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Many, many people would disagree with you. NJ is NOT a cheap state by any means. It is not very affordable. With a high salary it is, but without one people can and do struggle. We have the highest property taxes in the nation. Some towns in my county have taxes over 20,000 a year. Overall COL is pretty high here. In NJ, you either make enough to do fine, or you struggle. There's really no in between. It's why many people move out of the state, funny enough to cheaper nearby states like PA (the number one state people move out of NJ to is PA).
But yet I find it fascinating that NJ's population is still growing at a pretty fast rate. It's only growing because of its proximity to NYC and Philly. Connecticut is struggling with population growth as only one county in CT is growing which is Fairfield County. It's only growing because it's the closest to NYC.
Many, many people would disagree with you. NJ is NOT a cheap state by any means. It is not very affordable. With a high salary it is, but without one people can and do struggle. We have the highest property taxes in the nation. Some towns in my county have taxes over 20,000 a year. Overall COL is pretty high here. In NJ, you either make enough to do fine, or you struggle. There's really no in between. It's why many people move out of the state, funny enough to cheaper nearby states like PA (the number one state people move out of NJ to is PA).
It's cheaper than NYC, and 8 out of 10 NYC transplants who move to Jersey will cite "lower COL" or "more space and better schools for the money," or "no NYC income tax" among the top reason(s) they moved to NJ. For this reason I think it fits the OP.
With tax season upon us, I thought this might be an interesting topic. A long time ago I think one of the appeals of northern NJ was being affordable in cost of living, while offering high earning potential in NYC.
Obviously not to the same degree of NYC, but are there other smaller regional city centers next door to low COL states, with a similar dynamic across borders?
For example, between:
New Hampshire - Massachusetts?
Deleware - Maryland?
Pennsylvania - New Jersey?
Washington - Oregon?
Delaware is the lower cost option for SE PA and South Jersey. Most of the population growth is in New Castle and Kent counties which are part of the Philly CSA. I don't think very many people spill into DE from MD.
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Originally Posted by lammius
Delaware is the lower cost option for SE PA and South Jersey. Most of the population growth is in New Castle and Kent counties which are part of the Philly CSA. I don't think very many people spill into DE from MD.
I agree with you that SE PA and South/Central Jersey send more people overall, but we do get significant spillover from Maryland--specifically Cecil County, MD, which is a part of Wilmington's MSA, which in turn is part of the Philadelphia MSA/CSA. Plenty of people from MD now reside in the Newark/Bear/Glasgow areas, as evidenced by the Orioles/Ravens gear in sports bars in the area. There's also serious talk of extending MARC to Newark, DE in the next few years. That can only be happening if there's not only growth in both counties (Cecil and New Castle), but a lot of "cross-pollination", if you will.
And I'm not as familiar with the southern part of the state (Sussex County), but that area looks to Salisbury and Ocean City, MD for TV/radio broadcasts, air travel and entertainment. I'm sure there's a lot of growth being fueled in Sussex (Delaware's fasting growing county, not Kent or New Castle) by Maryland transplants.
Quite a few people I know in my office moved to Weirton, WV from bordering PA for the cheaper housing and lower taxes. They seem to be happy with their choice. Across the river is Steubenville, OH and it also is home to some seeking a cheaper alternative.
The South Carolina suburbs just outside of Charlotte NC are a good example, and have the some of the best public schools in SC to boot. The SC state income tax is 3% versus NC's 5.75%.
A lot of people commute into Chicago from southeastern Wisconsin. It's not a bad option considering there is commuter rail access from Kenosha to downtown.
Southwestern CT is one of the most desirable areas in the country. Good schools, low crime, and a good mix of urban, suburban, and rural communities. Taxes and the COL is lower in CT than NY and since CT is close to NY, many workers from the city choose to live in Southwest CT.
Darien, CT has a high COL.
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Many, many people would disagree with you. NJ is NOT a cheap state by any means. It is not very affordable. With a high salary it is, but without one people can and do struggle. We have the highest property taxes in the nation. Some towns in my county have taxes over 20,000 a year. Overall COL is pretty high here. In NJ, you either make enough to do fine, or you struggle. There's really no in between. It's why many people move out of the state, funny enough to cheaper nearby states like PA (the number one state people move out of NJ to is PA).
