DEAR EDITOR:

My husband and I are searching the internet for someplace cheaper to live.Property tax, water rates, income tax, sales tax here in the Mahoning valley are not as cheap as some believe they are. Googling “cheapest states to live 2025.” Ohio is not even in the top 15. With Chat GPT Open AI, Ohio is not in the top 20!

So while the state tax is low, and some would consider Ohio as a “cheap state to live,” the local taxes, both income and sales tax, and city utilities make Ohio unlivable for some during hyper-inflation. Tack on what the cost of food is here seems higher than what friends pay out west and down south.

What’s most frustrating is that no local municipality, neither Democrat-controlled nor Republican-controlled, are even considering cutting back. These municipalities are more interested in bringing in more people to reside here because they want the money. Do they care about the native locals? As I see it, they do not.

Which is why my husband and I are selling our house and moving to sandier pastures. Luckily our degrees allow us freedom of movement.

CHRIS DOUGLAS

Youngstown