Well, after narrowing down the playing field of houses and comparing our top choices in Des Moines and Newton, we have made the decision to not look at houses in Newton. One of the reasons we were drawn there (besides the small town lifestyle) is because there were so many houses that were cheaper than Des Moines. However, the two cities are in two different counties, and apparently there are higher property taxes in Newton. Unless we buy on the lower end of the Newton housing market, we won't actually be saving money over Des Moines b/c of the higher tax rate. And if we buy on the lower end, we get less house and the commute to Des Moines to save roughly $50 a week. Not worth it.

Goodbye Newton - Hello Des Moines!

Posted in: moving, Slow Lane on Friday, March 16, 2007 at at 2:13 AM