Pros and Cons of Where You Live

[mikandmari]

One of the interesting things about this forum is that folks come from all walks of life, and from all over the planet. I've lived in one state all my life, and I love hearing about different areas. I really enjoyed the recent post about the sounds of spring... you can't put a price tag on stuff like that!

So I'm wondering if anyone would like to share some pros/cons about where they live, or used to live... the costs, and what you get for those costs...

I live in Delaware, the Pros: the property taxes are really low, no sales tax or personal property tax, and 2 hours to everything: beach, mountains, NYC, Washington, D.C. etc etc. The job market has been pretty strong. The climate is good, and there is lots of cultural & entertaining things to do.

The Cons: traffic congestion, pollution, & the crime (although I COULD buy a house farther from the city, but I'm too cheap!). Income taxes are high here, too, but we figure that's better than high taxes on property, etc, for retirement. Delaware was listed as one of the best places to retire for this reason. I know if I retire here, I will eventually have to move to a better neighborhood.

We've considered relocating, but the 'fear of the unknown' has kept us here I suppose!

[acidcookie]

I grew up mostly in Oregon (after emigrating from Germany), but have lived in central Pennsylvania for the last two years.

Central PA pros: Lots of nature, quick to get to places within town, no stress, hardly any crime, Amish people, lots of farms and fresh produce, pretty autumn colors

Central PA cons: NO CITY, no water nearby, slim pickings for events, college town where most of the population is 18-22, icy winters, swampy summers, no authentic Mexican food, not much "culture," not enough activism among the students, housing is too expensive for such a small town in the middle of nowhere, it's not Oregon

[FrugalMomof3]

I live in Northeastern PA and personlly I want to move but here are my pro's and con's:

Pro's: Grocery, gas and video stores are all nearby (walking distance), streets are plowed quickly when it snows, bus pickup in front of house.

Con's: CRIME, CRIME, oh did I say CRIME? Crowded, NO privacy, high taxes, teachers on drugs, high cost of some utilities (garbage pickup, water), nosey neighbors, small backyards, etc, etc... I really want to move. You can't even have a flag pole outside for fear it will get stolen (although so far mine hasn't but my neighbors has).

[MamaBear209]

My family is based in Southern CA and I did my training there so had to stay there a couple of years. I didn't like the ratrace lifestyle, its too stressful. Yes, you can earn big bucks there especially in the medical profession (that's the only upside I can think of) but DH and I decided we'd rather relocate to a place with a laidback lifestyle. We found it here in the South. We don't live in a big city now like we did in LAX, life is much easier to manage. People are friendly, I got a heaping taste of southern hospitality. This place is a lot better to raise children than anywhere near Hollywood....LOL

Pros: laidback lifestyle, friendly people, low crime rates (at least in the area where we live), low property taxes, a lot of parks to visit for free, lots of places to fish for free, beautiful sights in Spring and Autumn everywhere you look, etc. I can just go on and on, I love it here! Personally, I think this place is retirement haven.

Cons: high(est) sales taxes (no wonder they call it tax he11 here), we have income and state taxes, not much variety in restaurants, "small" mall (lol)

[nuisance26]

~Southern New Jersey~
PROS:Beautiful beaches only 40 minutes away,pine barrens,marshland and all it's wildlife, Ethnic Diversity,great eats from that diversity,1/2 sales tax empowerment zones,good healthcare,severe weather(blizzards, hurricanes, tornados, draught, flooding inland)is rare here,veggies grown here taste fantastic!!!,within 3 hours driving of New York City and Washington DC,Our city services are pretty great-leaves, recyclables and trash picked up quickly-snow and debris cleared quickly-very good city water-sewer service,improving and growing culture areas and shopping areas,no smelly livestock anywhere around here,beautiful architecture in many historical places(Salem-Greenwich-Cape May)

CONS:poverty, densely populated, heavy traffic, lack of conservatives, lack of Fundamental Bible Churches,too many too-busy-to-smile-at-another-human people,flat land and all flat land, all but one beach charging an outrageous $5 or more to use the beach,marshland and lakes breeding swarms of mosquitos, the woods breeding swarms of deer ticks,the air traffic going to Philly-DC-NY-Atlantic City,state political corruption, we're paying $2300 property taxes this year for less than 850 square feet,outrageous electricity rates,muggy heat in the summer

