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Cost of Living: Hartford
Quality of Life: Tie
Proximity to Parks/Recreation: Springfield
Crime: Springfield, barely...
Better Downtown: Hartford
Better Future: Hartford
Better Investment to buy: Tie
Tax Burden: Springfield
Suburbs/Surrounding Towns: Hartford
Transit (trains): Hartford
Food: Hartford
Urban Blight: Springfield
Liveliness/Fun Aspect: Hartford
Overall: Hartford. More of a professional scene, more wealthy an diverse metro, much better and more interesting lofts/apartment, more to do, actually a suuuper walkable city, closer to NYC maybe only 5-10 minutes further from Boston? More new developments that are actually beneficial not one casino .
And I cannot overstate the MASSIVE field of difference in competence and compassion that separates Mayor Luke Bronin From Mayor Domenic Sarno. Sarno is absolute trash compare to Bronin
Are you actually considering these cities? You just moved no?
No I'm staying in NJ for a bit. Atleast 6 years.
But I know and hear of people in the past few months in either retirement or 25-34 FTB age moving to the Hartford or Springfield area. someone I know bought a brownstone with her friend in Downtown Springfield for under 200k four weeks ago. I just hear people going to these cities because they aware they both are on the upswing. I know my parents are looking into CT when the market gets a little less competitive, which will happen once all th FTB settle down.
I know little on Springfield and Hartford. Its a grey area in NE for me. But I see investment opportunity in both.
But I know and hear of people in the past few months in either retirement or 25-34 FTB age moving to the Hartford or Springfield area. someone I know bought a brownstone with her friend in Downtown Springfield for under 200k four weeks ago. I just hear people going to these cities because they aware they both are on the upswing. I know my parents are looking into CT when the market gets a little less competitive, which will happen once all th FTB settle down.
I know little on Springfield and Hartford. Its a grey area in NE for me. But I see investment opportunity in both.
Id go Hartford better colleges, sophisticated mayor, CT rail hub, BRT, ongoing development, state capitol, more young people, same buy in. Just about everything Springfield has and more minus a casino.
Went to school in Hartford for 4 years and still have 4/5 friends there. In addition to my other experience run Springfield I went up there to socialize once and many times for track meet at Springfield College.
Metro Hartford makes the top-20 most prosperous MSA list in the country. It has a very vibrant local economy. Economically, the Springfield area is circling the drain. Unless you're health care or public sector, there aren't many good jobs. A few with one insurance company.
Massachusetts has a flat income tax and Prop 2 1/2. Unless you're low income, Connecticut taxes are painful. Tax on your car is painful. Sales tax is a bit higher. Property taxes are absurd.
If you want to live urban, I wouldn't pick either. On a beer budget, I think I'd pick Philly.
Metro Hartford makes the top-20 most prosperous MSA list in the country. It has a very vibrant local economy. Economically, the Springfield area is circling the drain. Unless you're health care or public sector, there aren't many good jobs. A few with one insurance company.
Massachusetts has a flat income tax and Prop 2 1/2. Unless you're low income, Connecticut taxes are painful. Tax on your car is painful. Sales tax is a bit higher. Property taxes are absurd.
If you want to live urban, I wouldn't pick either. On a beer budget, I think I'd pick Philly.
Does this still matter when your house is 50% cheaper and your salary is only like 6% lower? Doesn't it end up becoming a wash, ultimately? People in MA say this argument but the houses are so expensive in Ma generally..I dont see the benefit. Then again i dont own anything.
Does this still matter when your house is 50% cheaper and your salary is only like 6% lower? Doesn't it end up becoming a wash, ultimately? People in MA say this argument but the houses are so expensive in Ma generally..I dont see the benefit. Then again i dont own anything.
Yes. Houses are like 40-60k more in MA by Springfield but Property Taxes are like $1500-3000 more in CT. HOAs are absurd in CT Too, like $500-700 a month is commonplace. And some places have special assessments and additional tax districts. Looked at a condo in CT for parents. It was $169k. HOAs were $347+ a special assessment of 203 per month for 21 years and the property taxes were $5,660. Another one was 139k but it's property taxes were about 4k per year and HOAs+Special tax district was over 600 per month?? A lot in the suburbs will be around 200k in CT, but taxes will be about 7k-8k with monstrous How fees. A lot of these complexes are dumpy at best, it looks like a community in NJ. MA ones have significantly lower HOW fees (200-400 is common) and taxes are very reasonable.
Yes. Houses are like 40-60k more in MA by Springfield but Property Taxes are like $1500-3000 more in CT. HOAs are absurd in CT Too, like $500-700 a month is commonplace. And some places have special assessments and additional tax districts. Looked at a condo in CT for parents. It was $169k. HOAs were $347+ a special assessment of 203 per month for 21 years and the property taxes were $5,660. Another one was 139k but it's property taxes were about 4k per year and HOAs+Special tax district was over 600 per month??
The ad ons are driving me crazy in CT ..
People don't like add ons and if they got rid of them the cost would simply translate into higher RE.
But in your calculation is it a wash? Salaries are higher around Ahrtfor than Springfield.
When I was talking about CT vs. MA cost savings I was more thinking East of Worcester
People don't like add ons and if they got rid of them the cost would simply translate into higher RE.
