Massachusetts

[BJ Laster]

The post below that hit on property taxes and etc. below remind me of my trip to Massachusetts.



I meant to ask you guys about your taxes when I came back but forgot. A couple of the things I noticed



1. EVERYONE has a dog and they ALWAYS have it with them (ok not tax related....but one observation)



2. Every house is two storys (well not EVERYONE...but most). Are your property tax rates based on how much ground the house covers and thats why people build houses up (two storys or more?)



3. Meal tax, kinda cool in a way.



Also, just talking to a few locals up there.....how much (if you dont mind me asking) is the cost of living???????? For example, just browsing a paper one morning.....3 bedroom, 2 bath....1 million! (sea front tho). Also, when we went out to Provincetown and stopped at Corn Hill there were thse little cottage looking things that go for 250k a piece.....maybe 1000 aquare feet tops....



I love Massachusetts. VERY BEAUTIFUL STATE!!! I would even like to move up that way someday (it would be tough tho, too many democrats in Mass nothing against democrats tho....I live with them. My grandparents are very strong democrats and my cousin is a State Rep from Shawnee and yes....he is a democrat.)



BJ

 

[Bruce Yeaton]

BJ -



I'm not sure where you stayed while you were here but here goes -



1. Not sure about the dog thing, though I do have one



2. Property taxes are based on acreage of the land and square footage of your house. BUT you also pay for ammenitites like water and sewer, etc. My tax rate is like $9 - $11 per thousand in this town. Each town sets it's own and we moved here last year because the taxes were out of control in the last place we lived. We doubled our sq. ft and quadrooples our acreage from our last house and pay half the taxes!



3. Meal tax - just another way for this state to get money from it's patrons



Cost of living - it's all relative I guess. The real estate market up here is out of control with the low tax rate. Our last house returned a profit of $110K in 2 years time (we did fix it up though). We can buy basically the same house we are in now, down south for about $150K less

 

[Mad Kayaker]

BJ,



You must have really liked your visit to New England. Realize that some of your impressions were skewed by where you went to visit, which were the summertime tourist locations - most of Massachusetts and New England for that matter, are comprised of small bedroom communities just like any other locale.



1. I don't have a dog but sometimes wish I had one. In order to have one I would need to build a fence, be home more often, etc... The thing I noticed here are that more and more people are buying pickup trucks, SUVs and AWD vehicles.



2. In Massachusetts, land is at a premium. In the mid-west, south and west, you can get more acreage for the money and build ranch homes. The only way to get more square footage is pay more to get more land or to have standard colonial or garrison style homes which are 2-floor homes. Alot of things go into property taxes and are set by the towns on assessed value of the land and of the structure (home) on the land and and most town citizens try to crimp how much they increase it every year by keeping proposition 2 1/2. Taxes are always out of control but property values have consistently increased. I am thinking about selling my home in a few years and then moving to NH. Homes in my neighborhood are selling right now for around $800K and I am pretty sure I could get that or more in a few years and then buy a home for $400K in NH that is bigger (definitely want a 3-car garage). I'm looking at land for vacation property there right now.



3. Meal taxes. Just about every major city has a meal tax. Go to Washington DC and you willbe even more astounded.



4. I would never think about moving out of New England. When I moved here, the Celtics, Red Sox and Bruins were always in contention. What a great time - you would always be talking about one of the teams at work and everyone hung in there with all the teams. Now with the Red Sox and Patriots being world champions things are really good.



The only thing that takes a while to get used to are the true Boston'ers with the accent - the kind Jimmy Fallon used to do a skit about on Saturday Night Live. But they are really few and far between. You can still go to Maine and have fun listening to true maine accents though



Here is a picture of my house. Next time you come up let me know and I will take you fishing on Greg D's lake - you would really like NH as well!

This is a garrison that abutts conservation land.

Nothing like sitting on the porch during

a cool New England fall day and watching

the world go by.



