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Also places like Eugene, OR have similar sunshine hours as NYC and Mass (~1500 hrs per year) so somewhere in southern Oregon would work if Wa has too little.
Thank you for sharing your experience about NYC and WA! Really appreciate it. We just saw Eugene a couple weeks ago and actually really liked it! It's on our short list.
I come from Boston and am now in Seattle. The weather in Seattle is amazing. It rains half as much as Boston and you notice the difference in your first year right away. The winters are mild and fall foliage lasts until December. Don't let the average sunshine hours fool you. In winter, you will be working during the day anyway (dark going to work and dark coming home) and won't notice much difference from that of Boston.
People who rant about the gloomy Seattle weather either 1. never been there, 2. are from California, or 3. live in pockets of the PNW where it rains 100 inches a year (vs 35 inches in Seattle). Anyone who's spent a few winters in Boston or Chicago, or spent a few summers in Houston or Dallas realizes Seattle has amazing 4 season weather.
You can’t buy into a blue chip inner Boston suburb for $750k. Particularly with your 1/2 acre+ lot size.
The mildest climate in Massachusetts is well south of Boston on the coast. An hour south of Boston, you’re beyond rational commuting distance from the high wage metro Boston jobs since the traffic jam coming in from the south is horrific.
In North Falmouth, I see a 1974 build colonial on 0.45 acres for $695k. That’s an hour to South Station on a weekend or at noon midweek. You won’t get the top school rankings of the blue chip inner Boston schools because it’s not 100% white collar professionals but the schools are strong and well funded.
Marion and Mattapoisett have strong K-5 local schools. The regional middle and high schools they share with Rochester are good.
Massachusetts has a flat 5% income tax. It has Proposition 2 1/2 which limits property taxes. When you’re comparing the tax burden against New York owning a $700k house and a couple of late model middle grade cars, Massachusetts has a much lower tax burden. When it comes to college years, the New York State college system is stronger than UMass if you’re trying to control costs.
The best bang for your housing buck in Massachusetts is Longmeadow. The small professional bedroom town on the Connecticut line next to Springfield in Western Mass. The schools are generally rated in the top-20. You’re 15 minutes from a good airport in Windsor Locks. Not what I’d pick but if I were optimizing for school rankings with a $750k budget, that is probably going to be the best alternative. I don’t think you’ll be able to buy into any other top-20 school district town in Massachusetts unless it’s a shack on a tiny lot.
I don’t know enough about the Pacific Northwest to say anything useful. I’ve been to Seattle a half dozen times but never lived in the region.
I think around the size of Portland or Seattle would be totally fine. Just a hub that is diverse and provides some cultural and educational opportunities, plus shopping and maybe an airport. We actually visited Albany once and it was very quaint and cute but we wouldn't move there. Plus I think we're trying to look in more central NY around the Hudson river area, although we did hear good things about Saratoga Springs. I will check out the districts you mentioned, thank you for that!!!
Central NY would be more Syracuse and Utica. Syracuse is a bigger city proper than Albany, but the Albany metro has more people due to having 3 city centers in close proximity.
Albany is actually on the Hudson River, but what you may be referring to is the Hudson Valley region in between Albany and NYC.
Out of the suburban school districts mentioned, I’d say that North Colonie would be the best fit in terms of academic performance and some visible cultural diversity. Niskayuna has a pretty big Asian population, with some black and Hispanic students. Niskayuna is a suburb of Schenectady. South Colonie would be another district to look into due to reasons similar to North Colonie(a little more diverse, but may have a slightly lower academic rep yet still very good). There’s also the small, very diverse and good Menands UFSD; which has multiple options for high school due to being a K-8 SD.
You could also look into the Buffalo and Rochester areas, which touch and have about 2.3-2.4 million people between the CSA’s. Each has an airport and the Buffalo portion is near the Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario in Canada, which includes Toronto. The Golden Horseshoe has about 8-9 million people or so. If open to those areas, school districts such as Williamsville, Amherst Central and Sweet Home in the Buffalo area and Brighton, West Irondequoit and Rush-Henrietta in the Rochester area are good SD’s with decent/good cultural diversity among its students. Both of these areas are quite affordable as well.
Last edited by ckhthankgod; 06-19-2021 at 07:42 AM..
Hey OP, somewhat in a similar boat as you. I think the PNW is definitely going to be less of an adjustment than the northeast would be. It's great up there. O course I'd live in NYC or Boston as well.
I come from Boston and am now in Seattle. The weather in Seattle is amazing. It rains half as much as Boston and you notice the difference in your first year right away. The winters are mild and fall foliage lasts until December. Don't let the average sunshine hours fool you. In winter, you will be working during the day anyway (dark going to work and dark coming home) and won't notice much difference from that of Boston.
