Might be moving to CT
Contributors to this thread:Connecticut
From: CatSlamfromNY
13-Apr-21
Currently live in Northern Westchester County, NY. Thanks to covid, I likely never need to return to NYC office 5x per week. That combined with real estate prices booming in Westchester, low mortgage rates, etc. My wife, 15-month old baby, and I have been looking at making a 25-45min. move over the border into CT. Bigger house, way less taxes, more property, etc. seems like a no brainer if we find the right fit. New Fairfield, Redding, Wilton, Ridgefield are where we looked but leaning towards New Fairfield. Anyway, onto hunting. It appears Pootatuck State Forest is closeby and over 1K acres? I also see Bennett's Pond bow only is about 400 acres. Both are under 15 miles from NF. Am I missing anything else nearby? I actually hunted CT back in 2013 on private land in Middlebury, so I am a little familiar with the tags/regs/etc. of course, I've been glancing through the DEEP website.
From: steve
13-Apr-21
Wooster mt rt 7 Danbury. Big deer . Keep your eye out for Aquarian permits .
From: Thisismyhandle
13-Apr-21
Thisismyhandle 's Link
From: Thisismyhandle
13-Apr-21
That link will show you all the state land, what you can hunt and what weapons you can use
From: CatSlamfromNY
13-Apr-21
Thanks very much. That's the map I was using.
From: Wild Bill
13-Apr-21
Go to Pennsylvania for a more hunter friendly environment.
From: CatSlamfromNY
13-Apr-21
No interest in living in PA, thank though. While I love hunting, it's not a reason why I am moving.
From: dont have one
13-Apr-21
Think about Bethel it's a great little town , there are many places to hunt with bow or shot gun , I would be more than happy to give you all the info that I know after being here for 40 years
From: BBB
13-Apr-21
Don't go where I hunt, there's no deer there, so no sense sharing the spot. It sucks.
From: CatSlamfromNY
14-Apr-21
Dont have one - we are actually open to Bethel as well. I forgot to mention them.
From: Toonces
14-Apr-21
Good luck on your move. I don't have any hunting advice to offer on the area you are considering.
I do have some general advice on what your doing. Feel free to take it or leave it. I have had relatives do the same thing you are doing for the same reasons and it ended up hurting them financially because they weren't smart about it.
For them they purchased a lot more house than they needed or could afford comfortably because they couldn't get a false equivalency out of their heads. They paid over 600K for a house in a less expensive area than they were coming from. They kept saying that this house would cost over a million dollars from where they were leaving. From that perspective they saw it as saving 400K on a million dollar house.
In reality what they did was pay 600K for a house worth 450K and also twice the house they really needed. The market is crazy right now. Lots of people doing what you are doing. I think realtors know this and play to it. Just be smart about it.
From: Mike in CT
14-Apr-21
Toonces, that's a great analysis and even better advice! We're seeing an increase in out-of-state buyers paying inflated prices, at times without even visiting the home they're buying! While this is certainly a boon to the sellers this hyperinflation of home values is not sustainable and these new home owners will quickly find themselves underwater, perhaps substantially so.
Caveat emptor.
From: Toonces
14-Apr-21
Mike,
The market is completely haywire right now. I have been looking for a potential summer place in NEK Vermont. The houses go on the market and are almost immediately under contract. It has to be people going to contract before even looking at the houses. I have been keeping tabs on that area for years and the covid price increases on houses are also remarkable.
I have friends looking in the Catskills and the Adirondacks experiencing the same thing.
From: Smoothdraw
14-Apr-21
No brainer. Buy a house with land to hunt.
From: CatSlamfromNY
15-Apr-21
Toonces - Great points, and we understand that we may overpay. But coming from Westchester, when we sell we would get more than expected on that end too. My daughter is 15-months old so if we move it would be for at least the next 18 years or so. We are not willing to buy without seeing the house in person like some people. Nor are we willing to waive an inspection, etc. If it works out, great. If not, that's fine too. That's why we aren't selling first.
From: nehunter
15-Apr-21
Toonces I got 4 acres in Newport Center overlooking Memphremagog. Comes with access to the water.
