Living in western mass vs. connecticut (Springfield, Southwick: sales, real estate, renters)

[Rozzo]

We are moving to the area at the end of this year. My husband will be working at Springfield AFB in Massachusetts, and I will be working in Hartford Connecticut. Are there any advantages or disadvantages of living in Connecticut vs. living in Massachusetts. We don't know these areas at all. We don't like big-city life. We have a 2 year old child.
Thanks!

[teachertype]

Massachusetts is part of New England. Connecticut is a suburb of New York City.

[Leilani Vasquez]

Originally Posted by Rozzo

We are moving to the area at the end of this year. My husband will be working at Springfield AFB in Massachusetts, and I will be working in Hartford Connecticut. Are there any advantages or disadvantages of living in Connecticut vs. living in Massachusetts. We don't know these areas at all. We don't like big-city life. We have a 2 year old child.
Thanks!

You'll find parts of Western Ma to have a lower cost of living than that of CT. You'll have to decide how much you're willing to spend on housing, and whether or not you'll be renting or buying. School systems should be a main priority for you since you have a child. I live in Mass, and work in CT, so I have to pay taxes in both states. For me, it ended up being about the same. CT has some very nice suburban areas between Hartford and Springfield with taxes varying in each town.

PM me if you want more detailed information.

[western mass and love it]

Fairfield county is a NYC suburb,not the whole state.

[Mrtwigg]

You'll have more personal freedom living in Conn. The hill towns of Ma. are better than life inside the hub but there are many obscure laws in some towns which are open to enforcement by interpretation on the spot such as driving with your fog lights on when its not raining, excessive DUI checkpoints and speed enforcement as revenue generation and then there's the real estate taxes. "View" taxes are common if you can see anything other than your neighbors house.

Deval Patrick is set to raise the income and sales taxes so he can continus to give free health insurance, free cell phones and start giving free cars with insurance, paid excise tax and gas cards to welfare (Oops, "Transitional Assistance") recipiants.

The middle class is leaving Massachusetts in an exodus not seen since the days of the Great Flood.

Think I'm kidding ? Google it.

[Leilani Vasquez]

This might help:

CONNECTICUT
Sales Taxes
State Sales Tax: 6% (food, prescription & non-prescription drugs exempt).
Gasoline Tax: 47.2 cents/gallon
Diesel Fuel Tax: 43.4 cents/gallon[/SIZE]]Cigarette Tax: $2.00/pack of 20.
Personal Income Taxes
Tax Rate Range: Low - 3.0%; High - 5.0%
income Brackets: * Lowest - First $10,000; Highest - Over $10,000 (Click here to estimate your tax)
Number of Brackets:
Personal Exemptions: ** (2008) Single - $13,000; Married - $26,000; Dependents - $0 (Click for details)[
Standard Deduction: None
Medical/Dental Deduction: None[
Federal Income Tax Deduction: None

Property Taxes
Taxes and real and personal property are assessed and collected by individual towns or other taxing districts. All assessments are at 70% of fair market value. An annual property tax credit or rent rebate is available to residents, age 65 or older, or to a surviving spouse of a previously approved applicant who is age 50 or older. Regardless of age, totally disabled persons are also eligible. Income parameters apply
Municipalities may provide additional tax relief for seniors. Call 800-286-2214 or 860-297-5962 for details.


MASSACHUSETTS
Sales Taxes
State Sales Tax: 5% (food; prescription drugs; fuel costs; gas, oil, electricity; clothing costing up to $175, are exempt). For a complete list, click here.
Gasoline Tax: 23.5 cents/gallon
Diesel Fuel Tax: 23.5 cents/gallon
Cigarette Tax: $2.51/pack of 20
Personal Income Tax[
Tax Rate Range
Flat rate of 5.3% of federal adjusted gross income
Personal Exemptions: Single - $4,400; Married - $8,800;
Dependents - $1,000
Standard Deduction: None
Medical/Dental Deduction: Federal amount
Federal Income Tax DeductionNone
Retirement Income Taxes: Social Security, civil service, state/local government pensions are exempt. Pension income from other state or local governments that do not tax pension income from Massachusetts public employees is exempt from Massachusetts taxable income.
Retired Military Pay: Not taxed.

Property Taxes
Massachusetts does not provide for a general homestead exemption but does have a Homestead Act. The Homestead Act permits a homeowner who occupies a house as his/her principal residence to shield up to $500,000 in equity in that house from creditors. By simply filing a Declaration of Homestead with the appropriate Registry of Deeds, a homeowner may be able to protect his/her residence from the claim of a future creditor. The Homestead Act permits only one spouse to file for the equity protection if each has an ownership interest in the home. The protection offered to the disabled and the elderly is even more comprehensive because it allows a husband and wife who own their own home to each file for the $500,000 equity protection. Click for details.

Massachusetts also has a circuit breaker program that offers a real estate tax credit for persons age 65 and older. Certain taxpayers may be eligible to claim a refundable credit on their state income taxes for the real estate taxes paid during the tax year on the residential property they own or rent in Massachusetts that is used as their principal residence. If the credit due the taxpayer exceeds the amount of the total income tax payable for the year by the taxpayer, the excess amount of the credit will be refunded to the taxpayer without interest. For tax year 2008, the maximum credit allowed for both renters and homeowners is $930. To be eligible for the credit for the 2008 tax year; the taxpayer or spouse, if married filing jointly, must be 65 years of age or older at the close of the 2008 tax year; the taxpayer must own or rent residential property in Massachusetts and occupy the property as his or her principal residence; the taxpayer's "total income" cannot exceed $49,000 for a single filer who is not the head of a household, $62,000 for a head of house hold, or $74,000 for taxpayers filing jointly; and for homeowners, the assessed valuation as of January 1, 2008, before residential exemptions but after abatements, of the homeowner's personal residence cannot exceed $793,000. Click for details

[Rozzo]

Thanks for all who responded to my question! This is all great information - we are leaning towards living in Connecticut, but haven't quite made up our minds. We also want to buy a house within 6 months of moving to the area. Housing prices, taxes and schools are our main focus right now.

[Rozzo]

Thanks for your response - could you give me some names of these nice suburban areas between Hartford and Springfield so we can do some more research on different towns?

[Leilani Vasquez]

East Granby is lovely. The taxes are low, and the schools are good. There are a lot of recreational things to do in East Granby as well. It has a "ruraly" suburban feel to it, but it's also in close driving distance to some major retail establishments.

Also look into Suffield, Granby and Simsbury.

Southwick, MA is also very nice. It's on the Suffield, CT town line.

[Rozzo]

Thanks Leilani I will look at those towns.

Rozzo