Considering move from SW to NE US
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Well something I have experience in! Nothing prepared me for my first winter. Yes there is snow and it’s cold. The dark is what got me. I would leave for work before the sun came up and it was already setting as I was coming home. It was so deeply unsettling that first winter, like there was no warmth left in the world.
It is a lovely area. It feels so much older because they tend to preserve the historic homes and just driving around through the small rural towns is super cute. Fall is the best season in the NE. The colors are gorgeous! Apple cider donuts are the best donuts, most local orchards make them fresh too.
It’s pretty rural outside of NYC, Maine is especially so. You’ll most likely need a car, even if you’re in a town. The towns are walkable, but they’re small towns so the selection is limited. Getting hooked up with local events can be a challenge as word of mouth is the most common form of promotion. Get in good with your local coworkers or other local groups and they’ll help you find the cool ski deals and niche concerts.
On the whole car thing. Snow ands salt are really hard on cars. The inspection in NE is much more intensive than the SW which only checks emissions. Good tires are worth the investment, but the best method is just don’t drive while it’s snowing. Keep an eye out for black ice, the melting and refreezing is no joke. The people are nice though, had a kind man help pull me out of a snow bank when I made that mistake. If you’re ever unsure just go slow.
Also: NO, 4-WHEEL DRIVE DOESN'T MAKE YOU STOP FASTER IN SNOW. All it does is help you get unstuck if you slide off the road.
If you're driving in winter conditions, you have to drive slower and allow for significantly more distance from the next car forward. Like, actually follow the 3-second rule and then double it. Also, always keep an ice scaper and an emergency blanket in the car. You will need the ice scraper. You hopefully won't need the blanket, but it's better safe than sorry.
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So I grew up in Arizona as well as Bay Area, CA
(my parents were divorced). Moved to Austin, Texas in 2000 and NM a couple years ago. I've never lived in the Northeast, never even been further than NYC in that direction, though I loved Brooklyn.I've been thinking lately, partly because I've always hated the heat and partly because I'm sure global warming won't be kind to the area, that I'd like to check out the Northeast, maybe upstate NY or around there. Maybe Maine. Maybe even Canada if things get particularly a way here. In any case, besides taking time to actually visit the area which I plan to do next fall for about a month, hopefully, I'd love to get any opinions about living in that region. Likes? Dislikes? Favorite areas to consider? Suggestions? Anyone make the kind of geographic change I've described? Thanks!
Grew up in NM, moved to Mass about a decade ago and recently to Vermont. I love it. It gets hot though. And cold. And everywhere in between. People claim that folks out here aren’t nice. Never had an issue and frankly never met meaner folk than northern New Mexicans. Be prepared for a preposterously high cost of living though. (Especially Mass).
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Keep in mind that the Pacific Northwest is getting due for the Cascadia earthquake. Based on the historical records have been found it's bad
Could come today, could be another few hundred years but yeah all signs point to it being bad.
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So I grew up in Arizona as well as Bay Area, CA
(my parents were divorced). Moved to Austin, Texas in 2000 and NM a couple years ago. I've never lived in the Northeast, never even been further than NYC in that direction, though I loved Brooklyn.I've been thinking lately, partly because I've always hated the heat and partly because I'm sure global warming won't be kind to the area, that I'd like to check out the Northeast, maybe upstate NY or around there. Maybe Maine. Maybe even Canada if things get particularly a way here. In any case, besides taking time to actually visit the area which I plan to do next fall for about a month, hopefully, I'd love to get any opinions about living in that region. Likes? Dislikes? Favorite areas to consider? Suggestions? Anyone make the kind of geographic change I've described? Thanks!
I grew up there, but spent a long time in Colorado and have a place in northern NM. The snow, cold, all fine all doable, but it's the dark overcast that gets you.
Depending on the region it's a lot more interesting economically- lots of small businesses, plenty of summer activities. It's getting expensive though, for what it offers. I think few people move to New England from outside new England though (except for the important cities). You will certainly get some funny looks when you tell people you moved from Arizona.
I would personally move to a town with a lively population but not a big city. Think Burlington Vermont or Binghamton NY or great Barrington Mass. Definitely different and if you can settle in there probably a better life!
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I grew up there, but spent a long time in Colorado and have a place in northern NM. The snow, cold, all fine all doable, but it's the dark overcast that gets you.
Depending on the region it's a lot more interesting economically- lots of small businesses, plenty of summer activities. It's getting expensive though, for what it offers. I think few people move to New England from outside new England though (except for the important cities). You will certainly get some funny looks when you tell people you moved from Arizona.
