Rant VIII: The Reckoning
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What’s the property tax rate where you are?
Fucking WAY too high. This stupid suburb. I love this city, I grew up here, but God damn I cannot afford to live here anymore single salary.
10.5 plus a little higher because my house was assessed at much higher than I paid for it recently.
4300 dollars.
$6000. I win!
GasBandit
Staff member
The local government around here is playing some kind of shell game with property taxes, re-appraising property so that the house is barely worth anything but the land itself is worth more than double what it was last year. I suspect it's mainly chicanery to screw the developers that are buying up everything they can to build "Aggie Shacks" on them, but the "shift" is not balanced - everybody's total property taxes went WAAAAAY up. It's pretty bullshit. Gub'mint.
When I was at Mizzou, enrollment kept going higher and higher and they kept destroying buildings to make more luxury student housing downtown. There was even a historical building that they weren't allowed to tear down but had an oh-so-unfortunate collapse happen by accident during a remodeling which was subsequently replaced with a condo. The city actually stopped giving out construction permits for student condos or else the whole city wouldve been overrun.
Now, 4 years later when I went back, these buildings are everywhere and clearly not able to fill up because enrollment has dropped lately due to the 2015 protests as well as other factors. Rent was so much cheaper than when they first opened and they had deals of getting your first month or two rent-free with a 1 year lease.
Now, 4 years later when I went back, these buildings are everywhere and clearly not able to fill up because enrollment has dropped lately due to the 2015 protests as well as other factors. Rent was so much cheaper than when they first opened and they had deals of getting your first month or two rent-free with a 1 year lease.
GasBandit
Staff member
I suspect a similar chain of events here, too. The College Station city government basically banned all duplexes, fourplexes, and other types of homes specifically meant to house multiple "families," so the developers got creative and started building these ultra-cheap-but-gigantic "single family" homes that... oh, what a coincidence, started getting rented out to 6 different students at once, one bedroom each, at $600/mo. But the construction is apparently REALLY slipshod and done on the cheap, so there's a lot of concern these things will start falling apart within a few years, and all the townies are whining about "eyesores" and the effect on local property values. I live in Bryan, so its effect on me is diminished, but the reaction ripples still hit us. A friend of mine who lives in a (much nicer) subdivision a couple miles from me said his property taxes went up by like 40% this year... I guess living between a prison and a trailer park has sheltered me.
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This is an ongoing problem around OSU too; lots along High Street are almost universally being turned into luxury apartments for rich foreign students and places like Franklinton are slowly being gentrified into luxury housing for the bankers who work downtown. All the while the former local residents are being pushed further away from the city they've lived in all their lives. There is also basically zero parking downtown now.
Problem is that Columbus and it's government is generally okay with this; it's driven crime WAY down and encourages more businesses to relocate their HQs to the city. Hell, it's one of the reasons we're still in the running for the Amazon HQ. As for OSU itself, it's enrollment and endowments keep going up and up...
I'll loan you the wife and kid
But you're right, property taxes can be a little over the top. The last place I lived, my taxes were $1600 for a 2000 sqft house in one of the nicest neighborhoods. That was stellar - so I was a little shell-shocked to move to Manitoba thinking that because it's the middle of nowhere, taxes will be lower. Hahahah, no.
I pay taxes to both the county and the city, to the tune of about $6500/year combined
This is another issue with OSU... the college keeps expanding and buying up the old neighborhoods to do it. It's already in the top 3 biggest college campuses in the US.
Sam Houston State is booming. And all the forests in town are being liquidated to put up massive apartment complexes. It is getting difficult to remember that this is a city on the edge of a massive forest because most of the trees in the city center are just gone.
We're looking at ~2400 in taxes. I guess I shouldn't complain. 
So, like I mentioned before, I'm currently without a job. A Charon without the Officer title barely feels like a Charon at all.
Part of the side effects from losing my job have included loss of the OUTSTANDING insurance that I had through the City. With a semi-autistic daughter with ADHD, this has presented... difficulties. And is putting one HELL of a strain on my marriage. She can't do any more surrogacies until I get a stable job again.
I've got applications scattered hither and yon to various departments, as far away as Colorado and Montana. My best bite so far has been a contracting gig in Kuwait, doing armed security.
I've been flat shot down by one department that I tried with, but being as they used to be part of our merged police department, I really shouldn't be surprised.
Arguing with my wife has been leaving me feeling like a complete useless mouth. She's flat-out said that she will never again depend on me being the sole source of income for our family. And I know she's been complaining to her family about how I've ruined parts of her life.
I'm getting awful tired of feeling this low. I'm not supposed to be in this position. This wasn't the life I was supposed to be living.
Part of the side effects from losing my job have included loss of the OUTSTANDING insurance that I had through the City. With a semi-autistic daughter with ADHD, this has presented... difficulties. And is putting one HELL of a strain on my marriage. She can't do any more surrogacies until I get a stable job again.
I've got applications scattered hither and yon to various departments, as far away as Colorado and Montana. My best bite so far has been a contracting gig in Kuwait, doing armed security.
I've been flat shot down by one department that I tried with, but being as they used to be part of our merged police department, I really shouldn't be surprised.
Arguing with my wife has been leaving me feeling like a complete useless mouth. She's flat-out said that she will never again depend on me being the sole source of income for our family. And I know she's been complaining to her family about how I've ruined parts of her life.
I'm getting awful tired of feeling this low. I'm not supposed to be in this position. This wasn't the life I was supposed to be living.
GasBandit
Staff member
That seems a bit extreme. Has she never lost a job before? It happens. I was once laid off and couldn't find work again for several months.
No, but then again, she's not done so much since leaving the Marines. She worked a security job that I found for her (with my old company), then she got pregnant with our first, and has been doing the stay at home mom thing ever since.
