I just need some advice

[kimandkathess]

Oh, I have been so bummed lately. Everything is just going a little crappy.

For starters, I live in the poorest county in NY State. I am doing ok financially. Not makine a whole lot, but not making too little. I make about 25,000-30,000 a year. And for this area, I can survive on that. But the problem is, I want to change jobs.

With my current job, as a daycare provider in my home, I make $500 to $600 a week. To get a decent job around here, you need a degree and so many years of experience to make what i do at home. I have a degree in office technology, but most jobs around here want experience to go along with that degree and it still doesnt make close to what i make here at home.

Why do I want to change jobs? Well I am stuck at home all day, everyday, except for sundays, which has changed lately, since we have been doing sunday dinners at my home every week. My job is very stressful. I have a 7 yr old that doesnt get along with one of my daycare kids. Those to are like oil and water, they just dont mix. This kid comes here 6 days out of the week. So everyday after school and on saturday, they fight, fight, fight. It is just taking a toll on me. So because I am home all the time with kids here 6 days a week from 8am-9pm, and not being able to get out of the house, i am strating to go nuts.

Being at home with 3 of my own kids plust other kids, starts to get to me after a while. I have the 7yr old that goes to school, but i also have almost 3 yr olds twins. They are stuck in the house with me all the time and because they are around eachother so much, they tend to fight a lot.
I think it would do them good to be able to get out of the house.

I have also been having problems with my home. We have a home that was built roughly around 1900. We are renting to own. They home is valued at 25,000. Our "loan" is 42,000 plus the interest is 38,000 so we are paying 80,000 for a home thats only worth 25,000. We have had so many problems with this house, Floors sinking, electrical problems, black mold, walls cracking, ceilings falling, Outragiously high gas bills due to the crappy work done to fix the house, most everthing done before we moved in was cosmetic work. The company we get the house from has a policy, if it breaks in 90 days we fix it, well everything started going after 90 days. They fix the oldest crappiest houses up super cheap and sell them for an outragious amount. They say they are helping people in a touch situation, because no matter what your credit, they can get you a house, And thats probably why. We didnt have good enough credit and what not to get a loan from a bank. So i have paid 30,000 on this house so far and have put so much work into it trying to fix everything that breaks.
Just this weekend we put tile in our laundry room (they had put in carpet) and we found black mold under the carpet. We did have the same problem in our bathroom, because they had put carpet in their too. By the time we are dont paying off this house and fixing it we will have paid nearly 100,000. We will never get back what we put into it.

My question is, should we just leave this house behind and move out of state to a better place? I feel like i am fighting a never ending battle. Every family member and friend around me is having a hard time financially, and can't really get anywhere because of the place we live. sorry this is so long, I just don't know what to do.

~~Katrina~~

[carisal]

(not to be judgemental, but) finances aside, you should get out of the house if there is black mold and ceilings falling down.... and you keep your and others' kids there?

[cearhart]

I am sorry to hear about your troubles. I have not quite experienced what you are going through but for my family I rent, because I can make the rent and like ok but if I owned a house and something went wrong with it I would not be able to fix it. So I feel your pain on that I have lost a home to foreclosure and now I rent it was too much work and hassle for me to own a home. That is not the case for some people but for me it was. My landlords love my family and I, we plant glass, flowers, mow the lawn and keep everything up for them. I have never been late on my rent and they appriciate that alot. If it were me I would just start over but this is me if I don't see a light at the end of the tunnel I back out, if I can. This is just my opion I am sure others will have different advice and do what you think is best. I live in Washington state and I love it, the weather is nice in the summer, not too hot but nice and winter is not too cold but snow every once in a while. The people are nice, I live right by the Canadian border and 1 minute from the beach. I have never been to NY so I can't say what is best for you, but I hope you do what makes you happy. Good Luck!

[justmeagain]

Whatever you decide, don't move here to Michigan.........everyone is unemployed and in big trouble financially.

[beth119]

Whether you move to another state, place, etc...

Get the HELL OUT OF THAT HOUSE!

