[skytrekker]

Santa Rosa is beautiful- as is all of Sonoma county- Lake county to the north is also low key. The San Joaquin valley is too hot for my tastes- and it has air pollution and air stagnation issues. Most of Marin county is nice- some great places to live with a very temperate climate- San Rafael, Corte Madeira, Mill Valley....

The central coast is also like paradise- climate wise- with some charming towns.

[salatheel]

My best friend moved to Raleigh last summer. His average electic bill during the summer in Raleigh - $70. Mine with no ac in Ct. - $200. My last oil bill $650 His average heating bill over the winter $50 a month. My taxes 1100 sq feet 65 year old house $5000. His house 1900 sq feet 10 years old $1100. He moved down and is making $3000 a year more he did up here. He loves it. Was wearing shorts and a t shirt all day. Also many of the places down there have 4 day work weeks.

[Rich Lee]

Originally Posted by salatheel

My best friend moved to Raleigh last summer. His average electic bill during the summer in Raleigh - $70. Mine with no ac in Ct. - $200. My last oil bill $650 His average heating bill over the winter $50 a month. My taxes 1100 sq feet 65 year old house $5000. His house 1900 sq feet 10 years old $1100. He moved down and is making $3000 a year more he did up here. He loves it. Was wearing shorts and a t shirt all day. Also many of the places down there have 4 day work weeks.

My mother followed my brother-in-law and sister to Western Virginia in mid-2005. They are reporting similar expenses as your friend in Raleigh. So far, all three love it. Because they're in the mountains, their summers aren't too bad. But all in all, it's not for me.

[BigHouse9]

Originally Posted by salatheel

My best friend moved to Raleigh last summer. His average electic bill during the summer in Raleigh - $70. Mine with no ac in Ct. - $200. My last oil bill $650 His average heating bill over the winter $50 a month. My taxes 1100 sq feet 65 year old house $5000. His house 1900 sq feet 10 years old $1100. He moved down and is making $3000 a year more he did up here. He loves it. Was wearing shorts and a t shirt all day. Also many of the places down there have 4 day work weeks.

Geez, where doe he live around Raleigh? Electric bills that cheap? Our electric bill for a 2300 sf house is over $100 per month in the winter and goes closer to $200 in the summer. Taxes on my house on a .18 acre lot are $2200 while they were $5200 in CT (taxes re also going up here). I think you will find that most salaries down here are 5-10% lower than in CT as well. I don't know of any place with a 4 day work week either, but if you can swing it, awesome. You are also forgetting about the higher car insurance here, more expensive food, monthly water bills, HOA fees.

But it goes back to that quality of life issue that was discussed earlier. CT just has a better QOL.

[JViello]

Originally Posted by salatheel

My best friend moved to Raleigh last summer. His average electic bill during the summer in Raleigh - $70. Mine with no ac in Ct. - $200. My last oil bill $650 His average heating bill over the winter $50 a month. My taxes 1100 sq feet 65 year old house $5000. His house 1900 sq feet 10 years old $1100. He moved down and is making $3000 a year more he did up here. He loves it. Was wearing shorts and a t shirt all day. Also many of the places down there have 4 day work weeks.

An 1100 SF house that uses $200 a month in electricity and $650 a month for oil?

Something aint right. I have a 53 year old home, 1500sf upstairs with a walkout lower level that's 1100sf and my electric bill in the Summer WITH 3 window AC units being alternated on and off is about $130.00.

Oil? $300 on the hardest month. Most months are $200ish. Granted I just put in a new Buderus super high efficiency furnace but still...

I think you have married the vein as they used to say about gold prospectors so no matter what anyone says CT sucks and NC is Godlike so with that I'll just say good luck to you.

P.S. Where is this house you keep dropping price on. I may be interested in an investment property.

[kd83]

Originally Posted by JViello

An 1100 SF house that uses $200 a month in electricity and $650 a month for oil?

Something aint right. I have a 53 year old home, 1500sf upstairs with a walkout lower level that's 1100sf and my electric bill in the Summer WITH 3 window AC units being alternated on and off is about $130.00.

Oil? $300 on the hardest month. Most months are $200ish. Granted I just put in a new Buderus super high efficiency furnace but still...

I think you have married the vein as they used to say about gold prospectors so no matter what anyone says CT sucks and NC is Godlike so with that I'll just say good luck to you.

P.S. Where is this house you keep dropping price on. I may be interested in an investment property.

pretty sure he was referring to a tank fill for the winter not $650 per month..so around 150-250 per each month of the winter depending on how long you consider our winter to be. I might be wrong but I feel like thats what he meant.

[salatheel]

He lives in Fuquay Varina. If life is so grand in Ct. and all of the northeast why are people fleeing it for the south and west. And they are not coming back in droves either. It is a undeniable trend.

The state that pays the most in combined state, local and federal taxes, per capita, is Connecticut (35.9%), followed by New York (35.1%), New Jersey (34.3%) and Washington (33.7%).

Taxes and expense is a big part of it. But the quality of life is the major facter. There is a much better quality of life out of Ct. Unless maybe you make over 150k a year.

[BigHouse9]

Forbes magazine says CT has the 4th best QOL in the country. If you like strips malls, crowds, chain restaurants, traffic and bad drivers, by all means, come down to NC that quality of life.

And to quote my Mom and some many other people's mother's "If everyone was jumping off a bridge, would you do it too?" :-)

Have you been down here to NC yet and if not, do you have plans to do so? Make sure you come down and see it ahead of time.

[JViello]

Originally Posted by salatheel

He lives in Fuquay Varina.

LOL 20 miles outside of Raleigh (This is not CT so don't think the countryside outside of the city is the same by ANY means.) with NO direct access via highway...good luck on NC 401 for 20 miles!

Hope you like Wafflehouse and Sonny's BBQ and endless miles of tacky billboards.

That area explains the "cheap". You might want to visit that place and do the normal things you would when living there before selling the farm up here.

Just a friendly suggestion.

[skytrekker]

Crime stats; worse and best states for crime; Money Magazine- 1 ranked worst

Rank State 2006 Rank
1 Nevada 1
2 New Mexico 3
3 Arizona 4
4 Maryland 5
5 Tennessee 8
6 South Carolina 6
7 Alaska 9
8 Florida 7
9 California 10
10 Louisiana 2
11 Michigan 12
12 Texas 11
13 Arkansas 15
14 Washington 16
15 Oklahoma 14
16 North Carolina 17
17 Alabama 18
18 Delaware 24
19 Missouri 20
20 Georgia 13
21 Illinois 19
22 Colorado 22
23 Ohio 23
24 Mississippi 21
25 Indiana 28

Rank State 2006 Rank
26 Pennsylvania 29
27 Kansas 25
28 Hawaii 26
29 Oregon 27
30 Massachusetts 30
31 New York 31
32 Minnesota 35
33 New Jersey 32
34 Kentucky 33
35 Rhode Island 38
36 Virginia 37
37 Nebraska 34
38 Utah 36
39 Idaho 40
40 Connecticut 39
41 West Virginia 41
42 Wisconsin 44
43 Iowa 43
44 Montana 42
45 South Dakota 45
46 Wyoming 46
47 New Hampshire 47
48 Maine 49
49 Vermont 48
50 North Dakota 50
Source: Morgan Quinto Press using FBI statistics