I'm looking to move to the northeast and have been told by

[Blue_Roses]

my cousin who just came back from Maine (while visiting her family) that she can't wait to get back up there. We live in Arkansas now and I know that if I don't get out of the south (I hate the heat) before I die then I know I will have missed something great. For those who have lived in the south and now live in the northeast, would you make the move all over again?

I and my spouse have already been checking out the job market and it is so much better. Many serious questions here...

[Droopy]

I hear the cost of living is higher in the northeast

unless you live out in the sticks. Taxes are also higher from what I've heard.

[WhollyHeretic]

2. The cost of living is higher up here but wages are higher too

There are a number of places where the prices of houses are ridiculous but there are plenty of places with decently priced houses as well.

[Pithlet]

9. You get spoiled by the cheap housing in the South, though.

I've lived here for seven years, and my husband and I considered relocating back to the northeast. Looking at housing prices, even in the more reasonable places left me in shock. I can't believe how much housing has gone up in just the few years I've been gone. It's a huge difference. A house similar to what we're living in now would cost three times as much in the northeast, and if we don't want a one and a half hour commute, forget it. I honestly don't know how anyone can afford it.

[Blue_Roses]

11. I think this is the one thing that

makes us hold off, but I lived in Dallas, TX for 10 years and if you wanted go anywhere you had to drive at least an hour or so to get there, so I got used to it...guess it would be just one of those things that we would have to experience to see if it was for us. I, like you, am spoiled to the cheap housing in the south, but the wages also suck--big time.

[Pithlet]

True

Aside from the expense, living in the northeast is great. I miss it terribly. And, while I lived there, housing wasn't so outrageous. I think that too many people are priced out of home ownership now in most of the country unless they mortgage themselves to the hilt, and I think that is sad.

[WhollyHeretic]

1. I've lived in a few parts of the country and the only two parts

I would live in now are the northeast and northwest. I live in Connecticut now but wouldn't mind moving a little farther north in New England. Have you ever lived up north before? The winters are the biggest adjustment for people coming from the south. For the most part the schools up here are some of the best in the country. I noticed in college that we had covered a lot of stuff that people from high schools in other parts of the country hadn't even touched.

[Blue_Roses]

3. No, I never been out of the south

and while I have respect for my southern roots, I've outgrown the "hi ya'll" and my husband I really like the cold. He wears shorts when we have 30 degree weather. Seriously. We HATE the heat and I just need a change from the south. I want my kids to see diversity and right now all they are getting is the same old thing.

If it was just me and my husband we would be already gone, but with kids the decision becomes harder.

[Blue_Roses]

4. I have a good friend who live in Connecticut

and she lived in the south all her life. She did say the winters are the most difficult thing to adjust to, but she likes it and says she enjoys the actual change of seasons--something we don't get here.

[WhollyHeretic]

7. The change of seasons is nice

though if you asked me near the end of last winter I might have said something different, last winter was pretty bad. If you're thinking of Connecticut West Hartford is a pretty good town for a family. It has a great school system, I went to school there and every school I went to won a national award of some type while I was there. It's halfway between Boston and New York. Granby is a town with a great school system as well and the houses are cheaper.

[Kathleen04]

10. I think you'd enjoy the novelty of the winter

I know I did, this past year I moved from California to Long Island, NY (which has a pretty mild winter compared to some other places, I think) and I would go "look it's snowing!!!" while my Northeastern friends grumbled. :)

[Blue_Roses]

12. that's great and very

interesting 'cause all I've heard from people (my sister lived in LA for five years) in California is how much they like the weather. I don't think I could take weather that didn't give me some excitement:evilgrin:

BTW--mudslides don't count!...:)

[Kathleen04]

13. Yep

The one thing that is good about CA is you can tell the weather by looking out the window. If it's sunny outside, it's going to be warm. If it's overcast, it's going to be cool.

Here, I have to look up the weather online or something. Now I understand the purpose of the weather channel. :)

[Bullwinkle925]

5. I just watched Steven King give the commencement address at

a college in Maine over the weekend on C-Span. He was just bursting with pride over Maine and was telling the graduates to not leave!
Said that they would be hungering for Maine before they knew it. I've never visited there but he certainly piqued my interest.

[Blue_Roses]

6. I love Stephen King

and don't really care what he writes. I just like the fact that he's passionate about the things I love--writing and Democrats.:)

[Bullwinkle925]

8. DAMN! I debated w/myself whether or not it was a "V" or a "PH"

but was too lazy to get up and look on my bookshelf.

hahahaha

[jackster]

14. come on up!

I lived the first half of my life in N Fla and the 2nd half in Massachusetts and you couldn't pay me enough money to move back. I love New England!

Yes the winters can be long and brutal. Yes the housing market sucks (although it's gotta stop somewhere!). Yea, the commute can be hard to take. But the cultural and educational benefits, the beauty of the seacost to the mountains, the diversity of the population, the rich historical climate, the opportunities in all walks of life, the autumn foliage, the spring flowers, the open-mindedness ... all this plus so much more, more than make up for the disadvantages.

My sister also left N Fla for upstate NY and while she lives in a more rural area and I in a more urban area, we both agree that we are happier here, especially since Florida has become so red! When I left there 25 years ago, it was a more tolerant, liberal, welcoming place than it is today.

[HuckleB]

15. It's beautiful!

But, like anyplace, it's not perfect. It has it's Spring "mud season," it's heat in the summer, and it's cold in the winter. But, despite the lack of mountains (sorry, them ain't mountains ya'll), it's got a great variety of natural beauty, and an incredible variety of city and small town life. I would definitely give it a go myself for a few years, if the stars aligned, but I am very happy where I am, so I visit as often as possible.

[jackster]

18. well they might not be mountains compared

to the Rockies, but Mt Washington is the highest elevation in the east is it not?

[HuckleB]

20. That's a good way to put it.

Highest elevation. (Foothills would be another.)

;)

:hi:

P.S. -- You forgot the Cascades and the Sierras!

[One_Life_To_Give]

16. Ah Ya

Maine - Where the whole family stands around in the kitchen, stoking the wood stove, leaving the outside door open to keep it below a 100. And complaining that it's still below zero outside.

[Yavin4]

17. The Northeast's High Cost of Living Hurts Us Politically

The Northeastern states, most of which are solidly Blue, have declining populations because of the high cost of living, and that hurts us politically. In fact, that's probably why the Democrats may never take back the House.

[GreenPartyVoter]

19. I'm in Maine. If you want to escape the heat you need to move

right to the coastline. As soon as you get away from it the temps and humidity get worse. Trust me on this. :P

Editing to ask.. do you have kids? We have a wonderful teeny tiny school here in our town: http://www.adamsschool.com/