[RunD1987]

CTs Cities vs Rural areas is this: Low mortgage, low home owner cost, high taxes, high crime levels, underfunded municipalities, easy access to public transportation, more places to rent, and closer proximity to work/locations of employment. Where outside of Cities the trade off is lower crime, better funded municipalities, higher mortgage rates, higher home values, less public transportation opitions, farther away from employers/job prospects, less rentals, and lower property taxes.

[NUHuskies01]

Originally Posted by RunD1987

CTs Cities vs Rural areas is this: Low mortgage, low home owner cost, high taxes, high crime levels, underfunded municipalities, easy access to public transportation, more places to rent, and closer proximity to work/locations of employment. Where outside of Cities the trade off is lower crime, better funded municipalities, higher mortgage rates, higher home values, less public transportation opitions, farther away from employers/job prospects, less rentals, and lower property taxes.

Sorry - following a long and that post made me laugh. How is CT different then any other state in the country? Crime in a city? High mortgages outside of it? Totally unique to CT!

Do people on here honestly think there is a difference between New Haven and Hartford compared to places like Memphis or Nashville or Milwaukee or Austin? Please. Do you want to know the difference? Those non-CT cities are considered "cool" or "hip" right now. Well maybe not Milwaukee. People do not care about taxes or high rent if they think they are getting to move to some place that gets them some bragging rights, or cache. It really is that simple. Nobody cared about Memphis 15 years ago.

Want to compare like cities? How about New Haven vs. Cambridge MA. Would Cambridge be any different then New Haven right now if it did not get lucky twenty something years ago and had a high wage employment sector like Bio-Tech grow up in it? Like major major companies settled there, it became "hot". Other business like Google then made there way in. Its not because they stripped away public services for private and have lower taxes then surrounding cities. I mean there is a reason why its called the peoples Republic of Cambridge. Strip those away and Cambridge is Harvard and MIT and that is it.

CT needs to get lucky and have some new kind of "sector" sprout up in one of its cities. One that pulls in students from all the Universities in the state. Then it will become "hot" and "cool" again and the revenue will follow.

[BPt111]

Originally Posted by MrGompers

FYI, Waterbury has the lowest average priced homes in the state. Lots of people are moving to Waterbury from NYC especially the Bronx and Brooklyn since some of those areas are being gentrified. Dominican population is growing every year in Waterbury as they make up the majority of the people who are moving to Waterbury.


Can't buy a house for 150k any where in NYC. I don't think Waterbury appeals to many CT residents anyway. I would buy in New Britain or Meriden before Waterbury.

Yea but Waterbury taxes are 2nd highest in state

150k home

$1200 mortgage $526 mostly property tax, car insurance rates in Waterbury is higher than average

[RunD1987]

Originally Posted by NUHuskies01

Sorry - following a long and that post made me laugh. How is CT different then any other state in the country? Crime in a city? High mortgages outside of it? Totally unique to CT!

Do people on here honestly think there is a difference between New Haven and Hartford compared to places like Memphis or Nashville or Milwaukee or Austin? Please. Do you want to know the difference? Those non-CT cities are considered "cool" or "hip" right now. Well maybe not Milwaukee. People do not care about taxes or high rent if they think they are getting to move to some place that gets them some bragging rights, or cache. It really is that simple. Nobody cared about Memphis 15 years ago.

Want to compare like cities? How about New Haven vs. Cambridge MA. Would Cambridge be any different then New Haven right now if it did not get lucky twenty something years ago and had a high wage employment sector like Bio-Tech grow up in it? Like major major companies settled there, it became "hot". Other business like Google then made there way in. Its not because they stripped away public services for private and have lower taxes then surrounding cities. I mean there is a reason why its called the peoples Republic of Cambridge. Strip those away and Cambridge is Harvard and MIT and that is it.

CT needs to get lucky and have some new kind of "sector" sprout up in one of its cities. One that pulls in students from all the Universities in the state. Then it will become "hot" and "cool" again and the revenue will follow.

Still property tax in Memphis TN for a house assessed at $120K is $3600 in CT City about $6K

[ads94]

Originally Posted by RunD1987

Still property tax in Memphis TN for a house assessed at $120K is $3600 in CT City about $6K

Average salary in Memphis, TN is $47,264. Average salary in Hartford, CT is $68,081. I think the 2.4k difference doesn't matter too much.

[RunD1987]

Originally Posted by ads94

Average salary in Memphis, TN is $47,264. Average salary in Hartford, CT is $68,081. I think the 2.4k difference doesn't matter too much.

