[stevemorse]

Originally Posted by nep321

Many of these popular places are getting out of control with housing prices, rents and traffic. The following metropolitan areas are now officially getting expensive:

Raleigh, NC
Austin, TX
Las Vegas, NV
Minneapolis, MN
Phoenix, AZ

Moving from CT to Raleigh or Austin for cost of living reasons is an unacceptable reason nowadays. Those places are now almost just as expensive as CT.

Not true. I just moved to Raleigh from North NJ similar to CT and its cheaper on so many levels. Young people here love it, good economy and all ranges of houses in all different price ranges. There is plenty of land actually too much. The only cons really are you don't have that New England Charm really, and no grand nature that's really close to drive to in a day trip. Personally CT wins hands down over all the places you mentioned if you could afford the nice areas. Its too expensive, Raleigh is much more affordable but not better. Its a matter of finances. I think the only one on your list that may be getting expensive like CT is Austin TX.

[Karyn Trulove]

I have to agree with Stevemorse. my family is leaving CT and this is not the main reason but one of them the cost of living. I have a 3 bed 1 bath and I pay almost 4000 a year in taxes. in NC you can get a 4 bed 2 bath for around the same amount I paid for this home and pay less taxes. yes you may take a pay cut but thats not always true. the cost of living her in CT is not for the middle class anymore. it's for the high class sadly. just the way things are.

[BobNJ1960]

Originally Posted by Karyn Trulove

I have to agree with Stevemorse. my family is leaving CT and this is not the main reason but one of them the cost of living. I have a 3 bed 1 bath and I pay almost 4000 a year in taxes. in NC you can get a 4 bed 2 bath for around the same amount I paid for this home and pay less taxes. yes you may take a pay cut but thats not always true. the cost of living her in CT is not for the middle class anymore. it's for the high class sadly. just the way things are.

Cost of living: How far will my salary go in another city? - CNNMoney


Amen. $36,396 Raleigh = $50,000 New Haven

[Sigequinox]

Originally Posted by Karyn Trulove

I have to agree with Stevemorse. my family is leaving CT and this is not the main reason but one of them the cost of living. I have a 3 bed 1 bath and I pay almost 4000 a year in taxes. in NC you can get a 4 bed 2 bath for around the same amount I paid for this home and pay less taxes. yes you may take a pay cut but thats not always true. the cost of living her in CT is not for the middle class anymore. it's for the high class sadly. just the way things are.

We live in a 3br 2.5 bath house that costs 325k and our taxes are 6,500 and climbing. House built in 1987. Mill rate has gone up 4 points since we moved in 2013. Median home price in my town has dropped 50 large since 2012.


Where we WANT to live: 4br 2.5 bath house in 300-350 range. taxes only 1800-2200/year. Houses built in 2005+. Median home price has INCREASED 80k and the public school system in nationally ranked (way better than average one im in now).


To say I wish I never bought a house here is an understatement. It has been a huge anchor. Getting my masters to buy some [expensive] time and will be out hopefully winter next year.

Because it's the holiday season I won't just rip CT apart...Among the high cost states, CT is well balanced. Entry level fixer uppers in SF bay area will cost you 1 million bucks. Starter homes on Long Island will cost you 400k and cme with a 12k/year property tax. WOW!. NJ is similar to NY with maybe slightly lower (10k range) property taxes. However, to be fair comparing CT to NY,NJ and CA is flawed in many ways. We are just assuming all other things are equal for simplicity here.

The most important thing is that you are HAPPY. There's plenty of folks in CT who support where there money goes and to them it's money well spent. For them, CT is a great place. For me, well, I think I can spend my money more wisely than CT can so my blood boils on a daily basis. Millennial out.

[Karyn Trulove]

Sigequinox, I'm in se ct. some of my neighbors have retired and moved and some are still working hard for there money and have moved. between the house tax, car tax, and everything else I don't know how people can afford to stay. I've lived here most of my life and it's just to tough. the winters are tough as well. best of luck to you in the future.

