Not a good house hunting trip to NJ..... (Passaic, Somerset: top schools, subdivision)

[hc7612]

I do not know if the OP had the intentions of getting people worked up. I would hope not, but who can say? From the research I have done, I think NJ as a whole has outstanding public schools. We initially thought we were going to be relocated to Delaware(need I say more?) I mean unless you want your 7 year old doing Quantum Physics, the schools seem wonderful.

I can see her shock at the prices of homes. We went through the same thing when we started looking. Moving from where we are in SE PA, our home here would be priced almost double in NJ. So if anyone is looking for a bargain, DM me. LOL! Being from NJ I would think she would know that Atlanta is a totally different ballgame. The houses there are amazing for what you get for the money. But you cannot compare the 2. We have gotten over our initial shock, and are moving forward.

Lolasmom, if you are serious about the relocation, I would hope that your husband does what mine has, ask for a serious increase in cost of living. If they value him and expect him to move where housing prices are double the amount, they need to compensate him for it. Plain and simple. If there is not an increase in wages, then I would not consider the move. But from what I have seen, if you are planning on spending $2 million dollars there are gorgeous houses to be had in NJ.

[kaday]

HI Lolamom,

I totally understand how you feel. We left NJ in 2003 for Massachusetts then had the opportunity to move back for a job in Madison or take a job in Atlanta. Although I have a lot of family in NJ, I just didn't want to buy a costly fixer upper and start all over again. (We have relo'd about 5 times). What we could afford in NJ was really a bummer.

My good friend was transferred to NJ and cried after her househunting weekend. She ended up in Mountain Lakes with a great house with good bones and is very happy. Great schools there as well. They negotiated and were able to take $100,000 off the asking price.

Take a look at Essex Fells, I grew up there and the elementary school is very much like a private school. As an adult I lived in Maplewood. Maplewood, lots of house for you money but big taxes, is a great town but you may have to do private school after elementary school. (South Mountain) is the best elementary there. Your money will go a long way there. Also take a look at Westfield. A great town with very good schools and again in your price range you should find something very nice. Maybe Glen Ridge as well.

Now that we are here in Atlanta and I see what your money can buy, I think I would really have a hard time going back. Though my heart is in NJ. It is a great state as you probably now with so much to offer. Unfortunately housing is so expensive and taxes are so high. Atlanta seems like a bargain in comparison. But you just don't get great schools, access to NYC among other things.

Good luck.

[tahiti]

Originally Posted by JerseyGirl08

It truely kills me that because someone admits to being well off that people just attack and get nasty and think it is ok. If a wealthy person started insulting those with less it would be a big deal.
Is this jealousy? I would love to find myself with more money but I don't hold it against those who are doing very well.

i can only speak for myself, I don't think I was nasty, but I think the OP could've worded her post much better. to say she couldn't find a home in NJ worth $2M that didn't make her "cry" and to then slam the schools because the Kindy curriculum is something that her 3 year olds were doing in her "exclusive" Atlanta neighborhood is a little over the top. she mentioned towns where she couldn't find a house in that price range, and she's wrong. period. you can find homes in chester on 6 acres with 4K sq ft for less than $2M. if that doesn't suit you, I don't know what to say. this is so far removed from my reality I don't think I can help her. I think instead of being humble and grateful for what she has, she came off a bit of a whiner.

i think the post would've been better received if she said something like:

"just got back from our house hunting trip in NJ. I was a little surprised how things have changed over the years and how your dollar really doesn't stretch as far as where I am - I really thought we could get more bang for the buck. I would really love to move back since all my family is here, but, given our circumstances and how we really do like what we have in Atlanta (my kids are in an awesome private school which we love), I don't think now is the right time."

can you see the difference?

i don't begrudge anyone for having money - it's the attitude that comes with it that bugs me.

JMO

[nicolem]

Originally Posted by tahiti

i can only speak for myself, I don't think I was nasty, but I think the OP could've worded her post much better. to say she couldn't find a home in NJ worth $2M that didn't make her "cry" and to then slam the schools because the Kindy curriculum is something that her 3 year olds were doing in her "exclusive" Atlanta neighborhood is a little over the top. she mentioned towns where she couldn't find a house in that price range, and she's wrong. period. you can find homes in chester on 6 acres with 4K sq ft for less than $2M. if that doesn't suit you, I don't know what to say. this is so far removed from my reality I don't think I can help her. I think instead of being humble and grateful for what she has, she came off a bit of a whiner.

i think the post would've been better received if she said something like:

"just got back from our house hunting trip in NJ. I was a little surprised how things have changed over the years and how your dollar really doesn't stretch as far as where I am - I really thought we could get more bang for the buck. I would really love to move back since all my family is here, but, given our circumstances and how we really do like what we have in Atlanta (my kids are in an awesome private school which we love), I don't think now is the right time."

can you see the difference?

i don't begrudge anyone for having money - it's the attitude that comes with it that bugs me.

