Income $$ it took for you to consider coming back? Husband was approached with offer (Boston: rent, home equity)

[3DogNight]

Originally Posted by DebNashua

3Dog: I can say this as someone who moved from NYC to NH -- I found the taxes (and all costs, really) laughingly low, compared to what I was used to. It actually skewed my perception of housing costs, in particular. I ended up way over-paying for a house because of that perspective.

I plan to move from NH to West MA in the Spring, so I am trying now to educate myself on the housing costs by watching real estate in the towns that I plan to target. I hope this will at least give me a feel for what's out there, what is a good price, how quickly things sell, etc.

One thing about the "cold". I truly didn't find it all that much colder than what I was used to in NYC. Yes, we get more snow, but honestly, the actual Winter temps between Southern NH and NYC (and, East MA) really only vary by a few degrees in most cases. So it might be 32° here and 35° in NYC, which means our snow will stick and in NYC it doesn't hang around. If you're talking about upstate NY, it might even be colder there than here, depending on where you are.

The one thing that can be different is the availability of natural gas, public sewer and water. Only a few towns in NH seem to have this. It seems to be more ubiquitous in MA, but I wouldn't assume. Heating by oil or propane can be expensive (not to mention a big pain).

The other thing about New England is that you don't find too many places with central a/c. It can get very humid here in the Summer, this past Summer was particularly miserable (I'm sure it was as bad or worse in NY), so that might be something to keep in mind as well. I know, for me, I am going to want to consider what the options will be to install a/c with what I buy, if the place doesn't have it.

Grocery stores: I have been impressed with the variety and availability of grocery options there are. But this is going to be dependent on where you land, so that will be something you will want to research some.

Hope this helps a bit.

Absolutely helps! Thank you so so much. We went from NY to CT to NC. It has taken me this long to get the other half to look back in the direction of the northeast but he doesn't consider MA a viable route - however I do and the more information I'm armed with, the better off I'll be.



I noticed recently all my "art" in the house are painted or sketched snow scenes. Cold works for me.


We have in-laws in NH and that's his choice but to me it's a wealthy stronghold and they want no one else there. Keeping high prop taxes as the gatekeeper. For an average couple like us, we can never cut our expenses where needed (via sales tax and not shopping or spending) or I guess you could say, die by a thousand cuts via sales and income tax. High property tax for middle income folks is just a knife to the heart to us - you can't get away from it and you can't budget with what you don't have = enough income. High prop taxes are the expectation that the expense is up front, due regardless, and can never be trimmed or reined in.



MA is more comparable to NY to me - expense-wise. We are from Westchester, so the snow hung around because it was poorly disposed of - if handled at all. Snow piles in CT one year lasted until June! NH seems to take it all in stride, which I envy. Not sure about MA?

[redplum33]

Originally Posted by 3dognight

snow piles in ct one year lasted until june!

bs

[CaseyB]

Originally Posted by 3DogNight

MA is more comparable to NY to me - expense-wise. We are from Westchester, so the snow hung around because it was poorly disposed of - if handled at all. Snow piles in CT one year lasted until June! NH seems to take it all in stride, which I envy. Not sure about MA?

I remember a "snow mountain" of piled snow that didn't totally melt until June. Maybe a couple of years ago.

Where do you live in NC? Do you need to find employment?

[redplum33]

Originally Posted by CaseyB

I remember a "snow mountain" of piled snow that didn't totally melt until June. Maybe a couple of years ago.

Actually I forgot about that. After the crazy amount of snow in Boston in 2015, a giant pile didn't fully melt until mid-JULY.

Generally speaking, though, you're not going to see snow piles in June in CT or MA.

[3DogNight]

Originally Posted by redplum33

Actually I forgot about that. After the crazy amount of snow in Boston in 2015, a giant pile didn't fully melt until mid-JULY.

Generally speaking, though, you're not going to see snow piles in June in CT or MA.

No it's not "BS."

The second to last winter we spent in CT, they ran out of places to put snow. SW CT in general doesn't seem to manage snow well so it was left in mountains in obscure places. Our particular development started using plows to push piles over rock ledges onto what is now another development. Eventually it piled up against the embankment to become eye level with our parking lot and it was there until June. So were the piles that were left in parking lots so yeah, it was there.

