Goodbye Upstate NY, Hello Valley of the Sun (Phoenix, Scottsdale: mortgage, property taxes)

[beanchokiki]

Originally Posted by aj661

I always wondered why my in laws kept selling off chunks of their properties upstate but never asked why. It makes sense now. That's simply insane. RUN AWAY! You can still be Yankee fans (or Mets), but you won't get Y.E.S. in Arizona. Maybe on satellite?

I feel much better about paying my vehicle license tax now. Well, a little better...

not a sports fan but LOVED going to the u of a hockey games, there where a lot of fun.

[sheena]

Originally Posted by aj661

I always wondered why my in laws kept selling off chunks of their properties upstate but never asked why. It makes sense now. That's simply insane. RUN AWAY! You can still be Yankee fans (or Mets), but you won't get Y.E.S. in Arizona. Maybe on satellite?

I feel much better about paying my vehicle license tax now. Well, a little better...

I bet they are glad they were able to sell off that land, good for them.

Makes your taxes look too good to be true huh?

[fotoverdi]

beanchokiki, we live in Patchogue, New York about half way on Long Island between the city and Montauk. It's about 20 min. from the Hamptons and 1 hour to NYC. The taxes here are insane and the number one thing people complain about. As I said before on other posts, we are photographers, mainly weddings, and when the couples pick up their finished album, I would say 65% without exaggeration look to live elsewhere when they are looking to buy a house. They simply cannot afford it and I don't blame them. The goverment people seem to notice this is going on, but we get no relief. And, to make matters worse, our electric bills are ridiculous as well. Our bill now is like $400 a month! I can't take it anymore.

[bigjdotcom01]

My 1750 sq ft house outside of Rochester had utility bills (gas & electric) that were ridiculous. I was on a budget and my monthly bill was $325. This is in a new home that was well insulated and energy efficient.

[beanchokiki]

Originally Posted by fotoverdi

beanchokiki, we live in Patchogue, New York about half way on Long Island between the city and Montauk. It's about 20 min. from the Hamptons and 1 hour to NYC. The taxes here are insane and the number one thing people complain about. As I said before on other posts, we are photographers, mainly weddings, and when the couples pick up their finished album, I would say 65% without exaggeration look to live elsewhere when they are looking to buy a house. They simply cannot afford it and I don't blame them. The goverment people seem to notice this is going on, but we get no relief. And, to make matters worse, our electric bills are ridiculous as well. Our bill now is like $400 a month! I can't take it anymore.

i grew up in baldwin and massapequa. As a kid i loved it, even in my late teens early 20's. Than i went out to AZ and just fell in love with the area...the mountains and sky just took my breath away. Now back in new york 10 years and realize it is just so hard to raise a family here. A friend of mine in tx keeps telling us to move there. Her husband makes newarly the same amount as mine and she has no idea how we do it...it is really hard and you have to be very careful with your money. I am tired of living like this. Ireally just want out of this place! Plus my sister lives in northern cali and my parents live in hawaii....less time on a plane would be nice too!

[fotoverdi]

Small world, I grew up on the Uniondale/Garden City border, but my dad was from Freeport right next to Baldwin. My cousin lived in Massapequa for many years before moving out to Manorville. I don't really know why certain places are so out of range moneywise, it's crazy. I too loved the Phoenix/Scottsdale area when I first came about 12 years or so ago. The first thing that took my breath away, other than that marvelous scenery and weather, was how clean it was. I literally hung out of the car while we drove and couldn't even find a cigarette butt on the ground. It was so clean you could lick the streets. And, I just loved how you could sit outside at 11 p.m. and no mosquitos. The next thing was how all the shopping stores, and I mean even supermarkets, had flowers and those fountains. When we returned here to New York, all I saw was garbage along all the highways. It made me want to cry like in those commercials with the Indian and a tear rolls down his face. I don't understand why some people feel the need to open up their car windows and just drop their garbage out the door. It blows my mind. There are some wonderful things about Long Island, I love the beaches, and the weather in the summer. The restaurants and the city are great, beyond great. I also love how we have different restaurants owned by people rather than a lot of the restaurants in Arizona which seem to be chains or at least a majority of them. The problem is and why we bought a house, is that more and more of our wilderness is being replaced with strip malls and more and more houses. The farms and things are all being replaced with bldgs.