[RunD1987]

Originally Posted by BPt111

I hear Norwalk-Stamford area has alot of job opportunities

My field is in healthcare. As I said earlier the states cuts to hospital's and new health insurance law's most facilities are rarely hiring full time or at all anymore. CT job market is mostly financial, insurance, retail/restaurant, manufacturing/electrical/industrial (Shrinking market), and minimum wage job's. State job's are limited, healthcare is not a strong market, law enforcement/corrections, and social service's is a terrible market for job's in CT.

A lot of people I am working with are moving to Florida for health related job's.

[Mr_250]

I'm a millennial and I'm happy in Connecticut. It has everything I need from woods for hunting to city atmosphere in Stamford or Hartford.

I do agree that a lot of young people do move away and not come back which needs to be addressed.

[mlassoff]

Originally Posted by Karyn Trulove

Sigequinox, I'm in se ct. some of my neighbors have retired and moved and some are still working hard for there money and have moved. between the house tax, car tax, and everything else I don't know how people can afford to stay. I've lived here most of my life and it's just to tough. the winters are tough as well. best of luck to you in the future.

Honestly-- as someone who has just moved from Fairfield County to the lower Connecticut River Valley -- the answer is to live within your means, and you can afford to stay. Your means in Connecticut get you less. Period. That doesn't mean that no one can afford to live here. We just got back from Honolulu-- talk about expensive. However, people obviously make the monetary scarifies for obvious reasons. The beach, the scenery and the weather isn't enough for many to make the financial sacrifice that it takes to live in Hawai'i.

We could live in a house nearly twice the size if we wanted to move to Oklahoma, but we choose a more moderate house in Connecticut.

Everyone makes their choices-- I don't at all begrudge those who go somewhere where they can get more for their money. For us, however, the proximity to NY and Boston, the educated populace, the progressive social values, and much more keep us here.

[Sigequinox]

Originally Posted by mlassoff

Honestly-- as someone who has just moved from Fairfield County to the lower Connecticut River Valley -- the answer is to live within your means, and you can afford to stay. Your means in Connecticut get you less. Period. That doesn't mean that no one can afford to live here. We just got back from Honolulu-- talk about expensive. However, people obviously make the monetary scarifies for obvious reasons. The beach, the scenery and the weather isn't enough for many to make the financial sacrifice that it takes to live in Hawai'i.

We could live in a house nearly twice the size if we wanted to move to Oklahoma, but we choose a more moderate house in Connecticut.

Everyone makes their choices-- I don't at all begrudge those who go somewhere where they can get more for their money. For us, however, the proximity to NY and Boston, the educated populace, the progressive social values, and much more keep us here.

So rare that we agree. The key word is sacrifice--and there are always some. The key to figuring out where to live is to understand what it is that you truly want and prioritize that list.

For a progressive with a comfortable salary (typically achieved later in life than the current age of millennials) who enjoys traveling to (but doen't need to live immediate to) large cities and casually enjoys the outdoors, CT is a great place.

For a libertarian who wishes to donate rather than redistribute income, expects a nicer/newer home for what they can afford and would like to have more discretionary money for raising a family/taking vacations, CT is not so great.

Also important to note: one does not have to live somewhere as backwards as Oklahoma to get twice the house and/or 1/3 the taxes of CT. Not that I would ever stay (there's numerous fundamental issues for me with CT), but the household income I think we would need to have the life we strive for in CT is about 175k/year. We can actually be close to the equivalent of such a salary with our current income in many other great areas of the country. It would take us years to achieve here. By the time we are in our 40's we expect to both be making 100+ salaries. We will be living unbelievably comfortable with 200k elsewhere.

[WILWRadio]

I left CT as have many others for numerous reasons. First and foremost was the lack of job opportunities year after year. Second, rising taxes. Third the high cost of living and housing. While the cost of housing seems to have leveled off to some degree, you really can't get much house for your money when compared to most other states. Yes, there are tradeoffs to be sure but at least I have found it is possible to get a home in a few places that will cost quite a bit less than any place in CT and still offer a reasonably good standard of living.