[BigHouse9]

Originally Posted by dandevder

People down here fake. When I bought my first house in Southington I did not know my neighbors at all. After 5 years there, I still could not tell you their names. Not from lack of trying on my part. When we were moving in down south, People came over all day and "lent a hand" grabbing boxes, bringing muffins and cookies, wishing us well. I know every neighbor I have here and am proud to call them my friends. In CT we were judged by the kind of car we drove, name brand on our clothes, and size of our house. If you are not used to someone smiling at you just to be friendly then it is time to take an inventory of your life. I love driving down the road and just having people wave to me to be nice and I do the same to them.

We have had the exact opposite from CT to NC. Our neighbors were all very friendly where we lived in Glastonbury. Here, it is like pulling teeth for most of them. We have made friends with a few people and that is great, I am very thankful for those people. I do enjoy the politeness and customer service of people here more. But overall, I will take the relationships with some depth over the ones that are superficial. Everyone has their own experiences.

[Curious in CT]

I recently moved out of CT myself with my family but out west to Colorado. I can agree with dandevder about knowing your neighbors in CT. We lived in a neighborhood in Bristol for 4 years. I was always out with my kids and dog and I swear I only knew 2 neighbors. I just moved into a rental house here in CO and neighbors were ringing my doorbell offering groceries because we just moved in and didn't have time to shop. I had another woman tell me to join her and her kids to a playscape with the kids (I don't even know these people!!!) I had another woman drive up to my house to introduce herself and give me her number in case I needed anything....... I never experienced this sort of thing in CT...I've lived there my whole life. I admit I'm one of those more reserved people from CT....I don't put myself out there because that's just how we are in CT for the most part. We mind our own business and it's true. It's the mind-set here. I'm just enjoying all the friendliness out here for once. It's like a breath of fresh air (literally). And every time I come to visit the CT forum......it seems like on every post someone is bickering... and it's always about north vs. south....what is this...the civil war of the 21st century.....WHO CARES where people want to live!!! We can't all live in CT!!!

[dandevder]

Skytrekker,

I will apologize up front if you already answered this question...Have you ever lived in Charlotte? If so, when?

I do not see a lot of what you are talking about here. I know you are correct in stating that NC was ranked 26th, but I personally do not agree with it. This area is beatiful, with lots of open land just outside of Charlotte.

As for affording houses here, I just don't see what you are talking about. I was able to sell my house in CT and almost buy my house down here with no mortgage. My house now is double the size and the lot is almost triple in size. My mortgage is only less than half of what I was paying. People everywhere will by beyond their means. That is a given, but I do not see this big difference you are talking about. If you go further away from the cities, out into the more rural areas, then yes it is like you are talking about, but not near Charlotte. It is hard to Judge the quality of life for a big state like NC when you are judging so many other underdeveloped areas in with it. You will find some areas overpriced here, but you will also find the same in any other state. I would never choose to live in Fairfield county because of the price, nor would I consider the Ballentyne area of Charlotte.

[skytrekker]

NC is in the bible belt

religion plays a huge role in most of the state. NC has the worse gay rights laws- worse womens rights laws, worse laws for kids rights and Seniors-

It has poor environmental laws. And for quality of life it ranks in the middle.

Crime in NC is higher then CT

http://www.morganquitno.com/dang00.htm

Connecticut ranks 34 safest out of 50 states- with 50 being the highest(for lowest amount of crime) and 0 being the lowest- NC ranks 15- way higher for crime.

C'mon folk do your homework here!

[westguy22]

Originally Posted by BigHouse9

westguy -

There are many reasons why I say that NC is not cheaper than CT (Hartford area where we came from). I live here and from my experience, here is what I have found.

JViello is right about the houses. What is listed for sf for a house is misleading. We have no storage space in our house and had to rent a unit for $75 per month. Not to mention the size of your lot, MUCH smaller down here. Cookie cutter developments are no improvement in lifestyle, you sacrifice privacy and quality. I did a search on a new home in Ellington on 1.2 acres and it came in at $459K. Same size home here in the Raleigh area $559K.

Groceries are more expensive down here. Wine and liquor is more expensive. My car insurance went up (Raleigh area). HOA fees ($40 month). Utilities are more expensive. Yes, gas is cheaper, but both my wife and I have to drive a lot more so we end up spending more in gas every month. I make less money than in CT and on average the salaries are 7% less. That washes my property taxes right there.

Suprising? Yes it is as we both thought it was going to be so much cheaper here too. The thing is, taxes are going up too due to the abundant issues with the school systems here. So laugh if you would like but it is what it is.

