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Curious...what was it about VA weather that you hated, the winter?
Oh yeah the long winters. In the early spring VA would get these dragged out systems that tend to stall right over the mid-atlantic. As a result VA would get days of low grey drizzle, YUCK!
Have You Ever Left a State/Area Because You Just Didn't Like Living There?
That is exactly the reason I left Massachusetts. I just couldn't bear to live there any longer and I am happy I left when I did. I left ASAP and if I stayed any longer, it would only get harder to leave.
Last edited by city_data91; 09-20-2009 at 09:03 AM..
Have You Ever Left a State/Area Because You Just Didn't Like Living There?
That is exactly the reason I left Massachusetts. I just couldn't bear to live there any longer and I am happy I left when I did. I left ASAP and if I stayed any longer, it would only get harder to leave.
That's ironic because I would give anything to move to MA or anywhere in NE. Different strokes ya know, lol. I do think you were very smart to get out as soon as you realized it wasn't for you. I'm in my early 30s & still stuck living in a state I can't stand. Situations occur like a sick family member, unexpected job opportunity, ect. that suddenly make it real difficult if not impossible to leave no matter how much you may want. To me, the best way to leave a state or area if you've grown up there is to do well in school and then pick a college in the state you want to live in. It may be expensive at first with out of state tuition, but it pays off because now you are meeting ppl, networking, and it will be much easier to get that job. I had the opportunity to leave for school and stayed due to family issues and have regreted it since. Oh well, it's never too late to make a fresh start but I do feel it is harder as you get older.
I did examine each and every tax rate in New Hampshire. They are all high.
They are going to get it from you, one way or another, but the insidious thing about New Hampshire is that they make it look like there are lower taxes when they have the second highest property taxes in the nation.
And what is with the state and another separate local education tax on top of the property taxes? Some of these towns have a rate of 25 percent! And the lowest ones seem to be about 8 percent (still high!) with an average of about 15 percent.
And if you buy a property with more land you are still going to pay more taxes. Not to mention the high cost of housing and property up there. Unbelieveably high! So you are paying high taxes on top of high property values!
And if you pay rent, those costs will be passed on to you.
And glad you brought up the heating bill. My mom up in Mass. pays about $900 a month, during the cold months, while I pay about $200. Both electric heat. Both about the same square footage.
Of course it is colder up there, but our rates are cheaper, too.
I don't know. You can have it. Like I said, I lived in New England for 34 years. It's nice to visit but I really, really couldn't live there and wouldn't want to anyway.
I have a friend that is from New Hampshire. She moved to Florida right out of high school and lived there for many years. She then bought a piece of land in Tennessee. However, she went back to visit her family in New Hampshire and decided she missed it so she moved back. She hasn't even lived there a year and she is planning on getting out. She can't believe what a money pit New England has become. She's going to build on that land in Tennessee.
This scares me. My biggest fear is that I won't be able to afford living where I really want, it will be too expensive.
lilred: Anything is going to be better than south Florida. I lived in swFlorida for ten years and I was so happy to watch it out of my rear-view mirror.
I have lived and visited a number of places in my life due to employment, and relatives that live in Europe. I have enjoyed just about all of them. Some of the enjoyment because I was able to enjoy these places at that point in my life. I was younger and more care free I suppose then.
Now I am semi retired and tried retiring in Oregon. I am from Massachusetts originally. I found Oregon a beautiful area in its georgraphy, but not in its society or their outlook on life.
I will leave the state in 2010 and I won't look back. I actually can say out of every place I ever visited. I seem to completely dislike this region beyond its natural beauty. Oregon especially Portland went from beautiful, to somewhat annoying, to dislike and then finally I was turned off. When your turned off thats the end. At that final point one has to make the arrangements to leave. There is no other solution.
I did examine each and every tax rate in New Hampshire. They are all high.
They are going to get it from you, one way or another, but the insidious thing about New Hampshire is that they make it look like there are lower taxes when they have the second highest property taxes in the nation.
And what is with the state and another separate local education tax on top of the property taxes? Some of these towns have a rate of 25 percent! And the lowest ones seem to be about 8 percent (still high!) with an average of about 15 percent.
And if you buy a property with more land you are still going to pay more taxes. Not to mention the high cost of housing and property up there. Unbelieveably high! So you are paying high taxes on top of high property values!
And if you pay rent, those costs will be passed on to you.
And glad you brought up the heating bill. My mom up in Mass. pays about $900 a month, during the cold months, while I pay about $200. Both electric heat. Both about the same square footage.
Of course it is colder up there, but our rates are cheaper, too.
I don't know. You can have it. Like I said, I lived in New England for 34 years. It's nice to visit but I really, really couldn't live there and wouldn't want to anyway.
I have a friend that is from New Hampshire. She moved to Florida right out of high school and lived there for many years. She then bought a piece of land in Tennessee. However, she went back to visit her family in New Hampshire and decided she missed it so she moved back. She hasn't even lived there a year and she is planning on getting out. She can't believe what a money pit New England has become. She's going to build on that land in Tennessee.
What New England state did you live in?