[justpeachy92]

I live near Raleigh NC.
Pros living here: We are in the country, so see alot of wildlife, our neighborhood is quiet, low crime rate. We aren't far from a major city, so is easy to expose the kids to other cultures, museums, etc.... also alot of choices for colleges as the kids get older, and they can save my money by living at home and commuting. We are also close enough to the ocean to enjoy day trips to the beach.
Cons of living here: Public school system isn't good, as I said we are out in the country, so we are driving a atleast 10 miles to the nearest store, and they rarely have good prices on stuff. To save money I have to combine my errands and head into Raliegh (45 minute drive) and when it is hot out I have to haul coolers and ice packs to keep stuff cold, as I will be going to more then one place.

[Michelle68]

San Antonio, Texas--

Pros: A larger city with a pretty laid-back attitude, great Mexican food (come on down and visit, Acidcookie! ), milder winters, affordable housing, great recreational and cultural activities, two hours to the coast and right next to the Texas hill country, friendly people, multiculturally diverse population with little racial or cultural problems, no state income tax.

Cons: Heat and humidity in the summer, wages tend to be lower than in other areas of the country, the crime that goes along with living in a bigger city (although it's not as bad as other large cities), traffic, no change of seasons that they have up north.


--Michelle

[Marie78]

I live about 20 minutes outside a city in Central NY. I would love to move (I daydream about it often. My fiance is here going to grad. school. We want to live somewhere warmer.)

Pros: We experience all four seasons, spring is fragrant and colorful with flowers and trees in bloom, the leaves change color in autumn and those colors are brilliant along the skyline. I live in a relatively safe apt. complex that landscapes (so I pretend that I live in the country), heat is included in my rent, I live about 5 miles drive time from a lake, library, grocery store, and post office.

Cons: Job prospects are few and pay very little, the public transportation is not very good. I would have to walk over 2 miles to get to the nearest bus stop. Taxes are high (seems like everything is taxed), it's cold and somtimes snowy too for 6 months out of the year.

[kaykwilts]

I live in Ruston, LA in the northern part of Louisiana, centrally located and about 50 miles south of Arkansas.

Pros: Low crime rate where I live, mild winters, housing affordable as comparable to places like California or the far northeast

Cons: The summers are hot and uncomfortable with extreme humid weather. This uncomfortable weather starts in mid June and last until the first week in November with even the nights being hot and humid.

[SammeyG]

I have acutally lived in two states.Illinois and Missouri

Pros: Illinois-flat land. State is quickly in snow removal. Where i lived was in the middle of an amish commuinty. Small town where everyone was laid back. Low crime rate.
Missouri-I would say that it is the hills, trees, lakes and show.Low
crime rate(with the execpetion of big or metro cities)

Cons:Illinois-Very high proptery taxes. High taxes on food. Very low wadges.
Very cold winters. Due to the fact that there are more corn,
wheat and soybean feilds. So no way to stop the very cold wind.

Missouri: The roads during winter. State taxes you on pretty much every
thing. Car, Trucks, Rv's, hauling trailors, homes and boats.
Have a hard time living during winter months. Basiacly live from
paycheck to paycheck. Have a hard time gettin garound town
during busy season(april- mid December). No affordable
insureance(unless place you work for has it). Even then if you
do get insureance through your employer then the deductable
is outragously high. ANywhere from $1,000 to $2,500.

[Grayce]

I live in central Ontario Canada.

Pros- Low crime, small city (150,000), I can walk to the lake/beach, provincial sponsored health care, we have all 4 seasons, I am only an hour away from an international airport, minutes from downhill/cross country skiing, 4 golf courses within 15 minute drive of my house, lots of festivals going on all year long, we have a college in town and are within commuting distance of several universities, we are only an hour away from Toronto so we have easy access to all the things available there (shows etc), the are we live in is nice with lots of trees, people are friendly. Traffic isn't bad. Wages are decent. Schools are OK.

Cons- TAXES!!! We pay very high income tax in Canada, sales tax is up to 14%, property taxes are a lot ($3000 a year for my 1680 sq foot house on a 40 foot wide lot). Becuase we live within commuting distance of the big city our housing prices are very high. Most things are more expensive here from groceries to gas. I often visit my sister in Texas and find most things are just a little bit cheaper than here. Cars are expensive here and the salt on the winter roads eats them. Lots of snow in the winter and very hot/humid in the summer.

