Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge 3 Less New Englanders

Guy's,

Lynn and I made our decision this morning after talking about it for years; we have finally done it we are leaving CT. for Charleston, SC... We wanted to wait until my Mom and Dad were gone, but I just can not take it anymore every day in the papers it gets worse and worse and when I read the biggest item in front of them right now IS TO BAN USING HOOKS on elephants. WTF are they doing there is not an Elephant in the whole state of CT, except for one week a year when the circus shows up.

We listed the house and have a meeting with a builder in Charleston during the first week of June. I’m settling on Johns Island no ocean front, but I'm surrounded by Ocean and it should not be too hard to find.

I like the idea of where Steve is moving to Greenville area, but I can build a home for the roughly $75,000 more and be where I want to be close to the Ocean.

Now that being said as soon as I move there, there will a Cat 6 hurricane I know there is no Cat. 6 hurricanes, but as soon as I move there we will have one.

Lynn and I make over 6 figures a year and we simply can not afford to live here anymore. We just received our re-valuation and our taxes are going up $1,647.00 a year that will put us over $8,000 for the year and for what free trash service.

Our state income tax is going up another % point to 7% and I know I made light of the new millionaires tax, but that thing is really going to happen. They have driven every industry from the state and there is simply no one else to “goon” but us.

Stop and think of it when they have to re-define what it takes to be a millionaire and then calculate the revenue they need to take in to feed their spending they have to apply this tax to every individual making $10.47 per hour. What does that tell you they are scraping the bottom of the barrel? Plus it is only going to get worse, if I’m going to allow people to screw me I might as well be somewhere I’m happy.

So SC look out the Sovie’s are on their way!!!

Poppy, sorry to see you go, and talk about making me really wonder what the heck I'm doing! I'm only in the 5 figures range and my wife isn't even that, since she waitresses(although at least people up here tip, they sure as heck never did back in South Carolina!! "What'dya mean I gots to pay her fer doin' her job, that ain't right!!" No pot shot at SC, that's about word for word what my wife has heard come out of NUMEROUS peoples mouths when hit with a gratuity for a party of 30...)

Shame such a pretty state has to screw it up for so many people, but doesn't seem like anyone in Hartford has quite caught onto or cares what they are doing!

this hurts poppy.

I'm leaving as soon as my kids are on their own.

I'll be about a year behind you, John. Just gotta wait for the kids to be out of school. I'll be looking from Asheville down to the Charlotte area.

Sorry to hear you are leaving but I know just how you feel. My wife’s company has a plant in Boise Idaho, she makes templates for computer chips lots of big defense stuff, not too many companies do that stuff. Cost of a very nice house in Boise $125,000. Only thing holding us back at this time bought, our house in 2004, 2 nd in 2005. She has only high school dep and makes lots more than I do. I’m a drug and alcohol counselor, I would be able to find a job in most all states. I checked the weather out there not much different than here. There is also a plant in Texas but No thanks, been there done that and its Bush country, but there would be lots of alcoholics there to treat even an ex president????? CT is # 1 in taxes, #1 in cost of electricity. Highest gas and oil prices in continental USA. Where does all the F^&^$ng money go???? What would taxes be like if the Indian casinos were not funding millions per day? Keep in touch, must have a send-off cruse.

Congratulations! We'll miss you, but I'll invite myself over when I drop in on my daughter. I have a feeling she's a lifer in Charleston. It's a beautiful place.

Why do y'all keep coming here???? I love my state of 5million people. My wife and I are one of only 2 couples under 60 on my street and I am the only one that was born in SC (she was born in Memphis). And one more thing WE DON’T care how you did it up north.

Just kidding come on down you are going to love it. You can ride year round, the people are friendly and polite, the pace is slow and no one ever meats a stranger.

PS

I don’t know about up around Spartanburg, I believe that is where Bayern was, but people here in Aiken tip my wife was a waitress for a very long time and her brother owns a restaurant. In fact she is planning on helping him on St. Patrick’s Day it’s an Irish Pub. Based on the last holiday she worked for him she thinks she may be able to make this month’s house payment off of her tips.

My uncle lives in Charleston, or one of those fancy schmancy towns just north... I guess I'll have to make a trip down to visit "y'all" at some point.

Welcome south!! I jumped ship from the NE Ohio winters a few years ago. You won't regret it.

Hi John,
Are you & Lynn going to be rednecks like me, or just "tornado bait". Matt will grow into a decent redneck in time. I'm not sure about Steve, but he's versatile.
Welcome to the land where you don't have to tenderize your battery.

Can't say I'm sorry for having moved, even though it's costing me a whoppin' $20 a year for property tax on the pasture I bought next door to my house and $250 for the east pasture, house and most of my buildings.
Since I own a 4WD truck, a horse ranch, a tractor and a shotgun, and the directions to my house include "turn off the paved road", I guess I'm an official redneck.

Glad to see you are moving to "America" You will find living in "America" to be a fulfilling experience compared to where you are leaving. LOL.

Big Poppy,

I've considered this very subject myself. Your state (CT) is very tax unfriendly. In fact, it's the third most tax unfriendly State in the nation according to this list (per capita). My own State (WA) is number 13th.