Dead end Rd end of culdesac.
From: Notme
16-Apr-21
I know of a house in Fairfield next to my buddies place..a tiny cape on 1/8th acre..sold for 250,000..the contractor put in 50,000 on upgrades...at the appointment only open house there had to be 20 or so cars from ny,ny,delaware....it sold for close to 400,000...the realtors know how to milk the market!!!... I hope the new people don't mind every Saturday night our weekly heman woman haters ftw fire nights...lol
From: CatSlamfromNY
20-May-21
What is the rule for feet away from a house without permission in CT? In NY it's 150 feet for bowhunting. I see in CT regs it's 500ft for gun, but no mention of bow?
From: Blood
20-May-21
Zero rule. Stand on their deck and shoot a bow.
From: Thisismyhandle
20-May-21
Blood that’s actually not 100% true. Some towns don’t allow you to shoot your bow in your backyard. Cromwell is an example.
From: CatSlamfromNY
20-May-21
Thanks. I've seen a few houses with 2-5 acres that back up to more woods. So 1 neighbor permission away from 5-10 acres and plays bigger with more woods, so bow would be perfect. In fact, 1 house I saw this past sunday a thunder storm rolled in midday and instantly i heard a turkey gobbling. Got me pretty pumped.
From: Blood
20-May-21
TIMH, never ever heard of that nor can I find anything about it. Can you site the law you’re referring to?
As far as I knew, you can legally practice archery in your yard and bow hunt anywhere without any set-back restrictions in CT.
From: Thisismyhandle
20-May-21
I can’t find it in the town ordinances. I’m pretty sure there’s one in Cromwell that prohibits firearm and bow discharge within 500’ of a building. I’d have to call the police department.
From: Brian M.
20-May-21
There may be a couple exceptions, city ordinance type, but Blood is correct. No restrictions for bow.
From: steve
20-May-21
500 ft gun ,bow 0 rifle have to have 10 acres . Westport is the only non hunting town .
From: Wild Bill
21-May-21
Maybe twenty years ago Cheshire wanted to write a ban on archery practice in your own yard. UBC showed up at the hearing in mass and the issue was discarded.
From: CatSlamfromNY
21-May-21
Thanks all. Currently have an offer out there, but no deal in place yet. Appreciate all the info.
From: CatSlamfromNY
19-Jul-21
Someone here PM'd me about Brookfield. I can't remember who since my messages don't save I guess. If you see this can you PM me again?
From: Notme
20-Jul-21
You'll fit right in there since it's mostly nyers now..lol..
From: spike78
20-Jul-21
You poor guy ha
From: Will
20-Jul-21
Catslam - good luck on the move and the hunting. Bennets, Wooster, Aquarian, etc all decent, and with a bit more drive time there are other state lands - pending how far you are willing or want to go.
Those noting the price thing right now are so spot on. Heck, we were looking at some rental properties earlier this year and they were going for 40-50K over asking sometimes with the buyer only going on the images online! That's up in MA, though similar price bombs are all over. Pretty sure I read about a house in San Fran going for some insane thing like 2X asking or something for example.
Point being... It's a great time to sell, but the same gain you get there you probably see evaporate on the other end as the home you buy may be in the same situation.
That said, if it all works with the budget and the lifestyle is better - rock and roll with it. Good luck man!
From: spike78
21-Jul-21
Yup Will that’s why I refinanced. I have a slightly higher monthly payment but knocked 10 years off the loan!
From: bb
22-Jul-21
That 500' law is for firearms hunting. Archery doesn't have a restriction unless by town ordinance. If you are target shooting, the 500' law doesn't apply, unless by ordinance of the individual town.
From: CatSlamfromNY
23-Jul-21
Thanks all. Didn't move to CT yet, but have a deal in place pending inspections, etc.
From: Woodsnut
24-Jul-21
Wish I could move out of CT but wife and I have 10 more years to work.
From: Hrtfdbowhntr
25-Jul-21
I'd say consider going farther north to Litchfield County. More private land on the market and close to a few large state forest tracts. Winsted seems to be popping a little bit right now, there are some nice properties just north of there going up the old route 8. Proximity to route 8 is also nice for a quick shot down to Fairfield County or NYC. Also has good proximity to Bradley airport which is super convenient. Good luck!
