[MiaMia411]

Originally Posted by JayCT

Not necessarily. There are pricier suburbs of major cities that are comparable to many Connecticut towns. The OP used Plano which is a desirable suburb of Dallas. Its schools are considered better than other communities. Homes there are newer and bigger but they generally do not have basements so much of the extra space is used for larger closets or storage rooms. Lot sizes there tend to be smaller too. 1/4 acre is considered to be a large lot in Texas' suburbs. In Connecticut that is on the small side unless you are in the core urban area.

Plano is its own city , yes in Texas they have neighborhoods so the lots tend to be smaller in size but it's plenty for anyone unless you like acres of land. The building process is different then up north but you can find areas with bigger lots , it's just not as common as up north .

[NedSage58]

Originally Posted by JayCT

Not necessarily. There are pricier suburbs of major cities that are comparable to many Connecticut towns. The OP used Plano which is a desirable suburb of Dallas. Its schools are considered better than other communities. Homes there are newer and bigger but they generally do not have basements so much of the extra space is used for larger closets or storage rooms. Lot sizes there tend to be smaller too. 1/4 acre is considered to be a large lot in Texas' suburbs. In Connecticut that is on the small side unless you are in the core urban area.

Speaking from experience (moved from TX to CT), on average, homes in TX are about 30% less. The more desirable TX burbs like Plano, Sugarland etc, homes are pricey but not as pricey as homes in desirable CT suburbs. These are the "Westports" of TX. There can be no disputing that TX is far cheaper to live in than CT. Like I said, I lived for quite some time in both areas and, while I enjoy a higher quality of life in CT, TX offers a better bargain for the middle class.

There are also many areas outside the cities where you get lots of acreage. It's very common outside city limits. Lots of people who live in the northeast have this idea that it's all postage stamp lots because they tend to visit cities in TX, not spread out suburbs. It's no different than in CT - along the shore, you have tiny lots. Inland, where it's more rural, you have larger lots. Well, same in TX (and almost anywhere).

Regarding basements, keep in mind the headaches that come with basements that can be a huge expense. I just spent $8,000 to fix mine. Yes there is the opportunity for lots of storage but when I cleaned mine out last month, I realized that 90% of the stuff stored there I couldn't use and much of it had that damp, basement smell - and all the boxes were damp. I know not all basements have this issue but many of them do. For this reason, I don't think I'll miss having a basement when I relocate in a couple of years.

[JayCT]

What annoys me about this article is that it does not mention the fact that Connecticut went into the last recession later than other states. This is a historical quirk of our economy. So while other states were shedding jobs, we were not. We may have even still been adding them. Again another negative media article that kind of tries to paint the state in a poor light. Jay

Slow jobs recovery sends workers out of CT | HartfordBusiness.com

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by NedSage58

Speaking from experience (moved from TX to CT), on average, homes in TX are about 30% less. The more desirable TX burbs like Plano, Sugarland etc, homes are pricey but not as pricey as homes in desirable CT suburbs. These are the "Westports" of TX. There can be no disputing that TX is far cheaper to live in than CT. Like I said, I lived for quite some time in both areas and, while I enjoy a higher quality of life in CT, TX offers a better bargain for the middle class.

There are also many areas outside the cities where you get lots of acreage. It's very common outside city limits. Lots of people who live in the northeast have this idea that it's all postage stamp lots because they tend to visit cities in TX, not spread out suburbs. It's no different than in CT - along the shore, you have tiny lots. Inland, where it's more rural, you have larger lots. Well, same in TX (and almost anywhere).

Regarding basements, keep in mind the headaches that come with basements that can be a huge expense. I just spent $8,000 to fix mine. Yes there is the opportunity for lots of storage but when I cleaned mine out last month, I realized that 90% of the stuff stored there I couldn't use and much of it had that damp, basement smell - and all the boxes were damp. I know not all basements have this issue but many of them do. For this reason, I don't think I'll miss having a basement when I relocate in a couple of years.

I heard some of the same things from people I know that moved to areas where homes do not have basements and then realized that there was a good reason for that basement. The dampness the basement holds suddenly moves to your first floor, as does the water issues (I know having lived in a basementless condo) and despite what you say about not needing the stuff in them (who really does) the point is that you have it and will still collect things over the years. One of those family members put it into perspective. You still collect the stuff and then it takes over other parts of your home including closets in lesser used rooms and garages. Their home has a 4 car garage and 2 of the bays are full of stuff, one is garden equipment and the other is for things that would have gathered in their basement. Jay

[NedSage58]

Originally Posted by JayCT

I heard some of the same things from people I know that moved to areas where homes do not have basements and then realized that there was a good reason for that basement. The dampness the basement holds suddenly moves to your first floor, as does the water issues (I know having lived in a basementless condo) and despite what you say about not needing the stuff in them (who really does) the point is that you have it and will still collect things over the years. One of those family members put it into perspective. You still collect the stuff and then it takes over other parts of your home including closets in lesser used rooms and garages. Their home has a 4 car garage and 2 of the bays are full of stuff, one is garden equipment and the other is for things that would have gathered in their basement. Jay

I disagree. Having lived in two states where I never had a basement, I never actually collected useless items until I actually had a basement. I lived for many years without a basement and never had storage problems.

