Yet another moving to NJ thread (Jersey City, Livingston: good schools, camping, salary)

[Amus]

I just landed a job in Jersey City and am moving to NJ soon. My wife and I have been researching on where the best place to live might be. I've been out to NJ several times, but she hasn't.

So, we are looking at places to live and so far we seem to like the Caldwell's, Verona, and Cedar Grove the best. Any other places we should consider?

Also, the negativity on this forum about NJ is suprising. Would it be better to move to Conneticut instead and commute from there? I generally ride public transportation and so the commute isn't too bad from there (just over 1 hour by train). What about NY? Floral Bark seemed like it might be nice, but the commute starts to get over an hour any farther west.

Where would you live given that I would like about 1 hour commute to Jersey City?

Any ideas? Is New Jersey really that bad?

I should add that it appears that NY and conneticut still have the about the same level of taxes. Why does everyone complain about NJ taxes compared to Conneticut or NY taxes?

[brookdaleresident]

NJ property taxes are the highest in the country. I think CT has a higher cost of living. There are many good things about NJ. Every state has positive and negative features.
The 3 towns you mentioned are very nice with great schools. I don't know about commuting (public trans) to JC, but you could drive it in about an hour. Of course, traffic always plays a role.

[jstar41]

I would advice not to listen to all comments on this forum... many if not all are exagerated.. New Jersey overall is a very nice state.. you just cannot live in a box which is what most posters here do.. which is why they are here.. you can tell who they are b/c of the number of posts and # of reads.. the ones with over a million are the ones who are attached to their pc's, have no life and misinform people.. also people who complain are mostly people who cannot afford living in their own areas..

congrats on the new Job.. but if you are not making over 100k, i will not recommend moving out of the state (to CT) as it will not be worth the commute..

[NJTina]

Originally Posted by Amus

the negativity on this forum about NJ is suprising. What about NY? Floral Bark seemed like it might be nice, but the commute starts to get over an hour any farther west.


Any ideas? Is New Jersey really that bad?

Why does everyone complain about NJ taxes compared to Conneticut or NY taxes?

I think you mean Florham Park. All of the towns you mention are very nice for family life. I don't think there is as much negativity about the overall state or it's people as there is about the state's corruption resulting in an extremely high cost of living. I think there are many of us that love New Jersey, warts and all. Some have left because they couldn't afford it. Maybe that makes them bitter? Maybe others relocated because of their jobs. Others may have retired and went south. Who knows? But, NJ is not unique, people love it or hate it. I feel it has the best of everything. IMHO You don't say where you are moving from, either. I do think Connecticut is a great state, but for working in JC, how practical is it to move there? I think if you read the boards long enough you will see that there are many that are happy with their life in NJ.

[George Walsh]

Caldwells, Verona and Cedar Grove are each wonderful towns. They are well-run, have very good school systems (are schools important to you?) Even if you do not have children in school, towns with good schools are generally always in demand so resale value is usually strong. Commute to JC is actually fairly good by NY metro area standards. It's an easy drive on I-280 to JC. Then it depends where in JC you need to get to.
You might want to consider Roseland as well.
I am a NJ native living in Livingston and grew up in essex county. have lived in Monmouth County, Middlesex County, Burlington County, Morris County and Ocean county. I have travelled to all but 2 of the fifty states. i think NJ is a great place to live although the cost of living is quite high in the northern Nj area where you are relocating. however the state offers great variation in terrain and lifestyles. you can find just about everything you could want here. Mountains (allright foothills compared to the Rockies), lakes, beaches, golf courses, camping, hunting, fishing, sports - both professional and semi-pro, great arts centers, proximity to NYC... i could go on.

Good luck with your search.

[AnesthesiaMD]

Originally Posted by George Walsh

I am a NJ native living in Livingston and grew up in essex county. have lived in Monmouth County, Middlesex County, Burlington County, Morris County and Ocean county. I have travelled to all but 2 of the fifty states. i think NJ is a great place to live although the cost of living is quite high in the northern Nj area where you are relocating.
.

I have a very similar situation. I grew up in Livingston. I have lived in Dallas, Washington D.C., Northern CA, and Chicago. Now I live back in Livingston again. While these other places were nice for a while, I prefer NJ any day. And I would make roughly the same salary no matter where I go.

As far as the taxes, I pay much more in property taxes than my cousin in Stamford, CT, but I think it's worth it.

[BrianG]

Originally Posted by Amus

I just landed a job in Jersey City and am moving to NJ soon. My wife and I have been researching on where the best place to live might be. I've been out to NJ several times, but she hasn't.

So, we are looking at places to live and so far we seem to like the Caldwell's, Verona, and Cedar Grove the best. Any other places we should consider?

Also, the negativity on this forum about NJ is suprising. Would it be better to move to Conneticut instead and commute from there? I generally ride public transportation and so the commute isn't too bad from there (just over 1 hour by train). What about NY? Floral Bark seemed like it might be nice, but the commute starts to get over an hour any farther west.

Where would you live given that I would like about 1 hour commute to Jersey City?

Any ideas? Is New Jersey really that bad?

I should add that it appears that NY and conneticut still have the about the same level of taxes. Why does everyone complain about NJ taxes compared to Conneticut or NY taxes?

I agree with NJTINA
As far as the area's you mentioned , they are all very nice
As far as giving you idea's of other area's without knowing what you are looking for as far as schools,commute,taxes,budget,more of a country or city life or both i can only say
the more south/west you go it seems the taxes get cheaper but the commute gets longer

[njkate]

Tina..no I think he was referring to Floral Park out in Queens..

Amus...don't listen to all the naysayers..Jersey is decent and all the towns you mentioned are as well.

Commute from CT...ARE YOU CRAZY

[Ellwood]

Whippany, Parsippany, Morris Plains, Floram Park, Hanover are all nice areas with good schools.

[LeavingTheSunshine]

Originally Posted by Ellwood

Whippany, Parsippany, Morris Plains, Floram Park, Hanover are all nice areas with good schools.

I was looking online at some of the places you metioned and each website lists them as belonging to different counties or different parts of Jersey (i.e South, North, Central) .. is there a place where I can find the most correct lisitng so I know how far away I'm looking?

Also, how does the commute work there? Reading other posts it seems like you can be anywhere in the state within 2 hours no matter where you're coming from. Maybe I'm just sillym but in FL an hour will barely get you out of the county.