Reader Posted September 10, 2019 Posted September 10, 2019 Hey TBD community. I was wondering if I could get your opinions/advice. Background, I work an online position and as such have the ability to live anywhere in the United States. My wife currently is stay at home with our 15 month old daughter. We both really like having her not work and we're thinking of moving from California (we're both native Californian's so we have a lot to learn about weather) possibly to the east coast. I was curious as to your thoughts as to where might be good places to look into. We're looking for somewhere that stays relatively cool by East Coast standards and prefer to be near water. We're homebodies and don't need to be in a major city either.
KD in CA Posted September 10, 2019 Posted September 10, 2019 (edited) Hard to avoid both hot summers and long, cold winters so where you fall on that line that should determine your search area. Everywhere near the water is crowded now, but Eastern CT/Souther RI are still relatively nice and not crazy expensive (you're probably not overly sensitive to price moving from CA). Maine of course is nice and relatively cool but it's a long winter. 2 minutes ago, Helpmenow said: High friggin school taxes. He lives in CA, pretty sure he won't be shocked by the taxes anywhere. Edited September 10, 2019 by KD in CA 1
PromoTheRobot Posted September 10, 2019 Posted September 10, 2019 Consider the Carolinas. Wilmington by the ocean or Asheville in the mountains. 1
Mark80 Posted September 10, 2019 Posted September 10, 2019 (edited) Honestly, the only downside to Buffalo is the high taxes (Property, income, school, and sales) and if you aren't a fan of snow, well, probably not a good fit. Besides that, the temperatures in the summer and winter are actually pretty moderate because of the proximity to the lake. There is a huge revitalization going on, housing is very affordable, good schools. People are nice in time of crisis (like snow storms), but you are not going to get every person that you walk by saying hello to you or every grocery store checkout employee talking to you for like 5 minutes, like it is in the south. Maine is a beautiful place that I would also consider. The downside there, IMO, is there really is a lack of diversity from what I saw. Maybe that's a good thing for you, but from a Cali perspective I would guess that it is not. (This is southern coast of Maine and its my only experience there). Vermont has a lot of nice attributes as well, but I haven't visited yet. Edited September 10, 2019 by Mark80 1
\GoBillsInDallas/ Posted September 10, 2019 Posted September 10, 2019 Several friends of mine here in DFW work online from home, and they love it. The only thing that I would recommend for you is to work in a location that has a job market conducive to your line of work. If you are ever laid off or fired or quit, being stuck in East Podunk, Maine isn't going to help your job search. 1
LewPort71 Posted September 10, 2019 Posted September 10, 2019 Morgantown West ( By God) Virginia. Taxes are low, housing is reasonable and cost of living is moderate. My daughter is a real estate agent and will find you a great house. 1
Gugny Posted September 10, 2019 Posted September 10, 2019 8 minutes ago, LewPort71 said: Morgantown West ( By God) Virginia. Taxes are low, housing is reasonable and cost of living is moderate. My daughter is a real estate agent and will find you a great house. I once got punched in the face in West Virginia by a Dallas Cowboys fan because I was wearing a Buffalo Bills coat. 1
BuffaloBill Posted September 10, 2019 Posted September 10, 2019 25 minutes ago, Helpmenow said: High friggin school taxes. High income taxes and high sales taxes on top of this. However, at the risk of turning this thread incessantly political I would think long and hard about other options unless you truly enjoy winter activities. I know there are some who love the seasons here, including the winter. However, having lived elsewhere in my adult life I will say that the winter here is long and tedious. You literally have to have a strategy and the means to deal with it (typically a vacation or time in the sun elsewhere for at least a week in the midst of it). 8 minutes ago, Gugny said: I once got punched in the face in West Virginia by a Dallas Cowboys fan because I was wearing a Buffalo Bills coat. I did not know @CowgirlsFan had this in her. Hurray for her!!!! 1 1
Nextmanup Posted September 10, 2019 Posted September 10, 2019 37 minutes ago, Helpmenow said: High friggin school taxes. LOL. WNY has some of the cheapest cost of living in America. Way, way cheaper than whatever the OP is used to Cali. 1
sherpa Posted September 10, 2019 Posted September 10, 2019 We had basically the same option and chose Charlottesville, VA. I like university towns. Virginia doesn't have nearly the winters of the north, has quite decent mountains and is close to both ocean and Chesepeake Bay options. Taxes, school systems, plenty of recreation opportunities. Northern VA is not something I ever want to deal with, and we prefer being near the Blue Ridge to near the ocean. 2 1
Helpmenow Posted September 10, 2019 Posted September 10, 2019 (edited) 4 hours ago, KD in CA said: Hard to avoid both hot summers and long, cold winters so where you fall on that line that should determine your search area. Everywhere near the water is crowded now, but Eastern CT/Souther RI are still relatively nice and not crazy expensive (you're probably not overly sensitive to price moving from CA). Maine of course is nice and relatively cool but it's a long winter. He lives in CA, pretty sure he won't be shocked by the taxes anywhere. I lived in San Diego. By the way my taxes were lower out there with a new house. Again Edited September 10, 2019 by Helpmenow 1
