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How do these 2 States rank in:
1.) Having least amount of snow and ice? Shorter winter?
2.) Lower average home cost and utility cost?
3.) Has the lowest taxes?
More opinionated:
4.) Closest State to large Metros like LA/NYC?
5.) Best beaches?
6.) Best place to go camping and hiking?
7.) Which State has the least amount of traffic?
8.) Best In-State amenities like ballparks and Casino's?
9.) Best State for having more outdoor options such as kayaking?
10.) Better food options?
How do these 2 States rank in:
1.) Having least amount of snow and ice? Shorter winter?
2.) Lower average home cost and utility cost?
3.) Has the lowest taxes?
More opinionated:
4.) Closest State to large Metros like LA/NYC?
5.) Best beaches?
6.) Best place to go camping and hiking?
7.) Which State has the least amount of traffic?
8.) Best In-State amenities like ballparks and Casino's?
9.) Best State for having more outdoor options such as kayaking?
10.) Better food options?
Just to clarify ...
NC = North Carolina?
CT = Connecticut?
If that's indeed the case, then North Carolina wins 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10.
Opinions may differ on No. 4 ... but I'm going with Connecticut on that one (since it's literally a SUBURB of NYC)
I love CT it's my home state can't take that away.
We have friends and family here, which makes living here priceless.
However, wife and I lately feel like we are a gerbil stuck in a wheel going no where. By that I mean limited options to advance ourselves in our careers. We want to try to both get into nursing school. We are looking at programs where there is only 5 to 6 in our State each program has 1 start time and 1000 people applying to one program. Each program takes 70 to 100 people so super competitive. Then other option is programs pay $60K to get in, but doesn't feel worth it.
Rents expensive with limited options with little amenities and sometimes in rural areas looking to pay $1200 for 1 to 2 bdr rents to start. Then costly utilities. Then housing inexpensive options usually in a high property tax area or high housing cost in low tax areas with limited public utility options.
Income tax is relatively high as well as sales and car tax in CT.
Winters are so so. You get use to them. With most places to work have to commute in CT so winter weather can be a pain in the but. Commuting with construction and 2 lane highways can extend your commute time in CT.
Limited public transportation.
A plus is areas to Cities like NYC, Boston, and Providence.
Also with CT is a plus with proximity to beaches and has decent spring fed lakes. Nothing can be Carolina beaches.
I lived in NC for almost 5 years. I've never lived in CT although I've visited... anyway...
1.) Having least amount of snow and ice? Shorter winter? NC is a relatively large state. The climate in Western NC is entirely different to Eastern NC. Overall, I would probably say NC has the least amount of snow, ice and shorter winters...
But, speaking from personal experience and that of my husband's (who himself lived there 11 years, 7 in the Raleigh area and 4 in ENC), when there is the tinyest bit of snow and ice in areas that don't normally get it, everything comes to a standstill because they're ill equipped to deal with it. On a day that would be business as usual in the north or Midwest, things are thrown into a bit of chaos.
Also to consider, in the middle and East NC, the Summers are longer and more humid (and brutal) than up north. But if Summers are your thing, then that works in your favor
2.) Lower average home cost and utility cost?
This is going to vary by county and city. For instance, while CT has higher home prices than NC overall, places like Bridgeport and Hartford have lower house prices on average than Raleigh and Charlotte.
As for utility cost, I can only speak for NC, but while heating costs were relatively low in winter, Summer AC costs used to run us about $200+/month from late March, often into October for a tiny, old, 2 bedroom house. My utility costs in the Midwest are actually cheaper for a larger house. I have no idea on prices in CT though.
3.) Has the lowest taxes?
NC. I believe CT has among the highest combined income and property tax in the country.
More opinionated: 4.) Closest State to large Metros like LA/NYC?
CT is easily closest to NYC. It is probably much of a muchness for either state to fly to LA from.
5.) Best beaches?
NC does have some really beautiful beaches- there is no denying that.
Depending on where in NC a person is though, they may not be as accessible as they are in NC. A person living in WNC would have to travel about 6 hours to get to the coast, whereas I think just about anywhere in CT would be 90 minutes to the coast at the most. Charlotte and Raleigh are also further from the coast than just about anywhere in CT, but NC does have great beaches.
