Governors’ mansions falling out of vogue?

More and more governors-elect nationwide are foregoing what was once seen as a perk of the job and opting instead to keep their homes elsewhere in the state, according to the Wall Street Journal. Some, like New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, simply don’t want to pick up and move their children out of the schools they’ve become accustomed to. Others, like Michigan Gov.-elect Rick Snyder, note that cutting the full-time house staff is a savings for taxpayers. And in an age of cell phones and Internet, it’s becoming easier to govern from miles away. Of course, most governors — of the 43 whose states that have mansions designated for their use — still live in them, rent-free. But even New York Gov.-elect Andrew Cuomo, who declared after his election that he would make the 40-room Victorian home his primary residence for the next four years, is keeping a Westchester abode for visits a few days per week. [WSJ]