[mewith3]

adjustment?

I realize to a degree you get what you pay for, so there are things that Ct has is closer to than those states that you moved from. In general, how tight did you have to pull the "wallet strings"

Thanks!!

[greyson83]

Originally Posted by mewith3

adjustment?

I realize to a degree you get what you pay for, so there are things that Ct has is closer to than those states that you moved from. In general, how tight did you have to pull the "wallet strings"

Thanks!!

Well we are looking to move to CT from a small town in upstate NY. Went to CT last week to look at towns and what we can get up here for $300k (big 4 bed house on lots of land) in CT would only get a fixer upper in an undesirable town. What I noticed about CT was that it seems like there are a few bad towns mostly the cities, but then the suburban and rural towns were like a world away. When we were driving we passed through Derby which isn't that nice, but as soon as u cross over the line into Orange you can see the difference on the road, the houses, trees, lawns, and such.

Coming from up here, gas in CT was expensive, looks like car insurance rates are much higher then Buffalo, home prices are about twice what they are here (at least) and the taxes and cost of food in restaurants seemed higher.

I really like CT though. It is an established area it seems and the people are very civilized (can't say the same for up here). I didnt find people to be unfriendly like a lot of people say, just quieter and less talkative. When we asked questions about areas people nicely answered, and out of 3 random people we spoke to, 2 of them WANTED to help us.

I have read some about car tax. Such BS. And emissions. But whatever, You do what you gotta do if you want to live where the livin's good.

[mewith3]

Originally Posted by greyson83

Well we are looking to move to CT from a small town in upstate NY. Went to CT last week to look at towns and what we can get up here for $300k (big 4 bed house on lots of land) in CT would only get a fixer upper in an undesirable town. What I noticed about CT was that it seems like there are a few bad towns mostly the cities, but then the suburban and rural towns were like a world away. When we were driving we passed through Derby which isn't that nice, but as soon as u cross over the line into Orange you can see the difference on the road, the houses, trees, lawns, and such.

Coming from up here, gas in CT was expensive, looks like car insurance rates are much higher then Buffalo, home prices are about twice what they are here (at least) and the taxes and cost of food in restaurants seemed higher.

I really like CT though. It is an established area it seems and the people are very civilized (can't say the same for up here). I didnt find people to be unfriendly like a lot of people say, just quieter and less talkative. When we asked questions about areas people nicely answered, and out of 3 random people we spoke to, 2 of them WANTED to help us.

I have read some about car tax. Such BS. And emissions. But whatever, You do what you gotta do if you want to live where the livin's good.

I grew up not far from Buffalo, NY (parents still live there)
I know housing is definitely more, but I wondered about overall, how long the adjustment might have been for most.
I know our rate of savings will drop considerably, but I am thinking there are more job opportunities, and that the value of your house would hold up better than where we are in Michigan.

true about living where the living is good, and Michigan isn't it.

[Rich Lee]

Originally Posted by greyson83

I have read some about car tax. Such BS. And emissions. But whatever, You do what you gotta do if you want to live where the livin's good.

The lower counties in New York (Putnam southward, I believe) are also subject to emissions testing.

[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

Originally Posted by greyson83

What I noticed about CT was that it seems like there are a few bad towns mostly the cities, but then the suburban and rural towns were like a world away. When we were driving we passed through Derby which isn't that nice, but as soon as u cross over the line into Orange you can see the difference on the road, the houses, trees, lawns, and such.

Derby is the smallest city in the state. It was an industrial city years ago that is now making the transition to a bedroom community. IMO, city politics are holding the city back a bit. The city displaced a bunch of merchants downtown to develop a revitalization project, which i believe is currently stalled due to city hall rancor. I think eventually the project will come to fruition and Derby will be on the upswing in the future.

The area of Derby that falls within the vicinity of the eastern end of Rt.34 near the Orange line is generally considered to be a pleasant area.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by Stratford, Ct. Resident

The area of Derby that falls within the vicinity of the eastern end of Rt.34 near the Orange line is generally considered to be a pleasant area.

Actually a very nice area. We looked at a house up the road from Grassy Hill Lodge on the Orange line and that whole hill going up to Direnzo Hghts seems safe, close to everything, affordable and friendly. Generally as long as you're outside of downtown, and away from the immediate area around Rt 34 (near St Michaels church), you're doing okay.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by Rich Lee

The lower counties in New York (Putnam southward, I believe) are also subject to emissions testing.

I always thought it was the whole state of NY...

[Rich Lee]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

I always thought it was the whole state of NY...

You are correct. It's been modified since I moved. Areas outside of the New York metropolitan area are subject to a low-enhanced testing procedure.

THE LOW-ENHANCED EMISSIONS INSPECTION FOR THE UPSTATE AREA

A 1995 or older model year vehicle, or a vehicle that weighs 8,501 lbs. or more is required to have a low-enhanced emissions inspection if the vehicle:

Is registered in the Upstate Area, and
Is not exempt from emissions inspection.
The Upstate Area includes the 53 counties located north of the New York City Metropolitan Area (NYCMA). The NYCMA includes New York City, Nassau County, Suffolk County, Rockland County, and Westchester County. The Upstate Area includes all other counties in NYS.

To conduct a low-enhanced emissions inspection, the inspection station must be licensed by the NYSDMV to conduct NYVIP inspections.

[atlmburns]

We moved from CA to CT, and we have found our quality of living is better, cost of living is better in some areas and not so much in others (car tax), I would say we have more disposable income here than we did in CA.

[seymourct]

Derby has a lot of very lovely sections, especially up on the hill! As it is one of the smaller towns (from a square mile land area perspective) they have done quite a bit in the last 5 years and more is coming.

However, I will admit that there seems to be a mindset that folks from Derby and the town as a whole get a bad rap, not fair at all, but hard to stop negative rumors.

The news I heard about the downtown revitalization is that the developer and the town had a falling out and are headed to mediation. They want to do great things, but when the developer was finally allowed access to the back of the property (once some of the buildings were torn down) he apparantly had to revise his plans to accomodate the sheer drop off of the hillside down to the water's edge. Plus a few business owners have yet to be re-located out of the redevelopment area.