CaseyB: Husband is a luxury service provider so we need to be in eyesight of people we'd never be able to afford to live near. Annoying conundrum. I work in an office environment and can do it anywhere.

[ECPCVC]

Originally Posted by 3DogNight

Was hopeful for some useful info which is why I came to this thread. I don't want to hear any more about "you should stay in NC" - it's unhelpful - and grew tired of the redirect and the disbelief myself.


I like to hear about MA, warts and all. I know it's cold and expensive, but I'm looking to hear about experiences. We looked at MA in the mid 90s and I'm ever so sorry I was scared off by the ridiculous moniker Taxachusetts, especially coming from NY.



I have been watching the MA, ME and NH forums and all I'm really learning is that there are radically different economic futures (and outcomes) for each state.

I’m from NY too. Suburbs of the city, and the taxes are way lower here (the taxes are about half the rate my parents pay in Westchester and I live in a high tax town). Schools are the same or better. The weather is also very similar, maybe 5 degrees colder. I live just under 3 hrs from where I grew up. I guess it depends where you are from in ny but I find the suburbs of Boston to be very similar. I know so many people from Westchester and LI. My neighbor grew up in the town next to mine in NY. I would say the public transportation isn’t as good and neither is the pizza, but other than that it’s just another expensive area with a strong economy and people who are educated and many times from different states and countries. There are townie towns. Usually the more expensive the town, the less townie it is - like anywhere.

[chicagoliz]

Originally Posted by 3DogNight

Was hopeful for some useful info which is why I came to this thread. I don't want to hear any more about "you should stay in NC" - it's unhelpful - and grew tired of the redirect and the disbelief myself.


I like to hear about MA, warts and all. I know it's cold and expensive, but I'm looking to hear about experiences. We looked at MA in the mid 90s and I'm ever so sorry I was scared off by the ridiculous moniker Taxachusetts, especially coming from NY.



I have been watching the MA, ME and NH forums and all I'm really learning is that there are radically different economic futures (and outcomes) for each state.

"Taxachussetts" is a name the GOP came up with to smear Democrats and left-leaning areas in general. It had a nice ring because "tax" vaguely rhymes with "Mass" so people remembered it. But it had and has little relation to reality.

Taxes in MA really aren't overall higher than in many other states. They're very similar to PA, once you consider all the various taxes PA had that MA doesn't. Property taxes are higher in NY, NJ and IL than they are in MA or even in NH. There are states like FL and DE that have very low taxes of any kind, but they offer little in the way of services and education and infrastructure suffer because of it.

[CaseyB]

Originally Posted by 3DogNight

No it's not "BS."

The second to last winter we spent in CT, they ran out of places to put snow. SW CT in general doesn't seem to manage snow well so it was left in mountains in obscure places. Our particular development started using plows to push piles over rock ledges onto what is now another development. Eventually it piled up against the embankment to become eye level with our parking lot and it was there until June. So were the piles that were left in parking lots so yeah, it was there.

CaseyB: Husband is a luxury service provider so we need to be in eyesight of people we'd never be able to afford to live near. Annoying conundrum. I work in an office environment and can do it anywhere.

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.

[bizcuit]

Originally Posted by chicagoliz

"Taxachussetts" is a name the GOP came up with to smear Democrats and left-leaning areas in general. It had a nice ring because "tax" vaguely rhymes with "Mass" so people remembered it. But it had and has little relation to reality.

Taxes in MA really aren't overall higher than in many other states. They're very similar to PA, once you consider all the various taxes PA had that MA doesn't. Property taxes are higher in NY, NJ and IL than they are in MA or even in NH. There are states like FL and DE that have very low taxes of any kind, but they offer little in the way of services and education and infrastructure suffer because of it.

But in FL, the insurance is the cost that will kill you. Every state seems to have something.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by DebNashua

But in FL, the insurance is the cost that will kill you. Every state seems to have something.

I just got my Massachusetts homeowners insurance bill. It’s doubled since 2009. I imagine everyone close to salt water is seeing the same thing.