Average City Salary in CT is about $40K. Some much less. Outside of New Haven to Stamford does averafe jump around $60K.

There is a lot of higher paying jobs in Cities but a lot of those individuals making extra income don't live in the City

[ads94]

Originally Posted by RunD1987

Average City Salary in CT is about $40K. Some much less. Outside of New Haven to Stamford does averafe jump around $60K.

There is a lot of higher paying jobs in Cities but a lot of those individuals making extra income don't live in the City

You cannot really compare cities outside of New England with cities inside of New England. Most cities in this country actually have their suburbs within the city limits. Thus, someone working an average wage job in Memphis would live in a suburban home still in Memphis. This is the same as someone working an average wage job in Hartford and living in West Hartford.

This is why comparing Memphis to Hartford as a 1:1 does not translate well. Property values in CT cities are low because of their geographically small size.

A suburb in Memphis compared to West Hartford looks great, until you notice that incomes are still higher in CT and while the expenses are higher, you still make more at the end of the day.

[RunD1987]

Though if we say salary is $10K less; could be less or more than in CT. Now that CT resident makes $40K in reality they are only making equal to salary or $2K more than someone in Memphis.

In the end of the day CT housing market is too high in cost and City property taxes are too high. Has a great impact on those making $40K a family of 2 and $70K for a family of 3 or less.

That is why CT needs to find a way for Cities to be more financially stable and be more financially independent avoiding as much State resources as they can. Also the State needs to lower income tax to make CT more affordable to live in.

[ads94]

Originally Posted by RunD1987

Though if we say salary is $10K less; could be less or more than in CT. Now that CT resident makes $40K in reality they are only making equal to salary or $2K more than someone in Memphis.

In the end of the day CT housing market is too high in cost and City property taxes are too high. Has a great impact on those making $40K a family of 2 and $70K for a family of 3 or less.

That is why CT needs to find a way for Cities to be more financially stable and be more financially independent avoiding as much State resources as they can. Also the State needs to lower income tax to make CT more affordable to live in.

We aren't saying it's 10k less. It is 20k less, from my previous post. 47k versus 68k. I am not sure where you are getting the information on CT's average salary being 40k.

I will humour this. Per capita income in Hartford County is 33k. Let's say this is what you, an individual, makes. The per capita income in Shelby County, TN is 21k. This is closer to your 10k lower number. Let's make a family of two making this per capita income. This gives us 66k in Hartford and 42k in Memphis for a family of two.

I found a ranch home in East Memphis, what seems like a nice part of Memphis for 190k. 1 Car garage, 3 beds, 2 bath starter home with 1.9k square feet. Mortgage ends up being $1,100 a month with taxes. (3.1k in prop taxes)

I found a similar home in West Hartford, 3 beds 2 baths with a 1 car attached garage 1.8k square feet. Mortgage ends up being 1.7k a month with taxes (7.3k in prop taxes)

Income taxes wise this family of two pays 1.2k a year to Tennessee. You pay 2.3k a year to Connecticut.

Are the taxes higher? Yes, they are. Over the year your mortgage + state income taxes will be:

Tennessee: $14,400
Connecticut: $22,700

Add in federal taxes:

Tennessee: $16,200
Connecticut: $30,500

So at the end of the year, your taxes plus your mortgage leaves you with the following:

Tennessee: $25,800
Connecticut: $35,500

In Connecticut, you already have 10k more at the end of the year. This does not even take into account the fact that Tennessee has a higher sales tax, not does it take into account that you might have children. That specific house I looked at in Tennessee is not in the best school district, so private school it is for your children which gets pricey fast. In Connecticut, you do not have to worry about that. West Hartford has amazing schools.

You pay more in taxes here in Connecticut because you get more out of it. Wages are also higher, and people are more educated. Further, despite the doom and gloom the Rs throw around, there's a lot of job opportunities in Connecticut still. I spent a very long time researching the "benefits" of moving out of Connecticut, and have come to the conclusion it is best to stay here.

Grass is always greener.

[RunD1987]

I will give victory to you

Still the point remains CT needs to lower its debt, lower cost of living by lowering income & property taxes, make CT affordable to retirees eliminate Estate & gas tax, eventually eliminate Sales tax, add more affordable houses & high end housing developments in Cities, reform taxes by adding new taxes such as taxing legalizing marijuana, cleaning up fraudulent spending, and improving State infrastructure/public transportation in the State.