[wanderlusting]

Well-I've lived in England (North Yorkshire) the past three years. Remember-DH and I are here for the military and are getting paid dollars and I have to pay nearly $2 for one british pound.

Pros: Slower pace of life, inexpensive organic food (even with the exchange rate!), can take my dog into pubs, good public transport, cheap to travel, good hiking, sun from 4am-11pm during summer, taxes on EVERYTHING

Cons: Exchange rate, Most places are closed on Sundays (only bad if I suddenly run out of something like milk), away from me and DH's families, hardly any sunlight during winter

[Neeley]

We are in central Alabama and have never lived anywhere else.


Pros: ~Very low property taxes($416 a year for $140k, 2700 sq foot w/inground pool on almost an acre)
~ homeowners insurance low (less than $400 a year for $140k dwelling coverage, $93k contents coverage, $13k outside storgae room contents coverage and other small misc. coverage)
~warm weather year round(none of us even own a winter coat - just a lightweight jacket)
~ good old southern hosiptality
~ Alabama Shakespeare Theatre
~ three good hospitals within 10 miles - one has specialized heart care center, one has a special breast care center, one has an awesome NICU unit
~the best and most beautiful zoo I have ever seen
~ most of our extended family lives within a few miles of us
~ military town - lots of good comes from this

Cons: ~high sales tax - we pay 10% tax on everything from food to clothes to school supplies etc
~ poor school system in this city
~ we own our home, but those who rent the rental costs are pretty high - militarty town - big demand for rentals here
~ our current mayor is a ...um.... I'll just say I will be glad when he goes
~ crime is getting worse that is for sure.


With that said, we plan to move to the Orlando - Winter Park - Kissimmee area. At the very least we want to retire there, but if the opportunity presents itself we would drop everything and move their asap.

[jamie79]

I live in SW. Wisconsin thanks to the Army

Pros: small town, low crime, great schools, only 20 or so minutes to the "big" city. Lots to do. Friendly people. 4 seasons

Cons: VERY cold in the winter for a time, gas tax is high, property taxes are not HIGH but not really low either. A VERY drinking culture

[dcompton]

I live in NW Louisiana. Shreveport/Bossier City is a much larger metropolitan area than Ruston where Kaykwilts lives.

PROS: After seeing what a lot of you pay for things, the cost of living is clearly very reasonable here. We have some cultural options here: a symphony, opera company, a theatre that brings in touring companies, and an excellent children's science center, among other things. Also the casinos -- a pro to some, a con to others (I'm rather on the con side myself, but they undeniably do provide employment for a lot of people). We have plenty of decent shopping, and if you want the glitzier variety (I assume most of you don't), we are only three hours from Dallas. The scenery around here is very ho-hum, but we are not far from some beautiful areas in Arkansas. The trip to Dallas in late April/May through rolling East Texas is a treat- banks and banks of wild flowers line the highway.

CONS: The crime is, I suppose, pretty high, but it doesn't impact me in any particularly noticeable way. The climate is awful, if you prefer cold to heat like I do. I often have the air conditioner running from late March to early November. The summers are hot, humid killers. But the winters are usually quite mild. It can get down into the 20's or lower occasionally, but that rarely lasts for more than a couple of days and it bounces back up. No hurricanes here, but tornadoes when the Gulf air clashes with air coming down off the plains. It's embarrassing to look at lists ranking states on social measures. We are usually at the top of the bad lists, and the bottom of the good. We seem to be competing with Mississippi for Worst State in the Nation. Do NOT move here for the education or social services. And of course, Katrina and Rita did not help -- the economy of the state took a real hit. We also seem have a lot of poverty, which doubtless goes hand in hand with the dismal school situation. Too many people need work but don't have the skills or education to be very employable. I can't address property taxes since I rent -- a nice one bedroom for $475/month, a steal compared to some areas -- but sales taxes are pretty high. They have recently lowered the sales tax on food to around 4%, but it's still a regressive tax that's tough on the poor.

In sum, for me, Louisiana is not great, but it's an ok, pretty affordable place to live, because I live a very self contained life between work and home, and don't get out much. And without a young family, many of the serious social drawbacks don't impact me at all.