But in your calculation is it a wash? Salaries are higher around Ahrtfor than Springfield.
When I was talking about CT vs. MA cost savings I was more thinking East of Worcester
The communities around Hartford seemed strapped for cash. Little amenities, high HOAs, homes are sitting a lot longer than thry should. Still a hot market. And I'm not sure, maybe low income may do better in MA over CT since minimum wages are higher (barely) in MA and have a $15 plan by 2023.
But Springfield is wild too. The market there is supposively New Yorkers and Puerto Ricans, mostly FTBs, snatching up anything and everything. A home went on Friday in Agawam and theres 17 offers.... How is there 17 offers ..
I've lived in both metro areas and know the two cities pretty well.
In a VERY general sense, I’d compare the Springfield-Hartford relationship to the Baltimore-DC relationship, if you’re more familiar with those cities. In this comparison, Hartford is DC and Springfield is Baltimore. Now, I’m not saying Hartford is like DC. What I’m saying is you have two somewhat similarly sized cities in close geographic proximity that couldn’t be further apart from each economically. Hartford is a state capital. It has way more white collar jobs than Springfield. It has some very upscale suburbs that in many ways can compete with DC suburbs in terms of quality of life. In both cases, I’m talking about metro area instead of city-proper. Springfield is overall more working class.
Springfield has literally bet its future on a casino. It has some good attractions, but is evidently trying for the hospitality business for its future. I think the city has been improving, but it will likely be a slow improvement. Hartford, on the other hand, has recently been courting more high-tech jobs, insurance jobs, and other white collar (I’m talking about the whole Metro). I feel like there’s a more optimistic attitude in Hartford development-wise, with a lot of ongoing and planned things. New downtown apartments are regularly opening and selling out fast (at least pre-Covid, but I think the city will easily rebound after the virus).
Now, Springfield and its surrounding cities have some spectacular urban bones. Hartford (and many of its satellite cities) went really big on urban renewal and wiped out a lot of its historic downtown. It means Hartford has more new high-rises, but also a lot of empty downtown parking lots which are now being re-developed. So Hartford has more new development downtown. I think overall Springfield has more potential if it ever became popular with gentrifiers, but Hartford is more likely to get those people in the first place because of better paying jobs.
For an investment, I think Hartford is the better short-term pick, but Springfield might be good in the very long-term, particularly in any neighborhood with the word “Forest” in its name. For Hartford investment neighborhoods, the West End is likely good, anywhere along the Farmington Ave corridor, but you're probably better in the suburbs.
For recreation, Hartford is closer to the beach while Springfield is closer to the mountains, but since both cities are only 30 minutes apart, they’re kind of close to everything. They share the same airport and many suburbs.
As for your list:
-Cost of living: Springfield is probably cheaper overall, but you get what you pay for. I think Hartford, compared to its peer cities, is a real bargain but only in the suburbs. Taxes in the city proper are very high
-Quality of life: Hartford has world-class hospitals and a lot of nice parks. Overall better suburbs
-Proximity to Parks/Recreation: It depends on what you like. Both are good.
-Crime: Tie
-Better Downtown: I think Springfield has a nicer downtown from the ground but Hartford is better from the air (skyline). Hartford is better for jobs, but Springfield is slightly better for fun, but it’s close. Overall Hartford.
-Better Future: Hartford, see above
-Better Investment to buy: Short-term goes to Hartford; long-term goes to both
-Tax burden: City proper goes to Springfield; Metro area is a tie
-Suburbs: Hartford by a lot
-Transit: Hartford currently has a better bus network, better and more frequent trains, and more in the immediate works. There’s talk of connecting Hartford to NYC and Boston via high-speed (not Springfield)
-Food: I like the food in both. Hartford has more upscale options
-Urban Blight: Both have bad areas.
-Liveliness/Fun Aspect: Hartford and Springfield have always had a reputation for being boring. I think Springfield might be a little better, especially with the casino now. Both are closer to more exciting places (Hartford to Middletown and New Haven, Springfield to Northampton)
Yes. Houses are like 40-60k more in MA by Springfield but Property Taxes are like $1500-3000 more in CT. HOAs are absurd in CT Too, like $500-700 a month is commonplace. And some places have special assessments and additional tax districts. Looked at a condo in CT for parents. It was $169k. HOAs were $347+ a special assessment of 203 per month for 21 years and the property taxes were $5,660. Another one was 139k but it's property taxes were about 4k per year and HOAs+Special tax district was over 600 per month?? A lot in the suburbs will be around 200k in CT, but taxes will be about 7k-8k with monstrous How fees. A lot of these complexes are dumpy at best, it looks like a community in NJ. MA ones have significantly lower HOW fees (200-400 is common) and taxes are very reasonable.
The ad ons are driving me crazy in CT ..
I get what you're saying. I see a lot more affordable condos in the tri state area compared to Mass, but the HOAs are ridiculous.
I'm in the same boat as you. We may return to the area one day in the future and Boston prices are just way out of our reach. With a family, I wouldn't live in either city, but if I were single I wouldn't care. Personally, I feel like Mass is one of the more stable states in the region, (maybe the country), so I'd rather take my chances living in a suburb like Chicopee, West Springfield or Westfield, even if I had to commute to Hartford.
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