[Never2L8]

You will probably all think I am crazy but I'm considering moving to CT as a retirement destination. I've read all the articles saying CT is the most expensive, one of the worst places to retire, etc etc but after a brief review Southington is looking more and more like a possibility. An added plus is that I would be less than 3 hrs drive from my eventual grandchild (yes, depending on traffic, LOL). I do have a few specific questions that I hope residents might be able to answer:

Believe it or not, a look through current homes for sale in the $300s and $400s are showing me that not only do you get more house for the $ than here on LI, but the taxes are lower than they would be here on the same house in the same kind of community. As in, about 50% lower which was quite a shock. Questions about taxes:

1. Do the taxes in RE listing typically include county property taxes AND town property taxes?
2. Are houses reassesed each time they are sold? (wondering if that's why they look relatively low: longtime owners)
3. Does either Hartford County or the town of Southington give any sort of property tax break for seniors?
4. Which of the following items are INCLUDED in your property tax bill? For items that are not included, how much do you typically pay for them separately?
Police
Fire Dept
Ambulance if not included in Fire Dept
Garbage Collection
Library

Speaking of Police, does Southington have its own police force or it is covered by the County police? Are you happy with the response time of police and fire services when needed?

Please tell me about the hospital that's in town (Hospital of Central CT at Bradley Memorial). The good, bad and ugly please! If you've ever been in that hospital, were you happy with the care? Healthgrades lumps all the HCC hospital stats together and so it's hard to tell what this particular one is good, bad or indifferent at.

How are the months of July and August as far as heat, humidity, and the bane of my existence: mosquitoes?

And of course I have to ask about the snow. Coming from LI, I admit I am spoiled because most winters we don't get more than 2 or 3 ft for the entire season. I realize this bears no resemblance to anywhere in CT except maybe right on the Sound! So tell me: when does the first shovel-able snow usually arrive (month) and when do you finally see the last of it melt away? And in a typical winter (granted this one has been horrible) how many feet of snow do you usually get over the season?

Thanks in advance!

[Never2L8]

Sorry, I forgot about your annual car tax (one of the few taxes NYS doesn't impose, LOL). I understand that the rate you pay depends on where you live as well as the market value of your car.

What is the car tax rate for Southington? Thanks again!

[NewJeffCT]

Welcome to CT if you do decide to move here. Connecticut has no county government - the state did away with them a few decades ago. So, no county police or fire. Small towns will have a volunteer fire department and maybe a resident state policeman. A larger town like Southington has its own police department and fire department, which is paid for by your property taxes.

So, there are no county taxes in Connecticut, and there is not a state property tax (state income & sales tax, yes). There are local/town taxes. If you see the listing on zillow or trulia, it will be the town property taxes listed there. So, if you see a home that is $400,000 in Southington, the assessed value should be 70% of that, and then you multiply the mill rate x the assessed value for the property tax. You also would calculate your car tax that way as well. So, a $30,000 car would be assessed at $21,000, and then the southington mill rate of about 27.5 would mean you'd pay $21,000 x .0275, and your car tax would be around $577. That would go down over time as the car decreases in value. (so, if your car is worth $22,000 next year, the tax would then be $423)

Towns usually re-assess all residential properties every 5 to 10 years, if I recall.

The car tax for Southington would be the same as the property tax rate.

Depending on the town, things like public water, sewers and/or garbage may be separate charges. In Avon (a town not too far from Southington), we paid a few hundred dollars/year for private trash pickup. However, in East Lyme, the town picks up the trash and it's included in our bill.

[Mr_250]

Southington has a mill rate of 27.46 right now. Home evaluations were done in 2011 so I would guess the next one will be in 2017 or so. The taxes you see on realtor.com or zillow are taxes for land and home. For a large town the taxes are in the middle. There is a cute downtown area in Southington and another in Plantsville (which is a village of Southington). Car taxes are taxed at 70% of the value of the car.

The police department is great. They are very visible and helpful. The fire department is made up of volunteers and paid. I think there are 4 stations around town which serve different areas. They seem on top of things. I live down the street from one and no matter what time of the day it is, someone will be there.

