There are plenty of reasons why you should move to Connecticut. If you ever had a chance to visit this place I’m sure you remembered its charming vibe, slow pace of living, vast of green parks, and friendly people. A lot of young people move to Connecticut because of the only Ivy League School in the district – the well-known Yale University. However, this does not mean that Connecticut should be a choice only for students or families with kids.
In fact, Connecticut is a relatively small state that is very rich in nature, history, culture, and entertainment. Moreover, you will be happy to know that Connecticut has plenty of job opportunities and a very low unemployment rate. So as you see there are numerous advantages of living in Connecticut, and one of them is close proximity to New York City. If you don’t mind some harsh winter, this place might be the perfect home.
Cost Of Living In Connecticut
When you decide to relocate one of the crucial factors is how much it will cost you to attain a certain standard of living in your newly chosen area. This means you will need to check the grocery prices, restaurant prices, utility prices, and housing. For starters, it is good to know that cost of living in Connecticut remains higher than the U.S. average, however, it is still much cheaper than NYC. To be more precise the cost of living index in CT is 107.8/100. This means Connecticut is the most affordable place for living out of all highly-coveted parts of the Tri-State area.
Keep in mind that Fairfield County is by far the most expensive area of CT, here the daily expenses go up to 50% higher than the national average. However, there are more affordable areas such as Hartford and New Haven where the daily expenses go 12-20% higher than the national average.
Is housing in Connecticut affordable?
Did you know that housing in CT is 50% cheaper than in NYC? If this isn’t the reason enough to move to Connecticut read on and I’m sure you will ultimately change your mind. Housing in this area is surprisingly affordable, compared to prices in NYC, NJ, and Boston. The median price of your new home is around $240,000 while the national average is $231,000. However, remember that every city has neighborhoods that are exclusive like Greenwich in CT. Here real estate prices usually start in the millions.
For people who are on the budget, New Haven and Hartford County will be great starting point. Cities that will offer you great housing opportunities are New London, Bristol, Manchester, Waterbury, Torrington, Hartford, Meriden, and Hamden. Here the median cost of a home goes around $150,000. On the other side, the most expensive towns are Norwalk, Stamford, Greenwich, and Danbury. The median cost of a home here is around $450,000.
If you can’t afford to buy the property but you still want to move to Connecticut you’ll be glad to hear that renting an apartment here is very affordable. For instance, the average monthly rent here goes around $1,156 while the national average is around $1,050. This is pretty cheap, considering some people choose to work in NYC and live in Connecticut to save up a lot of money on housing.
Even though the public transportation in Connecticut is great most of these people travel to work by car. The monthly car insurance is similar to the national average and will cost you around $1,500 per month.
How about health insurance and child care?
Healthcare costs in CT are extremely affordable and close to the national average. For many working families this is a major plus considering that healthcare costs in nearby New York are $6,400 on average per year for a single adult. The situation in Massachusetts is even worse, where this figure goes around $8,600 per adult. If you are a young parent you know that childcare is an expensive necessity if both you and your partner are working.
When you move to Connecticut your childcare expenses will go from $1,000 to $1,500, depending on how many kids you have. Remember that Fairfield County is the most expensive part of this city so the prices here go a bit higher.
Connecticut Job Opportunities
If you are looking for job opportunities you should know that the most prevalent jobs are from the healthcare, real estate, broadcasting, and education field. Even though the finance industry is not even close to Manhattan or Boston, there are several cities like West Hartford and Stamford where you can find a great job in the finance field.
Nonetheless, CT is still one of the states that have the highest income per capita in the nation, which is $70,000. However, this also varies depending on where you choose to live in the state. In cities like Greenwich, the average household salary is around $336,000, which is one of the wealthiest areas throughout the United States, so keep that information in mind when looking for a job or real estate.
Are You Reconsidering Your Decision?
Nonetheless, Connecticut can be a truly expensive place to live, if you are moving in from Florida for example. However, you will save quite a handsome amount of money if you choose Connecticut over New York City, New Jersey, or Boston. To live comfortably, a family of four will need around $90,000 in most places in Connecticut. While at the same time the amount of money for a similar quality of life in NYC is $125,000. That is a significant difference!
If this article made you think about switching from NYC to CT then you’ll need to start thinking about the upcoming and potential relocation. Is there a better way to do that, than joining the forces with a reliable moving company like iMOVE NYC? Before you start packing your boxes in a rush, make sure you give us a call so we can discuss the strategy first.