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If you can make it happen in Upstate NY, great, not all of us could. I’d love to return to Central NY, but it’s not in the cards. The property taxes back in my home town are almost FOUR times higher than I pay in Raleigh and the there just aren’t enough jobs.
No one ever said NC was utopia – it’s not. But there are many opportunities for good jobs, the cost of living is reasonable and the quality of life is good.
I grew up in Albany-Schenectady-Troy region myself (town of Rotterdam to be exact). I moved to Ohio when I was 15; been living here ever since.
I never realized what a beautiful state New York was, until I came back for periodic visits. And the summers never seemed so hot-n-muggy (in N.Y.), as they do in here Toledo, Ohio (next to Lake Erie).
I sometimes play with the idea of moving back there. I was just talking with a friend from the area, on the phone today. But then I consider the job market, taxes and cost of living and think "Maybe this isn't the best idea for me." I don't mind the snowy winters too much.
My gut says "move back," but then logic says "Don't move back."
State jobs are not abundent. Nor is NY state inexpensive. The taxes alone will kill you. Although I will agree that the Adirondacks are a more reasonable area of the state, not all upstate is as reasonable.
I moved to Tn. where I can afford a lifestyle on a fixed income, in NY I had a struggle to lead an existence. So what is wrong with "dropping family and friends to move to some percieved Utopia"? You feel everyone needs to stay put so your little comfort zone isn't upset? You'd rather struggle to live there just to be around your friends that caregive their grandmothers? Not me, I'll take being able to afford to live and having a life outside of NY state.
But I will agree that upstate is beautiful and growing up in the Hudson Valley wasn't bad either, but there is a whole big world out there just waiting for me and it is better then taking care of grandma.
I hear you. I'm not even quite sure I could make the sacrifices to caregive for Grandma if faced with that, but I give these families a lot of credit for making the sacrifices and carrying on an old school, dying tradition in this country. I guess my larger point is, these arrangements are still possible in our smaller upstate cities where cultural traditions run very deep, often tracing back to the little European towns that many of them came from. To see my friend's grandmother surrounded by a dozen of her great-grandkids most weekends is a pleasant anomaly. I might also add that my friend travels extensively, lives very comfortably, and is establishing his families roots even deeper into the community. All admirable things, and hardly the portrait of someone afraid to leave their comfort zone.
Also, State Jobs are quite abundant. Spitzer just announced 2500 new positions to an already large state workforce.
Im 15. When im bored I tend to come on this site to see what people are going threw when they buy a house and stuff. I dont know call me weird but I enjoy that stuff. But anyway. I probably wont stay downstate for college .Maybe U Buffalo or U Pittsburgh. After college the world is the oyster. But I don't want to go back downstate because I know if I live in NYC i will probably never be able to afford a home. MY older brother lives in the house with us and hes 20 something, just graduated college. I don't want to do that. After college I want to live on my own, not relying on my parents till I will be able to afford a house. Thats why I probably will live upstate. But living 6 hours away from family will be a killer. I really wish NYC suburbs were affordable like Philly's, Chicago, Houston, Dallas, Charlotte.
tymel - the secret to having money is living off the parents for as long as you. you have the rest of your life to have your 'grown up life', enjoy your teens and college years. I would take U of Pitts over UB and I'm from WNY.
Good Luck. Charlotte will be filled up by the time your able to get down here. HotLanta (atlanta) is a huge oyster shell.
It seems obvious the first reason young people are leaving NYS centers on jobs.
My son recently graduated from R.I.T. and took a position in Springfield, Mass. I suspect he will eventually relocate to several other locations based on job availability, same as many Americans do today. (And since he paid for most of his tuition by obtaining school loans, he couldn't settle for whatever he could find here. He has to pay back that large loan!)
My wife & I are set on relocating south to Virginia within a few years ourselves... not so much for jobs (although we will need to have that detail worked out before moving), but because of winter & politics/economics. We absolutely LOVE summers here in upstate NY, but don't like winter anymore. And it's very apparent this state will not reverse the high taxation/fees/ever-present-creep-into-our-lives, that continue to hinder real economic growth. Every new election here (and everywhere most likely) hinges on a tone of making positive changes the will make lives better for people and businesses..... we hear that year after year...
