Relocation?

lynseys06

Hello everyone!

So DP and I have been bouncing the idea around of possibly relocating up North, preferably a state that recognizes same-sex marriage/union etc. or even a neighboring state possibly.

We currently reside in North Carolina,so we are still wanting a slow paced area, family friendly, and good fertility care. I have been thinking about checking out Massachusetts,Maryland or Connecticut. I also like Pennsylvania, just because it seems calm and it is close to the action, LOL.

 Any of you that are from these areas, I would appreciate some town names and maybe an estimate on monthly living expenses for that area. We don't mind leasing for now, so any well known apartment or town home complexes are fine too.

 

TIA

Lynsey

ball.and.chain

I've lived in MA for most of my life, and I love living here.  We are one of the (growing!) few states that have gay marriage; we are also one of the smallish number of states that have mandated insurance coverage for infertility (so does Connecticut, according to my very quick internet research).  I know there are people who move here from out of state because they need IVF to conceive and can get it covered here.  Now I'm not saying you need or want IVF but you never know what could happen down the line!  The Boston area, where I live, has great medical care and lots of it, including fertility care.  However, it's very expensive to live here compared to much of the country.  I have to admit that my wife does the bills so I can't really say what our monthly expenses are.  I can say that the median house/condo value in our town -- which is about 10 m from Boston but is NOT one of the pricier communities -- is almost $400k.

I'd recommend towns but it depends on a lot -- how close you'd want to be to the city, what you can afford, where/in what industry you'd work, how important school systems are to you, how much space you need/want, etc.

melissajo2011

I am from Delaware, and I love it there! It's close to everything (beaches, New York, Philly, DC, Baltimore) but not too close :-) Property taxes aren't as high as PA and NJ, they just started recognizing same-sex unions, and there's no sales tax!! Cost of living is pretty low, and they haven't been quite as hard-hit as some areas by the recession, due to the number of companies and the college in the area.

I am from Newark, which is great because it is relatively small and also a college town. Middletown is ok, too. Good schools, but a little more rural. Actually, the further south you go in DE, the more rural it gets. I would not suggest living in Sussex County, although I highly recommend the beaches there! Rehoboth Beach is a gay-friendly resort town that is also very kid- and family-friendly.

Good luck on your relocation!

tdmklm

Here's a vote for the Boston area. As ball.and.chain said, cost of living tends to be higher than other places in the country, but I think salaries follow that trend too (if not from experience, since I work in the universally low-paying non-profit field, from seeing other friends who work in other fields and have moved here from other areas). If you tell me the size of the place you'd be looking to rent/buy, and what amenities you want, I could probably give you an idea for different Boston-area towns... You probably don't want Boston proper because the schools are a crapshoot (assigned by lottery - a couple are very good but some are tragically bad, so you need to have a private school back-up plan).

Good luck with your planning!

T 

2brides

We live in Maryland (between DC and Baltimore.) Maryland doesn't have gay marriage (it is being voted on in the General Assembly soon and will most likely go to a ballot vote.) Cost of living varies on which area you live in...but that also correlates with amenities/crime/school. We've been here nearly 20 years and we are itching to get out of this area. Traffic is a nightmare (and where we live there is no convenient public transportation), everything seems so rushed and competitive. We would love a slower pace of life.

That being said, we love the proximity to 2 bigger cities (DC/B'more) and a smaller city (Annapolis.) The area we are in is relatively affordable, but the schools are pretty poor (which is why we are paying for private), and we are about an hour from the city in rush hour (30m in non-rush hour.)

Good luck!

ctbride08

I'm from CT and if suburbia is what you are going for, it is the ultimate suburb being smack dab between Boston and NYC.  I think its a great place to raise kids and does have mandated fertility coverage as pp mentioned (though with tons of loopholes).  COL will vary pretty widely depening upon town - in general the southern part of the state is more expensive than the northern part.

lynseys06

Thank you all for your replies!

I am currently looking for a 3 bd 2 or 2 1/2 bath house or apartment. Leasing is preferred, and would be great if rent was no more than 1500 a month. School is very important, so I would like to be in an area that has good education!

I will look into everything you guys have shared thus far!

 

Lynsey

ball.and.chain

$1500 is tricky for a 3br in the Boston area.  I ran a quick Craiglist search to make sure I wasn't crazy as I haven't rented in a while, and most 3brs in that range that come up are around 20-30 miles from Boston AND in towns that are not known for their school systems (e.g. Lawrence which is an underperforming district that was taken over by the state).  The towns with the best schools are pricey -- way out of my price range, frankly -- but there are a lot of school districts between the elite districts and the underperforming districts that are fine.  Massachusetts is usually ranked among the top 3 states in the country for public schools, so even the OK districts may be better than what you get in a lot of other states.

2brides

Yea, I just looked in Maryland too. If you want to be closer to DC than B'more in a really good school district, rent for a 3br is about $2500. There are a few places that might have some potential around $1700, but schools are tricky in those areas because of zoning. I can't speak too much about the Baltimore suburbs because I am less familiar with them.

ctbride08

$1500 is right on target for 3bdr rentals in central/northern CT.  southern CT may be higher.

tdmklm

Yeah, ball.and.chain is right. $1500 is tricky. You can probably find something around $1750/$1850 in a place like Melrose, though.

lynseys06

Connecticut is sounding like the best place so far for our pockets! LOL

Kershnic

You may also want to look in to upstate NY, which will be more affordable and more laid back than some of the urban areas that have been mentioned.  I think you need to do more thinking about urban vs. suburban vs. rural, availability of jobs in your field, importance of public transportation, your ability to handle a cold climate, etc.  If you're moving partially for legal recognition of your family I don't know why you'd go somewhere like PA where there is none.  I live in the NJ suburbs of NYC, but our cost of living is like Boston or higher and it is not laid back.  There are other parts of Jersey that are really nice, but the COL will be higher here than many places.

ball.and.chain

Kershnic:

You may also want to look in to upstate NY, which will be more affordable and more laid back than some of the urban areas that have been mentioned.

Good point re: rural areas.  I love western Mass, where the cost of living is much lower than it is here (I sometimes fantasize about buying an old farmhouse with a lot of land out there).  It's beautiful, more peaceful, and still gay-friendly.  But on the other side, there are fewer jobs, fewer cultural institutions, more snow, it's less diverse, etc.

melissajo2011

$1500 is totally doable in northern Delaware. And there are a lot of places to find jobs, it's not a rural area. Did I mention there is no sales tax?

I wish I could move back to DE. I love it and it's a great place to raise a family. The schools are also pretty good, like I said before. Here is a YouTube ad for my hometown:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Io8QT7_NHjw