[kingblc]

I lived in Flagstaff AZ and then on Long Island NY and CT cost of living is dramatically cheaper then both of those places. It really depends on where you are coming from originally.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by kingblc

I lived in Flagstaff AZ and then on Long Island NY and CT cost of living is dramatically cheaper then both of those places. It really depends on where you are coming from originally.

Agreed. It also depends on where in CT you are moving. Generally the cheapest area in CT is the eastern third of the state away from the shoreline, while the most expensive is along the shore and the western third.

[goldenband]

After living in northern New England for decades, in my mid-20s I moved to one of the fancier parts of Philadelphia, and that was a bit of a "sticker shock", in terms of how the prices of everything went up. But I got used to it after a year or so, and since I'm fairly frugal by nature, little by little I found ways of getting by. I learned which stores had good prices on particular items, and found various ways of cutting costs, so that ultimately I wasn't paying much more than I had been (and sometimes less).

Then I moved to West Hartford, CT, and that was another "sticker shock" -- just about everything cost a good deal more. But again, little by little, I found ways of saving money. After my first year, I moved in with a couple other folks, and thereby saved quite a bit on rent and utilities. Since my biggest variable expense was typically food, I gradually figured out which stores consistently offered cheap options, like Cosmos on Farmington Ave. in West Hartford, and which ones were likely to have sales on particular items (like the late Wild Oats, which had lots of sales + a student discount).

Over time, I managed to get my costs down pretty nicely, though my basic costs were still a bit higher than in Philly. Some of that, of course, was inflation; for example, in Philly I could periodically find cans of vegetables and beans on sale for 3/$1.00 (or occasionally even less), and in Connecticut I almost never saw a sale go lower than 2/$1.00 -- but that was a few years later.

Even so, if I "shopped to the sales", i.e. basing my meals around what was on sale (and not around my cravings), I could occasionally make out nicely -- I once picked up over a dozen 28 oz. cans of whole tomatoes for 25 cents each, and those lasted me for weeks. I was even able to shop at natural foods stores with some regularity and without breaking the bank (though I stayed away from Whole Foods), again by shopping to the sales and being relatively frugal in my tastes.

Now I live on Long Island, and I've gotten hit with "sticker shock" again! It's significantly trickier to make ends meet here than it ever was in Connecticut, both in terms of the cost of real estate and of daily necessities like food and gas. We've found deals here and there -- my girlfriend will go to the grocery store after 8:00 p.m., to get a bag of 12-15 bagels for two bucks, and that'll give us the basis for a week's worth of lunches. Or we'll buy the "irregular" fruits and vegetables and plan dinner around them, things like that.

But cheap options are quite a bit scarcer here, especially if you like to shop at natural foods stores -- for the most part, they just don't have the kinds of sales I used to find in CT. In addition, we live out in the boonies and have a commute that's longer than we'd like (30 minutes), because doing so enables us to save about $200-300 on rent. In West Hartford, we paid about the same amount, and lived within a couple miles of our respective workplaces.

My point is that while Connecticut is pricey, you can find ways of cutting some of your costs if you're willing to look around and be flexible. That's not as true in other places, and it's certainly less true of Long Island. I couldn't afford to live alone here, whereas in Connecticut, I could've (and did) made it work. CT ain't cheap, but there are always options.

[MomOfToo]

I am originally from Westchester County NY and to me property taxes are wayyyyycheaper. As far as home prices-that all depends on where you are buying. We moved here so we could buy a house, but as far as food, insurance and stuff-its the same.

[JViello]

Originally Posted by goldenband

like Cosmos on Farmington Ave. in West Hartford...

LOL OMG, you just brought me back about a decade hardcore. My older brother used to live above Cosmo's and God bless the poor people that used to hear us explore on CD and then play the finer points of Hendrix and Frampton for hours on end with the amp turned up to "11" (Someone will get that...).

It was a quirkly little aparment above a quirky little market but thems were some good times. Man I miss those days sometimes.

Oh and Cosmos has some great stuff.

Originally Posted by MomOfToo

I am originally from Westchester County NY and to me property taxes are wayyyyycheaper. As far as home prices-that all depends on where you are buying. We moved here so we could buy a house, but as far as food, insurance and stuff-its the same.

Where did you move too? We are having to move OUT of CT due to 25% of our mortgage being taxes. I would like to raise my family without having to deal with the insanity of earning household income of 130K just to pay the bills.

Granted I do know a lot of people move from Westchester to Greenwich because the mill in Greenwich is only like 7 or something rediculous like that.

We have some of the highest property taxes in the nation here in CT. I just wanted to point that out in case someone from another part of the country doesn't get the wrong idea.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by JViello

Where did you move too? We are having to move OUT of CT due to 25% of our mortgage being taxes. I would like to raise my family without having to deal with the insanity of earning household income of 130K just to pay the bills.

