Been thinking of next place to live

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I’m reaching out to get some feedback on a place to live/retire.

Currently in northern NJ and can pretty much work from anywhere given the internet

Wish-list items in no particular order:

* relative close proximity to ski areas
* “reasonable” taxes
* a nice chunk of land for gardening and general spreading out. Maybe chickens/small livestock
* prefer a coastal state on east coast
* stay within several hours of the kids who are in the NJ/PA neighborhoods
* would like there to be water on the property


The Catskills region probably fits everything I’m looking for except I’ve always heard NY is the absolute pits when it comes to taxes. Both in and property

Back in the ‘60s, my parents bought an inoperative farm in Underhill, VT. Had a farm house and a barn. Renovated 1/3 of the barn to living quarters and rented out the house. Been using it ever since but the upkeep has outgrown my wallet... the rental house was vacated and burglarized where all the copper was stolen and insurance didn’t cover. The barn is awesome but the problem is it’s a solid 6 hours away so some real thought has to be put into going up there.... can’t be a last-minute decision for a number of reasons

I would not be opposed to buying land and building. Love the idea of getting one of those log cabins you see on display as you drive up the northway (87) but I know nothing about them and their practicality but do know a marginally sized unit to accommodate the kids and, hopefully, grandchildren would run upwards of $180k +. A pre-fab might make more sense as, at least I can work/modify/add on to a regular structure like that

As you can tell, I’m at the early fishing stages here but would love to get any kind of feedback insofar as pointing me to a known location

So what are my chances of finding a nice area and who has any familiarity with a region?

Thank you

Edited: forgot to indicate money: Next to none. At this early stage, I’d say a budge of $300k would be a stretch
 
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Whats wrong with upstate NY? You can get on a mailing list for auction or property liquidation, Im always checking out NYlandlakes.com. 7-8 acres, waterfront lot with guaranteed building lots for around 80k. Those pre fab cabins arent bad at all, you just need a slab and a septic installed first, which can add up.
 
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Identify your acceptable travel radius around your kid's current homes.

Identify the ski areas and draw your acceptable travel radius around them.

The intersecting areas are where you should be looking first.

Expand from there as needed or per recommendations.
 
Originally Posted By: madRiver
NH ticks off a bunch of boxes and no income tax.



NH is definitely on the list as it covers everything. The only problem is I know zilch about NH. As fortunate as I was to have the pace available in VT, the “downside” is I never went anywhere else...
wink.gif
 
I just googled listings of property/land for sale near VT ski areas... lots came up:

10.x acres in Jay, VT (Jay Peak ski area): $25k
25 acres in Stratton, VT: $35k
11 acres in Ripton, VT: $40k

.... I could spend a lifetime looking at these listings.
 
Originally Posted By: Finz
Originally Posted By: madRiver
NH ticks off a bunch of boxes and no income tax.



NH is definitely on the list as it covers everything. The only problem is I know zilch about NH. As fortunate as I was to have the pace available in VT, the “downside” is I never went anywhere else...
wink.gif



You can find inexpensive homes around North Conway area and it has lakes etc. Downside is drive back to NJ. I live on Seacoast and about 5.5 hrs from NYC if no traffic. I am 1.5-2hr from Conway ski areas but have ski Home there we rent to foreign summer migrant labor in summer. Between Seacoast and North Conway it’s cheap to live and plenty of lakes and ponds.

Also depends on what kind of skiing you like?
 
Thanks madriver,,,

I grew up skiing Smugglers Notch so New England skiing with its cold, ice, and exposed rock is the norm for me

Would love to ski the moguls like I used to but that was a while ago.. However, I do like to ski fast

My wife and daughters would prefer blues

I’m not at all familiar with Conway... will look it up
 
Originally Posted By: Finz
I just googled listings of property/land for sale near VT ski areas... lots came up:

10.x acres in Jay, VT (Jay Peak ski area): $25k
25 acres in Stratton, VT: $35k
11 acres in Ripton, VT: $40k

.... I could spend a lifetime looking at these listings.


Having shopped extensively in Vermont, and bought land in Stowe, and built a house on it, those listings are specious...

Yes, that's the price of land. But it's rural. On a dirt road. Maybe several hundred yards from the nearest power line. Maybe more.

