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I have got job offers from these three cities and would like to pick one based on following factors.
1. Cost of living - Salary I am offered are : Buffalo - $90K, Jersey City - $100K, Palm Springs - $98K (I don't have any plans to own a home and will be renting in an apt). Apartment cost seems to be a major factor. Avg cost per month is around $1200 in JC & PS. But it costs only $800 in Buffalo. So, Buffalo seems to be a best option.
2. Weather. -
3. Schools ( I have a 3 yr old daughter)
4. Safety
5. Connectivity to rest of country and world (I travel often within US and out of country to see extended families)
6. Any other factor to be considered??
I have got job offers from these three cities and would like to pick one based on following factors.
1. Cost of living - Salary I am offered are : Buffalo - $90K, Jersey City - $100K, Palm Springs - $98K (I don't have any plans to own a home and will be renting in an apt). Apartment cost seems to be a major factor. Avg cost per month is around $1200 in JC & PS. But it costs only $800 in Buffalo. So, Buffalo seems to be a best option.
2. Weather. -
3. Schools ( I have a 3 yr old daughter)
4. Safety
5. Connectivity to rest of country and world (I travel often within US and out of country to see extended families)
6. Any other factor to be considered??
Any advise is greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Far and away I would choose the Jersey City job. There'll be a lot more to do, milder four season weather than Buffalo or Palm Springs, good schools, safe communities and excellent connections to the rest of the US and around the world. Check out towns like South Orange, Maplewood, Montclair and Summit which have good schools and are in easy commuting distance from Jersey City.
Your money would definitely go further in Buffalo, but I think that's about the extent of it. The weather there is extreme, especially in winter, and it's got a higher crime rate like most declining Rust Belt cities.
Jersey City would be the most exciting and well-connected, and like Kyle stated, many of the Jersey suburbs have great schools, but it's also more expensive. I guess it all comes down to what you value and what you're willing to sacrifice. $100k in Northern Jersey is still pretty good.
Buffalo due lower cost of living out of the 3, good districts don't cost an arm and a leg, outside of a couple of urban areas it is a safe metro, it has an international airport with good connectivity and affordable flights. With 90k in Buffalo, you can live in the high end suburbs like Williamsville, Clarence, Orchard Park and Amherst(Amherst Central School District), among others. With the weather, north of Buffalo gets less snow than the Southtowns(I.e.-Hamburg, Orchard Park, etc.
Also, it is big enough, but family friendly. For instance, East Aurora has a children's museum and the Fisher-Price HQ's. It is also a walkable village with great schools. East Aurora New York - Home of Fisher-Price
Buffalo is a rust belt city with lousy weather. Truly miserable winters. I would need at least a 30% salary differential to live in Buffalo.
Jersey City is essential Jersey...only a local can love it. The climate is better than Buffalo but that is about as far as it goes. Its Jersey...high taxes, low services and kind of a seedy existence.
Palm Springs is desert...hot desert. Pleasant much of the year. Really hot in the summer.
You appear to be young. If you are not putting down roots try CA. Everyone should live there once.
If you are looking for roots try Jersey City...better than Buffalo. Than again...virtually anywhere is better than Buffalo with the exception of Cleveland and Gary Indiana.
Buffalo is a rust belt city with lousy weather. Truly miserable winters. I would need at least a 30% salary differential to live in Buffalo.
Jersey City is essential Jersey...only a local can love it. The climate is better than Buffalo but that is about as far as it goes. Its Jersey...high taxes, low services and kind of a seedy existence.
Palm Springs is desert...hot desert. Pleasant much of the year. Really hot in the summer.
You appear to be young. If you are not putting down roots try CA. Everyone should live there once.
If you are looking for roots try Jersey City...better than Buffalo. Than again...virtually anywhere is better than Buffalo with the exception of Cleveland and Gary Indiana.
It isn't that bad and the winter weather actually depends on where you are in the metro area. also, i don't think that the OP is relegated to just live within city limits.
It isn't that bad and the winter weather actually depends on where you are in the metro area. also, i don't think that the OP is relegated to just live within city limits.
The whole "bad weather" thing is really quite ridiculous. I have lived in Buffalo all my life, and I know for a fact that the weather is unpredictable more than anything else. Some winters are rough, and some are mild. It's an ongoing joke here that we get national attention for our weather when there is a blizzard or storm, but not when it's mild. It seemed to start with the blizzard of 77. Anyway, every winter here is different, and it's not like it snows 24/7 all year round
Cost of living- I think your salary is good in any of those areas. As another poster stated your money will go the furthest in Buffalo because of the low COL, but then again there is a reason why Buffalo has such a low COL being an economically depressed rustbelt city.
Weather- I think Palm Springs would be the best due to the drier heat, followed by Jersey City which has a milder four seasons. Buffalo probably has the worst climate in the US. Winters are dreary and it has the most full cloudy days per year than any other city with 1 million people.
Schools- You can find good schools near any of these cities.
Safety- Again, you can find safe areas near any of these cities, but Buffalo has the highest crime rate.
Connectivity to rest of country and world- I would say Jersey City due to it's proximity to NYC airports. Newark airport is also pretty good as well. Palm Springs is not far from LA which has a good airport. Buffalo airport is decent but NYC airports and LAX will have more direct flights because they're bigger.
Palm Springs probably has the best weather being in SoCal but you will have four seasons in Jersey City. Jersey City is right outside NYC, Palm Springs is not far from LA and San Diego, and Buffalo is not far from Toronto, so you have bigger cities within distance.
I would choose between Jersey City or Palm Springs depending on what you want. I would not choose Buffalo. There are nice sections but overall it's a city in decline that has not made any economic progress in decades, and as other have said the weather is not favorable by most people.
Jersey City is essential Jersey...only a local can love it. The climate is better than Buffalo but that is about as far as it goes. Its Jersey...high taxes, low services and kind of a seedy existence.
You have to love that outlandish, unfounded NJ hyperbole. "Seedy existence" is my favorite part. Wha?
You have to love that outlandish, unfounded NJ hyperbole. "Seedy existence" is my favorite part. Wha?
lvoc was born in Manhattan and has the classic taste of a manhattanite for NJ. He also lived 16 years in upstate and is very familiar with the Buffalo weather.
Note that at this point in his life lvoc would live east of the Mississippi only if he went quite demented. And then he would not remember it.
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