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Is the quality of life really better in the Southeastern U.S. than in the Northeastern U.S.? Do people who move from the North to the South ever miss it and want to come back?
It seems from the way people talk that the South is the promised land, and the Northeast is hell on earth. Is that really how it is?
Are there any people who actually like it in the Northeast?
Of course there are people love the Northeast despite the fact that people complain, ad nauseum, about the taxation. There is a long running thread in the New York forum concerning people who have moved back north.
This is going to be a strictly subjective type of topic. But I will say that I've done the opposite of what most on these forums have done: I moved from the South TO the Northeast and later California. Just from my comparative perspective the Southeast is an easier place to live than the Northeast. I Lived in Boston for a few years and later NH.
Most of my negative opinions of the Northeast comes from not being raised in that environment. The winters are far worse. I had never experienced weather that cold and severe for that long. I found the winters to be depressing and too prolonged. Winter lasted a good 2-3 months longer than back home. Secondly, the cost of renting and real estate was a lot higher. I was paying $800 for a cramped 1 bedroom apartment in a crumbly old building versus back home where at the time houses were still usually well under $100,000 with $450 mortgage payments. This was over 10 years ago so I imagine the cost of rent has gone up even further. There was simply a lot of competition for space. I felt like a lot of things I had taken for granted- like parking, cheap restaurants and food, light traffic, driving, cheap rent and real estate were ALL far more difficult to deal with in the Northeast.
Out in California all of these things are worse but the weather sort of smooths it over a bit and makes it a little more bearable. So yes- in my comparison and experience the region I've lived in that was way more relaxed and easier to live in was the Southeast. Given that it sounds like every other person from NJ, MA, and NY all want to move down there I'm not sure how much longer it will stay that way. I visited Raleigh Durham a few years ago and I swear it was starting to look just like some of the cities in the Northeast. Hopefully I can move back before that region is also ruined.
This is going to be a strictly subjective type of topic. But I will say that I've done the opposite of what most on these forums have done: I moved from the South TO the Northeast and later California. Just from my comparative perspective the Southeast is an easier place to live than the Northeast. I Lived in Boston for a few years and later NH.
Most of my negative opinions of the Northeast comes from not being raised in that environment. The winters are far worse. I had never experienced weather that cold and severe for that long. I found the winters to be depressing and too prolonged. Winter lasted a good 2-3 months longer than back home. Secondly, the cost of renting and real estate was a lot higher. I was paying $800 for a cramped 1 bedroom apartment in a crumbly old building versus back home where at the time houses were still usually well under $100,000 with $450 mortgage payments. This was over 10 years ago so I imagine the cost of rent has gone up even further. There was simply a lot of competition for space. I felt like a lot of things I had taken for granted- like parking, cheap restaurants and food, light traffic, driving, cheap rent and real estate were ALL far more difficult to deal with in the Northeast.
Out in California all of these things are worse but the weather sort of smooths it over a bit and makes it a little more bearable. So yes- in my comparison and experience the region I've lived in that was way more relaxed and easier to live in was the Southeast. Given that it sounds like every other person from NJ, MA, and NY all want to move down there I'm not sure how much longer it will stay that way. I visited Raleigh Durham a few years ago and I swear it was starting to look just like some of the cities in the Northeast. Hopefully I can move back before that region is also ruined.
You have to understand that the Northeast isn't monolithic or isn't just the Bos-Wash corridor. There are Northeastern metros that have a COL on par with Southern metros. So, that depends upon the area in the NE. There are plenty of nice walkable villages, with things to in many parts of the NE, like Upstate NY. While winter can be bad up here, the heat and humidity in the South can be pretty bad and for just as long of a time too. There's other issues like crime, schools, things to do and location, among other things that come into play.
I feel like it is more people from the Midwest than Northeast who think that the Southeast is great and it is miserable up north. Tons of people from the Midwest started moving to Atlanta and North Carolina in the 80's. New York, Boston, D.C. are all still growing.
I feel like it is more people from the Midwest than Northeast who think that the Southeast is great and it is miserable up north. Tons of people from the Midwest started moving to Atlanta and North Carolina in the 80's. New York, Boston, D.C. are all still growing.
The midwestern climate is much tougher than the northeast, and the economy is worse as well. Many people are leaving this part of the country to escape those realities. Also midwestern people have more in common with southerners than do people in the northeast. Much easier for a Michigan or Indiana resident to adjust to life in the south than it is for a northeasterner. The midwest is slower paced and more rural in the same way the south is, so there is no real culture shock. Now someone moving south from Massachusetts will certainly face culture shock.
The midwestern climate is much tougher than the northeast, and the economy is worse as well. Many people are leaving this part of the country to escape those realities. Also midwestern people have more in common with southerners than do people in the northeast. Much easier for a Michigan or Indiana resident to adjust to life in the south than it is for a northeasterner. The midwest is slower paced and more rural in the same way the south is, so there is no real culture shock. Now someone moving south from Massachusetts will certainly face culture shock.
I agree with this statement as I am now living in Indiana again for the 2nd time. I have also lived many years in the Kansas City, MO metro area as well as northern New England. Southern Indiana is basically the South... It really isn't much different at all from places much further south with the exception that the climate is cooler. Southern Indiana is also a cultural crossroads with influences from the South, Midwest, and Appalachia all mixed together.
I feel like it is more people from the Midwest than Northeast who think that the Southeast is great and it is miserable up north. Tons of people from the Midwest started moving to Atlanta and North Carolina in the 80's. New York, Boston, D.C. are all still growing.
That's because tons of ppl from NY and Boston started moving to FL in the 80s. I think it's less of a culture shock for people in the NE to move to FL than it is to move to places like GA and NC. There are communities in FL where the majority of residents are from NY/NJ/MA etc.
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