Have you costed in what it costs to put in a well? ($5K and up)
Install an Act 250-compliant septic (likely a mound, $15K and up)
And bring electric power to the site? ($5K up to $50K depending on the nearest line)
Oh, and you wanted Internet and phone? Better add the cost running a half mile of that wire, too...

Now that you're into the lot for $150K, it's time to start building...and since the frost line is deeper, and you'll need a full basement, you've got to go down pretty far, which means you'll hit some rock that has to be blasted, so...
 
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Lessee,has to be cheap, has to be close to relatives and skiing. Acreage,
maybe water.. You have the same problem as the guy who modifies his daily driver. Powerful, reliable, cheap. Pick 2. My take is the more taxes you pay, the better the infra-structure. Be aware, I consider education as a crucial part of infra-structure. I want smart people taking care of things.

NH has no income tax. NH uses property taxes. IMO. the infra structure suffers due to this system.
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What about PA? Pretty much hits your list, and certain counties are dirt cheap as far as property taxes go. Where I live it's a 30 minute drive to a ski-resort (Whitetail Ski Resort) and a 15 minute ride North gets you on the PA Turnpike which will take you to alot of places. $300K will get you ALOT of house in my county, but maybe not so much in neighboring counties.
 
Originally Posted By: Astro14

Having shopped extensively in Vermont, and bought land in Stowe, and built a house on it, those listings are specious...

Yes, that's the price of land. But it's rural. On a dirt road. Maybe several hundred yards from the nearest power line. Maybe more.

Have you costed in what it costs to put in a well? ($5K and up)
Install an Act 250-compliant septic (likely a mound, $15K and up)
And bring electric power to the site? ($5K up to $50K depending on the nearest line)
Oh, and you wanted Internet and phone? Better add the cost running a half mile of that wire, too...

Now that you're into the lot for $150K, it's time to start building...and since the frost line is deeper, and you'll need a full basement, you've got to go down pretty far, which means you'll hit some rock that has to be blasted, so...


Astro... Stowe is WAY out of my reach from a pricing perspective.

Replaced the septic in VT rental house back in 2002... cost me $9k or $13k. New septic with mound? I’ll use $20k as a buffer over your number

Power? Completely clueless... hadn’t given that any thought at all although of the few places I saw earlier, I had power lines in the picture

Internet and phone: Add to my wish-list: Good cellular

I’m guessing the well to cost me $20k... hope I’m using NJ pricing

I wrongly assumed I could build on a slab....?!? Dang... I want nothing to do with a basement if avoidable.

... starting to realize Jeremiah Johnson had the right idea

Know any places in Stowe neighborhood? Heck, I can’t even afford the lift tickets at Stowe. $25/day at Smuggs with Bash Badge
 
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Delta... now we’re talking..,!!

Admittedly, I’ve been a snob about skiing and have never skied PA in my life

What towns are you referring to if I may ask?
 
Originally Posted By: madRiver
NH ticks off a bunch of boxes and no income tax.

The best ski areas in state IMHO though are Wildcat and Cannon.




+1 on NH although the massholes are damaging the state. They move to NH to escape this Sh..hole then decide they miss nanny and try to bring her up there. Not political cold hard fact.
 
My Father-in-law, who lives in a high tax area in a already high tax state told me when we moved to rural Indiana with its very cheap taxes that the good thing about high taxes and high property values is that it keeps the riff-raff out.

It took me about 10 years living in a Rural area to begrudgingly admit that in many ways he is correct. You really have to watch yourself here, from the meth heads that will rob you blind, the alarming rate of alcoholism and drug abuse and the associated problems that come with those things and the abundance of enraged rednecks who get triggered if you happen to cross their path on the wrong day who's answer to everything is violence, it can actually be a dangerous place to live out in the "Country".

Don't get me wrong,there are many great people here, good honest people. But there is certainly a alarmingly large amount of ne'er do wells.

The problem for me is I cannot afford to live in a high tax area. We do make less in these parts, but not that much less...

I lived in a smaller town with a population of 3000 that was outside a major city and we had 3 police officers on duty at night plus a sergeant. In the county in which I live now I think there are two maybe 3 road officers for the whole county of over 25,000 people and there is a lot of real estate to cover. There is a small city with its own police force with as well, but as far as the county goes, its a free for all.

I never felt the need to be armed when I lived in the small town outside the "big city", but now we have to lock our house down like Fort Knox and remain armed at all times. To be fair it only started getting really bad here in the past 10 years or so, at least as far as the drugs go.
 
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