You don't need emissions if it's a new car but you DO need to go to any emissions place for a "VIN verification" it's $10 cash & they do nothing. But my fiance didn't have his and the dude was chill at the DMV also didn't have the like 2 pieces of mail you need (from different sources within the past 90 or 30 or something days to a CT address) & again dude was chill. Appointment system was easy breezy imo compared to the state I moved from (WA.)

The whole getting the lender to send the actual hard copy of the title was a pain in the ass in my case, chase sent a copy which is no good, then sent it to my sister in laws address (in another state, no idea how they even knew that??) but again DMV was chill & let me get plates & register & all just said i get a temporary until it officially went through when they finally got it all in order.

Calling the DMV phone line is hell, takes forever, but the people were nice after waiting 3 years on hold.

You need to switch over insurance before going to the DMV & have printed copy of insurance card. Uhh what else...it's good for 3 years which is an odd number to remember tbh.

Car tax depends on mill rate & adjusted car value. Lots of people never register their plates in the correct state in the northeast which is wild. Certain areas you do pay a lot for insurance (like Bridgeport.)

They just said "turn to your right" & took the picture with no warning so my pic is hilariously bad so be ready!

The ticks!! Omg they have no bounds. I can't say the mosquitoes are anywhere near as terrible here (I'm sure this depends if you live swamp adjacent or not) as they were in parts of Oregon (looking at you mazama campground,) but those weee gnats & flies that like to fly directly into eyes here drive me nutso. I will say the spiders are much more reasonably sized here than they were in the PNW & not as flea ridden here it seems as the pnw

This can be a bigger deal if your insurance lapses (can be a big fine in states with a system that tracks that) or you get in an accident & your insurance won't cover you because it's the wrong state. Some states are absolutely insane about this stuff (Virginia is one I know is, no idea about Utah- WA is pretty lax about it in my experience) but keep all records of changing your insurance & title (old & new) & reg etc. etc. Some make you send in plates (not sure how enforced that is?) Some go after you 7 yrs from when you moved & will put a hold on your license so you can't renew & need a lawyer & a bunch of paperwork to get it corrected even though you lived in that state for less than a month oy vey.

Just get it registered & license renewed for WA - they have no idea when you got there & they honestly don't care as long as you are actively getting it registered & insured in the correct state.

Yeah I'm personally not a fan. It's less than the last state I lived car tabs, but wayyy more than the one before that where I paid like $75 bucks. Uff da.

It's a property tax, not an income tax.

I've never had to pay personal property tax in the states I've lived previously, but it's not uncommon -I think like 23 states don't have it?

BUT many have car tabs or additional registration fees instead which can range the gamut.

Everyone (with a car) in CT pays personal property car tax. The amount you pay depends on your town's mill rate (some have a different mill rate for vehicles) & the value of your car.

Do you have time to drive out along the actual coast or are you looking for sound beaches around seattle-ish area? (It's hard to tell from your post where you'll be based)

Sycamore?

Also if you're driving to Boston from wa stop in the Tetons/Yellowstone you'll usually spot a moose. There's a trail called moose ponds trail in Teton where I have always seen a bull moose the 3 times I've gone (but I might have moose luck.) No idea how it is in winter tho

There's more moose in Mass tbh, easy to find in western mass at least in my experience