Escape From New Jersey (Rochester, Albany: health insurance, low crime, to buy)

[BASIC]

Hi,like a lot of you we live in NJ and we want out.People are rude,it's expensive and there's has to be a nicer state.My wife and I are trying to find a place to move to,upstate NY,NH and VA are the states that seem to have the most promise.NY being such a big state its hard to find a place to begin.Jobs are important,I have heard that is where NY suffers,there aren't to many,my wife drives a school bus and is a police dispatcher,I have a small landscpe company,plow snow and work in a sporting goods store.We nee d good health care and schools.We'd like to buy some property and buy/build a small house.What are taxes like,another thing I've heard bad about NY is that there high.Are people friendly?Help please.

[NickL28]

Meaning out of this region completely. Cost of Living, Rents, Housing Prices, Taxes & Fines are rising higher & higher. It is nearly impossible to find housing on less than $100,000 for a single person at market rents or housing prices.

Maybe consider moving out of the NYC area completely. There are many other parts of the country where jobs are plentiful, taxes are lower, people are nicer & not road raging maniacs, and where you don't need to work 12-14 hours a day with uncompensated OT in some soul sucking corporate job.

Of course the politicians & the NY Times think that everyone is doing great and the only people who deserve to live in the NY area are those making $200,000 a year or more, who don't use any gov't services, and where life outside of work revolves around shopping & eating in trendy restaurants.

[just_sayin']

LOL. You snowplow, and work in the sporting goods store? You will have it MADE in Upstate NY. Are you sure you weren't from Upstate NY in a past life? Taxes upstate are ridiculous, I won't deny that. The people in Upstate NY are some of the friendliest you could find. WAY nicer than the people downstate.

[BASIC]

Thankyou both.
i'minformed,just to give an example of "rural" NJ taxe,we pay over$5,000 on just over 1 acre of property with a normal house.The problem I'm told with plowing snow where it snows alot is,theres many more people doing it and that brings the price down.

[Phish Head]

I'm in the same boat as you, BASIC. Live in NJ, and I dread every day I'm still here. Tired of seeing every penny I earn go toward simple neccessities- housing, healthcare, taxes. Everyone on this forum has been VERY helpful. That should give you an indication of how warm people upstate are. I went to college for 5 years in Vermont, only 6 miles from the NY State border. It was the 5 best years of my life. I would live in either place, VT or NY. Keep in mind I do like snow and cold weather. But even if I didn't, its easy to trade cold weather for all the plusses: open space, fresh air, low crime, beautiful landscape. I also taught high school up there as a student teacher- the kids were all good kids and well educated. The worst thing I would encounter was spitballs or boys flirting with girls, normal high school stuff. No metal detectors, no knives, guns, or talking back. Kids were taught to respect teachers there. Not like here. Of course, inner cities Upstate may vary, but overall, the low population density make life far less hectic and stressful.

[honeychrome]

Personally I think upstate NY is beautiful, but...... Vermont is even beautifuller! I'd say both are fantastic places- if I could swing living without any attachment to NYC I'd head for VT, but as I need access to NYC it's upstate for me. VT is a little more progressive and environmentally conscious, and I believe there are no state building codes (though there are county/local codes, etc.), which may be a concern if you are planning to build a house. As far as healthcare, both NY and VT are two of the five states that require by law that health insurance be offered to all and companies are not allowed to refuse, discriminate or charge more for pre-existing conditions (I think NJ, CT and MA are the other states...). It means that overall rates are higher than in other states, but if you have any cronic conditions you can't be refused (though I don't think the pre-existing condition is covered until a year after enrollment).

Be careful about counting on snow for your income- there wasn't much in either upstate NY or VT this past year. Whether (ha ha) that's just chance or a reflection of broader climate change and the shape of things to come is up for debate. I think it's the latter myself.

[just_sayin']

Rochester NY picked up 90 inches of snow this year, that's about average.

[iheart]

Just moved to upstate recently here. For me, so far I like it here better than downstate. Don't know much about the area yet but I think people who grew up in upstate tend to be more friendly people, and that's one of the factor that attract me. People say we're lucky this year because not much of a typical winter here. Actually, downstate had more snow than we are up here this year. Although, this is June now and it hasn't feel like summer yet...hopefully, it doesn't skip the summer and jump straight into winter....
VT no doubt is a beautiful state and much peaceful there, but upstate NY is beautiful as well.
I'm planning to explore lakes and mountains here this summer.
Anyone from Albany here?

[Glen NY]

iheart, Long Island has been pretty cold as well, this afternoon I wore a hooded sweat shirt, jeans and boots and was still a bit chilly, don't get discouraged it is just a cold weather trend.

[Merrie]

I think Vermont is beautiful to people who haven't lived here all their lives. I am so sick of living here that I am litterally depressed. I think about moving everyday, the truth is I don't know where to go. I have thought about VA, NC, Maine, and tonight I starting thinking about Rochester.

Im an hour from Albany, go there a lot since there is nothing here LOL