[JustinH]

Originally Posted by aj661

I always wondered why my in laws kept selling off chunks of their properties upstate but never asked why. It makes sense now. That's simply insane. RUN AWAY! You can still be Yankee fans (or Mets), but you won't get Y.E.S. in Arizona. Maybe on satellite?

I feel much better about paying my vehicle license tax now. Well, a little better...

Common misconception about western NY.

We are 8 hours from NY city, and we don't follow baseball at all.

[aj661]

Originally Posted by JustinH

Common misconception about western NY.

We are 8 hours from NY city, and we don't follow baseball at all.

Maybe YOU don't, but my 75 year old Mother-in-law is about two hours north of Albany, and has George Steinbrenner's office on speed dial! (maybe not, but seriously, she hasn't missed a televised Yankee game - ever). She can quote Yankee player stats back to the 1920's. My Sister-in-law has the Yankee's logo tattooed on her leg. Geography has little or nothing to do with being a Baseball fan.

[beanchokiki]

Originally Posted by fotoverdi

Small world, I grew up on the Uniondale/Garden City border, but my dad was from Freeport right next to Baldwin. My cousin lived in Massapequa for many years before moving out to Manorville. I don't really know why certain places are so out of range moneywise, it's crazy. I too loved the Phoenix/Scottsdale area when I first came about 12 years or so ago. The first thing that took my breath away, other than that marvelous scenery and weather, was how clean it was. I literally hung out of the car while we drove and couldn't even find a cigarette butt on the ground. It was so clean you could lick the streets. And, I just loved how you could sit outside at 11 p.m. and no mosquitos. The next thing was how all the shopping stores, and I mean even supermarkets, had flowers and those fountains. When we returned here to New York, all I saw was garbage along all the highways. It made me want to cry like in those commercials with the Indian and a tear rolls down his face. I don't understand why some people feel the need to open up their car windows and just drop their garbage out the door. It blows my mind. There are some wonderful things about Long Island, I love the beaches, and the weather in the summer. The restaurants and the city are great, beyond great. I also love how we have different restaurants owned by people rather than a lot of the restaurants in Arizona which seem to be chains or at least a majority of them. The problem is and why we bought a house, is that more and more of our wilderness is being replaced with strip malls and more and more houses. The farms and things are all being replaced with bldgs.

oh man it is a small world! My sister lives in nocal and runs into people from NY and NJ all the time.

Yea, the garbage thing is terrrible here. Why can't people just throw the stuff out when they get to a garbage or home is beyond me. There have been numerous occassions I have seen people just throw things out there windows around here...awful. ANd you would thing here it would be cleaner, in the hudson valley but it is not.

We are loosing more here as well. Especially in the county north of us. They are just building like mad.

[vegaspilgrim]

Originally Posted by madison soccer dad

I would rather live in a new shiny city with clean air, then an old rust belt city that is only in exsistence today because of beef and pork.

You were talking sense until this statement... Phoenix does NOT have clean air. It is extremely dusty and polluted here. CLEAR skies, as in not cloudy, sure, but CLEAN-- no way.

The growth rate between Chicago and Pheonix is almost staggering. Pheonix has grown almost three times faster than Chicago has in the past decade. What must that say about the living conditions between the two cities. Also, the same survey projects that Pheonix will surpass Chicago in population by the year 2100, and that more major companies will be setting up shop in the sun valley than in the Windy City. You guys must be doing something right. This came from a Madison, Wisconsin newpaper, and it surprised me because you would think that they would be more partial to midwest cities.

Some people like Phoenix, some people like Chicago. It's all a matter of opinion. This place has been growing like crazy, no doubt, but I haven't exactly seen major corporations flocking here. There are a lot of jobs and particular regional operations of corporations here, but they tend to be lower on the hierarchy and payscale-- not the corporate headquarters. Most of the job growth is in construction and retail. Instead of 15 Walmarts and 5 Best Buys, we now have 25 Walmarts and 10 Best Buys. Move here if it makes you happy, and enjoy it-- just don't be under any illusions that PHX is some economic powerhouse.