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Funny you mention DE, My husband has a lot of family there too, and his cousin in Newark recently got an amazing mansion for under 1M. I don't know a whole lot about DE, but the areas we visited felt very...rural and bleak. I grew up in a major city and have basically lived in or adjacent to a major city my whole life, so some of these more country settings just feel very quiet and eerie. It's probably a matter of just getting use to it, but I do worry I will have a hard time adjusting. So I'm not too keen on considering DE, but it's not an impossibility.
We went to Hudson, Albany, and few other towns. Just drove through mostly and visited a couple friends. I would not live in either of those places. We didn't really explore beyond that though since we had to move on to MA.
Let me ask you this, so we can collectively point to similar towns/areas in other States.. What parts of MA were you keen on / did you like on your visit?
Funny you mention DE, My husband has a lot of family there too, and his cousin in Newark recently got an amazing mansion for under 1M. I don't know a whole lot about DE, but the areas we visited felt very...rural and bleak. I grew up in a major city and have basically lived in or adjacent to a major city my whole life, so some of these more country settings just feel very quiet and eerie. It's probably a matter of just getting use to it, but I do worry I will have a hard time adjusting. So I'm not too keen on considering DE, but it's not an impossibility.
We went to Hudson, Albany, and few other towns. Just drove through mostly and visited a couple friends. I would not live in either of those places. We didn't really explore beyond that though since we had to move on to MA.
IMO, MA looks older and more rundown than DE and, accordingly, has a bleaker, eerier vibe. DE has a ton of new development — roads, restaurants, houses, apartment complexes, shopping centers, etc. As a result, DE looks shinier and gives off the impression of having a brighter future, whether true or not. Outside of the Boston area, a lot of MA is kind of drab and NIMBY. If you are inclined to live in New England, then I recommend CT over MA and RI — much more polished and mainstream by comparison.
In reply to the original question posed, I think NY State runs circles around CT, NJ and PA. NY State (not my home state) is really magnificent, and the moniker of “Empire State” is truly well-deserved.
My experience with my family has been - If you live over an hour away, you might as well live five hours away. Once you’re out of the honeymoon phase, it becomes inconvenient with kids and traffic. For us, it ended up being holidays and a few weekends scatters across the year.
I would even knock this down to 30min, maybe 45min max if you are a dual income household with kids who have activities outside of school.
PA, outside Bucks County, gave me sad Rust Belt vibes.
CT anyday.
Outside of Bucks County? You need to explore the Philly burbs more. In fact, allow me to be your tour guide.
I won't speak for the entire state (because parts are indeed rust belty), but the 4 counties around Philadelphia (Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery) are not sad rust belt.
A majority of the areas in those 4 counties (Main Line area, Media, Swarthmore, Newtown Square, West Chester, Kennett, Glen Mills, King of Prussia, etc.) are among the best in country in terms of character, livability, vitality, prestige, etc. up there with the best burbs outside of NYC, DC, and Boston.
* I don't care where the OP chooses to live, this was just a peculiar comment.
Last edited by cpomp; 06-16-2023 at 06:36 AM..
Reason: Grammar
Funny you mention DE, My husband has a lot of family there too, and his cousin in Newark recently got an amazing mansion for under 1M. I don't know a whole lot about DE, but the areas we visited felt very...rural and bleak. I grew up in a major city and have basically lived in or adjacent to a major city my whole life, so some of these more country settings just feel very quiet and eerie. It's probably a matter of just getting use to it, but I do worry I will have a hard time adjusting. So I'm not too keen on considering DE, but it's not an impossibility.
We went to Hudson, Albany, and few other towns. Just drove through mostly and visited a couple friends. I would not live in either of those places. We didn't really explore beyond that though since we had to move on to MA.
I know what you mean, I feel the same way, I could never be happy living too far away from a city like NY, LA, Boston, Miami, etc, most people who can afford it seem to be happy living about 30 minutes away from the conveniences and excitement a major city offers. My friend lived in Ocean City, Md, and needed a specialist for a medical condition but there were none in her area, she ended up getting treatment in Baltimore (2 hrs. away), her husband had to stay in a hotel and be inconvenienced, you don't want to live that way.
PA, outside Bucks County, gave me sad Rust Belt vibes.
CT anyday.
That's an incredibly inaccuate boad-brush statement. True "Rust Belt" areas of PA make up maybe 2% of the state's land area.
CT has PLENTY of urban nabes that have seen better days, as well. Outside of Fairfield County, you'd never know it's one of the wealthiest states. One of the most economically stratified states in the US, and it absolutely shows.
