Costs for living in the North East vary greatly by location. New York and Boston are brutally expensive, as are the high-end suburbs surrounding each. Parts of New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine are really inexpensive except for the heating costs in the winter. Areas outside the big cities in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, and New Jersey are reasonably priced as well. If it’s what you want, check out the target area’s housing costs and other costs of living. Bear in mind that wages are often higher in the North East than in the South as well. It may cost more to live here, but you may make more so it may be a wash.
I moved from Virginia Beach to downtown Boston in 2005 because my son was accepted in a school of his dreams here, but he wasn’t 18 and thus could not live in a dorm. We had a nice sprawling ranch home in Virginia Beach. We had to settle for about a third less square footage here and pay more than twice as much per month for it. Water and sewer costs are high, but other than that our expenses aren’t all that different. Food prices are significantly lower, because we love fruits and vegetables, and Boston’s Haymarket brings them to us at prices North Carolinians would die for. What we lose in the winter paying for heating we save in the summer not paying for air conditioning. There are only a few days each summer when the sea breeze isn’t all we need to stay comfortable in our condo.
And while I was just making it in Virginia Beach, I’ve been able to cover housing costs 2.5 times higher. I can charge a much higher hourly rate for my services here, and nobody blinks an eye. So check out all the angles. If it’s what you want, find a way to make it work. I love it here.