Archive: Opinions

When my daughter had been at college in southern Virginia long enough to make close friends, they explained to her the difference between a 'Yankee' and a 'Damned Yankee'.  "A Yankee," they told her, "is a northerner who comes to visit the south.  A Damed Yankee stays."  This was a whole different interpretation for me, because my definition was 'Damned Yankees', a musical with book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop, music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, famous for the song 'Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets', and starring -- in the original production -- Ray Walston (of 'My Favorite Martian' fame) as Mr. Applegate (a devil), and Gwen Verdon as Lola.

Now I learned that I am a Yankee, and my daughter, who has since settled in North Carolina, is a damned Yankee (she is very amused by this concept, and has adamantly held true to her central New York accent).  The thing is, I am increasingly thinking about becoming a damned Yankee because it is too darned expensive to live here.  I'm even practicing.  "Ah usedta live in South Lansin'," I tell people.  "But 25 ye-ahs ago ah moved two miles noth and I lost mah accint!"

The cost of living in New York troubles me at least once a month when I am paying bills, but there are two times per year when I sink into a Yankee morass of despair -- when property tax bills come.  So January (Town and County) and September (School) are my least favorite times to live in New York.  And despite my yard being a hopeless swamp and no significant improvements to my house in around 20 years, my assessment went up again.

So when I heard at Tuesday's school board meeting that the school tax rate is only going to be $0.11 more than last year I didn't cheer, because my bottom line is going to be higher.  It's always higher.  It's always high, and it's going to be higher.  And I am of an age where I would love to retire and live off a fixed income, but can't do it and stay here both. 

And I'm not the only one.  Last year a United Van Lines study found that more people are moving out of New York State than moving in.  The report found that 51% of people leaving New York were ages 55 and up. About 38% percent of the people who left had incomes of $150,000 or more.  24% were leaving because of retirement, while 46% said they had new jobs elsewhere.

That reminds me of a television ad I saw years ago when I was visiting my family in Florida.  There was the Governor of New York (I can't remember which one... it may have been Pataki or Cuomo the Elder) big as life (my folks had a big screen TV) telling Floridaians with a straight face that they should move their businesses to New York, because it is such a business-friendly state.  I don't know how the Gov did it, because I couldn't stop laughing, even when those sleazy ambulance-chaser commercials came on, and the ones for medications with all the horrible side effects that are recited to chirpy, happy music so you will ask your doctor to prescribe whatever it is for the horrible condition you probably don't have.  Well, OK, those are funny, too, but not as hilarious as a high state official claiming New York is friendly to business.  And where business goes, so go jobs, and that explains that 46%.

Washington isn't helping.  In April CNBC reported that two conservative analysts were predicting an exodus of 800,000 people from New York and California due to President Trump's new tax bill that limits deductions of local and state taxes to $10,000.  Governor Cuomo has been trying to fight the change, but it seems like a lot of words and no actual relief for New Yorkers to me.

The United Van Lines survey noted that New York ranked as a major outbound state every year with only four exceptions, and was one of the top outbound states in 2017 for the third year in a row.  New York was #3 last year, after Illinois (where I lived for eight years, enjoying watching several governors go to jail) and New Jersey, and followed by Connecticut and Kansas.  Massachusetts, my home state (we called it 'Taxachusetts' in more innocent days), was number 6.  Ouch!  Of the four states I have lived in, three are in the top 10!  I am almost required to leave!

The top five inbound states were Vermont (where are they going to put all those new people?), Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, and South Dakota.  Nebraska and Kansas gained the same number that they lost, so no harm, no foul there.

Essentially Americans are fleeing the northeast for mountain and Pacific west states.  But a lot of people I know are simply moving south to the Carolinas, Georgia, and of course Florida is ever popular with aging Yankees.

A new WalletHub study of the Best and Worst Places to Retire ranked four New York cities in the bottom half of 182 retirement destinations.  Rochester ranked 120, New York City 133, Buffalo 140, and Yonkers 160.  Newark, NJ was at the very bottom of the list -  I have never heard anyone say they wanted to retire in Newark.  If you are looking for recommendations, the top five are Orlando, FL, Scottsdale, AZ, Tampa, FL, Denver, CO, and Fort Lauderdale, FL.  None of those really appeal to me.  I would rather sat in the east so I don't get my directions mixed up.  But maybe someplace warmer, and definitely some place cheaper.

So I guess I am not alone in my thinking, though I would really like to stay.  Well, if they can figure out what to do about this weather!  And if we could somehow skip January and September altogether.

Meanwhaal, youall, ahm pracicin' to fit in whin ah do as-pah-ya ta become a damned Yankee.  Because, as they say, is pays ta be prepared.  I'm still not sure about grits, though.

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