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Old 03-22-2008, 08:55 PM
 
2,280 posts, read 4,483,874 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by smarty View Post
Exactly... why do other cities and state thrive when their housing cost is even higher than MA? Why do people there stay?

I think it is the attraction or promise of a dangling carrot/gold... that you can get that piece of gold... in the future.
I live in Queens, NY, in an area that is more like, say, West Roxbury, with, and a comparable commute to midtown Manhattan by train (25 minutes).

I have talked with lots of younger people here, and one is a pharmacist with a Ph.D. She cannot afford to buy a house here. We have people moving here who have only very good jobs, or equity from a previous house. You can't get anything here for less than $550K and up.

We have scads and scads of immigrants. Of the 16 houses (single family) on both side of my street, we have 4 immigrant families from Greece, two from China, and one from South America. They own businesses or are professionals. But they are all over 35, usually over 45 if they can buy here.

House values: They are not falling like in Massachusetts and seem to have leveled out in terms of price due to the huge influx of Chinese, Koreans, and other immigrants to this area.
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Old 03-22-2008, 09:02 PM
 
2,280 posts, read 4,483,874 times
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<<ou are correct the sky it not falling. I more like a balloon letting the air slowly. Every time I home and I'm around town talking to people I not hearing "happy talk". Basically the word on the street it North/South Carolina and Northern Virginia are the hotspot for both retirees and young professionals.>>

Here in a Queens, NYC, my long time home owner neighbor sold her 4 bedroom, just so-so house (40x100 foot lot) for $700K with lots of work needed on it (she was about 70 years old and had done nothing) and moved to North Carolina and I hear she has a 3 bedroom ranch she loves for $250K. But what are her summers like? Must be awfully hot!

My lady veterinarian, early 30's, up and moved to Maryland for cheaper everything.
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Old 03-22-2008, 09:04 PM
 
2,280 posts, read 4,483,874 times
Reputation: 1852
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChunkyMonkey View Post
More housing. One of the main reasons housing costs are so high is that many New England towns prefer to keep the "New England" atmosphere and are opposed to building high density housing and apartments for fear of overdevelopment and increased traffic. The state has tried to combat this attitude with an "anti-snob" housing rule that allows developers to bypass town regulations if enough of the units are affordable. However, it is only making a small dent in the housing supply.
I can't believe that I, a life long left leaning voter, am saying this, but believe me, it means a lot to keep that New England character. Speaking as someone in hideous New York (Queens) and Long Island. Trust me, you don't want over development and taking up land.
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Old 03-22-2008, 10:15 PM
 
Location: Sitting on a bar stool. Guinness in hand.
4,428 posts, read 6,483,815 times
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Default it all about the euros

Quote:
Originally Posted by Martha Anne View Post
I live in Queens, NY, in an area that is more like, say, West Roxbury, with, and a comparable commute to midtown Manhattan by train (25 minutes).

I have talked with lots of younger people here, and one is a pharmacist with a Ph.D. She cannot afford to buy a house here. We have people moving here who have only very good jobs, or equity from a previous house. You can't get anything here for less than $550K and up.

We have scads and scads of immigrants. Of the 16 houses (single family) on both side of my street, we have 4 immigrant families from Greece, two from China, and one from South America. They own businesses or are professionals. But they are all over 35, usually over 45 if they can buy here.

House values: They are not falling like in Massachusetts and seem to have leveled out in terms of price due to the huge influx of Chinese, Koreans, and other immigrants to this area.
I maybe wrong but from what I'm getting from people in NYC and N. NJ. is that in general alot of people that are not uber rich or have very well paying are being push out of Manhattan and are trying to find new places to stay. For the young people with relatively good jobs they seem to gravitate toward Hoboken and some of weehawkeen NJ. Granted it still very expensive there. I hear from a couple of people that they were going to rent in queens for a while.
Honestly I don't see Manhattan falling in price for some time. If it ain't American investor keeping the price up it is the foreign investors. And with the Euro at an all time high they are buying property and other goods like they are going out of style. And because Manhattan's prices on rent and real estate are so high this will cause most of the other burrows in NYC and some towns of N. NJ to be rather high for some time to come. Well.......maybe not the Bronx
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Old 03-23-2008, 08:35 PM
 
Location: Indian Trail near S. Charlotte
210 posts, read 505,375 times
Reputation: 117
Default How different we can be!

