[andthentherewere3]

To answer the OP's question, yes, the car taxes are ridiculous. The taxes in this state overall are insane.

Regarding S. Carolina, I know several people who have moved down there and absolutely love it. Just love it. I think you would have to be a warm weather lover, but if you live on a lake or near the ocean it wouldn't be so bad, and the winters would be wonderfully mild. I wouldn't miss Italian food at all, but all those chain restaurants, I'm not sure I could deal with them. So many southern states have a plethora of chains.

[smackfu]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

I keep hearing this, but still have yet to see what these "hidden taxes" are that we don't have here...

My dad moved to Florida, and got hit with a $500 car registration fee on a 5 year old car.

[jp03]

Originally Posted by andthentherewere3

To answer the OP's question, yes, the car taxes are ridiculous. The taxes in this state overall are insane.

Regarding S. Carolina, I know several people who have moved down there and absolutely love it. Just love it. I think you would have to be a warm weather lover, but if you live on a lake or near the ocean it wouldn't be so bad, and the winters would be wonderfully mild. I wouldn't miss Italian food at all, but all those chain restaurants, I'm not sure I could deal with them. So many southern states have a plethora of chains.

Its HOT HOT HOT ...Hotter than you even think. However it is MUCH cheaper , that cannot be denied. Also, if you are used to the northeast way, you will hate it..

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by smackfu

My dad moved to Florida, and got hit with a $500 car registration fee on a 5 year old car.

At least that's a one time, and not a yearly, fee.

[andthentherewere3]

Originally Posted by jp03

Its HOT HOT HOT ...Hotter than you even think. However it is MUCH cheaper , that cannot be denied. Also, if you are used to the northeast way, you will hate it..

I grew up in a hot, southwestern state, heat doesn't bother me.

I'll agree with you on the "northeast way" though, there are many southern behaviors that I just can't tolerate. For instance, the way many treat their pets down there boggles my mind. You'll often see dogs living outdoors, people turning pets loose because they don't want them, etc. Of course you still see that in Ct., but not to the same degree.

[DanBev]

Originally Posted by willow wind

Other taxes; --- most areas of the country have a county tax in addition to a town/city tax.

Newer developments, especially in the south ,often have HOA association fees which can range from a low of maybe $ 50 a month to sometimes 250-300. Depends on what you get for that fee.

Florida , in particular, is the land of the additional CCD fee ( community development district ). Towns and cities don't want to be responsible for building anything so the cost is put upon the developer. The developer puts in roads, water, sewer, street lighting, parks, often the local school, etc. and the cost for such is covered by the CCD fee. Banks usually escrow it with the mortgage payment. CCD fees can be quite high often 200-300 a month or more.

So by the time you pay your property tax, your HOA fee, your CCD fee and your homeowner insurance policy ( very high throughout most of FL) , your actual yearly taxes, expenses can be way up there.

Yes, no state income tax but infrastructure has to be paid for some way. One way or another, the typical home owner is simply screwed.

Been in FL over 20 years,by state and county law I have $72,000 in exemptions,SOH,senior and income,they do not count S.S. as income.I pay no taxes what so ever only $350 for rubbish and fire.If I were assessed taxes,the market value up or down right now down determines assessed value each year unlike the rip off in CT. CT has no exemptions for seniors,if you got one for property tax it is deffered till sold or death as lein.My only other cost's are truck registration $58 and trailer $20.
The sad thing is we are looking at returning to spend last years with family,all of us 79 plus,hard to accept flushing probably $3500 plus down the toilet.
As we look at properties,it is a nightmare,taxes not related to market at all.Still on high side from early 2000.Most homes we have looked at could not be sold at appraised value.

[ctwhitechin]

Originally Posted by andthentherewere3

To answer the OP's question, yes, the car taxes are ridiculous. The taxes in this state overall are insane.

Regarding S. Carolina, I know several people who have moved down there and absolutely love it. Just love it. I think you would have to be a warm weather lover, but if you live on a lake or near the ocean it wouldn't be so bad, and the winters would be wonderfully mild. I wouldn't miss Italian food at all, but all those chain restaurants, I'm not sure I could deal with them. So many southern states have a plethora of chains.

I have visited there many times, it's o/k, cost of living way lower. I am married no children so quality of schools to us I could care less, although I am no fool and understand poor schools can equate to a poor neighborhood.

As far as the chain restaurants, I like Chic Fill Et, rest are horrendous, including cracker barrel

[ctwhitechin]

Originally Posted by DanBev

Been in FL over 20 years,by state and county law I have $72,000 in exemptions,SOH,senior and income,they do not count S.S. as income.I pay no taxes what so ever only $350 for rubbish and fire.If I were assessed taxes,the market value up or down right now down determines assessed value each year unlike the rip off in CT. CT has no exemptions for seniors,if you got one for property tax it is deffered till sold or death as lein.My only other cost's are truck registration $58 and trailer $20.
The sad thing is we are looking at returning to spend last years with family,all of us 79 plus,hard to accept flushing probably $3500 plus down the toilet.
As we look at properties,it is a nightmare,taxes not related to market at all.Still on high side from early 2000.Most homes we have looked at could not be sold at appraised value.

I would imagine it would be super hard to come back up here after living down there.

I just don't see what myself and my wife (married professionals, no kids, early 40s) get for our tax dollars up here. Can someone enlighten me? Is it more police, better firefighters? less crime? nicer highways? better public services? I don't understand the justification for the taxes in the whole Northeast in general.

I posted this a while ago that we once thought of moving back to Long Island, a new home up the block from my sister's home, nothing fancy, 3 bedroom ranch, 2 bath, one side of house on a main street, back yard was small and bordered an elementary school playground, taxes were $14k if I remember right, and that was a few years ago.

Are they absurd? $1200 a month taxes??? WTF?

Here I take my own garbage to the dump, and pay for that privelege, I am hooked up to city water and sewer which I agree is nicer than a cesspool and a well....we had water when we lost power in August and OCtober.

Just people seem to go along with this fleecing....Molloy said he was going to raise our taxes, told us he would, and we still voted him in??? : smack:

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by ctwhitechin

Just people seem to go along with this fleecing....Molloy said he was going to raise our taxes, told us he would, and we still voted him in??? : smack:

Yeah really.

I don't like him. Actually, can't STAND him. But I can't talk trash about the guy, because he was dead honest with regards to raising taxes.

I blame the morons who voted for him.

[basehead617]

In California where I have a home, there are also Mello-Roos taxes that can be as much as or more than your property tax for the year, depending on what is being paid for (often it's related to new schools being built, or massive engineering projects like improving flood protection). They are often huge and last for 20+ years.

They are the flipside of the benefits of Proposition 13 that keeps property taxes artificially low (and extremely low after real estate lost up to half of its value the past few years).

These municipal bankruptcies and austerity packages should be no surprise..

In addition to that, CA has expensive car taxes - though not as expensive as CT. And I believe they go down faster based on year of the car.