Black mold? NOPE. MOVE. Cut your losses and run!

Do the parents of the kids you watch know about that?

[wealthybarney]

Hi KimandKathess, Sounds like you have already made your mind up to move. I agree!
I live in Eastern Washington, called the Tri-Cities. It is a brown desert with up to 105 degrees in the summer, no real snow in winter.

Anyway, there was a list on CNN on the BEST Places to move in the US during the recession. Yakima, Wa. was #1 which is 80 miles away & bigger than here.
Richland, Kennewick & Pasco are the Tri Cities where I live and they were #2 in the US good place to move. All 3 cities are close and about 100,000 people.

We moved from a nice, green costal city in Washington State, but I LOVE it here , and I hate the heat, but everything is air conditioned. It is 10% cheaper here than other major cities. Good housing. A nice 3 bedroom 2 bath is 140,000-200,000. Some smaller you can find for 100,ooo. Rent for a 2 bed and 2 bath with river view is $650 for an older building.
Maybe you can google & research. There are many happy places for you to live. Where does your family live?
Do you have an idea on what you are going to do?

[kimandkathess]

We have removed the mold. It was in a little area on the floor (plywood) We cut it out and removed that wood.

Originally Posted by beth119 Whether you move to another state, place, etc... Get the HELL OUT OF THAT HOUSE! Black mold? NOPE. MOVE. Cut your losses and run! Do the parents of the kids you watch know about that?

[texxie]

if it were me and mine, i would get out. I know that sounds "easier said than done" but sometimes, you just have to take that leap. "misery" is probably (or atleast i hope it is) too strong a word but if it's all around you, everywhere you look, I would imagine it would be hard to rise above it. The best of luck to you regardless of what you decide.

Texas would be happy to have ya!

[kimandkathess]

I really don't know what we are going to do. Dear husband doesnt want to give up now. I just feel like its a no win situation. I would LOVE to move, but im just not sure what I would do or should do if we were to move. I only have $500 in savings. I just loned my mom $100 to help her make her mortgate payment. She is in the same town and county as me and her home would have been forclosed on tomorrow had I not loaned her the money. I just dont know if any of us will get anywhere living in the place. We live in upstate NY. I am just so very frustrated.

~~Katrina~~

Originally Posted by wealthybarney Hi KimandKathess, Sounds like you have already made your mind up to move. I agree! I live in Eastern Washington, called the Tri-Cities. It is a brown desert with up to 105 degrees in the summer, no real snow in winter. Anyway, there was a list on CNN on the BEST Places to move in the US during the recession. Yakima, Wa. was #1 which is 80 miles away & bigger than here. Richland, Kennewick & Pasco are the Tri Cities where I live and they were #2 in the US good place to move. All 3 cities are close and about 100,000 people. We moved from a nice, green costal city in Washington State, but I LOVE it here , and I hate the heat, but everything is air conditioned. It is 10% cheaper here than other major cities. Good housing. A nice 3 bedroom 2 bath is 140,000-200,000. Some smaller you can find for 100,ooo. Rent for a 2 bed and 2 bath with river view is $650 for an older building. Maybe you can google & research. There are many happy places for you to live. Where does your family live? Do you have an idea on what you are going to do?

[kimandkathess]

My biggest fear is "how will i afford it"? How can I just pick up and move. I don't have the money or the credit to get a home. Someone mentioned homes in washington being 140,000 to 200,000. I guess to me that seems like a lot of money being from where i am. Out here in Upstate, NY, Poorest county, USA, that much money would get us a grand grand home.
So i another question would be, what is a good salary out there further west? Here I can make 25,000-30,000 and be considered doing alright with a little help from the government. It all seems a little scary, but exciting at the same time.

Originally Posted by texxie if it were me and mine, i would get out. I know that sounds "easier said than done" but sometimes, you just have to take that leap. "misery" is probably (or atleast i hope it is) too strong a word but if it's all around you, everywhere you look, I would imagine it would be hard to rise above it. The best of luck to you regardless of what you decide. Texas would be happy to have ya!