n/a Where to live?

mattaxelrod

mattaxelrod

Pre-takeoff checklist
Joined
Mar 11, 2005
Messages
312
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Fanwood, NJ
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Display name:
Matt
My wife and I have gotten to the point where we're considering a move out of New Jersey. ($9000 in property taxes for a 60x120 lot is just out of control). We would like to be somewhere with a great quality of life, lower taxes, good schools, and of course--decent flying weather with a variety of airports around. Also, we're trying to cash in on the crazy home prices here and find move somewhere where it's much less.

Too much to ask? Anyone feel like chiming in with suggestions on where to start looking? We'd like to stay in the Northeast or Mid Atlantic Region--let's say anywhere from NC to Maine, or thereabouts.

Right now I'm fantasizing about Southern Vermont, Southern NH, Western MA, or maybe the Raleigh area of NC.

Whaddya think???????
 
mattaxelrod said:
We would like to be somewhere with a great quality of life, lower taxes, good schools, and of course--decent flying weather with a variety of airports around. Also, we're trying to cash in on the crazy home prices here and find move somewhere where it's much less.
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But for the schools, Chattanooga would be a good bet. Moderate climate, stunning urban renewal, smoky mountains 1.5 hrs away by car, many gulf and south coastal areas < 3hrs GA flighttime. Grade schools are good depending on where you live, but once you get to middle school, private is the only way to go.

On the flip side, 5 years ago we bought 3300sq.ft. on 0.6 acre with inground 16 x 32 pool, tree lined mature neighborhood, woods on two sides, $150k. Property taxes $1200/yr (and why the schools suck in general, but that is ok with me, I'll pay to play when it comes time for Holly to go to middle school)
 
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mattaxelrod said:
My wife and I have gotten to the point where we're considering a move out of New Jersey. ($9000 in property taxes for a 60x120 lot is just out of control). We would like to be somewhere with a great quality of life, lower taxes, good schools, and of course--decent flying weather with a variety of airports around. Also, we're trying to cash in on the crazy home prices here and find move somewhere where it's much less.

Too much to ask? Anyone feel like chiming in with suggestions on where to start looking? We'd like to stay in the Northeast or Mid Atlantic Region--let's say anywhere from NC to Maine, or thereabouts.

Right now I'm fantasizing about Southern Vermont, Southern NH, Western MA, or maybe the Raleigh area of NC.

Whaddya think???????
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Western MA is great, Williamstown especially. Great cultural sights, hiking, flying (KPSF and KDDH are the two better; KGBR and KAQW are also nice), awesome food (Hobson's Choice in Williamstown is # 1, all time, on my list of places to eat). Prices are on the upside of cheap, bordering on moderate, in the Williamstown area, but if you travel south or east you are doing pretty well.

Southern VT has some great opportunities, especially in the Bennington area.

Southern NH isn't as nice, as it's all refugees from Boston. Same applies to Southern Maine.

If you really want to live it up, move up towards Bar Harbor. You'll do OK for on a house on a New Jersey move; the hiking and outdoor activities are unparalelled, the food is pretty good, KBHB is a GREAT airport, and you can live in the middle of a beautiful national park - Acadia!

My 2.19¥.

Cheers,

-Andrew
 
Thanks for the info. Keep it coming.

I took a flight the other day up to DDH just for fun, and was blown away by how beautiful it is. My plan is to get my Comm and CFI maybe by next summer. Wonder if that airport could use a flight instructor?
 
depends on which weather you prefer - hot or cold?

NC will have relatively decent weather in spring/summer/fall but likely prettty dang hot in summer. the flip side - up north - you get what, 2 months of summer, and the rest is cold?
 
mattaxelrod said:
Thanks for the info. Keep it coming.

I took a flight the other day up to DDH just for fun, and was blown away by how beautiful it is. My plan is to get my Comm and CFI maybe by next summer. Wonder if that airport could use a flight instructor?
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The traffic out of DDH is always pretty light, as is AQW. GBR is busy in the summer, PSF year round. IIRC they are still working on extending 8/26 to 8000' and getting an ILS in there. Lyon Aviation runs a decent flight school and charter operation, as well.

AQW is where I started flying. I'm still in love with it, just a great airport that embodies everything flying is about. Tough to make a aviation business work there, though.

Cheers,

-Andrew
 
Tough economy in VT. I moved away after law school because the pay for attorneys, particularly public sector attorneys, is that much lower than here in PA. I would have been trying to pay student loans and live on 15K per year at the time (1990). From what I can tell, at least in my profession, not much has changed. And things are more expensive there than here, probably because stuff has to be trucked so much further.

I would think So. NH, with it's closer proximity to Boston Metro area, would be a bit better that way. Probably more $ to live there tho.

Jim G
 
mattaxelrod said:
My wife and I have gotten to the point where we're considering a move out of New Jersey.
Whaddya think???????
Click to expand...


