[goldensky]

comparison between Raleigh/NC vs. Hartford/CT:

Can someone please compare Raleigh/NC vs. Hartford/CT regarding cost of living , house price,grocery, utility, etc...and culture?

[FunkOdyssey]

Raleigh wins in all categories. Weather is also far better in Raleigh. There is no contest between these two cities and that is evidenced by the rapid growth and influx of population to Raleigh vs stagnant Hartford.

[Mr_250]

Found this little website: Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

Says that Hartford is 11% more expensive than Raleigh.

Can't beat the weather and you can't deny the amount of people moving there.

[HumpDay]

Cost of Living is lower in NC but CT has higher wages. Taxes may be high here but we have high wages to compensate for that. Define "Weather is also far better in Raleigh". It all depends on your definition of good weather. You don't get that New England winter in NC. You can't beat CT's 4 seasons. Fall is beautiful here with the changing leaves. Though it may be warmer in NC, there aren't many places that have the same weather pattern as CT. Greater Hartford has a lot to offer. Schools are much better here than in NC. Crime is lower in CT than NC. Culture also defers on who you are. If you want the southern culture obviously Raleigh will beat Hartford. The Hartford area is a great family environment and NC comes to where near close to New England's charm than CT.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by FunkOdyssey

Raleigh wins in all categories. Weather is also far better in Raleigh. There is no contest between these two cities and that is evidenced by the rapid growth and influx of population to Raleigh vs stagnant Hartford.

I REALLY do not agree with this. The cost of living here may be higher but the pay usually is as well. Also Connecticut does not tax groceries while North Carolina does. Schools in the Raleigh area are not that great, while schools in the Hartford area suburbs are among the best in the country. In Raleigh people that care about the quality of their kids education send their kids to private school, an expense you do not have to worry about here in the suburbs of Hartford unless you want to.

Many homes in the Raleigh area are in planned communities with Homeowners Associations that you will have to pay for and deal with. Most homes in the Hartford area are not in HOA communities. People in Raleigh do this for two reasons: to be sure they live in an area with well maintained homes and to get services (parks, pools, roadway maintenance, etc.) that are not commonly provided for in that area. Here in Connecticut, most towns handle these services and do so pretty well.

And for culture, it is hard, if not impossible, to beat what is offered in Hartford as well as within 2 hours to New York and Boston. In Hartford you have pretty easy access to almost anything you like (beaches, mountains, big city, small towns, farms, etc.). You do not have that (or anything close) in Raleigh. As for the weather, yeah Raleigh is great in the winter but it is down right brutal in summer and is generally not that comfortable from May to October. I would rather deal with a couple of months of cold than many months of heat, especially since you have a yard to maintain during the warm weather months.

While rapid growth sounds nice, it also means that it is harder for the area to plan and control how the area develops. Look at past rapidly growing areas like Houston, Las Vegas, Long Island and Phoenix. They are miles and miles of sprawl that have turned ugly with time. The same thing is happening with North Carolina. Connecticut has very strong zoning laws that helps limit this type of growth.

Finally there is a wonderful New England charm to most towns here. Just about every town in Connecticut has a charming center with a green, churches and stately homes. You only find this in a few communities in the Raleigh area. Jay

[papafox]

Originally Posted by JayCT

I REALLY do not agree with this. The cost of living here may be higher but the pay usually is as well. Also Connecticut does not tax groceries while North Carolina does. Schools in the Raleigh area are not that great, while schools in the Hartford area suburbs are among the best in the country. In Raleigh people that care about the quality of their kids education send their kids to private school, an expense you do not have to worry about here in the suburbs of Hartford unless you want to.

Many homes in the Raleigh area are in planned communities with Homeowners Associations that you will have to pay for and deal with. Most homes in the Hartford area are not in HOA communities. People in Raleigh do this for two reasons: to be sure they live in an area with well maintained homes and to get services (parks, pools, roadway maintenance, etc.) that are not commonly provided for in that area. Here in Connecticut, most towns handle these services and do so pretty well.

And for culture, it is hard, if not impossible, to beat what is offered in Hartford as well as within 2 hours to New York and Boston. In Hartford you have pretty easy access to almost anything you like (beaches, mountains, big city, small towns, farms, etc.). You do not have that (or anything close) in Raleigh. As for the weather, yeah Raleigh is great in the winter but it is down right brutal in summer and is generally not that comfortable from May to October. I would rather deal with a couple of months of cold than many months of heat, especially since you have a yard to maintain during the warm weather months.

While rapid growth sounds nice, it also means that it is harder for the area to plan and control how the area develops. Look at past rapidly growing areas like Houston, Las Vegas, Long Island and Phoenix. They are miles and miles of sprawl that have turned ugly with time. The same thing is happening with North Carolina. Connecticut has very strong zoning laws that helps limit this type of growth.

Finally there is a wonderful New England charm to most towns here. Just about every town in Connecticut has a charming center with a green, churches and stately homes. You only find this in a few communities in the Raleigh area. Jay

If this isn't spin, I don't know what is!!

I'm dizzy just reading this!

Do you ALWAYS have to cherry pick and only post the good things about CT, and the negatives about any other place? And enough about this "charm" garbage….whatever that is supposed to mean.