Granted I do know a lot of people move from Westchester to Greenwich because the mill in Greenwich is only like 7 or something rediculous like that.

We have some of the highest property taxes in the nation here in CT. I just wanted to point that out in case someone from another part of the country doesn't get the wrong idea.

JViello - If you think our taxes in Connecticut are high, you should see what people are paying in Westchester, Long Island and New Jersey. Connecticut is a bargain in comparison. This is why a lot of New Yorkers move here and it is not because Greenwich has such a low mill rate either. thye still pay a pretty penny on those $1 million starter homes. That is why I always laugh when I hear or see things on how high taxes are here. I may be paying $8k and a couple of hundred for my cars here but my friends are paying double that in NJ and my wife's family a few thousand more than that in LI. Jay

[DandJ]

Originally Posted by JViello

with the amp turned up to "11" (Someone will get that...).

This Is Spinal Tap!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[JViello]

Originally Posted by JayCT

JViello - If you think our taxes in Connecticut are high, you should see what people are paying in Westchester, Long Island and New Jersey. Connecticut is a bargain in comparison. This is why a lot of New Yorkers move here and it is not because Greenwich has such a low mill rate either. thye still pay a pretty penny on those $1 million starter homes. That is why I always laugh when I hear or see things on how high taxes are here. I may be paying $8k and a couple of hundred for my cars here but my friends are paying double that in NJ and my wife's family a few thousand more than that in LI. Jay

Jay I do realize NY and NJ have high taxes also. But you can't make excuses for our high taxes no matter how hard you try.

Our taxes have not gone down...they have only gone up, and up and up.

I can't sit here and say "oh well what are you going to do - at least it's not like NY or NJ". We still have some of the highest property taxes relative to property values in the nation.

We have high taxes. Saying NY and NJ are worse doesn't take that fact away. About those families are moving away from NJ and NY because it's less here...What do you think folks like myself in CT are saying? What do you think will happen when we match NY and NJ? We are heading that direction.

We can't take the high tax rate any longer. Perhaps you are okay with 25% of your mortgage being taxes, but by national standards it's sick and I for one am not okay with it.

We've lost more middle class familes in the last 20 years in CT than we can stand to take and property taxes are a large part of it.

As a side note we are not exactly business friendly here either - expect to continue to see more companies pack up and leave and/or continue to expand in more "tax friendly" states as the trend has been for decades now.

Originally Posted by DandJ

This Is Spinal Tap!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Edit:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akaD9v460yI

[Yankeerose00]

Jviello, What you are saying is exactly what scares me. I grew up in NJ and the few family and friends we have left there have good jobs, work hard, and yet still seem to be struggling. My husband and I want to move to CT so bad, but I'm very nervous about the taxes. What happens if we are in a house, and taxes keep going up? It's not like anyone can just turn around and sell right away these days.

I love the northeast, but I can't stand how corrupt the states are. There are plenty of other states that manage to have lower taxes yet still are able to provide, police, good schools, sidewalks, road care, etc. It is simply unnecessary for the state to need so much money. Why should the people be so conservative and careful with their own money just so the government can waste more? I feel like if we move to CT, we are going to have to buckle down and trim our budget and do without some things like going to the movies or out to dinner, just so we can turn around and hand over that money to the government.
It's such a shame because I'm one of the few people trying desperately to get back north. I'm sure there are more people like me. Maybe offer incoming residents a tax break for the first 5 years? LOL, one can dream.

[Rich Lee]

Originally Posted by JViello

We've lost more middle class families in the last 20 years in CT than we can stand to take and property taxes are a large part of it.

This is true in many of states, not just Connecticut. Being a fan of the auto industry, it was exciting to see "competition" at work. One of the best examples was the Jugo @ $3,995 vs. the Hyundai @ $4,995 - just a thousand dollars separating two entry-level cars from different parts of the globe - that couldn't have been more different. One survived; the other...

In the years to follow, many automotive and other blue-collar manufacturing jobs disappeared as a result of the free markets.

Don't get me wrong. In theory, every consumer benefited.

Originally Posted by JViello

As a side note we are not exactly business friendly here either - expect to continue to see more companies pack up and leave and/or continue to expand in more "tax friendly" states as the trend has been for decades now.

This is true, too, but taxes are just a part of it. Any employers considering Connecticut know that there's another expensive component: labor costs. Heck, there's a premium doing business in Fairfield County versus Hartford/New Haven/Middlesex Counties.

I do know one thing: there is a tremendous amount of growth in the retail sector - Home Depots, Lowe's, Kohl's, chain pharmacies, chain coffee stores, etc., in Connecticut. The problem is the wage they provide isn't one on which anyone could possibly live.