LondonCutlass

I wonder if anyone can help. In a couple of years I will be moving from London and I'm thinking about somewhere in New England, particularly Connecticut or Mass or RI.
I'm coming over in August to look around some areas but I don't know where to start. We are looking for a good sized town or city but with plenty of space, somewhere with a good sense of community and nice houses ( no ghetto areas please) I have a reasonable budget for a house.
I'm not coming to work so no need to worry about that we just fancy a complete change plus when I get parts for the Cutlass I won't have any import duty to pay!!
Any help would be much appreciated.

MDchanic

As with any move, you need to ask yourself a few questions first:

• Ocean or inland?
Much of New England is by the seashore. For some, that is indispensable. For others, it's not important. Prices are generally much higher by the shore, and you've got better mountains well inland, if you like that sort of thing.

• Urban, Suburban, or Rural?
The only real city in New England is Boston, and it's only half a city (with twice the attitude) at best. Everything around Boston for at least fifty miles is some sort of a suburb, and if you don't like crowded roads and close neighbors, you'll be happy to avoid it.
Similarly, most of Rhode Island is what most would call a suburb.
Mass. and Connecticut both still have some reasonably rural areas.

• Climate?
None of New England is warm, but there are varying degrees of cold.
Do you mind if the temperature is well below Zero (fahrenheit) for at least several days each winter?
How cold IS cold for you?
What about your wife???
Remember that temperatures can be ten degrees warmer in the winter and ten degrees cooler in the summer by the shore (again °F).
Also, the coast of Rhode Island and the southern coastal part of Mass. tend to get hammered in storms, if that's a concern.

• Governmental philosophy?
There's a reason they call it "Taxachussetts." Similarly, "Live Free or Die" is still at least fairly well adhered to in NH (seatbelts not mandatory, for instance, and no income taxes). Connecticut just passed a whole bunch of new gun control laws a couple of years ago.
Talk to people in each state to get a feel of whom you'll be living near and what you'll have to deal with.

• Did you mean just those three states?
Don't overlook Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont.
All three have a much lower governmental burden than "southern New England," including lower taxes, less governmental corruption, friendlier officials, and fewer laws (no motorcycle helmet laws, no gun laws at all in Vermont, minimal gun laws in the others).
Northern New England is a bit cooler than the southern part, but not much, so long as you don't go up too far north.

• Small cities:
Portsmouth, NH and Portland, Maine are both very nice, very pretty, small cities, with very nice, old housing stock and very active arts communities.

Stay in touch, there are many of us here in NE who can answer questions for you.

- Eric

Rallye469

Allow me to throw in something just outside of New England...
The Hudson Valley, NY.
There are a lot of gorgeous towns with amazing views of the Hudson River and the mountains. There's moderately sized cities(large towns) like Poughkeepsie, Newburgh, Kingston in the area with a fair amount of culture from schools there and in New Paltz.

Plus, you're an hour's train ride to NYC.
I always felt it was the best of both worlds.

-pete

LondonCutlass

Thanks that gives me lots to think about. I think it would be nice to be within 20 miles of the coast. No income tax sounds good especially as I will be living off my savings. The climate isn't so important as I will have another place in California for the winter. I went to Boston a few years back which is why it's not on my list. I'm open to pretty much anywhere else. I don't do guns, never even held one. Not so easy to come by in London.
My trip will start from NYC but from there I'm not sure where to go.
One thing I did notice when I was having a look at some real estate was a charge for yearly tax, how does that work, it seems a lot to pay every year. In the UK we pay what's called a yearly council Tax depending on the size of your property but up to a max of around $4750.
Is it something similar to that? What other living costs are there involved.
Thanks Paul

oldcutlass

The part of the country you want to settle in is really dependent on what your monthly expected budget will be. I'm assuming since you have other property in California, that your pretty well off. Generally the cost of living for most retired couples with no debt on our E. coast counting taxes, food, insurances, entertainment, etc..., is probably in $30-35k range.

pogo69

I live in CT i wouldnt pick any area in bridgeport, new haven, hartford or waterbury...they are the biggest cities and higher crime areas. fairfield county northwest ct and a lot of the western shorline is nice but traffic is extremly conjested and bring your wallet because CT is expensive in everything...fuel, taxes, good housing.


I meant the eastern shoreline....branford and east it is very ''new england'' the western shorline includes much of fairfield county more exclusive but not as quaint as the eastern

MDchanic

Agreed. The Hudson Valley is also very nice, and outside of the evil orbit of Boston.

What's the idea of posting a picture of my college?!?


But if you're working off of savings, then you don't have any income.


If you're up in Maine, drop me a line - we've got a small inn up here.


Ah, yes, real estate taxes.