You make it sound like CT is this wonderful utopia, which it is NOT according to most people. Sure….its a lot better here than in Kansas (and many other states---)I'll give you that, but to imply that its better than just about anywhere else is disingenious and misleading.

As to climate comparison, I bet if we took a poll that 60 to 70% of people would think Raleigh has an OVERALL year round better climate than Hartford.

[nep321]

Originally Posted by goldensky

comparison between Raleigh/NC vs. Hartford/CT:

Can someone please compare Raleigh/NC vs. Hartford/CT regarding cost of living , house price,grocery, utility, etc...and culture?

As a native of the Hartford, CT area and having visited the Raleigh area and North Carolina in general, please allow me to give the verdict here.

The median home value in the Raleigh metro is $200K, but is $240K in Hartford metro. Big deal. And wages certainly pay higher in Hartford than Raleigh.

The traffic congestion in Hartford is no where NEAR as bad as it is in Raleigh. The infrastructure there has not quite kept up with the explosive growth.

I would also say that the culture in Hartford is better than Raleigh, but this is subjective. Raleigh is a southern metro with southern accents and a bigger, more blatant presence of religion. Both places lean Democratic, but Hartford more so. Raleigh doesn't particularly have amazing food, nightlife or music, either.

As for the climate, Raleigh probably wins, because it has an equally long summer as winter. But Raleigh still gets snow and it still gets cold in the winter for a good 3 months. July can be very hot and humid though. But if you like serious winters, then Hartford wins.

Hartford is also closer to the ocean. Raleigh is a 4 hour drive to the ocean/coast, I believe.

Overall, the Hartford area is just more aesthetically appealing, in my opinion. There are mountains, valleys, rivers and reservoirs and it just looks pretty, especially in the summer. The scenery in the summer just looks better. The Raleigh area overall is semi-flat. Some mild hills, but nothing that great, really.

One other thing to note is that Raleigh is one of the most workaholic metros in the nation. Hartford is one of the least stressful. Contrary to what many people may believe, Hartford actually has more jobs than Raleigh does. And the jobs in Raleigh typically have very demanding requirements/qualifications, because (a) the population there is highly educated and (b) there's rapid population growth. So employers can demand more. In Hartford, it's actually not that hard to find a good job, because the population growth is stagnant. Yet the jobs still pay higher.

Here is the article that shows that Raleigh people work longer hours, but Hartford people work shorter hours:

Raleigh makes list of top 10 least stressed out cities | myfox8.com

[atlaw]

Originally Posted by papafox

if this isn't spin, i don't know what is!!

I'm dizzy just reading this!

Do you always have to cherry pick and only post the good things about ct, and the negatives about any other place? And enough about this "charm" garbage….whatever that is supposed to mean.

You make it sound like ct is this wonderful utopia, which it is not according to most people. Sure….its a lot better here than in kansas (and many other states---)i'll give you that, but to imply that its better than just about anywhere else is disingenious and misleading.

As to climate comparison, i bet if we took a poll that 60 to 70% of people would think raleigh has an overall year round better climate than hartford.

+1

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by papafox

If this isn't spin, I don't know what is!!

I'm dizzy just reading this!

Do you ALWAYS have to cherry pick and only post the good things about CT, and the negatives about any other place? And enough about this "charm" garbage….whatever that is supposed to mean.

You make it sound like CT is this wonderful utopia, which it is NOT according to most people. Sure….its a lot better here than in Kansas (and many other states---)I'll give you that, but to imply that its better than just about anywhere else is disingenious and misleading.

As to climate comparison, I bet if we took a poll that 60 to 70% of people would think Raleigh has an OVERALL year round better climate than Hartford.

Sorry but why aren't you being critical of the people here who are ALWAYS downing our state? Are they not presenting a "spin"?

I never EVER said Connecticut was perfect but the OP asked for a comparison and that is what I gave. Connecticut has a lot to offer people looking for a good quality of life but to too many people here "the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence". Whether that is true or not is personal preference.

As for the climate, I know many people who move south only to realize that the heat in the summer down there is just as unbearable as the cold in the winter here. The worst part is they forget that in the summer you still have a yard to maintain. At least here in the winter all you have to do is deal with a few snow storms.

As for charm, how can you say that Connecticut is not charming? Have you not been to towns like Litchfield, Old Wethersfield, Southport, Guilford, Stonington, Mystic or any of the hundred or more other villages we have here. Maybe you prefer a crappy Walmart Superstore or miles of endless sprawl destroying the landscape but I don't and neither do many of the people that live here and care enough to do something more than just constantly complain about things. You don't like it here? Do something about it.

Finally I am not being "disingenuous" or "misleading". Show me one thing I said that was not true. I am sorry you are "dizzy" from what I posted but you are certainly welcomed to ignore my posts in the future. Jay

[nep321]

As JayCT has pointed out, in further support of my statement that CT is more aesthetically appealing, is the fact that CT just has more charm to go along with the nicer scenery. The houses and towns just look nicer and tend to have more character. The Raleigh area overall is mostly bland suburbia. That alone would make me choose CT over Raleigh. I have been to 42 states and CT is the most uniformly charming state in the entire country, hands down. The only other states that come close are other New England states and some areas of the old South that have not yet been impacted by explosive cookie cutter growth (i.e. Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, etc.).