I grew up in a major city and have basically lived in or adjacent to a major city my whole life, so some of these more country settings just feel very quiet and eerie. .
I'm getting the sense that more sparsely populated areas are not your cup of tea, but it's worth noting that a HUGE element of New England is idyllic, undeveloped landscapes, so you'll be running into much of the same dynamic in all nearly all of New England, even populous MA.
East Coast suburbia generally is much more about the incorporation of lush, well-preserved nature compared to CA, so that may be a big shift in mindset to get used to.
I'm getting the sense that more sparsely populated areas are not your cup of tea, but it's worth noting that a HUGE element of New England is idyllic, undeveloped landscapes, so you'll be running into much of the same dynamic in all nearly all of New England, even populous MA.
East Coast suburbia generally is much more about the incorporation of lush, well-preserved nature compared to CA, so that may be a big shift in mindset to get used to.
It’s a bit contradictory, given the OPs desire for acreage.
I mean, you can get 1+ acre in more densely built suburbia around Boston. But you’ll barely be able to afford the lot, let alone a house, in any decent town/school district within 95 at $900k.
I do think a description of type of town or environment would be helpful. I’m getting the feeling that OP must have explored some western 495 towns coming down the Pike? Idk what other area would make sense given lot size, budget, and not completely rural.
That's an incredibly inaccuate boad-brush statement. True "Rust Belt" areas of PA make up maybe 2% of the state's land area.
CT has PLENTY of urban nabes that have seen better days, as well. Outside of Fairfield County, you'd never know it's one of the wealthiest states. One of the most economically stratified states in the US, and it absolutely shows.
I really love Connecticut. Fairfield and New Haven Counties offer incredible qualities of life. I lived in Stamford for 6 years, and would easily live there again.
But, to your point, Connecticut has the route 8 corridor between Bridgeport and Waterbury that is heavy rust belt, blighted here and there and really "folks down on their luck" vibes. That part of CT is one of the states rougher overall areas.
Also, CT has several "big" cities with rough around the edges, urban blight in Hartford, Waterbury, Bridgeport and New Haven. Each of these cities have some fabulous parts to them, but also some very rough areas.
Thanks for responding! We really like the New England charm of MA, how clean it is, the economic outlook, the school ratings, general density, progressiveness, and I even like the locals. We traveled through mid to upstate NY and MA a couple years back, and it was a no brainer that MA just seemed to be better (for us) in every aspect.
My spouse's family is in the greater Philly area. We aren't super close with them since we live so far away, and there are no grandparents left, just aunts/uncles/cousins. Originally we didn't think we needed to be that close to them, since our kids basically didn't even know them. However, we visited a couple weeks ago and our kids had such a blast playing with all their cousins, we realized the kids would be a lot happier if we could see them more often.
Our budget is up to 900k right now, for a 4+ bedroom on 1+ acre in a good school district (7+ ratings are ideal, although our eldest is current in a 6/10 school in CA and is doing great, so we would consider a 6). Ideally we find something in the 700-850 range, but we could also stretch the budget to 1M if we really loved a place. We want to be careful though and have reasonable mortgage payments, in case either of us are laid off from our remote jobs and we lose our bay area salaries.
Why are you moving if you don’t have to? Have you looked into this with your employers? Two friends left the Bay Area to come home to San Diego when their jobs went remote. One got called back, and one was let go when the layoffs mainly hit those who moved out of the region.
Your kids may have of had fun playing with cousins on a vacation, but uprooting them when it’s not necessary might not be the best thing? Kids are resilient, but don’t be surprised if they hold this one against you? We moved from Seattle to San Diego when I was six. I hadn’t started school yet and was stoked once I realized we didn’t live in a dreary city anymore, but my older sister wasn’t keen on leaving all her friends, school, activities, etc. I know this because she’d bring this up (to our mom) for years, lol.
Don’t sell your current house. I’ve known countless people who’ve moved back east for a spouse only to return within a couple of years (it was often the spouse that wanted to move that wants to come back). Giving up that sub 3% interest rate will sting if you do.
My wife has family all throughout NY and NE, and if you’re dead set on moving my vote is for the Hudson Valley. Westchester Co is my favorite of that entire region. You feel like you’re a million miles removed from NYC, yet you’re just a short train ride away when you want/need to go to it. This will come in handy too if/when those remote jobs go bye bye and you need to be close to a high paying job center to cover that $700K-$1M mortgage. Almost forgot, we took a day trip to Philly once and it was about 2 hours. The reality is you won’t be hanging with the family frequently unless you’re down the street, and 2 hours is perfect for weekend get togethers.
Good luck
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