6.) Best place to go camping and hiking?
Neither are my kind of thing
7.) Which State has the least amount of traffic?
Depends where you are and where you're going.
8.) Best In-State amenities like ballparks and Casino's?
I would have to say CT. NC only has a couple of Casinos and both are all the way in WNC.
9.) Best State for having more outdoor options such as kayaking?
Again, not my thing so I can't answer, I'm sorry.
10.) Better food options?
Another hard one to answer- that would be more a city vs city kind of question. The advantage CT has though, is it's proximity to NYC. You could feasibly go to Manhattan for lunch/dinner from anywhere in CT- and NYC of course is a foodie's paradise. I would say that accessibility gives CT an edge.
How do these 2 States rank in:
1.) Having least amount of snow and ice? Shorter winter?
2.) Lower average home cost and utility cost?
3.) Has the lowest taxes?
More opinionated:
4.) Closest State to large Metros like LA/NYC?
5.) Best beaches?
6.) Best place to go camping and hiking?
7.) Which State has the least amount of traffic?
8.) Best In-State amenities like ballparks and Casino's?
9.) Best State for having more outdoor options such as kayaking?
10.) Better food options?
1: North Carolina, hands down. Connecticut has some pretty bad winters in certain parts of the state. NC will have snow and ice but sporadically, and not very much or very often.
2: North Carolina. Connecticut is outrageously expensive, in most areas, unless looking at inner city New Haven, Bridgeport and Hartford, which are oddly mostly run down, impoverished, and underdeveloped.
3: North Carolina. Connecticut is one of the most overly-taxed states in the US.
4: Connecticut's Fairfield County is 45 mins to 1 hr and a half away from NYC, depending on where in the county you live.
5: North Carolina, hands down. Connecticut has some beautiful shoreline, but the beaches are pretty terrible, compared to NC.
6: North Carolina. Western NC has some of the most stunning mountains in the east.
7: North Carolina will have the least traffic, outside of most major cities.
8: Connecticut may win this one, slightly. But it's pretty even.
9: North Carolina
10: Connecticut may barely win this one due to Fairfield County's options and proximity to NYC.
I pretty much agree with most of the responses here.
One thing I would is say about the beaches. Obviously if you go strictly by within state boundaries, North Carolina has the best beaches, sandy beaches anyway. North Carolina has some of the best beaches in the country and has a long coastline to boot.
But there is a catch, much of North Carolina's growing population centers live pretty far away from the shore. In contrast, much of Connecticut's population is either on the coast or not far.
How do these 2 States rank in:
1.) Having least amount of snow and ice? Shorter winter?
2.) Lower average home cost and utility cost?
3.) Has the lowest taxes?
More opinionated:
4.) Closest State to large Metros like LA/NYC?
5.) Best beaches?
6.) Best place to go camping and hiking?
7.) Which State has the least amount of traffic?
8.) Best In-State amenities like ballparks and Casino's?
9.) Best State for having more outdoor options such as kayaking?
10.) Better food options?
Having lived in both states, I can give you my input.
1. NC gets far less snow but when it does snow here it does get really icy. Mainly because they don't do a good job of plowing or putting salt down here. However, the snow only stays on the ground for a couple days max and it doesn't snow often at all. I think Raleigh averages like 5 inches of snow a year or something like that.
2. Home cost depends on where you are in the state of NC, kind of like it does in CT. You can get some really good deals out in Winston-Salem, Greensboro, High Point, and even Wilmington. Raleigh, Cary, Charlotte, and Asheville are a bit more expensive. Utility costs are pretty low down here. I think I paid like $180 last month for water, electric, and gas. I live in a 3 bed apartment that's about 1,100 square feet. I kept the thermostat around 68 all day every day during last month.
3. Income taxes are lower down here and property taxes are much lower. It's nothing like what people up in Fairfield County pay.
4. CT is obviously closer to the bigger metros of NYC, Boston, Providence, and Philadelphia. NC's largest city is Charlotte.
