How will the economy affect WOH/SAH?
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How will the economy affect WOH/SAH?
| Wed, 02-11-2009 - 1:09pm |
How do you think the economy will affect decisions by women to stay at home versus work? With so many people losing jobs, do you think more women will be forced back into a job to help out (or take over) family finances? Is SAH parenting

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I don't think it's contrived at all. I live in a low COL area. My mortgage is less than $600/month - that's a total payment with taxes and insurance included. My property taxes run about $1000 per year.
We searched the foreclosed home market in surrounding cities and outlying areas, closer to larger cities and we would have to have doubled this expense just to pick up a comparable fixer upper. Most of the homes we saw that cost as much as our home had tens of thousands in repair to be done just to move in, and the property tax rate at best doubled, but in many cases tripled.
There are other advantages living in a low COL area that I'm not sure we'd find in other areas. When my kids went to afterschool child care, it was free of charge because so many here fall within the low-income guidelines, so they offered the whole program free for all students. My kids attend an art school that is part of a community outreach program designed to help low-income children have access to the arts, and students who don't qualify get to go for a nominal fee. Our community college has tuition rates that cost less than $2000 per semester, and that's including books, and they offer transfer programs to state universities.
To move elsewhere with a higher COL, we'd have to double our income just to save more for college, pay for after school care, extra curricular activities, and housing costs.
When my kids were little, we managed to have a SAHP on an income less than 30k comfortably - that's within the last 8 years. I just don't think that's possible everywhere. The price of milk and Cheerios aren't even significant.
so what are you saying..that low COL areas are immune from the foreclosure crisis?
"So what are you saying...that low COL areas are immune from the foreclosure crisis?"
Are you saying you'd never consider moving anywhere you could not afford to SAH?
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