Yep, and they have to beat the applicants off with a stick. Go figure. You can make more if you apply yourself. My wife is certified in NYS to teach biology, chemistry, and math. They pay extra if you teach more than one subject. Imagine that! Extra money for people who work harder! What a concept!
Right to work state with no union helps keep the pay low.
No, the RTW state with no union keeps the pay SUSTAINABLE.
The medical benefits are not so good.
No, the medical benefits are affordable and SUSTAINABLE.
Why wouldn't my wife and I stay in NY where the pay and benefits are better instead of moving to SC? Here are the reasons:
1) The pay and benefits for her may be better in NY, but I run a business and it SUCKS here for me. And I bring in quite a bit more than she does. Every time I turn around, NY is bending me over a desk. From tolls to gas taxes to fees on everything under the sun, they're killing us.
2) The pay and benefits are completely unsustainable in NY and are thus unstable and unreliable to plan on for the future. It is foolish to pretend that unicorns are magically going to show up and crap enough Skittles to make the pay and benefits viable. Promises don't pay the bills. We value stability, thus we choose SC.
3) NY is, economically, a decaying corpse with vultures feeding on the remains. There will be food for some time at the current rate, but eventually, they'll pick it clean to the bone. Best to not be here when that happens. Upstate SC is teeming with activity. It floors me to see how much has been built in Greenville over the past year.
4) The overall cost of living is much lower. For instance, the northeast has their own version of cap and trade and various other onerous regulations that make energy extremely expensive in NY. We just looked at the historic bills for a house in SC that is twice the size of our house in NY and the electric bill is less than half what ours is now.
5) Property taxes. You have to be a complete imbecile to sign on to buy a house in NY these days. In many areas, the tax bill could be higher than your mortgage. Think about how much it'll cost you when you pay off the house just to pay RENT to the state afterwards. And those taxes will ALWAYS go up, never down. The idiots in power here are talking about 'capping' the taxes to ONLY raise them 2% a year.
In SC, after I'm done paying off my $250k, 3000 square foot house, my tax bill will be about $1400 a year. It would be at least $5k where I am now.
6) The weather sucks in NY. It is dark, dismal, and depressing. Everyone is depressed and miserable here. Not so in the south. People you meet are friendly and helpful. They aren't beaten down by their lives. At least not yet anyway.
Damn, that’s cheap, for both states. Property taxes here are 2.74%. That would be $8k for your $300,000 home.