I was born and raised in southeastern MA, went to school in Boston and recently relocated to Metro Raleigh, NC with my husband. We like it down here, but the religious right has finally gotten to us. We are relocating back to MA this summer, we miss family and that "Bostonian" attitude.

We came down here for the lower cost of living, warm weather, and change in general. We have realized, cost of living or not, home is where the heart is.[/quote]

And to show everyone how different an experience can be even when we have similar backgrounds, here is my story:
I was born and raised in Southeastern MA (15 generations from the Pilgrims and with the last 4 generations of New England bred ancestors, I was entrenched in MA), ), went to school in Brockton, College in Amherst (loved UMass), Grad in Cambridge, and both my husband and I had good jobs.

I grew up in the more liberal Protestant church of my ancestors, lived as an adult in a house that had been my family's for 85 years within 1 mile of my g-g-g-g-g-g-great (etc) grandfather's farm, now part of a golf course and housing development. The city I grew up in and the town I finally moved to a few years ago, Bridgewater, have become crowded with houses and the streets are crowded with cars. My 10 minute commute gradually lengthened to 20 minutes most days, and that was just in the last 4 years. The last 2 winters (2006 and 2007) we paid between $480 to $550 a month for heat alone! All our money was going to the schools, town was talking more over rides, and then they were talking about a casino 5 miles from my home.

I was given a great job opportunity here in May, took it, sold my beloved Cape style home in 5 days over Mother's day weekend, and moved to the NW corner of Winston-Salem, NC. Bought an incredible new "starter castle" that is extemely efficient (even though it is 2800 sq ft), on 1/2 acre, and there are ponds and a pool in our neighborhood. Our mortgage is almost nil, and we paid our heating bill happily this winter. And one great thing - we pay slightly lower taxes than we did in MA, but it covers TRASH and YARD WASTE PICKUP!

Since moving here, we have a very active social life. People are friendly, and yes, I have been invited to several churches, but never met any fervent religious "rights". I find the invitations to be friendly! Yesterday, we ate in downtown WS an outdoor cafe, exchanged pleasantries with passersby, and talked with neighbors when we got home.

The summer? Yes, it was hot, but absolutely not as humid as my summers in Brockton and Bridgewater. Most homes have CA here, but I spent almost every night out on the screened porch, enjoying what I never could "back home". Yes, I miss MA, but I have come to love my new city very much. I see many advantages, and the greatest one is the feeling of community and neighborhood I have here that we used to have in MA which has just disappeared over the last 30 years.

Last edited by Ragdoll Kitty Lover; 03-23-2008 at 09:12 PM..
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Old 04-06-2008, 03:35 PM
 
7 posts, read 24,514 times
Reputation: 12
Default MA to NJ to MA

Quote:
Originally Posted by baystater View Post
I actually glad Massachusetts is losing it's permanent population. I know that sounds strange. But as I look at it, I hoping property values go way down so people like me, People who love the state and it culture, can afford to live/return to the state.
I know a lot of people want to leave because of expense. Which makes perfect sense to me. And I would tell those people to go for it. But for me and some others I know I really doesn't matter what the cost is. We just want to be home.
Just to put a little perspective on this issue as it relates to other states. I'm currently living in Northern New Jersey. And let me tell you this state is a bit more expensive that MA. And the state and local governments are far more corrupt than MA. I met plenty of MA. ex-patriots that just want to get out of here and go home.

Really in the end MA will be OK. We will go through some tough times but we will make it. And probably in 20 years we'll be in the incline again and be gaining population.

My Heart, My Soul, My Country, My Home.............Massachusettes..
I'm in the same boat. I left MA in 2004 to take a job in Northern NJ. Now my contract is up and I have had enough of NJ. I want to go home where my friends/family are. Had enough of the corrupt gov't & ridiculous high property taxes. I don't regret moving here. I'm glad that we are able to move home and afford it now with the market being in the crapper.

The housing market here in NJ hasn't come down all that much. I think being so close to NYC makes it somewhat recession-proof. Great for us b/c we sold in 3 weeks esp in this market!
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