I would personally move to a town with a lively population but not a big city. Think Burlington Vermont or Binghamton NY or great Barrington Mass. Definitely different and if you can settle in there probably a better life!
Thank you! This is wonderful advice, and I'll check out these places!
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Insofar as humidity exists everywhere... I suppose it is.
Speaking as somebody who's lived where humidity is stupidly annoying... no, it's not. And those of us who have experienced real humidity love it for that reason. We love getting out of really bad humidity.
I mean, I suppose it could get humid. I've only visited. I also suppose any coastal area could get humid, due to proximity to the ocean. But the South ain't playing when it comes to humidity, and that's what I meant.
Oh gosh, so true. Houston and Austin were terrible!
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No real network there, though I do have a friend who lives in NJ and a little family in MN. I work remote and may get a pay adjustment for moving to a higher COL area, but I also make more than I technically need to for where I am, so it may balance. The COL calculator I checked recommended a 4.5% raise.
NJ is best state.
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Could come today, could be another few hundred years but yeah all signs point to it being bad.
Pick your poison. I'd prefer planetary cataclysm vs Nazis 2.0
️ Quicker, efficient, decisive. -
I grew up there, but spent a long time in Colorado and have a place in northern NM. The snow, cold, all fine all doable, but it's the dark overcast that gets you.
Depending on the region it's a lot more interesting economically- lots of small businesses, plenty of summer activities. It's getting expensive though, for what it offers. I think few people move to New England from outside new England though (except for the important cities). You will certainly get some funny looks when you tell people you moved from Arizona.
I would personally move to a town with a lively population but not a big city. Think Burlington Vermont or Binghamton NY or great Barrington Mass. Definitely different and if you can settle in there probably a better life!
I'm glad you added overcast because here in Europe before we reach the "cold' temperatures, you're dealing with like 4h long daytimes. I'm always amazed when I go to Canada and experience -40°c but still pretty long daytimes.
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I'm glad you added overcast because here in Europe before we reach the "cold' temperatures, you're dealing with like 4h long daytimes. I'm always amazed when I go to Canada and experience -40°c but still pretty long daytimes.
Oh for sure Europe is maybe worse in this regard. I'm in the south of Europe now but have relatives in Paris and the cold gloom is not something I would like to live with every day. At least along the Mediterranean it's mostly sunny for the short, cold days of winter!
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So I grew up in Arizona as well as Bay Area, CA
(my parents were divorced). Moved to Austin, Texas in 2000 and NM a couple years ago. I've never lived in the Northeast, never even been further than NYC in that direction, though I loved Brooklyn.I've been thinking lately, partly because I've always hated the heat and partly because I'm sure global warming won't be kind to the area, that I'd like to check out the Northeast, maybe upstate NY or around there. Maybe Maine. Maybe even Canada if things get particularly a way here. In any case, besides taking time to actually visit the area which I plan to do next fall for about a month, hopefully, I'd love to get any opinions about living in that region. Likes? Dislikes? Favorite areas to consider? Suggestions? Anyone make the kind of geographic change I've described? Thanks!
wrote last edited by [email protected]Depending on what you mean by upstate ny or Maine, some of these areas are short on jobs so make sure you have enough opportunity. If you’re looking for small cities, Albany is great. I think Binghamton is coming back but I don’t know about Syracuse or Rochester. If you’re talking really upstate …. I haven’t been back in years and really miss that l. I don’t know as much about Maine but they’re more tourist oriented, which is a problem this year
It really seems like we get a lot less snow than when I was a kid in upstate ny. It makes not be as much a change as people are claiming
Now I live near Boston, close enough for weather to moderate, and we only get a couple snowstorms a year. We never get accumulation lasting through the winter anymore. This summer I had my AC in non-stop for the heatwaves and humidity, so I very much see the desire to head north
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So I grew up in Arizona as well as Bay Area, CA
(my parents were divorced). Moved to Austin, Texas in 2000 and NM a couple years ago. I've never lived in the Northeast, never even been further than NYC in that direction, though I loved Brooklyn.I've been thinking lately, partly because I've always hated the heat and partly because I'm sure global warming won't be kind to the area, that I'd like to check out the Northeast, maybe upstate NY or around there. Maybe Maine. Maybe even Canada if things get particularly a way here. In any case, besides taking time to actually visit the area which I plan to do next fall for about a month, hopefully, I'd love to get any opinions about living in that region. Likes? Dislikes? Favorite areas to consider? Suggestions? Anyone make the kind of geographic change I've described? Thanks!
I found Nashua NH to be crazy-polite, and me a Canadian. if you end up there, go with my envy.
And if you have to come over the line - legally, please! - then we'd love to have ya. Our national capitol is a crazy melting pot of newcomers, but the flatlander regions have the best opportunities.
