Income $$ it took for you to consider coming back? Husband was approached with offer

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by CaseyB

It's expensive here relative to where you are moving from. New Hampshire would be less because even though you mentioned their property taxes, they have no state income tax or sales tax. Houses cost a lot less. There aren't nearly as many wealthy towns there, though.

It depends on the zip codes. I sat down at my Portsmouth NH house in 2008 and did the retirement math. I bailed out for South Dartmouth. My Portsmouth house cost 2.5x more per square foot. The property taxes were 4x more. When I retire, Mass doesn’t tax Social Security. 5.10% state income tax on 401(k)/IRA distributions won’t kill me. A $10k+ property tax bill and all that home equity tied up will.

Sure, I could have moved to some New Hampshire hell hole to cut costs but I wanted to live walkable to salt water. I think DebNashua is moving to Western Mass. Nashua and surrounding towns are pretty expensive. I’ll bet the housing cost plus taxes math is comparable. It’s metro Boston where the huge house prices make for large property tax bills where you feel the tax burden.

[CaseyB]

I think this poster needs to live near (but not in) wealthy zip codes, though.

[bizcuit]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

It depends on the zip codes. I sat down at my Portsmouth NH house in 2008 and did the retirement math. I bailed out for South Dartmouth. My Portsmouth house cost 2.5x more per square foot. The property taxes were 4x more. When I retire, Mass doesn’t tax Social Security. 5.10% state income tax on 401(k)/IRA distributions won’t kill me. A $10k+ property tax bill and all that home equity tied up will.

Sure, I could have moved to some New Hampshire hell hole to cut costs but I wanted to live walkable to salt water. I think DebNashua is moving to Western Mass. Nashua and surrounding towns are pretty expensive. I’ll bet the housing cost plus taxes math is comparable. It’s metro Boston where the huge house prices make for large property tax bills where you feel the tax burden.

Yep, property taxes are pretty high. And the other thing is, the towns that I am really drawn to have very few small houses. Most are HUGE. It looks like I will have a better inventory of small houses in West MA.

[Sweetbottoms]

Originally Posted by 3DogNight

I have not logged on in years but this conversation was driving me bonkers. I can say I've seen what you have seen, and it's going on 14 years. It waxes and wanes but it's here. I shrug off disbelievers because we live it and it's just ridiculous.



Just this Halloween we were wished a HAPPY REFORMATION DAY by some kid digging in the candy bowl while dad was nodding and 'ayup ayup' in the background. So they used Halloween to proselytize? 14 years earlier we moved here in Sept and by Halloween, which fell on a Sunday that year, all hell broke loose in this town. Angry that it was still being celebrated (Satan's birthday). Had a kid trick or treat on Saturday the 30th, driven to our door by his mom who hung in our driveway in her minivan. Poor kid had to tell me why he was dressed on Saturday and trick or treating - because they don't celebrate Satan's birthday on the Lord's day. Police department now states on its FB page "we do not regulate the celebration of Halloween."



Crazy signs on a church marquis about Harry Potter that year (2004-2005)- it was introducing them to Satan and witchcraft. For the naysayers, it's Cornerstone Church on 401 in Wake County NC, since there are many heads shaking in disbelief right now because people see what they want.



For all those who can't take the ugly side of their future retirement state, it is what it is. If you move into a neighborhood entirely of transplants, NO, you will likely not encounter this. You will encounter people who are just as new to the area as you and you will be newbies and feeling your way around together: meetups, kids, clubs, etc.


If you do like we did and just land where you like a house, not safely ensconced in a transplant neighborhood, you will be approached and religiously (to use a bad pun). 14 years ago the moving truck wasn't out of the driveway and both the HVAC man doing the tuneup and a neighbor from across the development powerwalked over to ask us where we were going to go to church.


14 years later it's the SSD(development). Church about 3 miles away used to rent amps on Halloween to thunderously blast religious music. The first 2 yrs we were in this house it rattled our windows. By the third year I guess attendance had waned, it has since stopped. Come to find out, our neighbors across the street who have been trying to recruit us to go to church with them (I have her religious book "gift" in the garage yard sale pile) GO to that oddball church.


My mother was harassed daily at work by management - family run store so no one to complain to. "Talk Catholic to me. Catholics are perverts. You should just come to our church, you're going to hell anyway." It's either religion or anti-Yankee noise, blah blah blah. More often it's silent-aggressive behavior.

I was helping out temporarily at our local gym for a parents night out and I had one kid go on and on ad on about Halloween. "I mean who even celebrates Satans birthday? Mom says she's having bible study that night" and so on... I had to school him on the actual roots.. open his eyes a little cause he was talking like he was terrified the date was coming up.. I also had to hear it at work.." I can't even think of someone not believing in our Lord.. what kind of person do you have to be? How do they live?"... I wanted to jump up and down and be like "hellooo living that life right here!"


We had a few pamphlets in my daughters trick or treating bucket pertaining to god... Like a lolipop attached to a "Jesus Loves You" card..I threw them out... I'm so glad I'm not the only one who has experienced this craziness. We are currently tied up in one of the last conservative strongholds around Charlotte (didn't know that when we moved here) and my god... its just... ugh..

[kathryn77]

I am from Canada and living in Columbia, SC for about 20 years. I’m dying to get out of here. Our work has started layoffs and I’ve told my husband we’re moving north, anywhere else.

I’ve had a similar experience to others on here. The division between races is awful. The religion is absolutely everywhere. Our schools on the whole are awful, we’re lucky that our kids are currently in magnet programs that require us to drive 20 minutes to their school. Oh and I’m expected to put my middle schooler in cotillion training for etiquette. The guns are discussed all the time and between offers to go to church and offers to go to the gun range, it is just not home.

Good luck with your move!