From: CatSlamfromNY
03-Aug-21
Inspections done last week. If appraisal goes good today, I Might be in CT before the 9/15 opener. I had a CT bow license back in 2013, and I have my NY bowhunters safety card. between both of those, I should be fine getting a license, correct? I would be in Fairfield County. Unit # 11 it appears
From: Slinging shafts
03-Aug-21
Ya you’ll be good.
From: CatSlamfromNY
06-Aug-21
Well it's been a crazy few weeks. Our NY house had 43 showings in 5 days, with 14 offers over asking. We accepted a full cash deal, who was waiving appraisal and did inspections for info purposes only. All went smooth, but I didn't sign my end of the contracts until the CT appraisal came back. Well it came back $170K lower than the contract price and we had the appraisal contingency in there. We offered to throw in $20K extra cash out of pocket to soften the blow for the sellers but they declined. So the CT deal is dead and we backed out of NY sale. So I'm stuck in NY until we find something else in CT.
From: Slinging shafts
06-Aug-21
Stay in ny, ma and ct are absolute nightmares.
From: BBB
06-Aug-21
Cat - sorry to hear things didn't work out for you.
From: CatSlamfromNY
09-Aug-21
Slinging - I can get Double the house in CT for the same in taxes with still good schools. It's a no brainer move 30min. over the border for my situation.
From: Big Dog
09-Aug-21
Cat, good luck in the future. Real estate can be a tangled web.
From: Ace
09-Aug-21
Sorry it didn't work for you. This market seems to work best when you sell in an all cash deal, and buy the your next one the same way. That way you and the buyer decide if the deal is right, not some nervous underwriters and appraisers.
Hoping to do that myself real soon. If anyone is interested in a house on CT's biggest Lake let me know. I'm ready to get further into the woods, the more privacy the better. If you hear of something with 10+ acres and a pond let me know that too!
Good luck to you Cat.
From: Toonces
10-Aug-21
Interesting, the market is really out of whack now.
Good luck in the future.
From: Blood
10-Aug-21
Cat, so you knew the house you bid on was going to appraise lower than asking? You know you could have paid them the difference in cash and mortgaged the rest? It’s unfortunate you lost out on a nice house. Good luck in the future. :)
From: CatSlamfromNY
10-Aug-21
Yes, blood kinda. But didn't expect it to come in $170K under and the sellers not willing to budge at all. Ace - I'm not in a position to pay $1M in cash for a house right now.
From: CatSlamfromNY
22-Dec-21
Someone here PM'd me about Brookfield. I can't remember who since my messages don't save I guess. If you see this can you PM me again?
From: CatSlamfromNY
31-Dec-21
BUMP - Someone here PM'd me about Brookfield. I can't remember who since my messages don't save I guess. If you see this can you PM me again?
From: CatSlamfromNY
10-Jan-22
BUMP - Someone here PM'd me about Brookfield. I can't remember who since my messages don't save I guess. If you see this can you PM me again?
From: NoobHunter860
14-Jan-22
And here I am thinking of moving to the heartland, Iowa, Kansa, Tennessee, ect. Just for more space and better hunting.
From: BBB
14-Jan-22
Grandkids in Missouri and Plainville, CT, so my wife is the boss when it comes to where we're going to live. Right now we can fly to MO. whenever our daughter needs help or will allow us to visit, so CT is our future. I love this part of the country with Maine, VT and NH just a few hours away. I was just skiing at Butternut in Great Barrington, MA yesterday and it took just 75 minutes to get there.
From: NoobHunter860
16-Jan-22
BBB me too so many great places in New England but as I get older I want to experience more got to live and work on Cape Cod for a few years and that just left me with wanderlust
From: NoobHunter860
16-Jan-22
BBB me too so many great places in New England but as I get older I want to experience more got to live and work on Cape Cod for a few years and that just left me with wanderlust
From: Bill
16-Jan-22
Move to Northern Litchfield County we always have more room
