[JayCT]

Originally Posted by Live4-2day

Another positive to moving south is you pay a fraction in taxes. Our house taxes in CT were $12,000 & we had major issues with the schools & roads. In SC our house taxes to a comparable house that is only 15 minutes away from the beach with a nice pond in the back yard & a community pool is only $1,800 & the schools are all brand new. Hard to believe, isn't it???

Brand new schools mean nothing. What is the quality of the education being offered? How big are the classes? What are the test scores like? What programs are offered in the school system and do you have to pay for other things. Sorry but I am firm believer in you get what you pay for. Jay

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by JayCT

Sorry but I am firm believer in you get what you pay for. Jay

Me too.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by nep321

People in CT can be very ignorant when it comes to understanding the seasons in the south. All of those states, except FL get foliage, the leaves fall, and it still gets cold. But the cold isn't nearly as unbearable as it is in CT. I'd rather have 3 months of unbearable heat than 3 months of unbearable cold. It's just easier to deal with IMO. All you gotta do is turn on the AC and wear shorts, which is more simplistic than dealing with heat and bulking up with jackets. No snow to deal with either.

Last summer I was in Mississippi. It was 97, sunny and humid every single day and I loved it! So far I have traveled to 23 out of the 50 states and IMO the top 3 most beautiful states are Vermont, Tennessee and Mississippi. Of course, CT is a beautiful state as well, but for some reason it appears weathered and congested compared to the southern states, which appear to be clean, spacious and pristine.

Visiting a place on vacation is one thing, living there full time is another. You say that you much rather live with the heat but keep in mind that you cannot always just put on shorts when you work. If you have a professional job, it is not fun going out in 90+ heat with a tie and jacket on.

Also when you own a home, you have to maintain it. Try doing yardwork when the tempurature is 95. And also note that a lawn requires a lot more care in warm weather climates. If you keep it watered you often have to mow it more than once a week. Again not fun in 90+ weather.

Sorry but I would rather deal with the couple of months of winter we get than the brutal summer they get in the south. It is simple here too. You get cold, put on a sweater. Simple. Jay

[wavehunter007]

Originally Posted by nep321

Every year, between around November through April, I am always clamoring to leave CT, due to the dreadful, unbearable cold temperatures and snow that comes along with it. This winter is no exception. I gotta admit, this past week really sucked bigtime having to brush off snow from my car and deal with messy snow conditions. It was truly awful. But it's times like these that make me want to leave CT for good. Hibernating for 6 months really, really sucks, and I'm not interested in winter outdoor activities at all.

Does anyone else feel this way? IMO the winter is one of the worst features of CT, and a major reason to move OUT!

My ideal type of place with regard to weather pattern would be 50's and 60's at the absolute coldest during the winter (daily high temps). I hate wearing jackets, bigtime. And to make matters even more depressing in CT, I noticed that it gets dark much earlier than it does in the southern U.S. For example, today, in Hartford, the sunset time is 4:52 PM, but in Atlanta it is 5:58! They get an extra hour and 6 minutes of daylight. WTF?!

CT weather makes me miserable, and after 27 years of living in this type of climate, I simply cannot embrace it, and likely never will. The only thing literally keeping me in this state is nearby family members who also live here.

An interesting thread:

Weather-wise, I have no problem with Connecticut from April to early November. I love the “green wave” that sweeps over us in April…I love the sultry heat and sun of June/July/Aug/Sept (we live right near the beach)…and October, with all the farm markets fully stocked and perfect weather is hard to beat. I live right on the Connecticut coast, so fall is a bit more delayed here than upstate. Still, be mid November… I too wish I was somewhere else. Family often keeps a lot of people from moving.

However, short of moving out of Connecticut - breaking up the winter months with short trips can make a huge difference if you hate the cold season. Although everyone has different economic constraints, a few short trips are possible for most people. I didn’t have the ability to do this until a few year ago - but it makes all the difference in the world if you dislike late fall/winter. One of the funny things about living here in “seasonal beach cottage land” on the southeast Connecticut coast… is that every April you see all these retired people in Saybrook, East Lyme, Westbrook…etc with a glow of ruddy contentment on their faces - they all look like they have been in the Caribbean since Thanksgiving (lol). Grated younger people with jobs/children/bills don’t have the same circumstances, but a few short trips really can really break up the cold season for those who don’t like winter. Normally, even places as close as the coast of Delaware get little or no snow in winter.

One of the things I love about the East Coast is access to the warmest fall and winter weather in the USA. You have no idea how fast winter can pass when you break it up with a few trips to a place that looks like this:

Ft. Lauderdale, FL





.

[Summering]

Originally Posted by jp03

I dont see any pictures of anybody sweating their asses off in the summer heat? Got any of those?

LOLOLOLOL........Yes I do........finding them now to post.
But, hey......water cools ya' right off.

[Summering]

Summertime.......and the livin' is easy......





A beach for swimming in the summer...



Ah, for it to be summer to swim here..



Summer is beautiful........Winter here is beautiful too.
I think CT. is gorgeous, not doubt about that. But, for those who need winter warmth. Here ya go.