That's how local government pays its bills.
Real estate taxes will vary with every jurisdiction, and are generally a percentage of your property's "assessed valuation," which may bear no resemblance at all to its actual value.
Depending on where you are and how valuable your property is, normal residential properties can range from $2,000 to $20,000 a year. It is vitally important that you check and know how much the real estate taxes will be before buying a property, as you do not want to have any surprises.
Generally real estate taxes are cheapest in large cities, like New York, where huge corporate landholders pay astronomical rates on skyscrapers (and deduct them from their Federal taxes), and highest in well-manicured suburban towns (an acquaintance I knew several years ago paid $18,000 a year on a nicely restored large Victorian house on less than a quarter acre in northern New Jersey).
If you buy a place with a lot of land, you need to look into having it rated as a "farmland assessment" or similar, where you run the land as a farm of some sort (rent hay fiends, log firewood, grow timber, etc.) and they bill most of it as farmland, rather than as residential land. Many places do this to help stem the tide of rampant development, which would otherwise be all but mandated by their high real estate taxes (if the taxes on your five acres are so high, you essentially have no choice but to subdivide and sell).

- Eric

pogo69

agreed....real estate tax needs to be determined you can buy a 500,000 dollar house and have a 20,000 dollar a year easy tax bill and that will add up.... many professional athletes in this country lose homes due to the fact that when they have cash they buy a huge mansion but forget the tax bills keep coming and the paychecks stop so the bank takes the house or if you own the house the municipality takes the house if you dont pay the tax

Rallye469

You went to Vassar?!?!

-Pete

LondonCutlass

Thanks.
Upstate NY looks really nice. That's one for my list.
When I said I shall be living off my savings I meant I will be living off the interest on my savings. It's a bit complicated but basically I will be a tax exile from the UK so I think income tax will apply to me. With the property tax it will work out cheaper to buy on the east coast and rent in California. It's because my boy is doing a law masters in California.
Eric- Thanks for the info. I do intend to have a look at Maine so I will message you a bit nearer the time.
The type of property I will be buying. I'm looking for 4 bedroom 3bathroom in about 3000sq ft so nothing spectacular. I don't want too much land. Too much land = too much hard work.
Up to $1.2m. Property prices in a lot of the states are way cheaper than London. Here youngsters can't even afford to get on the bottom rung of the property ladder. For a small 3 bed 1 bath you can expect to pay a minimum of $600000, and that will be in a less desirable part of town. If my living expenses are in the region of $30-35k thats fine. Might have to double that when my wife hits the shops in NYC!!

allyolds68

I grew up in North Stonington, CT about 10 miles as the crow flies from the coast. It's the more affordable corner of CT, particularly because North Stonington (as apposed to Stonington), is NOT on the ocean and not near NYC. Nice, quiet and less than an hour from Providence, Hartford & New Haven. 1-1/2 hours from Boston. 2+ hours from NYC.


I've lived in Middletown, Wethersfield & Andover, CT (Storrs for 4 years too). All were nice but only Andover was far enough out in the country for me. Unfortunately it was an hour from the coast. I moved to Quincy, MA (immediately South of Boston) and lived there for 16 years, 200' from the ocean. Nice, but too city-ish. Moved to Upstate NY five years ago (Seneca Falls). Crazy taxes (waaaay worse than Massachusetts), and the entire state's agenda is controlled by liberal NYC. In twelve more years and I'm off to the next place. If my youngest wasn't in kindergarten, and my wife wasn't from here, I'd be gone already.


Of course the place I grew up is my favorite, but I also like that whole corner of the state of CT

MDchanic

"... And I would have graduated if I hadn't tried out for the swim team."





Gotta compare apples to apple, mate - a 3 bedroom apartment in manhattan averages $5,400,000.
$600,000 for a 3BR house would be cheap even more than a dozen miles outside the city.

- Eric

pogo69

as much as i would like to see anyone come to CT please pick another state i cant bear the idea of more cars to get stuck behind in summer traffic

pogo69

I95 south has turned from a night mare to a twilight zone episode from bridgeport to the new york line daily it is stop and go traffic 30mph for what about 60 miles and it certainly doesnt get better when you get to new york unless your heading upstate.... I95 north from new haven to rhode island is a little better mostly because it more scenic but once you get in rhode island the traffic is terrible...its like the entire state of rhode island is unemployed and they are all out driving

allyolds68

We used to joke when we were kids that we should set up a stand on Route 2 on Saturdays & Sundays selling maps showing the back way to Misquamicut Beach. I worked at the Mobil station on Route 2 in N. Stonington in 1980. It was the only gas station for like 15 miles in any direction.

pogo69

new hampshire and vermont are decent with traffic from my times there and all i can say about massachusetts is if you can go a year without getting a dent in your car your way ahead of the game

MDchanic

True, but you will never have to replace a signal light bulb there.