Bill, the Mad Kayaker

 

[Marke Cicero]

The housing market is WAY out of control in New England....I left NH 3 years ago and moved to Michigan. Now I am literally stuck here because the I can not afford to move back.



My house that I bought for $180k five years ago, would cost me $350k to buy today. I simply can't afford that. I can stay in MI and buy a comparable house in the low $200's.



As Paul mentioned above, people are leaving MA and moving up to NH which is driving NH housing prices through the roof. That along with the low intrest rates already artiffically inflating housing prices.....it's just plain crazy!!!



I'll be in MI for a few more years I guess. I'm just lucky that MI isn't a bad place to live.

 

[Rich Stern]

BJ, I lived in Waltham, Boston, Cambridge and Framingham for a total of about 8 years. It's a wonderful place to live, particularly in the city as a young person. The countryside is beautiful. It's full of history, great sites and sounds. And I would never move back.



The winters can be tough, unless you like snow. The politics, particularly in the eastern half of the state, are frustrating. The state has a habit of routinely intruding on the rights of its citizens. The cost of living in subarban Boston is very high.



If the cold weather doesn't bother you and you like that New England feel, I would recommend visiting Vermont and Maine.

 

[Rob LaMoy]

BJ, if you think the Boston market is high, try the Hamptons! LOL



You ought to check out NY taxes. Highest in the country. We go back and forth with CA as to who is the highest.



Any ocean front property is going to be through the rough. And you forgot that MA is the home of the Kennedy clan. As far left as you can go my young patawon.

 

[BJ Laster]

Rob, when we were in Boston we went to the Kennedy Library. It was alright. Kennedy did have a few quotes. John F. Kennedy I dont think was as bad as the kennedys are today. He did do a lot to help the country. There are some things John F. Kennedy stood for that I woudl never support. Between Kennedy and Kerry...that would keep me out of Mass.

 

[Rich Winters2]

Hey BJ,



Mass (New England really) has a lot to offer. You can fish for SM/LM/LT in the Lakes region in NH on Saturday and then chase Striped Bass & Blues in Cape Code/Buzzards bay on Sunday. There are mountains for skiing/hiking, you can hunt just about anything but Elk, pro sports history is great (as I gazed at my picture of Bobby Orr flying through the air), lots of collages/universities/medical centers, ....



but . . . democrats & taxes - *sigh* - lots of both and concetrated in ma.



1. I have a dog and am getting another

2. One story house now but want to put a 2nd floor on.

3. Meal tax - I hope the money goes to fund health inspectors - but who knows - bon appetit:wacko:



IMO: MA cost of living is high - car insurance, income tax, prop tax, short term cap gain, water/serwer (if in MWRA) ... I think that's why alot of people live in NH and work in MA.



RichW

 

[XMYTRUCK XMYTRUCK]

Don't forget we have the best hospitals in the world too



I have traveled around a little bit form here to Europe to Hawaii and then some but I always can't wait to get back to Mass. Yea my 2 bedroom house cost more than one arm and a leg but I am 15 minutes from fishing for pike over 30 inches, I am one hour away from fishing quabbin res ( one word awesome!!!).. And the Cape cod don't get me started rated in the top 10 as the worlds best fishing! There are so many kettle ponds to lakes down there is not enough days in a year! Stripers & blues are all over the place down there!..

X

 

[Greg Duggan]

BJ,

forget MA and come striaght to NH. the propety taxes are high but we do not have income tax, excise tax, and all the silly politics.

the housing market is more affordable although on the rise for teh last few years.

the fishing is outstanding, the skiing in nh,vt and maine is great.

i have been here all my life and could not imagine living any palce else.



GregD

 

[BJ Laster]

There are a ton of colleges up there too. It may be a few years after I graduate before I would ever get up there. Only problem tho, I like Oklahoma where Its in the center of EVERYTHING for travelling. I40 East and West. I35 north and south. I44 Northeast/southwest.



If I ever do get to live out my dream of fishing on the professional level, i just dont know how living way up in New England would be for travelling. Mike Ike is up from New Jersey and he does it so I'm sure it can be done.