[Live4-2day]

Originally Posted by JayCT

Brand new schools mean nothing. What is the quality of the education being offered? How big are the classes? What are the test scores like? What programs are offered in the school system and do you have to pay for other things. Sorry but I am firm believer in you get what you pay for. Jay

Jay, that's what I used to believe that until I did a lot of research before uprooting my family. CT is beautiful state & definitely has its positives but it no longer met our family needs & living in CT is just too expensive for what it offers. I'm not going to go into a debate on which state is better, it's matter of what your needs are. New schools and / or well maintained school buildings do make a difference when you come from a CT town who's high school was in danger of losing state accreditation because it's high school building was in rough shape & not being properly maintained and/ or updated. Additionaly the middle school was having air quality issues & children losing school days because of it. Yep, look up Berlin high school & McGee middle school & our taxes were high & kept getting higher; NOPE we didn't get what we paid for.

From my research & personal experience.....For my family, moving was a positive change all around. We rather deal with 2 months of sitting at the beach or by the pool to cool off than 2 months of sitting by the wood stove trying to stay warm. The quality of education in Mount Pleasant, SC is superb & the test scores are awesome & for this reason there are many CT transplants & more CT residents with & with out children that keep moving down here. Many of my neighbors are from CT. They have sooooo many programs for the children in my area. The principal of Wando high school was named National (not state) Principal of the year in 2009. Many of the programs at Wando are at the top on a national level (not just the state) such as the girls soccer team was ranked one of the best in the nation & the state along with the ROTC program. The high school course offerings are much better than the high school my daughter would have attended in CT. My daughter who is an avid athlete was able to get all the AP & honors classes she wanted & is thriving. No, I do have to pay extra fees in school or in sport programs. Actually the sport programs for my younger children through the parks & recreation department are considerably cheaper here with many of the sport complexes & fields on my end of town being brand new. Also, my youngest attends a town pre-school program through the parks & recreation department, which he loves, that is very reasonably priced & the CT town I came from didn't even offer a pre-school program through the parks & recreation department. How they do it, I don't know.... I'm attaching a link that can give more information on our local high schools achievements. WANDO HIGH SCHOOL 2011-2012 SCHOOL PROFILE

[ctwhitechin]

I truly enjoy the change of seasons, this year has been an anomaly in CT so far, with the evil winter of last January to the 103 degree-day in July to an earthquake, to Hurricane Irene where we lost power for a week, to the storm in October, another week no power to now, another January almost over and I am sitting on my deck in a short sleeved shirt and jeans.

This winter has been a piece of cake. Last winter was the other extreme, roofs collapsing etc.

My biggest fear is taxes and a high cost of living forcing us to move down the road....

south is nice but when I look at scenarios like what happened recently in Alabama, I will take my chances up here for now...tornados can happen here too but not in the frequency or severity of the south...I feel bad for those people, and the ones in the Midwest that happens to as well.

That heat in the summer south of NC is just oppressive, we love the outdoors but you go outside in that you almost feel yourself melting....trust me I know, I went to college in Florida and I couldn't believe how hot it was in august when I first went. Above pic of the strip in lauderdale was my old stomping grounds circa 1992, elbow room, candy store, summers, etc.

[Summering]

Mt. Pleasant does have wonderful schools and the nicest shopping areas, all nestled into the trees.
Took me awhile to even find Target.
As far as tornados. When I lived in the Poconos we were told to " duck for cover" and I soon saw why. Lucky for us one street over and into the tree area. The trees were all twisted around and around and they were huge trees.
In another area of the Pocono region by my mothers home. Every tree came down around her house. It was a miracle none landed on her home. The huge tree at the beach was twisted and torn. People had a lot of repairs to do on their homes. They had no electric for a week.
So it can happen anywhere......those types of storms.
As far as Mt. Pleasant the beach they use Isle of Palms is stunning with its own little town area.
My dogs specialist surgeon has a big office there and when we go with the pup we get to travel around. Amazing area, and that for me includes Shem Creek.....

[LRPct]

Originally Posted by nep321

People in CT can be very ignorant when it comes to understanding the seasons in the south. All of those states, except FL get foliage, the leaves fall, and it still gets cold. But the cold isn't nearly as unbearable as it is in CT. I'd rather have 3 months of unbearable heat than 3 months of unbearable cold. It's just easier to deal with IMO. All you gotta do is turn on the AC and wear shorts, which is more simplistic than dealing with heat and bulking up with jackets. No snow to deal with either.

Last summer I was in Mississippi. It was 97, sunny and humid every single day and I loved it! So far I have traveled to 23 out of the 50 states and IMO the top 3 most beautiful states are Vermont, Tennessee and Mississippi. Of course, CT is a beautiful state as well, but for some reason it appears weathered and congested compared to the southern states, which appear to be clean, spacious and pristine.

Ignorant ehhh?? Like IGNORANT that Atlanta does NOT have an hour + more sunshine than Hartford..not even a minute more.... Just a LATER rise and sunset of the sun!!! WTF indeed as stated in your OP!!.. Also, the Earth revolves AROUND the sun..