I feel for where she's coming from, but it feels an awful lot like I'm getting kicked in the nuts while I'm trying to pull myself up to support us all.
She's scared, and frustrated, and defensive of our kids and anything that threatens their happiness. She had a hard past, and I think she's terrified of falling into that state of affairs again.
I feel for where she's coming from, but it feels an awful lot like I'm getting kicked in the nuts while I'm trying to pull myself up to support us all.
She's scared, and frustrated, and defensive of our kids and anything that threatens their happiness. She had a hard past, and I think she's terrified of falling into that state of affairs again.
Dave
Staff member
Being out of work SUUUUUUCKS! I've been there, my wife is there currently. It makes you feel like you failed at life. But this kind of shit happens all the time to good people. All you can do is keep going. Hell, I quit a job in April (of like 2006) and had enough money to last us 2 months. I got a job that SEPTEMBER for about $10,000 less a year.
At one point we lost work which caused us to lose our house and car. But you know what? I'm still here. I'm still married. Life is pretty good, even if we still have our ups & downs.
You'll find something.
And as always, if you need help, we're here for you. No matter what is takes.
At one point we lost work which caused us to lose our house and car. But you know what? I'm still here. I'm still married. Life is pretty good, even if we still have our ups & downs.
You'll find something.
And as always, if you need help, we're here for you. No matter what is takes.
Take all the time you need, Hon. We'll be here for you when you need us.
@Officer_Charon - I know a move cross-country ain't perfect, but I definitely know that the PHX and Mesa PD's are looking for people.
Of course, you may need to take up Spanish to help you in your daily rounds, but it might be something to consider.
Housing can be cheap if you look in the right places, and I'm pretty sure the Valley PD's pay well.
Of course, you may need to take up Spanish to help you in your daily rounds, but it might be something to consider.
Housing can be cheap if you look in the right places, and I'm pretty sure the Valley PD's pay well.
I need to deal with the shit that ended 20 years ago with my mom. I keep acting like I'm over it, and some days I am and think "I should really try being honest with her." Then I'll remember her shoving me at the edge of the stairs, where I fell on the floor almost down the steps, and instead of acknowledging what she'd nearly done and helping me up, or apologizing, she started taunting me to cry, cry like always. I had stopped crying when she hit me long before that out of the desire not to give her the satisfaction, which doesn't sound like the normal thought of a 10-year-old to me, but it taught me to be stone-faced as a reaction to pain, and that's stayed with me far too long. Later on I'd hear her hitting my sister, knowing she was coming to my room next not to hit me, but to scream her head off at me, and I wished she would just come in and physically attack me like she used to if it would just stop her from shouting at me. I still wear that to this day, any time someone raises their voice, it sends a rattle through my limbs.
My therapist is really going to earn her pay next weekend now that she wants to open this can of worms.
My therapist is really going to earn her pay next weekend now that she wants to open this can of worms.
Well @Zero Esc , I too have a Mom rant. I will never spend any extended time with my sister and my mother together. I am nearly done with my sister. My nephew is 14 and will be off on his own soon so I can try to keep him in my life, but she can STFU and GTFO.
We have had some shitty dealings with my mom and sister in the past, but we stupidly thought we could get along together for one week at a cabin. Fuck no we can't. It started with stupid biting comments from my sister about my wife wanting some veg with every lunch and dinner. So, we brought veg w/ us. We didn't make a big deal out of it. Just made some steamed broccoli and carrots. My sister has to same something. "oh, you just got to have vegetables, huh?" "well, we're not eating them!"
Who the fuck cares if you eat them?! I didn't announce that we all must eat them. We bought them. We cooked them and put them on the table. We don't give a fuck if you eat them or not. Given her abysmal health status, you would think she would eat a carrot with her 2lbs of pulled pork. That was night #1. It went from passive-aggressive to screaming and yelling in two nights. My wife and I left 2 days early. We spent >$600 to spend three nights with passive-aggressive trouble-making bitches. NEVER AGAIN.
I will never go on vacation with anyone, but my wife and kids. Never again.
The other fucked up thing was that I was really missing my dad. I really wanted to spend time with him. I am kicking myself for getting dragged into their insane mental illnesses instead of realizing they were baiting me. Now, he's hurt and upset and isn't returning my texts. I really lost my cool and let my sister and mom know how much I despised them. I think it hurt my dad to hear all that. I think it hurt him to know that our family probably split right there. I fucking hate this shit.
We have had some shitty dealings with my mom and sister in the past, but we stupidly thought we could get along together for one week at a cabin. Fuck no we can't. It started with stupid biting comments from my sister about my wife wanting some veg with every lunch and dinner. So, we brought veg w/ us. We didn't make a big deal out of it. Just made some steamed broccoli and carrots. My sister has to same something. "oh, you just got to have vegetables, huh?" "well, we're not eating them!"
Who the fuck cares if you eat them?! I didn't announce that we all must eat them. We bought them. We cooked them and put them on the table. We don't give a fuck if you eat them or not. Given her abysmal health status, you would think she would eat a carrot with her 2lbs of pulled pork. That was night #1. It went from passive-aggressive to screaming and yelling in two nights. My wife and I left 2 days early. We spent >$600 to spend three nights with passive-aggressive trouble-making bitches. NEVER AGAIN.
I will never go on vacation with anyone, but my wife and kids. Never again.
The other fucked up thing was that I was really missing my dad. I really wanted to spend time with him. I am kicking myself for getting dragged into their insane mental illnesses instead of realizing they were baiting me. Now, he's hurt and upset and isn't returning my texts. I really lost my cool and let my sister and mom know how much I despised them. I think it hurt my dad to hear all that. I think it hurt him to know that our family probably split right there. I fucking hate this shit.