Garbage is NOT included in taxes. There are a couple companies that do hauling for Southington. I pay about $300 a year which includes weekly trash pick up and bi-weekly recycling.

Water/Sewer get billed quarterly.

Overall, if you are looking for a home in the 300 to 400k range there is plenty of options. The thing I like about Southington is that it is picking up steam. There are companies moving in and constant development going on which is really nice to see. Helps keep the grand list big.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by StressedOutNYer

You will probably all think I am crazy but I'm considering moving to CT as a retirement destination. I've read all the articles saying CT is the most expensive, one of the worst places to retire, etc etc but after a brief review Southington is looking more and more like a possibility. An added plus is that I would be less than 3 hrs drive from my eventual grandchild (yes, depending on traffic, LOL). I do have a few specific questions that I hope residents might be able to answer:

Believe it or not, a look through current homes for sale in the $300s and $400s are showing me that not only do you get more house for the $ than here on LI, but the taxes are lower than they would be here on the same house in the same kind of community. As in, about 50% lower which was quite a shock. Questions about taxes:

1. Do the taxes in RE listing typically include county property taxes AND town property taxes?
2. Are houses reassesed each time they are sold? (wondering if that's why they look relatively low: longtime owners)
3. Does either Hartford County or the town of Southington give any sort of property tax break for seniors?
4. Which of the following items are INCLUDED in your property tax bill? For items that are not included, how much do you typically pay for them separately?
Police
Fire Dept
Ambulance if not included in Fire Dept
Garbage Collection
Library

Speaking of Police, does Southington have its own police force or it is covered by the County police? Are you happy with the response time of police and fire services when needed?

Please tell me about the hospital that's in town (Hospital of Central CT at Bradley Memorial). The good, bad and ugly please! If you've ever been in that hospital, were you happy with the care? Healthgrades lumps all the HCC hospital stats together and so it's hard to tell what this particular one is good, bad or indifferent at.

How are the months of July and August as far as heat, humidity, and the bane of my existence: mosquitoes?

And of course I have to ask about the snow. Coming from LI, I admit I am spoiled because most winters we don't get more than 2 or 3 ft for the entire season. I realize this bears no resemblance to anywhere in CT except maybe right on the Sound! So tell me: when does the first shovel-able snow usually arrive (month) and when do you finally see the last of it melt away? And in a typical winter (granted this one has been horrible) how many feet of snow do you usually get over the season?

Thanks in advance!

As already noted to you, we do not have any county level of government, just municipal and state, so you will only pay property taxes to the town. Police, fire and library are part of your local taxes. In Southington, garbage is paid separately to a private company and I believe ambulance is a volunteer service. You will need to pay separately for the service.

As for the hospital, it is small and good for minor things. It is affliated with Hartford Hospital though which has an excellent reputation. You are not far from major hospitals in New Haven (Yale Medical is one of the best in the country) or Hartford. I would not recommmend John Dempsey (UConn) in Farmington though. Usually you will see more snow here than LI.

We usually start getting snow in December. There is heat and humidity in the summer but it is usually just for a coouple of days then breaks a bit and then comes back. There will also be mosquitoes. Sorry but they are all over the northeast. Jay

[cdhpotter]

I have been to that specific hospital in Southington for an outpatient procedure and they were just awesome. As far as inpatient care I can't say from experience myself. It's really a very small hospital and if I had a choice I would definitely go elsewhere for anything major, just for that reason.

I agree with the above poster on John Dempsey too. I've been through their ER a few times and it was not a great experience, to put it nicely.

I think Southington is a really lovely, well balanced town.

[robr823]

Bradley Memorial does not have a terrible reputation but not great either. Surgical services there are very limited. There are several good hospitals in central CT, so I wouldn't let that deter you.

Weather will be worse than LI for sure. I don't have specifics about snow feet per year. I am originally from NC and my wife wanted to move to NE to be closer to family. I picked the state in NE that was farthest south. The length of winter weather (4-5 months, freezing temperatures start in November and last through much of March) and the associated snowfall are a challenge for me. But, coming from LI, I wouldn't think your adjustment would be as considerable as it was for me.