...if you can avoid Flatlander Dementia. That's how our Peter Polyestre gets his votes -- the lack of mountains and oceans makes ya crazy!
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“Oh, you think darkness is your ally. But you merely adopted the dark; I was born in it, molded by it. I didn't see the light until I was already a man, by then it was nothing to me but blinding!”.
A good friend confided in me, "if you're in Ottawa in the winter, and you don't have at least one day each time where you want to just lie down in a ditch and succumb to the cruel hatred of the weather, then you're not really a resident."
And I chuckled. Now I chuckle knowingly.
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NJ is best state.
Don't say that, people might realize our bitching about NJ its just a way of trying to not have more people crammed in here!
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So I grew up in Arizona as well as Bay Area, CA
(my parents were divorced). Moved to Austin, Texas in 2000 and NM a couple years ago. I've never lived in the Northeast, never even been further than NYC in that direction, though I loved Brooklyn.I've been thinking lately, partly because I've always hated the heat and partly because I'm sure global warming won't be kind to the area, that I'd like to check out the Northeast, maybe upstate NY or around there. Maybe Maine. Maybe even Canada if things get particularly a way here. In any case, besides taking time to actually visit the area which I plan to do next fall for about a month, hopefully, I'd love to get any opinions about living in that region. Likes? Dislikes? Favorite areas to consider? Suggestions? Anyone make the kind of geographic change I've described? Thanks!
wrote last edited by [email protected]I've lived in New England most of my life, and most other posters have covered the major points. One I would add is that the weather IS getting more extreme here, and we are now getting things like tornados and worse hurricanes. It's not anything like as bad as other places in the US but climate change is definitely effecting this area too. I would watch out for where you end up being a decent elevation, and give any bodies of water a good amount of space, no houses or apartments right on the edge of a river. There was an unprecedented flood that hit Leominster and Fitchburgh MA not long ago that shocked a lot of people because the region had never experienced something like it. That will probably be happening more often in the coming years.
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Ok. Sure, I'm not familiar with price comparisons. I just know folks around here say it's expensive. Even in my city just South of Boston, a 1bdr apt is between $2K-3K.
Similar to the Bay Area.
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I can tell you from experience that you’re not going to escape the heat in upstate NY. The summer temperatures may look cooler than Arizona on paper but the humidity makes things feel so much worse
Yup.
I visited AZ once and even though it was warmer, the dry air made it more bareable than humid Summers here. -
I've lived in New England most of my life, and most other posters have covered the major points. One I would add is that the weather IS getting more extreme here, and we are now getting things like tornados and worse hurricanes. It's not anything like as bad as other places in the US but climate change is definitely effecting this area too. I would watch out for where you end up being a decent elevation, and give any bodies of water a good amount of space, no houses or apartments right on the edge of a river. There was an unprecedented flood that hit Leominster and Fitchburgh MA not long ago that shocked a lot of people because the region had never experienced something like it. That will probably be happening more often in the coming years.
Oh wow - I've never considered the NE a place for tornadoes! Crazy. Thanks for the advice! A lot of great houses I'm seeing are right on the water so it's good to know.
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I found Nashua NH to be crazy-polite, and me a Canadian. if you end up there, go with my envy.
And if you have to come over the line - legally, please! - then we'd love to have ya. Our national capitol is a crazy melting pot of newcomers, but the flatlander regions have the best opportunities.
...if you can avoid Flatlander Dementia. That's how our Peter Polyestre gets his votes -- the lack of mountains and oceans makes ya crazy!
Thanks for the advice! It would definitely be legal if I got to come
my company has offices in Canada so it should be available as a destination. Which areas are flatlander? And what do you think about NB/Nova Scotia? -
Depending on what you mean by upstate ny or Maine, some of these areas are short on jobs so make sure you have enough opportunity. If you’re looking for small cities, Albany is great. I think Binghamton is coming back but I don’t know about Syracuse or Rochester. If you’re talking really upstate …. I haven’t been back in years and really miss that l. I don’t know as much about Maine but they’re more tourist oriented, which is a problem this year
It really seems like we get a lot less snow than when I was a kid in upstate ny. It makes not be as much a change as people are claiming
Now I live near Boston, close enough for weather to moderate, and we only get a couple snowstorms a year. We never get accumulation lasting through the winter anymore. This summer I had my AC in non-stop for the heatwaves and humidity, so I very much see the desire to head north
Thanks! Yeah, I've been looking at Rochester though I'm not firmly set on anywhere yet. What do you mean by coming back? And yeah, I bet it's been really hard on the areas that rely on Canadian tourism!
