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Good advice here. I can say that the cost of propane did catch me off guard. I came from NJ and had natural gas...maybe 150 a month to heat. Big difference here. Also came and did have a relocation company.
yeah, we had sticker shock too at the cost of heating. I was completely unaware of heating oil before we moved up north. In Texas, we only use electricity and natural gas. I didn't even know boilers were still around.
When our realtor told us that and explained how homes were heated, I immediately started trying to figure out cost of heating. That was a game changer for us.
After living on the west coast for almost 30 yrs I have a huge appreciation for New England (esp Northern NE...ME, NH, VT) and will be moving back eventually. I wouldn't care if I ever set foot in the states of TX, CA or AZ ever again (for that matter even most of the sunbelt states). Seriously. Dry, brown arid ugly landscapes, cookie cutter soulless suburbs as far as the eye can see, lot's a fake people, high rates of obesity, little knowledge or appreciation of history, terrible public schools for the most part, traffic, gangs, thugs, people with no taste, brutally hot 5+ mos summers, etc...
You don't appreciate what you have sometimes until you get older and travel the world. I LOVE winter now. I couldn't live without the seasons. I love the historic architecture of NE, quaint small towns, back road highways, gorgeous falls, thick wooded forests, rushing rivers, rugged coastline, sense of history, road trips to ME coast, Boston, Quebec, VT country roads & old covered bridges, kayacking the rivers and lakes, Lake Champlain, Burlington, Sugarbush to ski, so many beautiful natural lakes in ME, cycling tree canopied old NE country roads, fire flys in summer, great local micro beers, fresh local corn on the cob in August, local apples in fall. I could go on and on and on. Northern NE is one of the few unique regions left in this country. I now get a near vomit reflex landing in places like Dallas, Phoenix or Socal and break into hives!
After living on the west coast for almost 30 yrs I have a huge appreciation for New England (esp Northern NE...ME, NH, VT) and will be moving back eventually. I wouldn't care if I ever set foot in the states of TX, CA or AZ ever again (for that matter even most of the sunbelt states). Seriously. Dry, brown arid ugly landscapes, cookie cutter soulless suburbs as far as the eye can see, lot's a fake people, high rates of obesity, little knowledge or appreciation of history, terrible public schools for the most part, traffic, gangs, thugs, people with no taste, brutally hot 5+ mos summers, etc...
You don't appreciate what you have sometimes until you get older and travel the world. I LOVE winter now. I couldn't live without the seasons. I love the historic architecture of NE, quaint small towns, back road highways, gorgeous falls, thick wooded forests, rushing rivers, rugged coastline, sense of history, road trips to ME coast, Boston, Quebec, VT country roads & old covered bridges, kayacking the rivers and lakes, Lake Champlain, Burlington, Sugarbush to ski, so many beautiful natural lakes in ME, cycling tree canopied old NE country roads, fire flys in summer, great local micro beers, fresh local corn on the cob in August, local apples in fall. I could go on and on and on. Northern NE is one of the few unique regions left in this country. I now get a near vomit reflex landing in places like Dallas, Phoenix or Socal and break into hives!
I am so sorry you've had such a negative experience in the western part of the US but really excited that you are planning to move back to a place that makes you happy.
One thing I learned from my experience in New Hampshire is that life is far too short to be in a place where you are unhappy. I'm a Texas native and love my home state (I swear it's not all brown and ugly ) and I missed the warmth (ok, the heat), but like you pointed out - you don't appreciate what you have until you don't have it anymore. So, back west we went and really couldn't be happier.
Someone wrote a book sometime ago about doing what you love and the money will follow. I agree with that to a degree but would want to amend it - live in place you love and a happy life will follow. Good luck to you on your move back the NE!
After living on the west coast for almost 30 yrs I have a huge appreciation for New England (esp Northern NE...ME, NH, VT) and will be moving back eventually. I wouldn't care if I ever set foot in the states of TX, CA or AZ ever again (for that matter even most of the sunbelt states). Seriously. Dry, brown arid ugly landscapes, cookie cutter soulless suburbs as far as the eye can see, lot's a fake people, high rates of obesity, little knowledge or appreciation of history, terrible public schools for the most part, traffic, gangs, thugs, people with no taste, brutally hot 5+ mos summers, etc...
You don't appreciate what you have sometimes until you get older and travel the world. I LOVE winter now. I couldn't live without the seasons. I love the historic architecture of NE, quaint small towns, back road highways, gorgeous falls, thick wooded forests, rushing rivers, rugged coastline, sense of history, road trips to ME coast, Boston, Quebec, VT country roads & old covered bridges, kayacking the rivers and lakes, Lake Champlain, Burlington, Sugarbush to ski, so many beautiful natural lakes in ME, cycling tree canopied old NE country roads, fire flys in summer, great local micro beers, fresh local corn on the cob in August, local apples in fall. I could go on and on and on. Northern NE is one of the few unique regions left in this country. I now get a near vomit reflex landing in places like Dallas, Phoenix or Socal and break into hives!
I agree with you. I've lived in New England all my life except for a short stint working in NYC.....love this region. Nothing like it anywhere else in the USA.
I am so sorry you've had such a negative experience in the western part of the US but really excited that you are planning to move back to a place that makes you happy.
One thing I learned from my experience in New Hampshire is that life is far too short to be in a place where you are unhappy. I'm a Texas native and love my home state (I swear it's not all brown and ugly ) and I missed the warmth (ok, the heat), but like you pointed out - you don't appreciate what you have until you don't have it anymore. So, back west we went and really couldn't be happier.
Someone wrote a book sometime ago about doing what you love and the money will follow. I agree with that to a degree but would want to amend it - live in place you love and a happy life will follow. Good luck to you on your move back the NE!
I do love many of the people from TX I know, very friendly and warm folks, and I love their spirit and pride they have in their state
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) and I missed the warmth (ok, the heat), but like you pointed out - you don't appreciate what you have until you don't have it anymore. So, back west we went and really couldn't be happier. 
