[Henry10]

Originally Posted by NewJeffCT

My in-laws hate coming to the US from China because they can't do that here in the US - they have to rely on my wife or me to bring them places. In their city in China, they can walk out of their apartment complex and have dozens of restaurants and retail stores to choose from. And, if something is further away, they can get a cab, bus or subway/train to get there easily.

Not a fair comparison. Your in-laws live in a large urban area, and probably very dense. You do not. Besides, good or bad, US is built around the automobile, China is built around the bicycle. Apples and cucumbers.

Originally Posted by Armyvet1

These things you will never find in a city because places like NYC are so massive that there is really no sense of community, you get lost in it.

NYC, and every large city for that matter, is what it is. And it is not what's it's not (i.e. small town.)

Nevertheless, there are still communities in the City that they know people by their first name, and you also know all their private business.

In my line of work, we say it still works like in a small town. Everybody knows somebody.

And we also had a festival today in our hood, they shut down 3rd Avenue from 79th to 86th Street. Jungle gyms, games, food, junk, everything. Against my better judgment I had a $ 8 hot dog, 2-footer. Kids met plenty of neighborhood kids that they know or go to school with. Afterwards, I hung out by the courts at Central Park, and about 30 youths playing 6x6 volleyball seem to all have camaraderie and know each other.

Don't be so quick to judge from a distance.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by NewJeffCT

No, it's not really news, but if you go by some of the gloom & doom on this forum, you'd think CT was head & shoulders more expensive than anywhere else, unless you lived in a penthouse suite in Manhattan.

In regards to city living, a lot of people like being able to walk out their front door and not have to get in a car and drive to get to shopping, restaurants, bars, clubs, broadway shows, sporting events, etc. And, it's not just young people. My in-laws hate coming to the US from China because they can't do that here in the US - they have to rely on my wife or me to bring them places. In their city in China, they can walk out of their apartment complex and have dozens of restaurants and retail stores to choose from. And, if something is further away, they can get a cab, bus or subway/train to get there easily.

Your in-laws could do this if you lived in a city, not a suburb. Many people in this country (and this state) do live in a city and can walk to these things. That is a decision you and your wife made. Jay

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by BPt111

you also pay car taxes in CT

But we do not have tolls and our vehicle registration is not as expensive as many states.

Remember too that many states like New York are much larger and include less expensive rural areas. Look at New York. long Island and Westchester are much more expensive than Connecticut but those costs are offset by cheaper areas upstate. Jay

[EricS39]

Oh yes Westchester and suburban jersey are wayyy more expensive than Connecticut

The apartment where I pay not even $1,000/month includes 24-hour gym, free installed washer and dryer, huge bathroom, lush walking trails, private wooden balcony and fireplace, and bike rail to trail system that happens to be minutes down the road for bikes


In suburban jersey there is are in-laws of mine with an apartment nearly identical to this one in square foot by square foot, but no fireplace and no gym...goes for $1,800/month but theres more restaurants nearby and it's 20 minutes outside Manhattan is the difference