JMO

Very well said. I don't begrudge anyone for how much $$ they have-the cars they drive-etc either. If you make a boatload of $$-more power to you. However did she really feel she would get a warm reception by stating that she couldn't find a home in NJ for $2 mil that did not make her cry? Very poor choice of words IMHO

It is wonderful that people can move to Georgia, North Carolina, etc and get huge brand new homes for a fraction of what it would cost in New Jersey-more power to you if you have done that. However-despite all of New Jersey's problems-real and perceived-the home prices are high in part because people want to live there. Despite all the bitc*ing and moaning-NJ is a desireable place to live. Expensive-yes but desireable.

[Foxchase]

A little over the top lola, but in n.j. i'm sure you can find a home for 2mil and great school systems. If you don't want to come to jersey then i'll take the money. I'm sure i can find a home for less.

[kaday]

Clearly her wording could have been better but she is asking for help......and one thing I loved about NJ when I was living there was how much my neighbors helped me out.

Living in Atlanta, I can understand why she is upset. But NJ is a great place with great people.

[Alex07860]

I think it's a bit naive to think that you can get the same amount of home in Atlanta than you would in NJ. 2 totally different markets, yet for 2MM there are plenty of homes to be had, you just have to look a bit harder. Since you say you live in Atlanta I'm assuming that you want to be close to the city, if that's the case you better be prepared to shell out more than 2MM for the same type of home you have in Atlanta. Remember the rule of RE...Location, Location, Location......why don't you try Manhattan and see what you'd get for 2MM? I'm sure you'll be scouting back in jersey in a heartbeat after seeing that.

[wileynj]

Anyone who would like to see what a 2 million dollar house / estate should look like, go and check out gsmls.com - somerset county: Peapack-Gladstone, Bernards twp., Bernardsville. Compare these to those 3 bdrm, 1 bath cap cods in Chatham, Summit, Madison, Etc. and you will understand what she is talking about.

[Roselvr]

Originally Posted by lolamom

Please don't flame me for expressing this but we had the worst house hunting trip ever.. We are from NJ originally and this is my 3rd relo and we are looking in the $2M range so I thought this was going to be easy. Instead, I am wondering if we should move back at all....

We live smack within city borders on 2 acres here in Atlanta. Our home in NJ would be 6+M from what I can see. I knew that was going to be the case but what I did not expect was these homes would "feel" so incredibly overpriced. I just cannot imagine any of it being a sound investment. Seems like we are going to spend MUCH MORE to have less of a life. I am very torn up.

Worst of all is my family is there so this will be a huge dissapointment to them if we don't move.

If anyone has any insight into how I should be looking at this, please advise. I told dh last night that maybe we should rent for a year somewhere fun like Hoboken, look for private schools and take our time doing so and see what real estate prices do. From what I could observe--and i don't care how fantastic Chatham is---those prices, for those homes, cannot be sustainable.

Thoughts and well meaning advice VERY welcomed.

Lola

Lola, I looked at some of your other posts and see your hubby will be working in Iselin & you need to be "near" Newark airport.

I redid the search to include Warren.. see here. I started at $500k just to get a feel for what was out there, then changed it to $800k. I used to work in Watchung on Somerset Street, we used to have a lot of real estate agents coming in but I don't see any of them listed in my searches. Shame as I'm sure they would have been able to help you.

What type of house are you looking for? How many beds / baths? I see you'd like shopping close by (so would I) and think you'd probably be happy in the Watchung / Warren area as there is tons of shopping on Rt 22 & some smaller stores on Mountain Blvd. You'd be close to Rt 22 and 78 and if you need 287 it isn't that bad of a ride going the back roads.

I've always loved this area. The houses are nice, you can also get a decent amount of land.

I don't know how you're looking for a house, what sites you are using and if you've signed a contract with an agent already. There is a Weichert in Watchung on the circle that's always been pretty popular. They should know the area and be able to help you.

[AnthonyB]

Originally Posted by Alex07860

I think it's a bit naive to think that you can get the same amount of home in Atlanta than you would in NJ. 2 totally different markets, yet for 2MM there are plenty of homes to be had, you just have to look a bit harder. Since you say you live in Atlanta I'm assuming that you want to be close to the city, if that's the case you better be prepared to shell out more than 2MM for the same type of home you have in Atlanta. Remember the rule of RE...Location, Location, Location......why don't you try Manhattan and see what you'd get for 2MM? I'm sure you'll be scouting back in jersey in a heartbeat after seeing that.

I'd have to agree 100%. While I do think that the NJ is bubbly and will fall some, I think that something will have to give. I checked Atlanta houses in the 2mil range, and some are lovely, and it is perfectly possible to find similar here. But NOT possible to find the same houses at the same price on the same acreage AND close proximity to Manhattan, AND a cool town AND the best schools AND the right vibe.

There are perfectly good reasons why Atlanta prices are cheaper than here. The OP is going to have to compromise somewhere unfortunately.