). I suggest you get your own private medical insurance. It's going to cost hundreds of dollars just in medical insurance alone for a family of four.

I am very good friends with a family of four that has medical insurance. It costs them about a thousand dollars a month for it. They recently were going to cancel it, but good thing they didn't. Somebody in the family became very ill and the cost of all their medical expenses are in the hundreds of thousands, so far. It could go up even more after all the medical treatments.

My uncle has a family of four, but he insists that it's just too expensive to throw away a thousand a month on medical insurance for his family. He took insurance with a ten grand deductable. I would really be concerned for you if you took out medical insurance with an employer that was not sympathic to your situation. I would highly suggest doing what my uncle did if your family is healthy. It's the safest way to be sure that nobody will try to pull a fast one on you.

I have heard of more bankruptcy's due to the fact that somebody got ill and couldn't just keep up with the medical insurance payments while they were sick. Tennessee is not a debtors state like Florida or Texas. If you can't pay your medical bills and something happens they could put a lien on your home or perhaps take your home. I am not sure of how that works in Tennessee, but in Florida nobody can take your home away due to medical bills (as long as you pay property taxes and make your mortgage payment). Anybody can go bankrupt here and keep their home (if they qualify for a homestead). I would do a little research on what happens to those that go bk in Tennessee before I took that job.

By the way, what's left of my mortgage is about 50k, and it would just not be possible to live on 25k in South Florida. I highly doubt you could swing it in Tennessee either! We don't even have state tax here, but in Tenn they do. I even took in a roommate for many years to cover 80% of my mortgage payment each month. My husband and I each worked jobs that made more than 25k a year and we finally realized it just costs money to live in Florida. We make very good money, too!

As a matter of fact you have to think about the maintenence on your home and cars. How much does it cost to paint the house, fix a water leak, new tires or engine, etc. 25k a year just doesn't cut it! Last couple of months I had vet bills that went over the 4k mark alone. I also had car repairs that were about 650. 4k and $650 just in added expenses to the other bills...and that adds up! Then my homeowners association told me I had to repair my driveway or they were going to sue me. I had to put out hundreds of dollars on that, get three new sinks and other repairs which cost another 1k. I still have to get my house painted before the homeowners writes me up for that. That's going to cost about 1,100. I have to repair the tiles in the bathroom before they fall off the wall in my shower. Homes cost money to upkeep! It's a part of life. I had to pay a carpet cleaner $105 to clean the carpet. I think I spent literally thousands of dollars on the upkeep of my house and vet bills in the past couple of months. Now you have two kids. What if you had to spend about 4 or 5k on one of their medical bills, then you have a house to maintain, a car to fix, medical insurance, life insurance, save for your retirement. Let's face it if you don't save for your retirement what will you have when you retire?

I have friends whose parents never saved for their retirement. What do you think they are doing? They sit in the house all day but they don't do anything because they can't afford anything. They can't even afford hurricane shutters or a car that works!

You may have a hard time if you have a lot of medical bills or your house somehow may need a new roof in the near future. Cars need maintenance and you have to save for your retirement. Hopefully this job offers a 401k.

I personally would avoid a job like that like the plague. I couldn't live on 25k a year. Tennessee is not a debtors state. If you have a home in Tenn especially make sure you can afford homeowners, medical, disability, and life insurance and a 401k or Roth IRA. It's important to really take care of your family and plan for your future.

ldjones33 · 03-24-2007, 05:13 PM

Tennessee does not have a state tax.

topropeprincess · 03-24-2007, 06:57 PM

I live in Murfreesboro and love it. There aren't too many "bad" places here in my opinion. There are several new Publix stores coming here and I don't know which one you would be living by, so I can't give you info on that exact area. As far as health insurance, that seems to be a big topic, I wouldn't think you would have to worry much as long as you find a reputable employer. Most employers I interviewed with when I first moved here offered great health benefits. The most expensive one I came across was $180 per pay period. That was for full family benefits. That's not bad if you ask me. And the benefits were good, and the deductible was not too high. I do think $25K is a low salary though. Are you sure you couldn't find better? I don't mean to pry...just wondering. I don't know what field you work in, but there are higher paying entry level positions around here. Just a thought. PM me if you have any specific Murfreesboro info. I will be glad to help.