Finally!!! Flight from the nanny state maeks a lot of sense on all levels. The states you mention are all OK, but they are still all northeastern states. Why not think of moving west and really changing your lifestyle? I moved from PA to CO and really love it.
 
Anthony said:
Finally!!! Flight from the nanny state maeks a lot of sense on all levels. The states you mention are all OK, but they are still all northeastern states. Why not think of moving west and really changing your lifestyle? I moved from PA to CO and really love it.
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I gotta agree with that - anything I have seen so far in the west looks really appealing. love Seattle! love California too, would move there in a heartbeat but for the prices.
 
Moving to Southern NH to escape property taxes is wrong wrong wrong. Since they do not have an income tax, those taxes are high ($8-9k on a $300k home), which gets you about 1,500 sq ft. Also, unless you're used to lots of snow, you might tire of it by about Christmas.
As was mentioned, So NH is inhabited by lots of people escaping Boston. The bad news is they want all the modern conveniences (sidewalks, strip malls, mega malls) and are quickly turning it into a suburb. Talk about urban sprall. If that is what you want to get away from, not the place to go.
On the other hand, having visited NC, VA, TN, and KY, I think I've found the place I'd go. I'm just trying to convince management that I'm so good at my job, that I can work from home whereever that might be. And the prices are still quite reasonable for most areas there.
 
Anthony said:
Finally!!! Flight from the nanny state maeks a lot of sense on all levels. The states you mention are all OK, but they are still all northeastern states. Why not think of moving west and really changing your lifestyle? I moved from PA to CO and really love it.
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Two words: blue crabs
 
woodstock said:
love Seattle! love California too, would move there in a heartbeat but for the prices.
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I'm with you. I really like the Seattle area. I also enjoyed living in San Francisco which I still visit often because I have ties there. Neither of these places are inexpensive, however.
 
wsuffa said:
Two words: blue crabs
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Bill. You really know how to hurt a guy. :)

Do they have blue crabs in coastal Texas?
 
Anthony said:
Why not think of moving west and really changing your lifestyle? I moved from PA to CO and really love it.
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Yeah, we decided we wanna stay in this geographical area because of family.

I love all the opinions though--hope to hear more from everyone!
 
Anthony said:
Bill. You really know how to hurt a guy. :)

Do they have blue crabs in coastal Texas?
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They have crabs in the Gulf that are hauled in around the oil wells :vomit: - not nearly as good as blue crabs :no: but better than nothing.

Port Aransas (which I always mispronounce because the Gulf is like a giant... well, let's just say it's ain't as pretty as the Outer Banks or the DelMarVa shore) has fresh crabs available. It's an hour flight from San Antonio to Mustang Beach. Pretty good shrimp are hauled in at Corpus, though.

Still, it's worth the trip to Louisiana for some tail <er> crawfish tails.

Remember, I'm a transplant from the DC/Maryland area....

C'mon down to visit sometime. The TexMex is great, Riverwalk is fun, and, well, there has to be something else good :) ....
 
Eamon said:
Hey Anthony, they do have Prairie Oysters by you, No? :)
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Dunno. You seem to have the most experience in that "quisine". :)
 
Well Matt, the problem is you live in North Jersey Heh Heh. Move to South Jersey. Seriously its a world of difference. Same high taxes but housing values are much much better. I live in SE PA where Anthony left and like it pretty well, no matter where you go in the mid atlantic your going to get the same flying weather, haze and imbedded in summer Ice in winter. Where Bob Bruneau lives in Chester County PA is nice and North Eastern PA is nice as well. PA genreally has good housing values, not as cheap as South Jersey but taxes are 1/2 or less than that of Jersey. NY State is pretty nice too. Central Maryland and York County PA are very pretty and green. Good luck
 
Anthony said:
Finally!!! Flight from the nanny state maeks a lot of sense on all levels. The states you mention are all OK, but they are still all northeastern states. Why not think of moving west and really changing your lifestyle? I moved from PA to CO and really love it.
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HUSH UP!!!
 
It rains all the time in Seattle, we have a democrate gov, king county, bad traffic, poor highways, huge mountains that swat down any aircraft that gets too close. and the crabs are of the dungeness, snow or king varity, and 7 large wild fires burning right now.

and new signs at each border, "californians stay out" EXCEPT DEE :)

Remember, KEEP WASHINGTON GREEN, bring money.
 
OK, Matt; I know where people "frum awaayyy" are moving: Bowdoinham, Maine. Personal research has given the following evidence. I "pahked my cahr" at the Bowdoinham Airport(08B)[photo below] in mid July of 2003. I would then hitch-hike to Wiscasset Airport(about 23sm) to fly my plane back from IWI service bay to Bowdoinham. Now, I know the rules about hitch-hiking, so I stood by the 08B entrance with a sign: Wiscasset Airport.