- Eric

LondonCutlass

Thanks for your input. After looking at a map I have decided to do the following route.
From NYC pick up 9w and follow the Hudson.
Turn East on the 44 towards Poughkeepsie, follow 44 towards Canaan.
Turn North on 7A
Turn east on I90
Turn North on I91
Follow I91 to Saint Johnsbury
Turn onto I93
Turn east onto 2 towards Bangor
Turn south on I95
Merge onto I295 towards Portland
Head south towards Boston
Make way back to NYC via Cape Cod.
Hopefully that will give me a reasonable insight into a few States and make lots of detours if I find anything nice.

pogo69

that sounds like a nice route... the cape is very nice we had a cottage we sold last year in Truro, a short distance from the original landing of the pilgrims, its very nice there but its off the beaten track and very conjested in the summer,cape cod national sea shore is great

MDchanic

I agree, that's a good route.

9W gives you a good look at the changing countryside and towns as you go up the river from NY.

44 East through Poughkeepsie ("City of Sin!") and on to northeastern CT is also very nice. I believe it will take you past a very interesting semi-ruined half-timbered inn on the left at one point.

You'll see a lot or pretty country as you go through VT. I fyou're going to St. Johnsbury, why not head out on some of the back roads while you're up there and see some of the "Northern Kingdom," which is a surprisingly isolated area, where a lot of the locals still speak French.

If you can avoid the interstates once you're in Maine, you'll see more and be happier, but, of course, the major small roads, like Route 1, can become horribly congested during peak tourist season.
Our place is south of Portland, on the coast.

Beware of Cape Cod - it is a VERY L-O-N-G peninsula, with but a single narrow road along it, and it can take a L-O-N-G time to get from one end to the other in the summertime. Be prepared, and don't misunderestimate how long it will take.

Of note, both 9W and Route 1 are ancient roads, probably as old as the Roman roads, which were heavily used by the Indians before the Europeans ever got here, and were subsequently heavily used by the settlers and colonists and called "post roads" or "King's highways." If you're taking your time, it's sometimes nice to turn off onto the narrow sidestreet "Old Route ___"s, which are old areas of the road that were "smoothed over" as the roads were improved.

- Eric

Boldsmobile

Personal preference, equal driving distance between Boston, Providence and an easy drive to the coast.

Boston North Shore is nice. I lived in Ipswich for a while. Yes we have an Ipswich! And a Glouscester!

Rhode Island has some great areas and you don't need to worry about their schools. I also like CT near Saybrook.

And please when you come over please use proper American English

LondonCutlass

Last time I was in NYC I tried to order a bottle of water, four times I asked and four times the assistant had a blank look on his face, luckily I speak a bit of Spanish and that worked. So is 'American English' more like Spanglish?
Thanks for the tips on where to go, I went to RI and Mass pre 9/11 and really enjoyed it. I grew up in a town called Billericay so I had to make a trip to Billerica, which incidently proved so popular with my neighbours that I had a magazine article written about my trip.

dredluxx

American English is pretty much a mixture of dialect and profanity, like any other language. The guy I bought my Delta from was from New York and we spoke like we were from different planets.

Be sure to know a bit of French and Spanish also, as there's a high population of native speakers of those two languages in this country.

MDchanic

Sounds like when I tried to get a 1-month Tube pass in London some years back.

"Two nations divided by a common language" is what it is.

- Eric

Boldsmobile

I previously had a team in the UK reporting to me and it required that i visit several times per year.

I coulndt help myself and corrected them whenever they would say shedule.

LondonCutlass

Hey, if you want to correct a word you at least have to spell it right. LOL

MDchanic

I think he's spelling it the way they say it, though I'd have probably spelt it "shedjool."

Over here we pronounce the "ch" like "ch" by saying "skedyule."

You know, like "chop" and "which" and "attachment."

Sort of like George Bernard Shaw's phonetic spelling of "fish": "ghoti"
"gh" as in "tough"
"i" as in "women"
"ti" as in "nation."

- Eric

jcmoretti

That is great. I would never imagine someone making it a point to visit Billerica from across the pond!


I like the North Shore in Mass. I grew up here but lived in Westchester County, NY for a spell as well as in the Midwest (not on your list). I like the access to Boston for 'stuff' and to Maine, NH,VT for other stuff. I can't imagine living south of the city and having to juggle getting through or around Boston to travel.


Good luck!

TripDeuces

I've lived in Middletown RI most of my life. It's on Aquidneck Island in southern RI.

Weather: 10 degrees cooler in the summer and 10 degrees warmer in the winter than Providence. This has been by far the coldest and worst winter I've seen.

Area: Beautiful beaches and houses abound. Schools are great. Everything you could want here and if it's not here it's close by. Tends to be a little pricey house wise and tax wise. Probably better than England though. Large Irish and Portuguese influence.

LondonCutlass

Thanks for the info. I will put that on my schedule. Im not too worried about house prices as I don't have a fixed budget. However I will keep in mind the property tax. But I suppose it all equals out with regards to fuel prices, food and living expenses.