People who rant about the gloomy Seattle weather either 1. never been there, 2. are from California, or 3. live in pockets of the PNW where it rains 100 inches a year (vs 35 inches in Seattle). Anyone who's spent a few winters in Boston or Chicago, or spent a few summers in Houston or Dallas realizes Seattle has amazing 4 season weather.
I come from Boston and am now in Seattle. The weather in Seattle is amazing. It rains half as much as Boston and you notice the difference in your first year right away. The winters are mild and fall foliage lasts until December. Don't let the average sunshine hours fool you. In winter, you will be working during the day anyway (dark going to work and dark coming home) and won't notice much difference from that of Boston.
People who rant about the gloomy Seattle weather either 1. never been there, 2. are from California, or 3. live in pockets of the PNW where it rains 100 inches a year (vs 35 inches in Seattle). Anyone who's spent a few winters in Boston or Chicago, or spent a few summers in Houston or Dallas realizes Seattle has amazing 4 season weather.
I agree. PNW climate is great...never too hot or cold. I'm down in Olympia so we get about 12" more rain than Seattle. The rain and grey doesn't bother me. Beats shoveling snow in below freezing weather in winter like the northeast. I do wish summer was a bit wetter though. I find the summers here a bit too dry and sunny. Also the lack of thunderstorms is a bummer but besides that it's great out here. Can't beat the scenery.
In the summer Seattle might get one good downpour. Usually it's during the Obliteride bike ride fundraiser in early August. Other than that I love our summers...warm enough that you can wear shorts but not too hot or humid for activity.
As for winter, while 40 highs with periodic drizzle is great for our latitude, I crave a warmer climate. Working from home (now permanently as a consultant) I find myself not going outside in the winter unless it's for a good reason.
I come from Boston and am now in Seattle. The weather in Seattle is amazing. It rains half as much as Boston and you notice the difference in your first year right away. The winters are mild and fall foliage lasts until December. Don't let the average sunshine hours fool you. In winter, you will be working during the day anyway (dark going to work and dark coming home) and won't notice much difference from that of Boston.
People who rant about the gloomy Seattle weather either 1. never been there, 2. are from California, or 3. live in pockets of the PNW where it rains 100 inches a year (vs 35 inches in Seattle). Anyone who's spent a few winters in Boston or Chicago, or spent a few summers in Houston or Dallas realizes Seattle has amazing 4 season weather.
Thank you, this is really encouraging! As much as I love the thought of moving east, it's a pretty scary move. All my family are in LA and I've never lived outside of California (although I have lived basically all over California) and I think the PNW would be an easier adjustment. But I do really enjoy opening the curtains first thing in the morning and basking in that morning light, so the weather being grey all the time doesn't appeal to me. Thanks for the stats about the rain, it helps! In your experience what are the summers and winters in the Boston area like?
You can’t buy into a blue chip inner Boston suburb for $750k. Particularly with your 1/2 acre+ lot size.
The mildest climate in Massachusetts is well south of Boston on the coast. An hour south of Boston, you’re beyond rational commuting distance from the high wage metro Boston jobs since the traffic jam coming in from the south is horrific.
In North Falmouth, I see a 1974 build colonial on 0.45 acres for $695k. That’s an hour to South Station on a weekend or at noon midweek. You won’t get the top school rankings of the blue chip inner Boston schools because it’s not 100% white collar professionals but the schools are strong and well funded.
Marion and Mattapoisett have strong K-5 local schools. The regional middle and high schools they share with Rochester are good.
Massachusetts has a flat 5% income tax. It has Proposition 2 1/2 which limits property taxes. When you’re comparing the tax burden against New York owning a $700k house and a couple of late model middle grade cars, Massachusetts has a much lower tax burden. When it comes to college years, the New York State college system is stronger than UMass if you’re trying to control costs.
The best bang for your housing buck in Massachusetts is Longmeadow. The small professional bedroom town on the Connecticut line next to Springfield in Western Mass. The schools are generally rated in the top-20. You’re 15 minutes from a good airport in Windsor Locks. Not what I’d pick but if I were optimizing for school rankings with a $750k budget, that is probably going to be the best alternative. I don’t think you’ll be able to buy into any other top-20 school district town in Massachusetts unless it’s a shack on a tiny lot.
I don’t know enough about the Pacific Northwest to say anything useful. I’ve been to Seattle a half dozen times but never lived in the region.
Thank you for this awesome information! Looking on the map North Falmouth seems like it'd be gorgeous! We aren't looking for the best schools in the universe, just pretty damn decent. Here in California the schools are absolutely horrendous unless you fork out 1.5 mil on a mediocre house. I just checked Zillow and our current rental is worth 1.03 million...its 1400 sq feet, has no AC and the great school rating for the local elem is 2/10. Really!
I will check out the areas you mentioned, thank you so much!
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