[decembergirl]

We currently live in Montana but after five years of running in circles trying to get our lives together I am pretty much fed up with it all. We had been living in Minnesota but we moved back here because my husband is fixated on living in MT, family being here and hunting and blah, blah, blah. Well our income was cut in half by the move here and the cost of living was about the same if not more. And although we have pretty much caught up finally to where we were in MN, I still feel like we are struggling. I know according to the last census we had MT was on the bottom pretty much as far as wages compared to the rest of the nation. Yet our cost of living is mid-range. And I have been looking for a decent job here since we moved but have yet to find one. They are all just terrible! The pay is not great, but even worse the moral and the attitudes are very depressing. We don't see our families enough to make it worth being here just to be close to them in my opinion.

So I would like to try a different environment, but I still like the way MT is set up. I like hills, and rivers and trees. I love fall. I like winter. I like snow. We like to go skiing and snowshoeing. I would like to go on bike rides somewhere other than on the highway or in our neighborhood. My husband is a picture fanatic. I want to see culture and history before I grow old and die. I am just not going to find those things here. Culture here is people drinking beer and passing gas. Sorry fellow Montanans but if you had something different then you should have shown it to me before I wasted thirty years of my life among you.

So what is it like over there? I am not looking for some welcome party or to make changes or comparisons or anything like that. Just a little more info than what I could find on google. Thanks so much!

[skytrekker]

Deecembergirl

thanks for visiting the Connecticut forum. Connecticut is a pleasant New England state, and considered by most a great place to live.

The state has a high cost of living, like all of the northeast and west coast. Yes there is a great deal of culture, proximity to great cities; New York & Boston- ocean and great beaches, mountains are close by.

Fill us in on your needs- hopefully we can help.

[decembergirl]

Thanks skytrekker I am not sure exactly what my needs are right now, just ready for a change. But we won't be able to do anything right away. I like to do my research when I get ideas like these. So we will probably want to plan a trip over to CT in the next year or so. Got any suggestions for that? And is there a "Visit Connecticut" website that would provide some good info that any of you know of? I already tried to check out the CT state site but found it kind of confusing. I am sure the cost of living is higher there, but what are the wages like? My husband works in IT and has pretty much capped out income-wise and I noticed on a couple sites I found that the range over there is a little higher than what we see here. So I would think that we might be able to even out in that respect. But the best laid plans of mice and men........we will have to think this out quite a bit I feel.

[skytrekker]

Decembergirl

some sites for you to peruse

Visit Connecticut! The Official Connecticut State Vacation Guide

Visit New England - Connecticut - CT Travel, Tourism, Vacations, Lodgings, Attractions, Events, Hotels, Inns, B&Bs, Resorts

Connecticut - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hartford, Connecticut - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

CONNECTICUT WINE TRAIL - WINERY TOURS - Connecticut wine tasting, vacations, CT Wine Trail

Mystic Country: Connecticut/Rhode Island Vacations - New England Travel

[decembergirl]

Hey thanks. Those are great.

So can anyone tell me about IT jobs over there? Average pay?

And what is the growing season like? We are avid gardeners.

And how bad is the housing market? Our median here is about $240k.

And I must say, you guys are very nice! What a pleasant attitude this forum has!

[KH02]

Which area of IT is your husband in? That would determine what the avg pay is around her, whats he making now?

Our housing market right now is sluggish to say the least....
What price range were you looking for?

I'd say the avg home (outside fairfield county) for a 3bd 2 bath might be in the high 300's if you avoid major cities...sounds like you are a more rural girl..

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by KH02

I'd say the avg home (outside fairfield county) for a 3bd 2 bath might be in the high 300's if you avoid major cities...sounds like you are a more rural girl..

I think that 3 bedroom, 2 bath homes outside of Fairfield County (and parts of New Haven) could be bought for less than that. Depending on where, you can find them in the upper $200k's. Eastern Connecticut (east of the Connecticut River) would be even cheaper. Jay

[decembergirl]

Originally Posted by KH02

Which area of IT is your husband in? That would determine what the avg pay is around her, whats he making now?

Our housing market right now is sluggish to say the least....
What price range were you looking for?

I'd say the avg home (outside fairfield county) for a 3bd 2 bath might be in the high 300's if you avoid major cities...sounds like you are a more rural girl..

He is an oracle programmer and makes about $50k. Pretty much the tip of the wage scale here. So what are they over there?

And I have perused some of the areas in CT on Realtor.com and as far as I can tell the areas around Torrington are not too much worse that what we see here. So I tend to think Jay is right for being able to find something for around $200k. (Thank you Jay!) I haven't looked at the other parts of the state yet though.

I am a rural girl. How did you know? I am such a hick its probably not even funny. I have never seen the ocean, ever. So I think there would be a lot of great experiences over there for me. But I have to get things in order here before we can really make a move. But I am loving the feedback you guys are giving me. Thanks so much!

[KH02]

Well the NW hills (Torrington, Winsted, Harwinton) are good places to look if you're a nature type and it is cheaper to live. So long as you dont mind being far from malls etc...school are not a concern of yours either right?!?

Anyhow as an Oracle Programmer he might make 60K instead i think it can go up from their but that would depend on his experience level.

Only downside is the Torrington area doesn't have a lot of jobs in the IT field it's more blue collar stuff in that area. So your DH would likely have to commute to Hftd of New Haven which would be a commute (50 min for hartford, more for New Haven)

But its all a matter of whats most important to you..

[KH02]

My DH said most of the IT jobs are in Stamford CT (fairfield county) VERY expensive. He also said it would depend on what your husband is actually qualified to do on how much he would make.
But with the range he gave me you'd pretty much just make up the difference of the cost of living here (electricity, car taxes, property tax etc) so you may not be any better off.
It's worth a shot though.
Have your hubby look through some want adds on careerbuilder or something in CT and some have salaries listed. He needs to look at the descriptions and see if he has experience in the things they are asking for...