The 173rd vehicle stopped to give me a ride. "Hey, you're the guy from the camera store, aren't you?" He went out of his way and took me right to Wiscasset. Oh, did I mention that only 26 of the 173 vehicles were carrying Maine registration plates. All the others were "frum awaayyy". Does that tell you anything.

HR
Vice Pres.
Maine Airport Preservation Group, Inc.
 
Anthony said:
Why not think of moving west and really changing your lifestyle? I moved from PA to CO and really love it.
Click to expand...

Go for it. There will be at least one empty apartment you can have in CO soon.

THIS ONE.


...too much slacking tonight; more destination research, trailer W&B and range calculations required.
 
mattaxelrod said:
My wife and I have gotten to the point where we're considering a move out of New Jersey. ($9000 in property taxes for a 60x120 lot is just out of control). We would like to be somewhere with a great quality of life, lower taxes, good schools, and of course--decent flying weather with a variety of airports around. Also, we're trying to cash in on the crazy home prices here and find move somewhere where it's much less.

Too much to ask? Anyone feel like chiming in with suggestions on where to start looking? We'd like to stay in the Northeast or Mid Atlantic Region--let's say anywhere from NC to Maine, or thereabouts.

Right now I'm fantasizing about Southern Vermont, Southern NH, Western MA, or maybe the Raleigh area of NC.

Whaddya think???????
Click to expand...
Coastal Maine. We've save a lot for us for retirement (on Union Bay), and that's where we're goin....
 
Anthony said:
Bill. You really know how to hurt a guy. :)

Do they have blue crabs in coastal Texas?
Click to expand...

We love Texas -- except for the property taxes. Texas is not the place to go to get away from high property taxes. We are retired, so the taxes are a real burden. If we were to move (having studied on it a bit), Georgia would bear a close look by us. Georgia has a state income tax, but it's still a good place to look into. It's also on the Atlantic.

The real South is also where to find the best bar-b-que.

Jim
 
Matt,

I would prefer to go someplace warmer myself. If SC isn't tooo far South for you, take a weekend and take a good hard look at Columbia, SC. I think you'll like what you find.

Brett
 
mattaxelrod said:
My wife and I have gotten to the point where we're considering a move out of New Jersey. ($9000 in property taxes for a 60x120 lot is just out of control). We would like to be somewhere with a great quality of life, lower taxes, good schools, and of course--decent flying weather with a variety of airports around. Also, we're trying to cash in on the crazy home prices here and find move somewhere where it's much less.

Too much to ask? Anyone feel like chiming in with suggestions on where to start looking? We'd like to stay in the Northeast or Mid Atlantic Region--let's say anywhere from NC to Maine, or thereabouts.

Right now I'm fantasizing about Southern Vermont, Southern NH, Western MA, or maybe the Raleigh area of NC.

Whaddya think???????
Click to expand...

Well, if that's your line of thinking I've got nothing to offer, I won't live north of Cape Canaveral again, said Cape being a pretty nice spot.
 
Lawreston said:
OK, Matt; I know where people "frum awaayyy" are moving: Bowdoinham, Maine. Personal research has given the following evidence. I "pahked my cahr" at the Bowdoinham Airport(08B)[photo below] in mid July of 2003. I would then hitch-hike to Wiscasset Airport(about 23sm) to fly my plane back from IWI service bay to Bowdoinham. Now, I know the rules about hitch-hiking, so I stood by the 08B entrance with a sign: Wiscasset Airport.

The 173rd vehicle stopped to give me a ride. "Hey, you're the guy from the camera store, aren't you?" He went out of his way and took me right to Wiscasset. Oh, did I mention that only 26 of the 173 vehicles were carrying Maine registration plates. All the others were "frum awaayyy". Does that tell you anything.
Click to expand...


Stupid people travel in herds?:rofl: :rofl:
 
If you're looking for low property taxes - New Mexico is a great place to live.

If you decide - avoid Albuquerque. To me, it really is the gutter of the southwest. Every town and city outside of Albuquerque is beautiful, but Albuquerque itself....garbage.

You could always buy a house around Edgewood, near Sandia Estates Airpark (1N1). People there taxi their airplanes from their house to the airport to takeoff, using city streets. Its crazy, but its a beautiful area.
 
bbchien said:
Pretty mild winters....20-25F on the coast- ocean, you know. Gorgeous summers. Ahhhh.
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Ahhh.....20-25F=Mild, now I understand, my reference for mild is 75F, anything below 50 is too cold to do anything but visit.
 
NC19143 said:
It rains all the time in Seattle, we have a democrate gov, king county, bad traffic, poor highways, huge mountains that swat down any aircraft that gets too close. and the crabs are of the dungeness, snow or king varity, and 7 large wild fires burning right now.

and new signs at each border, "californians stay out" EXCEPT DEE :)

Remember, KEEP WASHINGTON GREEN, bring money.
Click to expand...

Ah, yes. Seattle. 80 square miles surrounded by reality. :D

Oh, and I live in the state capital. Just as bad. :(
 
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