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Like many others, I am contemplating a move out of New Jersey. But I am really unsure of where to go! I figured this would be a good place to talk to people, as only other people from NJ could understand.
So if you did in fact move out already, tell me about your new spot...good or bad!
I am afraid I will suffer severe culture shock and stick out like a sore thumb if I leave lol...but I am looking at this with an open mind. I don't love it here, but it is where I grew up, and even though I want to leave...it's still kind of scary to go somewhere you really know nothing about, you know?
And sorry if this has been posted a zillion times already, but I couldn't find any recent posts like it.
Hi syncmaster. The main reasons I want to leave are the cost of living (I did not have the luck of buying before the boom), and the weather! I can't stand the cold.
I grew up with the congestion/overpopulation and though I complain, I don't mind it all that much. Rural areas freak me out because I am so used to the opposite lol...but hey it might be nice to have some land. I don't know.
I love a lot of things about our state..the people, the food, flipping people off in my car, all the usual. (lol...I am half joking about the flipping off part...) But the bad side is getting to be too much for me to handle. Too much stress, it isn't the life I want for my kids. If I got in before the prices doubled, it wouldn't be so bad. It's too late now though, and though prices will fall, I don't think they will ever be low enough again for me to be comfortable. Plus, as I said, I truly hate the cold. It's a big factor!
I moved to So CA in '95. Weather great, costs, equal or surpassed NJ, with snobbishness and violence to beat.
I moved to MN in '98. Great people, great cost of living. Stayed for a year to study.
In '99 I returned to CA. See first two sentences, more of the same for 8 more years.
In 2007 I moved to IN. Like weather (I enjoy cold), cost of living is very affordable, job market hard, people (again, just like the Midwest) wonderful.
Good luck wherever you land.
Moved to Northern VA - taxes and insurance cheaper than NJ, lower property taxes, better schools, more parks
Also more traffic, housing very expensive, fast paced just like NJ -
Kin, just curious, what part of So. cal did you live in? Funnily enough, So. Cal is where I would love to be. But I think it would be like jumping from the frying pan into the fire at this moment in my life...though we would make more money out there, it would be tight for awhile as it is here.
My dh wants to try living somewhere where we wouldn't have such a high cost of living for awhile, which I agree would be a change. So I'm willing to try that out first. Maybe.
I drove through Indiana on my way to California...and it stood out to me because it seemed so much brighter than NJ, hard to explain..like the sky was bluer and it just looked cleaner. And the people were nice where we stayed. Good to hear you found your spot that makes you happy.
Fairfax, I haven't really been to NoVa but have heard much of what you said about it; fast paced, expensive...are you happy there even though the cost of living isn't less? Same rat race, or is it just a better one?
Just wanted to add....the areas I am considering right now are San Antonio, Texas and possibly near Atlanta, Georgia. But we can pretty much go anywhere. It's so hard to choose..there are so many states! I am going to be reading up on some of the different state boards here on City-Data..but you can't look at them all! Hopefully more of you will post, and I will go check out your boards.
There is also the possibility that we will rent in NJ for a year (if I can ever sell my house)..see how the market is in various areas, and then decide. Either way, I'm researching!
We moved last year to SC because of weather and taxes. There are things I miss and some I don't miss. I really like the weather in SC, it's sunny almost everyday. I miss the food in NJ and of course my friends. I'm only paying $600 a year in property taxes and if I had the same house in NJ (the town I used to be in) they would be around $14,000. The thing I miss the most is living close to NYC but I have friends that live there, so I can visit. The pay scale is lower here but I guess that all depends on your situation if it's an issue. I highly suggest (if you can) visiting the area you're thinking of moving to and ask a lot of questions because it is different. You really don't know how different until you go but at least you can get an idea. There's pros and cons about living everywhere and it's up to you to decide what's most important. Just don't jump in but at the same time you only live once and it's great to experience new things and meet new people. Good luck and I hope you're happy with whatever you decide to do.
Well, if you're considering Atlanta, let me know- we moved from Woodbridge to Holly Springs, GA this past summer.
Things we like- slower pace without being Mayberry-pace, much more affordable housing/taxes, newer schools with better facilities/equipment, less cold weather and snow (though we got 1/2" last night- woo hoo- it'll be gone by noon today....lol), plenty of outdoor activities, great job opportunities.
Things that aren't so great- traffic heading into downtown is as bad (or worse) than NJ, but around our house it's non-existent, and having to hop on a plane to visit family. Luckily most of them have never been to GA, so they're tending to come down here to visit rather than us schleping back to NJ.
While many will say that they can't get good pizza and bagels here, we've found two great pizzerias, and there's a bagel place a few miles from the house that's pretty good. I can buy taylor ham at the supermarket, so I'm not going into withdrawls over that, but I've got to make my own bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches at home- not much in the way of corner delis down here. Oh well, you can't have everything, right? lol
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