Regarding the business environment in NY... the owner of the small company I work for owns the building and pays outrageous property taxes in addition to all other fees and such. The company is doing well, but imagine a startup firm trying to compete... a very difficult proposition. Sure the state has incentives to lure companies here... but no real incentives to keep established firms.
Maybe some of us are willing to relocate to an area where the elected officials really do differentiate themselves by party affiliation? I'm not saying one party is better than the other, but my observation is here in NY there's not much difference between the two today. It would be nice to have a choice! A little naive maybe.....
So, young folk leave to get a good job, which are found elsewhere for various reasons. And us old folk leave perhaps because of winter, and perhaps because we don't believe the rhetoric regarding making positive changes to established policies and economic situations.
I am pretty much stuck here at 41 years old. I have no way out at this time-I am caring for my 83 year old Mother who recently had a stroke and can no longer drive. I am a only child to boot-so it's up to us as a family to stay here and make sure that she's ok.
It's a major struggle. I drive a school bus for a local district-believe me we don't make goobs doing that. We make starting $15000 a year-and we aren't eligible for unemployment because we do have a job to go back to in Sept. My spouse has been with his company for over 20 years now. He got a whopping 73 cent hour raise-that isn't cost of living at all for around here. So we have to make do like the rest on under $55000 a year around here. Food, gas, taxes, etc have gone up ridiculously in the last 5 years. I am at our wits end to make ends meet. It's almost impossible to.
We cut out all extras, no pizza's, movies, McDonald's, etc. I've not had a date night with my spouse in over a year and a half. This is living? I see all my friends that relocated from this area being able to enjoy their fruits of their labors. I just see the bill man every month, and wonder when I'll get to have my chance. This area is sucking us dry. I went to Allentown PA yesterday for the amusement park-I saved big time to do this with my kids-and gas was $2.27 a gallon there! Tell me what's so good about living here in Dutchess anymore. I hope when the last person leaves NY, they turn off the lights. It's a shame that families won't be able to stay here unless they are willing to commute long hours, see little of their families or make friends within their communities. Taxes will go up yet again since we'll have to pay for what the volunteers used to do here. I am so glad my kids have lived here and see first hand that the only smart thing to do is leave and to move somewhere every penny isn't earmarked for paying the bills and taxes.
Starting over at mid-life was a better option for us than staying in that state, and my husband and I had both lived there our entire lives. I agree the issue has a lot to do with NYS vs. NYC. Our taxes kept going higher every year and our income did not. We had a decent lifestyle, as we ran our own business there for several years, but it's very difficult to get ahead and overall small businesses are hurting up against bigger businesses. I'll give NY credit for trying to fix the problems, creating empire zones, industrial parks, etc. but I think those things are like band aids on large wounds and it's too late. The more people jump ship the less people there are left holding the bag, therefore that's driving the taxes up further. Nationally, they say outsourcing is the root of the bigger problem, which I do agree is true as far as our jobs go...I was 38 years old and working as a cashier for minimum wage and there were several people in line for that job when I gave it up. THAT is a problem, but only a small problem in the bigger picture of it all. Enough was enough and my husband took a transfer to OK...We're buying a house with a value of 100,000 more than our home in NY and our collective taxes, even with the increase in property value are about 25% of what we paid there. I really pity people who have to stay in the state for whatever reason and I do wish that it hadn't come to that. Aside from finances, it really was a descent place to live at one time.
If you can make it happen in Upstate NY, great, not all of us could. I’d love to return to Central NY, but it’s not in the cards. The property taxes back in my home town are almost FOUR times higher than I pay in Raleigh and the there just aren’t enough jobs.
No one ever said NC was utopia – it’s not. But there are many opportunities for good jobs, the cost of living is reasonable and the quality of life is good.
If so many people from the NYC metro area & Long Island are headed to NC then it will be like NJ in a few years especially with all these obnoxious surburban transplants with their holier than thou attitudes and their supersized SUV's.
The places I would look at are Austin TX, San Antonio, Phoenix, Colombus Ohio or even where I am now -- Northern CT (much different than Fairfield County).
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I really wish NYC suburbs were affordable like Philly's, Chicago, Houston, Dallas, Charlotte.
We just left NY because of outrageous taxes...
