Moving Out Of State (relocation, property taxes, jobs)

[Ellwood]

[quote=BobKovacs;1831747]We talked about this a while ago, and the answer still remains the same- you can't just jump blindly into a move like these people made just because the cost of housing is lower. Are there costs in GA, NC, etc., that are higher than in NJ or NY? Sure there are-

Bob you are 100% right. Too many people are moving out of NJ for dollars alone (housing, property tax) without researching the areas. When we researched a retirement area, we visited each several times, especially interested in activities, people, cultural events AND COL.(Retirement Living - Taxes by State: New York - Wyoming). What is the point in moving to a place, no matter what the cost, if you aren't going to be happy there?

[fastninja500]

Our friends are leaving NJ. They received a checklist from their agent of what they'll pay at closing. At the bottom of the list is a 2% tax for non- NJ residents. This is in addition to the Realty tax of about $3k.

There is a Realty Transfer Tax in NJ. it goes like this: $4 per 1000 for the first $150K, $6.70 per 1000 for $150K to $200, etc... check out this link: http://www.njtophomes.com/home-seller-closing-cost.asp

this site calculates the transfer tax for a home: (about $3,215 for the sale of a $400K home): http://www.successfultitle.com/calcs_realtytransfertax.asp

[BobKovacs]

Originally Posted by fastninja500

Our friends are leaving NJ. They received a checklist from their agent of what they'll pay at closing. At the bottom of the list is a 2% tax for non- NJ residents. This is in addition to the Realty tax of about $3k.

There is a Realty Transfer Tax in NJ. it goes like this: $4 per 1000 for the first $150K, $6.70 per 1000 for $150K to $200, etc... check out this link: http://www.njtophomes.com/home-seller-closing-cost.asp

this site calculates the transfer tax for a home: (about $3,215 for the sale of a $400K home): http://www.successfultitle.com/calcs_realtytransfertax.asp

Yes, and this has been discussed ad nauseum on this site in the past. The transfer tax is something that occurs in a number of states, and NJ's is not the highest rate by far. We paid a transfer fee when we sold our house in Las Vegas, and our builder paid one when we bought our house in Georgia.

The other 2% is withholding for state income taxes that may be due on the profits, and will be refunded if the money ends up not actually being owed. It's collected only on those who list an out of state address as their forwarding address, since NJ doesn't want to chase people all over the country for money that's legitimately owed to them. If you list an NJ address for forwarding, the assumption is that you'll be filing an NJ tax return, and therefore it's a non-issue.

[stmaarten]

We left NJ for NC without jobs. Some people thought we were crazy. But, we really didn't give a hoot what everyone else thought. What we DID know, is that we were being SCREWED taxe-wise in NJ. We also knew that we couldn't stand the conjestion and unbareable commute anymore.
We did A LOT of research on the area (Charlotte), found a fantastic realtor, great schools, great neighborhood with extremely (by NJ standards) friendly people/neighbors.
My husband found a great job. Is he making as much as he did in Manhattan? No, but he doesn't NEED to. And I don't NEED to work anymore. Our house will be paid off in eight years, our property taxes are under $2500. You can't beat the weather here. The place is beautiful. If you want culture/great dining/lots of outdoor activities/museums/art galleries/outstanding shopping, etc. you can find it here.
Do we miss NJ? Sure. We miss our family (most have since left the state themselves), we miss our friends. But we've made tons of new friends. We miss some of the foods and diversity that NJ has to offer. But that's about it. We don't expect it to be NJ/NYC!
There's a HUGE world out there people! NJ or NY or CA or even the USA are not the only places to live happily. I'm shocked at how closed-minded and judgemental some people can be. If you're happy in NJ, good for you. If you're happy in "wherever", good for you too. Just don't pigeon-hole yourself into XYZ place.
What's wrong with discovering other places? Why do people judge those who leave and/or decide to return? Heck, who said you need to stay in one place your entire life???
I'm sure there are plenty of people who've made mistakes in moving away and then complain about it, or move back. But so what? They're only human. You're allowed to make mistakes, that's how you learn. Quit throwin' stones people!

[EANJ]

Many years ago, I thought about moving, leaving NJ, for business reasons. My business had multiple locations and the idea of moving appealed to me. It wasn't about leaving NJ though. It was more of many other things.

Anyway, when I spoke with people about moving -- both here and in the target city, I heard some very interesting things and some great advice. First, the advice -- I was reminded how years earlier when I was looking at colleges, what part of the due diligence process was. Very many of the same recommendations were made to me -- go there, visit (more than once) at different times of the year, spend time there, speak with friends, family members, etc. who live there, and so on. I can't imagine someone uprooting, relocating, whatever you want to call it, and going to an area that can be extremely different, culture shock, etc. -- WITHOUT having gone there, spent time and so on. I was also told that when you go somewhere to visit, you have to get past the novelty (hece, speaking with the friends, family members, etc.).

The interesting things I heard were very thought provoking. When I was staying in my target city, long weekends, a week or two at a time -- there was a novelty aspect to it. It was new, exciting, I was exploring -- restaurants, bars, clubs, everything -- even supermarkets, LOL. This might not be an issue for you or anyone. However, you need to get past any "new" or "exciting" element. My friend, in the target city were very frank with me. They viewed living there, just as I viewed living in NJ -- it was what it was kind of thing. To them it wasn't a novelty or the like.

Anyway, as Sy Sims said -- an educated consumer was his best customer.