NH basically has a low tax burden (one of the lowest in the country), but an overall HIGH cost of living. I can't argue with you there.The median household income is quite a bit higher than the US average and in the top ten nationally. .I think NH is probably one of the most socially engineered states in the entire country, and I don't really think that is a good thing in the long-term. Many of our residents that have a middle-class income and lower have moved to lower COL states. I don't really blame them.
In terms of properties that have large acerage, they get around it by claiming "current use status," which drastically reduces the property taxes paid on woodlots or horse farms.
In terms of heating costs, my overall montly bill is $225 because I have multiple alternative heat sources that include: passive solar, pellets, gas stove, wood stove, and electric. I don't use much propane.
Electric rates are cheap in Tennessee for good reason. The TVA got huge amounts of government money, so it was therefore subsidized. The southeast also has a plethora of dirty coal power plants as well. Summer air quality DOES NOT rank very high. I have visited TN many times during the summer months and I can attest to that.
I do have a question for you. How does TN keep property taxes as low as they are? Do they spend less on education or do they have much less government beureucracy? If it is the later than that is definitely a good thing.
You might not know this, but NH has huge tracts of conservation land that can not be developed. In some towns this creates a scarcity of properties that could be up for sale at any given time which in turn increases real estate prices. I think a fine balance has to be achieved between conservation and sustainable development to increase the tax base.
GS
Last edited by GraniteStater; 09-20-2009 at 07:51 PM..
That's ironic because I would give anything to move to MA or anywhere in NE. Different strokes ya know, lol.
It seems like so many people are living in the wrong area for them. Wouldn't life be so much easier if we were all born somewhere we want to live?
Quote:
Originally Posted by lilred0005
To me, the best way to leave a state or area if you've grown up there is to do well in school and then pick a college in the state you want to live in. It may be expensive at first with out of state tuition, but it pays off because now you are meeting ppl, networking, and it will be much easier to get that job.
This is definitely the best way. That is exactly what I did. The out of state tuition isn't an issue because of a scholarship that allows me to get in state tuition (I just have to keep a 3.25 GPA). People said I could just go to college in Massachusetts and then get a job somewhere else after college. But I knew it would be a lot easier to get a job somewhere I like if I am already there during college. I won't necessarily limit myself to staying here after college, but I would be happy to stay here.
Orlando, FL, too many reasons that have been discussed before. Making plans to move to Dallas because of family and a LIVE city. There's something progressive happening in Dallas always. To me its the ideal place to live, good amount of jobs, sports, family, a real downtown, and if you want, a short drive to some more country areas. Also I seem to clique with the more of the professional people over there even if I make less money. Orlando to me is boring, slow, too spread out, etc and it fells like a ghost town. I like cities with a large population. I could live really well here in the Orlando area but for me its too slow and time for a change and to live in a city not run by Mickey and friends LOL!
And, I'm originally from TX.
Last edited by **NoodLes**; 09-20-2009 at 03:04 PM..
NH basically has a low tax burden (one of the lowest in the country), but an overall HIGH cost of living. I can't argue with you there.The median household income is quite a bit higher than the US and in the top ten nationally. .I think NH is probably one of the most socially engineered states in the entire country, and I don't really think that is a good thing in the long-term. Many of our residents that have a middle-class income and lower have moved to lower COL states. I don't really blame them.
Yes. It is a shame. We bought a 1955 3 bedroom/2 bath/ 2 fireplaces/family room/attached workshop on 1/2 acre, five houses down from top elementary school for $119,900.
In terms of properties that have large acerage, they get around it by claiming "current use status," which drastically reduces the property taxes paid on woodlots or horse farms.
In terms of heating costs, my overall montly bill is $225 because I have multiple alternative heat sources that include: passive solar, pellets, gas stove, wood stove, and electric. I don't use much propane.
Excellent!
Electric rates are cheap in Tennessee for good reason. The TVA got huge amounts of government money, so it was therefore subsidized. The southeast also has a plethora of dirty coal power plants as well. Summer air quality DOES NOT rank very high. I have visited TN many times during the summer months and I can attest to that.
I am well aware of this. The TVA has its headquarters in Knoxville. We love to hate them. Love that electric bill, though.
The biggest problem is that Knoxville is in a valley. It's not just the TVA. It's the cars and polluters from other states. It's not LA, and if it rains it becomes pleasant, but often, we have a haze in the summer. We need a big fan to blow it out!
I do have a question for you. How does TN keep property taxes as low as they are? Do they spend less on education or do they have much less government beureucracy? If it is the later than that is definitely a good thing.
We have a lower expenditure per pupil with good results. Our bureaucracy is minimum. Tennessee has the feel of a Libertarian state. I'm a liberal, but love it. I pay city taxes on top of county taxes, but get trash, refuse and bulk pickup. They'll even bring an industrial bin to the house and later pick it up. I also have reduced home insurance because of the city tax so I come out ahead.
You might not know this, but NH has huge tracts of conservation land that can not be developed. In some towns this creates a scarcity of properties that could be up for sale at any given time which in turn increases real estate prices. I think a fine balance has to be achieved between conservation and sustainable development to increase the tax base.
GS
I did know that. Mass. had huge roadblocks for any kind of change or development, too. I know this because I was a town newspaper reporter for many years.
Yet, when I lived in Florida, the sky was the limit. If they found some protective species on the property, money would exchange hands and it would get approved, by golly.
Somewhere in-between is very, very nice.
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