5. I prefer NC beaches over CT beaches. Less rocky and they seem cleaner. Water is obviously warmer.
6. I'm not a camper or hiker, but many people here love Asheville for that sort of thing.
7. In my opinion, CT traffic only really sucks because the roads are old and many are one lane. Down here, they add lanes to highways all the time and it makes getting around traffic a lot easier. I think driving down here is a breeze, even in downtown Raleigh and downtown Charlotte.
8. I don't even know if NC has casinos. No clue about ballparks either.
9. Both states offer lots of outdoor amenities. Hiking, fishing, camping, hunting, and more are all common in both states if you're outside the city areas.
10. CT has better seafood and better Italian food. Seafood is definitely good in Wilmington, but in the rest of the state, not really. Fantastic Southern cuisine and BBQ down here. You won't find good pizza here, but there's plenty of other good places to eat. Unfortunately, chain restaurants are big down here and you won't find nearly as many mom and pop restaurants here as you would in CT.
1: North Carolina, hands down. Connecticut has some pretty bad winters in certain parts of the state. NC will have snow and ice but sporadically, and not very much or very often.
2: North Carolina. Connecticut is outrageously expensive, in most areas, unless looking at inner city New Haven, Bridgeport and Hartford, which are oddly mostly run down, impoverished, and underdeveloped.
3: North Carolina. Connecticut is one of the most overly-taxed states in the US.
4: Connecticut's Fairfield County is 45 mins to 1 hr and a half away from NYC, depending on where in the county you live.
5: North Carolina, hands down. Connecticut has some beautiful shoreline, but the beaches are pretty terrible, compared to NC.
6: North Carolina. Western NC has some of the most stunning mountains in the east.
7: North Carolina will have the least traffic, outside of most major cities.
8: Connecticut may win this one, slightly. But it's pretty even.
9: North Carolina
10: Connecticut may barely win this one due to Fairfield County's options and proximity to NYC.
CT has better transportation in trains and buses than NC, Education is better in CT, surburban areas are better, wealthier state and more upper class areas. Litchfield county is nice area with rolling hills, CT shoreline towns are nice like Madison, Old Saybrook, Mystic etc. Hartford area towns like Avon, Rocky Hill, West Hartford are nice areas. Connecticut pizza is better than NC so as Italian, Seafood restaurants
8. I don't even know if NC has casinos. No clue about ballparks either.
I'll take a shot at the baseball/casino question.
For the casinos I believe NC has two right now, both out in the western part of the state near the Smoky Mountains, no where near as big as Mohegan/Foxwoods:
Harrah's Cherokee Casino Resort
Harrah's Cherokee Valley River Casino and Resort
There has been talk, for like 4 years, to build another casino by the Catawba Indian Nation near Kings Mountain, which is near Charlotte.
Connecticut has 2 casinos:
Mohegan Sun Casino Resort Foxwoods Resort Casino (which I believe is one of the largest in the World)
I think MGM wants to build a third casino in CT near Bridgeport
As for baseball, I would call North Carolina, the "Mecca" for minor league baseball, with 11 affiliated teams:
Down East Wood Ducks
Winston-Salem Dash
Burlington Royals
Asheville Tourists
Durham Bulls
Charlotte Knights
Hickory Crawdads
Greensboro Grasshoppers
Carolina Mudcats
Kannapolis Intimidators
Buies Creek Astros
One future Independent team in High Point and they also have a few summer college league teams.
CT has better transportation in trains and buses than NC, Education is better in CT, surburban areas are better, wealthier state and more upper class areas. Litchfield county is nice area with rolling hills, CT shoreline towns are nice like Madison, Old Saybrook, Mystic etc. Hartford area towns like Avon, Rocky Hill, West Hartford are nice areas. Connecticut pizza is better than NC so as Italian, Seafood restaurants
I agree with the transportation and education piece. Connecticut is also overall wealthier for sure, but that does not mean much to the average middle class or lower middle class family.
Many more job opportunities in North Carolina, and an incredibly lower cost of living on almost everything. Connecticut's economy recently is pretty dire, and extremely super slugglish:
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