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Old 02-01-2007, 04:29 AM   #11
Detroitdad
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Odessa is next to Midland in West Texas. It is not known for its physical beauty. Nor its embrace of culture. I am sure there are wonderful things about it, though, as any resident would point out. It is a oil boom/bust town. I think George Bush claims to be a native of Midland, Texas.
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Old 02-01-2007, 04:43 AM   #12
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I lived in Odessa for one year. I met many nice people there. I have never been back, nor do I have a desire to go. It is, quite honestly, flat and ugly. It is an oil town and fills with roughnecks on Friday and Saturday nights. It is home to the world's largest Jack Rabbit. (really) It has no sewer drains so, on the very rare occasion when it rains, it causes torrential rivers of water in the streets. When it is not raining, which is to say almost always, it is dusty. The dust is insidious. It gets into every crack and crevice of everything. It is also where the real Friday Night Lights took place. Midland is nicer. Odessa is no place to move to, if you can avoid it.
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Old 02-01-2007, 05:14 AM   #13
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I lived in Odessa for one year. I met many nice people there. I have never been back, nor do I have a desire to go. It is, quite honestly, flat and ugly. It is an oil town and fills with roughnecks on Friday and Saturday nights. It is home to the world's largest Jack Rabbit. (really) It has no sewer drains so, on the very rare occasion when it rains, it causes torrential rivers of water in the streets. When it is not raining, which is to say almost always, it is dusty. The dust is insidious. It gets into every crack and crevice of everything. It is also where the real Friday Night Lights took place. Midland is nicer. Odessa is no place to move to, if you can avoid it.
This is where a friend of mine recently moved, but I had no idea what kind of a place it is. It sounds like I wouldn't enjoy it.
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Old 02-02-2007, 02:19 AM   #14
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The best piece of advice that I got when we bought our first house was to sit tight and do nothing drastic for the first 6 months. After 6 months, you will be comfortable with your home and see what you like and dislike. Getting rid of a living room will hurt your case especially if there is really no place to sit on the first floor except in a formal dining room. A nice spacious kitchen is awesome but it will be a setback without any real living space on that floor.

Odessa. Man, I used to do some work in Midland and Odessa. Not my dream area though I met a lot of good people there.
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Old 02-05-2007, 03:19 AM   #15
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Well, if I could convince my wife to move to Texas, I would do it in a heartbeat based on a friend's experience there. He recently moved to Odessa (I hope I spelled that correctly) and bought a 4 bedroom, 3 bath, 3000 sq. foot home on a 3/4 acre lot with a swimming pool for $160,000.

Is Real estate really that much of a bargain in Texas? Or is Odessa a dive? I also understand that Texas sticks you with higher property taxes, but still, that sounds like a heckuva deal to me.

I could sell my house right now and pay cash for his place and have plenty left over for other things.
Odessa is out in the boonies so it would be cheaper than Dallas or one of teh other big cities. But DFW is still way cheaper than Utah and most other cities. Mike lives in the city and in the Dallas school district (inner city district) so his area is even cheaper, but a 4/2/2 2000sf newer home can be had in nice areas of the suburbs for well inside $200K.

The house we live in now is 4/2/2, 2200 sf on a large lot (big back yard I mean but still a city lot) and will sell for $190K or so when we move to the new house.
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Old 02-05-2007, 03:20 AM   #16
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Also on the property tax thing. They are definitley high but that's becasue there is no state income tax. And as the fiscal conservative that I am, I support that because it's basically a consumption oriented tax. If you make $250K / year but live in a $200K house, you pay the same tax as your neighbor who makes much less than that.
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Old 02-05-2007, 04:22 AM   #17
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Also on the property tax thing. They are definitley high but that's becasue there is no state income tax. And as the fiscal conservative that I am, I support that because it's basically a consumption oriented tax. If you make $250K / year but live in a $200K house, you pay the same tax as your neighbor who makes much less than that.
Somebody finally said it. Conservatives are in favor of regressive taxation. I have the smoking post to prove it. Thanks FM you have finally proven my thesis.
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Old 02-05-2007, 04:45 AM   #18
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Somebody finally said it. Conservatives are in favor of regressive taxation. I have the smoking post to prove it. Thanks FM you have finally proven my thesis.
I'll say it too: a consumption tax is much more fair than an income tax. Give exemption to shelter and food, then tax everything else.

I just want more money in my pocket when I get paid than I do now.
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Old 02-05-2007, 04:56 AM   #19
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I'll say it too: a consumption tax is much more fair than an income tax. Give exemption to shelter and food, then tax everything else.

I just want more money in my pocket when I get paid than I do now.
You are okay with some people paying more as long as it is not you? You are human after all. I have had my doubts about that for a long time.

I am against any form of regressive taxation, period. Equality in taxation, in strict, percentage of disposable income would not be horrible. But progressive taxation, of the least oppressive ilk (smallest breadth of spread between highest and lowest brackets) is the most desirable.
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Old 02-05-2007, 05:17 AM   #20
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You are okay with some people paying more as long as it is not you? You are human after all. I have had my doubts about that for a long time.

I am against any form of regressive taxation, period. Equality in taxation, in strict, percentage of disposable income would not be horrible. But progressive taxation, of the least oppressive ilk (smallest breadth of spread between highest and lowest brackets) is the most desirable.
I am for fair taxation, but I fail to see how one should have to pay more because one makes more money. An income tax, IMO, isn't fair because it takes money out of the workers pocket that could be spent on better things and that's where the consumption tax comes in. With more disposable income, there would be more consumption and more taxes generated. The only ones who get hurt are those who spend more than they can afford to spend.

Of course, I also say this as a card-carrying cheapskate. I would have even more to invest for the future or to bury in the backyard because I don't really spend a lot of my disposable income. A consumption tax would be good for me.

As for being human, I can understand you having your doubts. My wife often tells me I need to act more human than like an animal. I can't help it if I get caught up in the moment of little league sports.
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