Awwufelloff Posted September 10, 2019 Posted September 10, 2019 (edited) I love Buffalo. I also love winter. Just purchased a $160k home in Hamburg with $4200 taxes a year. Have a beautiful house, garage, big deck/yard. That same home in San Diego would be over a million one of my friends told me. The taxes are high here, but the cost of living is so low it more than makes up for it. My mortgage is $796 a month and got a rebate for the school taxes of over $400. So total with everything about $1,100 a month for my home including taxes. 3 bedroom 1/2 bath, finished basement. 1250 sq feet. not including basement. Edited September 10, 2019 by Awwufelloff 2
Helpmenow Posted September 10, 2019 Posted September 10, 2019 50 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said: Consider the Carolinas. Wilmington by the ocean or Asheville in the mountains. Hurricanes 19 minutes ago, Nextmanup said: LOL. WNY has some of the cheapest cost of living in America. Way, way cheaper than whatever the OP is used to Cali. My property taxes is higher then my mortgage, Again 1
Gray Beard Posted September 10, 2019 Posted September 10, 2019 13 minutes ago, sherpa said: We had basically the same option and chose Charlottesville, VA. I like university towns. Virginia doesn't have nearly the winters of the north, has quite decent mountains and is close to both ocean and Chesepeake Bay options. Taxes, school systems, plenty of recreation opportunities. Northern VA is not something I ever want to deal with, and we prefer being near the Blue Ridge to near the ocean. I think this is good advice. An important aspect of New York winters other than snow is clouds. My son in law is from Connecticut, and his first long term experience with being away from home was a few years in Ithaca. He didn’t mind the cold or snow, but he said the fact that the sun didn’t shine for weeks at a time in the winter was really tough. I can’t imagine people from California suddenly finding themselves in a place with no sun for weeks at a time. 3
Helpmenow Posted September 10, 2019 Posted September 10, 2019 (edited) 12 minutes ago, I am the egg man said: Hampton, New Hampshire. Taxes out there? 13 minutes ago, Awwufelloff said: I love Buffalo. I also love winter. Just purchased a $160k home in Hamburg with $4200 taxes a year. Have a beautiful house, garage, big deck/yard. That same home in San Diego would be over a million one of my friends told me. The taxes are high here, but the cost of living is so low it more than makes up for it. My mortgage is $796 a month and got a rebate for the school taxes of over $400. So total with everything about $1,100 a month for my home including taxes. 3 bedroom 1/2 bath, finished basement. 1250 sq feet. not including basement. A million where maybe along the coast. My house was 2000 sq ft. I’d laugh all the way to the bank if I got that Edited September 10, 2019 by Helpmenow 1
_Underscore_ Posted September 10, 2019 Posted September 10, 2019 Notwithstanding the taxes, Western New York is really a much nicer area than it gets credit for being. You say you’d like to be near water. Although neither is the Pacific, Lakes Erie and Ontario certainly qualify provided your goal isn’t surfing. The people are friendly, and Buffalo is a small enough city that you could easily go from downtown, to the suburbs, to the complete sticks in under an hour -- so you can really pick where you want to set up house. Traffic is a non-factor as compared to the other, bigger cities you might consider. The cost of living is (relatively) low, and the NYS education system is very good (provided you’re in the suburbs and not the city itself). The nightlife isn’t Manhattan, but there are places to go and things to do. The real reason I’m writing is to dispel what you might think about the weather in Buffalo – the national media really creates quite a bad impression, and it’s a false one. Buffalo is on the east side of the great lakes, so the prevailing winds are normalized as they cross Lake Erie. The upshot of this is that the Buffalo Area has MODERATE/MILD summers of 70s and 80s with occasional (low) 90s. The winters are in fact MILD because lake affects the wind temperature making it WARMER and WETTER (hence the snow). This makes Buffalo significantly warmer in winter than cities on the west side of the great lakes (Chicago, Detroit, etc.). It is not Siberia by any stretch. There is the occasional blizzard, but the people know how to deal with them (i.e. we can all drive in the snow, and the towns are good at plowing the roads clear) and they are (at least in my opinion) easier to cope with than Hurricanes, wildfires, tornadoes, or some of the options in other areas. Western New York has four good seasons. Summers for hanging at the lakeside or for the kids to swim and play outside without debilitating heat. Vibrant fall foliage for apple picking and tailgating. Fluffy white winters for skiing or snowmobiling. Then watching the snow melt and the greenery re-bloom, and doing it all over again. I guess everybody has a loyalty to their hometown, and I’m no different. Don’t sleep on Western New York – it’s a really nice place. 6
ChevyVanMiller Posted September 10, 2019 Posted September 10, 2019 We bought a house last year in the tony DeVeaux section of Niagara Falls. 2,500 Sq Ft, fenced yard with big lot, above ground pool, 2-Car Garage, Fireplace and Central air. Went for a 15-year mortgage and with taxes included in escrow, the monthly payment is $1,400.00 The city has its issues, but we mainly shop and dine in Lewiston. I make six figures and the wife makes $40,000 , so we live nicely. WNY has many benefits and the cost of living is a crumb off of the California loaf. 1
Ridgewaycynic2013 Posted September 10, 2019 Posted September 10, 2019 1 hour ago, Gugny said: I once got punched in the face in West Virginia by a Dallas Cowboys fan because I was wearing a Buffalo Bills coat. Are you sure it was the coat? 3
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