[BigHouse9]

That is probably a good idea. It is funny, there are some things I dislike about NC and some things I don't. I just think the whole thing about it being so much cheaper to live down here is quite wrong. But I consider moving to NC to be THE WORST mistake I have ever made in my life.

Bottom line, and I am not speaking for everyone and WARNING: do not turn this into a bash thread of either NC or CT, I guess I am a New Englander at heart. I plan on moving back up, enjoying every second of it and settling down up there for a very long time (hopefull the rest of our lives). I like the much more open and relaxed feel of the Hartford area and I want my kids to grow up with that too.

[lovinlifeinnc]

Congrats on the move. Hope you and your family will be very happy. Just a question. What was the personal hell you went through in NC? Did you make friends? Did you try to like it? Not bashing you or anything. And from a previous post you said you moved down to take care of ill parents. Are they still ill and who will look after them?

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by BigHouse9

That is probably a good idea. It is funny, there are some things I dislike about NC and some things I don't. I just think the whole thing about it being so much cheaper to live down here is quite wrong. But I consider moving to NC to be THE WORST mistake I have ever made in my life.

Bottom line, and I am not speaking for everyone and WARNING: do not turn this into a bash thread of either NC or CT, I guess I am a New Englander at heart. I plan on moving back up, enjoying every second of it and settling down up there for a very long time (hopefull the rest of our lives). I like the much more open and relaxed feel of the Hartford area and I want my kids to grow up with that too.

Personally I find NC to be much more relaxed than the corridor between Boston and DC. JMO though. Glad you're moving home where you belong.

[BigHouse9]

Originally Posted by lovinlifeinnc

Congrats on the move. Hope you and your family will be very happy. Just a question. What was the personal hell you went through in NC? Did you make friends? Did you try to like it? Not bashing you or anything. And from a previous post you said you moved down to take care of ill parents. Are they still ill and who will look after them?

In-laws lived a couple of hours away down here and we just never ended up helping them as anticipated. I made friends down here but I found that it was not any where near as cheap as people made it out to be, in fact it was more expensive for us. I am not a big fan of the small lots and crowded neighborhoods, the traffic, the heat and just the overall lack of character. It seems like every street corner has the same type of strip mall on it and that just wasn't for me. My job also did not work out the way I would have liked. That was probably the biggest thing for me.

Oviously I survived and I learned a lot. Just my experience which I am sure is not the same as everyone's.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by BigHouse9

In-laws lived a couple of hours away down here and we just never ended up helping them as anticipated. I made friends down here but I found that it was not any where near as cheap as people made it out to be, in fact it was more expensive for us. I am not a big fan of the small lots and crowded neighborhoods, the traffic, the heat and just the overall lack of character. It seems like every street corner has the same type of strip mall on it and that just wasn't for me. My job also did not work out the way I would have liked. That was probably the biggest thing for me.

Oviously I survived and I learned a lot. Just my experience which I am sure is not the same as everyone's.

If you don't mind me asking, what exactly was more expensive?

Looking at rents alone, it seems to be about 25% cheaper than central Conn and gas seems to be about 10% cheaper.

[MaryB61]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

If you don't mind me asking, what exactly was more expensive?

Looking at rents alone, it seems to be about 25% cheaper than central Conn and gas seems to be about 10% cheaper.

What was the salary there as compared to CT? How much did you have to pay into your medical insurance as compared to your job in CT? How much was your medical copayment as compared to your job in CT?

These were all the things that made living in SC more expensive than living in CT. Not to mention that a LOT of things cost the same in SC as they do in CT.

Welcome bck BH!!

Maryb

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by MaryB61

What was the salary there as compared to CT? How much did you have to pay into your medical insurance as compared to your job in CT? How much was your medical copayment as compared to your job in CT?

These were all the things that made living in SC more expensive than living in CT. Not to mention that a LOT of things cost the same in SC as they do in CT.

Welcome bck BH!!

Maryb

I don't live in NC - so I can't answer those questions. That's why I asked BigHouse. It's sad how so many move down there for a cheaper lifestyle but quickly find out that isn't so. A search on rents shows that rents and home prices are less but it seems from reading the boards that the hidden costs more than make up for that.

[usmcfamily]

Not my experience moving up here from SC. We have found it to be incredibly MORE expensive than the Hilton Head area. Even in light of the pay raise, the mortgage, taxes, groceries, utilities are almost double for us. Even the homeowners insurance is the same and we don't have to carry the flood/hurricane coverage here in CT - just the higher cost of the home means higher insurance. We have kids who are very involved in sports and the cost of travel teams are double, in addition to paying for high school sports. My dog groomer is also double here! Would love for someone to clue me in on what is less expensive up here - maybe I am doing something wrong!!!!

[HeadedWest]

Originally Posted by usmcfamily

Would love for someone to clue me in on what is less expensive up here - maybe I am doing something wrong!!!!

If you find any bargain services in CT, let me know. I haven't found anything here that isn't more expensive than other places I've lived. I pay more for everything here, from haircuts to insurance.

[BigHouse9]

Originally Posted by MaryB61

What was the salary there as compared to CT? How much did you have to pay into your medical insurance as compared to your job in CT? How much was your medical copayment as compared to your job in CT?

These were all the things that made living in SC more expensive than living in CT. Not to mention that a LOT of things cost the same in SC as they do in CT.

Welcome bck BH!!

Maryb

My salary was about 8% less in NC. Medical insurance was about the same. Have to drive A LOT more down here so we paid a lot more for gas. Phone & cable were more and electricity was more to start but I understand rates have gone up in CT too. Cost of goods down here is more. We used to pay the ridiculous HOA fee but in the current neighborhood, there is not one. My car insurance went up too and I can see why from the poor drivers in the Raleigh area. :-) Housing and taxes are a lot cheaper here though. My goal though is to have a lot with a large wooded yard and that is very hard to come by in the Raleigh area. So all the little things added up and with the decrease in salary it was a wash or more expensive.

Bottom line, I will be taking a significant increase when I come back up. Hard to argue with that especially after looking for 7-8 months down here and finding nothing.