upstate NY feel (farmland, mountains, gas, electric)

[circleg]

I love the feel and atmosphere of upstate NY and was looking into moving and start a small scale farming operation. After looking at several farms for sale I was shocked at the high property taxes. Can anyone recommend any other part of the country that has similar atmosphere, ie slow pace, beautiful farmland and 4 seasons without the crazy taxes.

[RyanR]

PA is catching up with NY on taxes. Ohio is a decent State to consider.

As it relates to land in these areas, consider the mineral (gas and oil in particular) rights. If you want them in PA, WV or Eastern OH it's going to cost you a pretty penny. If nat gas drilling occurs in the area, you'll re-coup the initial price paid.

[Finger Laker]

It's a little weird but I can generally tell the difference between a town in PA and a town in NY and I think they are fairly different despite many obvious similiarities

I'm not sure on the tax situation, but around the UP in Michigan and parts of Wisconsin have almost given me the "deja vu" feeling of being back home

[ki0eh]

Northern tier of PA (there is a LONG way to go there to catch up to adjacent NY in property taxes); northern OH; far northern IN; lower MI; about anywhere in WI; southeastern MN; bits of NW IL and NE IA bordering the Mississippi from Sabula IA north, to me have a similar feel to western and central NY. The UP and northern tip of LP of MI, far north WI, and NE MN are probably not as good for farming but in some respects feel similar.

[circleg]

thank you for all the replies. I had considered WI but research shows that the tax burden in WI is just as bad as NY.

[ckhthankgod]

Did you look into property tax exemptions for agricultural properties or look into the low utility cost rural electric cooperatives? Agricultural assessment information

Welcome to the New York State Rural Electric Cooperative Home Page

Here's a good map too: Property Tax Map | CitizenConnects

[Carolina65]

Wondering about something - property taxes in upstate NY are so high that they discourage investment, which in turn, drives down property values....so, even though taxes are high, are they offset by the fact that properties in upstate NY can be dramatically cheaper than elsewhere?

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by Carolina65

Wondering about something - property taxes in upstate NY are so high that they discourage investment, which in turn, drives down property values....so, even though taxes are high, are they offset by the fact that properties in upstate NY can be dramatically cheaper than elsewhere?

I'd say that this is the case. Many times when they say that property taxes are high in Upstate NY, it is usually the rates. This can vary by town/city/county, etc. Median home prices are pretty low and there are cases where you can/may find a decent home in a solid suburb for under 100k. If you view the map I posted, you can get the median home value for each county. You will notice that many are in the roughly 90-130,000 dollar range here in Upstate NY. I believe that the property rate comes out to around 2.5%. This includes everything.

Many people, such as mayself, may get tax exemptions. You can get Basic STAR or Enhanced STAR if you are a senior and in my case, I get one for being a military veteran. There are other exemptions as well.

Also, given they way the game is played today, there are companies that are up here that get tax breaks. So, that may be the case for companies that are here.

[M3 Mitch]

How about New Hampshire? Have never lived there but visited there, VT and upstate NY, they are similar in "feel" to me anyway.

[LiveLoveLaugh]

I LOVE looking at farms online (I live in an 1886 farm) Upstate NY has amazing farms but as you said....OMG...the property taxes are astronomical. I live in the Blue Ridge Mountains, western NC. Take a look, I LOVE it here. Good luck