The dampness that the basement holds does not move to the first floor, that's a strange comment. Moisture is caused by condensation on the cold concrete walls/floors, because it's located underground. Once above ground, that doesn't happen to the same degree. So no, homes without basements do not have an increase of moisture. That could not be further from the truth.

[USNomad]

Originally Posted by MiaMia411

A 300k home is different in size compared to 300k in CT. How about comparing taxes on a house that's a 3/2 and 1800 sqft. Also majority of the houses in TX are all on city services. A 200k house in TX would cost you around 350-400k in CT. Plus they don't have the highest gas tax and stupid exicse tax either nor income tax. I lived in Nj as well , and the house we had was 1800 sqft and paying about 12k a year in taxes .

So where in TX do you live ?

I respect your points however, I was responding to a poster who mentioned that Texas has "low property taxes". When I lived in Arizona, i considered that to be low property tax ($1,400). Compared to some midwest areas, & coastal areas of the country, Texas will be an overall less expensive place to live as of now.

I'm currently in Collin County, TX. Its a nice, clean area with solid schools, big homes and is extremely family friendly. Its great for some, but just not for me.

I personally, would take a 1,500 sqft home on at least a half acre lot in a more rural area, with access to a large city amenities, decent beaches, and a scenic landscape (not flat) all within a 2 hours drive or less. But that's just my preference because I spend more time outdoors than indoors. My Texas journey started off a little rough in Houston however, since then I've taken advantage of this Texas economy, made sacrifices, and now I plan to move into an area that fits my desired quality of life, even if it has a higher cost of living.

[NedSage58]

Originally Posted by USNomad

I respect your points however, I was responding to a poster who mentioned that Texas has "low property taxes". Sure you get a bigger home here, if that's important to you.

I'm currently in Collin County, TX. Its a nice, clean area with solid schools, big homes and is extremely family friendly. Its great for some, but just not for me.

I personally, would take a 1,500 sqft home on at least a half acre lot, with access to a large city amenities, decent beaches, and a scenic landscape (not flat) all within a 2 hours drive or less. But that's just my preference because I spend more time outdoors than indoors. My Texas journey started off a little rough in Houston however, since then I've taken advantage of this Texas economy, made sacrifices, and now I plan to move into an area that fits my desired quality of life, even if it has a higher cost of living.

You can look at it as getting a bigger home for the same price, or a smaller home for much less.

TX property tax rates are high - similar to parts of CT - but that rate on a smaller home valued at less is what makes it more affordable than CT. The way most people view it is, if they took their 1500 square foot ranch in CT that they pay 6-7k per year on, and put it in TX, their taxes would probably we about 4-5, solely because the value of the home is much less.

[USNomad]

Originally Posted by NedSage58

You can look at it as getting a bigger home for the same price, or a smaller home for much less.

TX property tax rates are high - similar to parts of CT - but that rate on a smaller home valued at less is what makes it more affordable than CT. The way most people view it is, if they took their 1500 square foot ranch in CT that they pay 6-7k per year on, and put it in TX, their taxes would probably we about 4-5, solely because the value of the home is much less.

Got it. There's no doubt that homes in Texas are less expensive, but its cheaper for a reason, but it's all about what's important to the individual cool:

Again, reading one poster mention Texas homes with "low property tax" raised my eyebrow. And I do agree that TX offers a better overall bargain for the middle class.

[MiaMia411]

Originally Posted by USNomad

Got it. There's no doubt that homes in Texas are less expensive, but its cheaper for a reason.

Again, reading one poster mention Texas homes in the "$100k-150k range" and "low property tax" raised my eyebrow. And I do agree that TX offers a better overall bargain for the middle class.

It's cheaper because TX has lots and lots of land.

I found homes for sale in Plano for 150k , take that house and compare it to a house in CT and let me know what you get if you can. You can find them for 150k in Houston as well. The listings can be found on Zillow all day long . To make it even better let's raise to price to 200k . See what you get same sqft wise, let me know what you find for 200k that is 1500 or 1800sqft and then list the property tax.

[Mr_250]

Originally Posted by Mr_250

What is going on with GE? From the Statement it sounds like they are OUT of CT. GE expected to decide on new location for headquarters in fourth quarter: CNBC | Reuters

I see Westchester as the front runner. What a slap in the face would that be for Malloy. Atlanta would be second best.

Bottom line, I think GE is gone.

Did anyone watch the CNBC with Immelt last week? It was very telling. They asked him some pretty straight forward questions and he sounds confident that GE is leaving. He did not SAY they are leaving, I am just getting that sense. They asked him questions about leadership in the Government and he said [paraphrase] you can't do business in a state that doesn't have our back.

My guess: Atlanta or Westchester