Mosquitoes are present here. Some areas in central CT they are bad, some not so much. Same for ticks, which in CT, are more likely than anywhere in the world to carry Lyme disease. The prevalence of mosquitoes seems to have more to do with the area. (near to a pond, marsh, shaded areas, poorly drained areas, etc.)

The way I see it, there are non-modifiable factors with living anywhere in CT. High taxes, cold weather, bad driving etiquette, and "keep to themselves" people are the norm. But there are good things too. Pick the right town and you can expect above average schools, low crime, proximity to big cities, beaches, mountains, and above average pay for most jobs. Southington fits the bill well on most of those points. It all depends on what is most important to you.

[Never2L8]

Thanks so much for all the input! I've done a bit more digging into Southington and of course now I have a few more questions, LOL

(1) Are there any flooding issues from the Quinnipiac River? I don't know the elevation of the town vs the river so figured it's best to ask.

(2) I noticed on the town Patch website that the local "voters recently approved renovation and expansion to two of the elementary schools, one of which is scheduled to be demolished and rebuilt". This does concern me because property taxes are one of the three biggest factors in determining where I can move to. Things like this usually mean whopping big school budget/school tax increases down the road. Can anyone from Southington give me more information on this?

(2a) I am assuming that school taxes are included in the property tax bill, lol, but please correct me if I'm wrong; there are a few states that do not do so.

(3) I saw on the Southington Library web page that plans are underway for the expansion of the library. Someone else on the C-D forum saw a significant increase in their MA property taxes when something similar was done in their town. Should I assume the same is likely to happen to Southington taxes as well, in the not too distant future?

(4) My last question concerns the superfund sites in Southington. I was surprised to see (on the Homefacts site) that there are 18 superfund sites in Southington, including the landfill which I now understand from various online articles and reports is closed but is still causing issues via methane and other gasses. Six of the 18 sites are in Plantsville. There are also four "active polluters" listed, two of which are in Plantsville.
Moderator cut: link removed, competitor site

On the other hand, I see that Southington covers 36 square miles according to C-D stats. Is the landfill and most of the manufacturing concentrated in one particular general area of Southington or are they 'spread out' within the community? Having had a run-in with cancer already, I'm very focused on avoiding living anywhere close to areas that are known to have experienced chemical contamination.

[Mr_250]

Originally Posted by StressedOutNYer

Thanks so much for all the input! I've done a bit more digging into Southington and of course now I have a few more questions, LOL

Never heard of this. The Q-River is not very big when it crosses through Southington. Possibly, maybe during a 100 year flood type of rain, but I would not be concerned at all.

CT has high taxes no matter which town you go too, unless those high taxes are offset by high real estate prices. I would not let the potential increases scare you. Southington has a 27mill which IMO isn't too bad. The town is large and growing so any increase will be offset by the population. They are redoing two middle schools in town and I didn't feel any pinch in taxes.

Plantsville is the old manufacturing hub, so there is many sites that are "superfund." I have never heard of anyone getting sick or anything from them. It's a town established in the 1800's and so there will be some spots that are not environmentally friendly, but they are safe. Southington is a big town if you have concerns you can always find a spot that will make you feel comfortable. I live in Plantsville Section and never had any smell or odor.

[Never2L8]

Believe it or not the taxes on several for-sale homes in Southington are only 50% of what they would be if that house was in a similar town here on LI. And almost 100K cheaper in Southington too.

What would you say is your average year-to-year increase in your total property tax bills in Southington? That's something I need to take into account as well. This assumes of course that the homeowner hasn't added anything to his/her house that would bump up the bill.

In those circumstances here on LI, you can pretty much bet on an average year-over-year increase of around 5.5% in the bottom line.

How does that compare to Southington?

ETA: We pay $305 per year for the municipal garbage pickup, which is included in the taxes. Pickups twice a week plus a weekly recycling pickup, and special months in spring and fall for unlimited leaf and brush on an extra day.