After considering this subject carefully in the past, I've concluded that the very best place to live in the USA is Colorado (ARE YOU LISTENING GREG?). I've vacationed in Durango and let me tell ya, - that would suit me just fine.

BTW, SC is 42nd on the list for being tax unfriendly - that pretty good (did you notice it is a "Red State?").

-BT

Thanks for the link Mark.
It's nice to see AZ is 41st - I'm looking at moving to the US and, at the minute, AZ is looking the likely place.

John,
Hate to see you go... No wait I'll be right behind you . My daughter, an Son-Inlaw left the Danbury area two years ago for Conway SC. With Four kids they were just getting by. With-in one year they bought a new house. My son-in-law got a job as a police officer(the job he always wanted) My daughter is managing a hair salon in Myrtle Beach. Even though we miss the grand kids the good news is they are doing great. We bought a place in Myrtle Beach so we wouldn't have to stay in a hotel each time we went down. I think the people in the south are much nicer than those in the north-east. That's coming from someone born & raised in New England. The cost of living is so much less. Pay scale is lower, but with what I can get for my house here I can move south and live motgage free. We have a couple more year here before we head south. Charlton is only an hour south of MB. If your down by Oct. We should hook up for fall Bike Week
I see a going away ride/barbeque in your future.
Best of luck
Mark

Mmmmmm. BBQ....

Mark,

That is your plan my house is worth three times what I paid and the home I looking to build will be mortage free.

My beloved ST. of CT.will extract the last pound of flesh from me before they let me go. I will have to pay a capital gains tax, but I saved every receipt on everything I have paid for to fix or update this money pit and so this should help.

Thanks everyone for the well wishes, the only thing I'm going to miss about CT. is riding with Benny's LI and CT. gang and breakfest at Toy Makers with LJ, UncleCharlie and CTMIKE.

Awe shucks (sniffle, tear)

Been watching this thread on a few levels, foremost being my decision to put my home on the market and leave CT for Spartanburg, SC last year. On another level, Big Poppy has been an absolutely awesome guy to me and my TBA. I can't help think about how my enthusiasm for getting out of CT rubbed off on him and how he may still come to his senses and choose Upstate SC, out of the evil wind (and homeowner's insurance) of the coast.

Things do have a way of working out and it was not lost on John or me the signifigance that the day I finally sold my house here was the day I got terminated from my job. Yup, it's true.
So for all of you in the thread, thinking about change, let me pass on what I said to Big Poppy (with apologies to Goethe for paraphrasing):

Commit yourself to a course of action and things will fall into place you never dreamed could occur. Boldness has genius in it. Begin now.

SteveB

Excellent advice my friend! I need to get a little more direction in things myself. I have an interview with a company down here tomorrow. Doesn't look THAT great, but I figure I need to get out there and see before I pass judgement. Kim will take a pay cut if we move off-island, so we really need to count the beans before we commit to that sort of thing. There's more to it than money for me (stress level, health, etc), but we can't take too many steps back.

Benny,

Look at it from this angle, you and Kim are both young and just starting your lives together, no kids (yet). Look at what ever you do going forward as an adventure.

I truely believe that a solid marriage is built on those frist couple of years of shared struggles, macarion and cheese, popcorn and peanut butter.

The only differnce between you and Kim and Linda and I is that your both established, we got married when I was still in school and she was just starting off as a lowly book keeper. That is one tough decision to make giving up the lifestyle you both are use to to go where you both want and start all over again, but at least you are where you want to be.

Good things happen to good people and your the best. You will land on your feet no matter what you guy's decide to do, but after 25 years of marriage we still remember those times when it was just the two of us and who ended up with heel of the loaf of bread.

Very, very well said John.

Benny, You are young enough to absorb what drastic changes can do to you. Don't let the comfort get in the way of doing something that will make you happier and healthier in the long run. Yeah, money could be tight for a bit but the future is there in front of you waiting for you to take that other path.

Unfortunately, some of us older farts cannot afford to take the risk. Quit the job and you might be one of the un-hireable pariahs. If I was younger and in the position I am in now, I'd have been long gone.

Ahh, come on John. Fess up! You're just usin' this "Connecticut Millionaire" stuff as an excuse for finally gettin' out of the snow, the salted roads, and the shortened riding season that CT "offers" to us dyed-in-the-wool motorcyclists, and so you can ride year-round down in SC, aren't cha???

You see, we warmer weather types REALLY know the reason you snow birds EVENTUALLY make those moves to warmer climes.

I mean, I seem to recall that bride of your's saying something about being fed-up with that New England weather when I was back there a few months ago.

So good for you, dude! I say it's about time.

Cheers,
Dwight

Dwight,

What can we say, your on to us.

John

Quote:

---

Yeah, money could be tight for a bit but

---

And I did just pay the bike off recently

Thanks for the well-wishes guys. I know we'll figure it out! It's just that right now there are SOOOOOO many variables. It will be one thing once there is a more solid lead and some direction to the whole thing. It's too bad CT may be rough because it would be a real nice compromise between our families distance-wise.