You're not comparing "apples to apples" here. Ellington is one of the cheaper towns in Connecticut to live in. Raleigh is one of the most expensive communities to live in in NC (excluding the touristy OBX). If you want to compare the most expensive to the most expensive, compare Raleigh to Stamford, and whatever the cheapest area is to Enfield, Ellington or Thompson, CT. You'll find a huge difference.

Taxes are much higher here as a whole. Gas is more expensive here, and you can't say "it's more expensive here because we drive a lot more, therefore use more gas." That's inaccurate. What do you pay for milk? I'd guess that, being in the most expensive area in NC, it would still be cheaper than what folks pay at Cumberland Farms in Darien.

Look at it whatever way you'd like, but try to keep the accuracy here.

[westguy22]

Originally Posted by skytrekker

NC is in the bible belt

religion plays a huge role in most of the state. NC has the worse gay rights laws- worse womens rights laws, worse laws for kids rights and Seniors-

It has poor environmental laws. And for quality of life it ranks in the middle.

Crime in NC is higher then CT

http://www.morganquitno.com/dang00.htm

Connecticut ranks 34 safest out of 50 states- with 50 being the highest(for lowest amount of crime) and 0 being the lowest- NC ranks 15- way higher for crime.

C'mon folk do your homework here!

I read what you said about people leaving CA in droves. Well, this simply isn't true. People are leaving LA and SD in droves. There's a whole part of CA you're forgetting about. Look at extreme northern CA, or eastern CA, or between SF and LA. Some of the cheapest housing in the west. Your "million dollar search" of homes in the area shows that you took listings from the most expensive areas and used them to represent the state as a whole. Again, it's highly inaccurate. That's like saying "Connecticut is more expensive than MA, because the average home in Greenwich is $1.4m, in Darien $1.6m and New Canaan $1.7m.

Do your homework, please, before you give information that isn't correct.

[skytrekker]

Westguy- again

we are comparing metro areas- Ellington CT is part of greater Hartford- right?

It is geographically a part of the Hartford metro area -no? Raleigh is a metro area no?

Lets compare metro areas- not tiny towns like Ellington -pop 12,000 to a city like Raleigh.

Lets be objective - and understand the basic fundamentals of geography.

West guy show me a home in Anaheim California - a basic home in a decent neighborhood for under 500K -I am waiting.

[katalin]

I agree with skytrekker! you've got to think logically not only look at the surface of things. people think that NC is cheap but what about salaries can keep up with the cost of living???!!!cheers!

[JViello]

Originally Posted by BigHouse9

We have had the exact opposite from CT to NC. Our neighbors were all very friendly where we lived in Glastonbury. Here, it is like pulling teeth for most of them. We have made friends with a few people and that is great, I am very thankful for those people. I do enjoy the politeness and customer service of people here more. But overall, I will take the relationships with some depth over the ones that are superficial. Everyone has their own experiences.

That's my experience as well. We always in my neighborhood meet up on Summer evenings and talk etc. A retired FBI guy next to me is "Uncle Bob" to my other neighbors kids and you see them running over there all the time to show off the latest "thing" to him. We have neighborhood BBq's and talk often. If I don't plow everyones driveways, the guy across the street does...the same heating a plumbing guy who put in my new boiler for free and gave me parts for cost. ($2300 for a German made Buderus furnace installed!)

A lot of it has to do with the typical Yankee mindset. If you don't make an effort to say hello, people will leave you alone. It's considered polite really. People in Germany are the same way.

Potato Patato I guess.

[skytrekker]

Single Family Property, Area: Anaheim East of Harbor, County: Orange, Approximately 0.11 acre(s), Lot is 4960 sq. ft., Year Built: 1925 430K
http://realtor.com/Prop/107583262 (broken link)

http://realtor.com/Prop/1075782062 (broken link) 473K
single Family Property, Area: Anaheim West of Harbor, County: Orange, Approximately 0.07 acre(s), Lot is 3113 sq. ft., Year Built: 1973

http://www.realtor.com/Prop/1067521876 (broken link)
GREAT LOCATION, OPEN FLOOR PLAN, SCREEN PORCH WITH SEASONAL VIEW OVERLOOKING MILL POND . NEW HARDWOOD FLOORS, GRANITE COUNTERS, NEW FURNACE AND WATER HEATER. HOME IS IN WONDERFUL SHAPE. THIS HOME OFFERS THREE BEDRMS WITH ONE BEING ON THE FIRST FLOOR.

Single Family Property, County: HARTFORD, Approximately 0.32 acre(s), Year Built: 1986, Two story, Basement, Fireplace(s), Dining room, Hardwood floors 284K