[Fairfax Mom]

We moved from NJ to VA and on one hand I am glad and on the other I regret it a bit. Here it is just as crowded and full of traffic but there are beautiful parks and higher rated schools. Our property taxes and auto insurance are half what they were in NJ. Housing costs more though, and clothes and certain food is taxes and our cars are taxed every year. The worst is that we cannot find good pizza or bagels.
Life is what you make it - sometimes if you are not happy in Jersey - you wont be happy wherever else you go - you make your own happiness.

[vq1]

Originally Posted by BobKovacs

Yes, they've got some laws on the books that have never been repealed, but obviously aren't enforced (like the husband/wife oral thing, and the gun ownership law in Kennesaw). I guess they've been focusing on more pressing issues rather than going back and repealing old stuff that didn't matter anyway.

I'd say Wilson got a raw deal because they couldn't make the original rape case with the 17 y/o girl stick, so they looked for something to hang him with. Since this law was still on the books, they hit him with it. It's a shame that it happened, but that's the way our wonderful legal system works sometimes- it's all about who twists the words the right way to be able to convince 12 people who were too stupid to be able to get out of jury duty that their side is correct.

Left Kennesaw, but not because of the referenced gun law. For information, the gun law is a late 1970's - early 1980's law that was passed by the Kennesaw Town Council as a rebuttal to the Anti-Gun laws that were sweeping the country at that time.

The law is basically this:
Every head of household in the city is to have a firearm and to be trained in its use for self-defense of the home;

Any persons with conscientious objections to this requirement are exempted from the requirement of this law;

There is to be no enforcement of the law.

John Lotts, believe he is a U of Chicago economist, has referenced that law in his book on the indirect relationship between gun ownership (and concealed carry permits) and crime. Where municipalities allow concealed carrying of firearms, crime rates are drastically lower. Kennesaw, GA has the lowest crime rate in the metro Atlanta area of a suburb with an Interstate highway (I-75) running through it.

On the statutory rape case. The defendant refused an offer for a negotiated plea which would have significantly reduced the charged crime and penalty. The defendant turned this down.
The victim was 15 at the time, which is younger than the age of consent in Georgia. The defendant took his chances, lost and was sentenced to what the law required. That law has now been changed making the circumstances that occured in the case to be a misdemeanor (max 1 year.)

[cyntmac]

Originally Posted by stmaarten

There's a HUGE world out there people! NJ or NY or CA or even the USA are not the only places to live happily. I'm shocked at how closed-minded and judgemental some people can be. If you're happy in NJ, good for you. If you're happy in "wherever", good for you too. Just don't pigeon-hole yourself into XYZ place.
What's wrong with discovering other places? Why do people judge those who leave and/or decide to return? Heck, who said you need to stay in one place your entire life???
I'm sure there are plenty of people who've made mistakes in moving away and then complain about it, or move back. But so what? They're only human. You're allowed to make mistakes, that's how you learn. Quit throwin' stones people!

Generally people are not that judgemental. This forum is not representative of everyone. It is heavy in the troll department. Much heavier than some of the other state forums. North Carolina is getting mocked on here simply because it is popular with relocaters from the NY area. Not every poster on here currently lives in NJ. There are even some who have never lived in the state but represent otherwise for some strange reason. You can't give much weight to many of the posts on here. Moving around is considered a mistake now? Since when? Actual real people? Humans?

[Norhjerseygirl]

Originally Posted by cyntmac

Generally people are not that judgemental. This forum is not representative of everyone. It is heavy in the troll department. Much heavier than some of the other state forums. North Carolina is getting mocked on here simply because it is popular with relocaters from the NY area. Not every poster on here currently lives in NJ. There are even some who have never lived in the state but represent otherwise for some strange reason. You can't give much weight to many of the posts on here. Moving around is considered a mistake now? Since when? Actual real people? Humans?

I upped and moved to Hawaii from Bergen County 1 year ago and it was so worth it. Oh yeah it's paradise but it's not, in my ridiculously expensive neighborhood (on Oahu) you have ugly rat-trap homes (more ugly than pretty), so expensive (I could cry) groceries, reverse discrimination and gigantor roaches. It is beautiful, my property taxes on my 740k 3b/1.5ba are about 2k. I do not need AC or heat. Open louvered windows with single wall construction (you hear every car noise, neighbors breathing, etc). Bottom line there is an upside and down side to everything. I equally hate it and love it at the same time. I still love NJ because it does have everything. People did say we were/are crazy but people love to dis your move(s) especially when they're stuck or have no brass in them to accomplish this. It (moving) is very difficult (everything is new and that novelty wears off quickly). We came with no jobs (but a little pocket change). We got lucky but it is wayyyy too expensive. A little house for a lot of money, now I'm talkin. Good job opportunities (they run out of people on an island). People are still betting we come back with our tails between our legs -- it's part of the reason we went so very far, so we'd have a tough time running home to NJ. Missing bagels and pizza like nobody's business (also ravioli, trader joe's and killer shopping). We kept this plan a secret from all our friends while we plotted and planned because the naysayers love telling you how many people they know who moved back from the Carolina's, etc. About how awful the heat is in Florida or how unhappy people are who tried Hawaii. Opinions everyone's got 'em. That is the nature of the beast (human) as is the wanderlust. No regrets but I may wind up somewhere else someday, who knows...

[stmaarten]

[quote=Norhjerseygirl;1856399]
People did say we were/are crazy but people love to dis your move(s) especially when they're stuck or have no brass in them to accomplish this. QUOTE]

And there you have it!