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Do you think all people making minimum wage in nj/Nyc shall pay higher tax/higher real estate to endure bitter winter?
Each state has certain high income population; just everyone in NJ make high income but with high income tax?
Many friends I know can work anywhere making same amount of big money.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DefiantNJ
Weird discussion. The reason why most people stay in the North East and in urban areas is not because they love to pay a lot of money for real estate and taxes. It is normally because of good job opportunities, schools and universities and cultural resources.
Now PA outside of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh could be very scenic and woody. But from what I know, it is essentially an opportunity waste land, with no major employers, mediocre schools and limited cultural attractions.
Florida is nice if you are by the ocean and close to the city. Although it is still too hot for my taste. Florida also has problems with flooding, horrible traffic, lack of public transportation. Nice place to go on vacation. Miami Beach is nice but I wish they would finally build light rail. It is impossible to find parking anywhere close to the South Beach and the bus system in inadequate...
All kinds—- they work in hospitals, own business, investors, consulting, real estate, internet, etc. each makes at least $150k a year.
Also it does not make sense to earn $80k average job and pay all taxes and hate crazy traffic every day just to cross borders. Still paycheck to paycheck with high stress.
If you can make it here, you can make it everywhere.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DefiantNJ
Really? Doing what kind of work? Are they small business owners?
All kinds—- they work in hospitals, own business, investors, consulting, real estate, internet, etc. each makes at least $150k a year.
Also it does not make sense to earn $80k average job and pay all taxes and hate crazy traffic every day just to cross borders. Still paycheck to paycheck with high stress.
If you can make it here, you can make it everywhere.
A job that is typically unionized in NJ will probably not be unionized in lower-cost states. Lower income, worse benefits, less job protection. Most government jobs pay better in NJ even in comparison to COL (at least in the line of work I do). Hospital and tech workers are really the only ones that make very comparable salaries regardless of location in my experience. Law is difficult because big large firms pay well regardless of location and have salary levels depending on location, but small firms often pay almost nothing in smaller cities and away from the job centers on the West Coast and Northeast + Chicago.
For some people, moving to a lower COL city allows them to have a generally comparable salary, or even take their NYC/NJ salary with them to that lower COL city by remaining internally within the same company. For others, like unionized laborers and teachers, remaining in a state like NJ is more financially beneficial.
The reason why most people stay in the North East and in urban areas is not because they love to pay a lot of money for real estate and taxes. It is normally because of good job opportunities...
Pretty much this. People living in this area fall mostly into two camps: they are tied to family here, or they are taking advantage of the robust (mostly Manhattan-centric) job market. Paying a lot of money is more of a symptom of living within commuting distance to the largest concentration of high-paying jobs on earth.
For those not tied to one of those, yeah, there's not really a compelling reason to be here. Don't get me wrong, we like it here, but there are other cities with good paying jobs for sure - if you can land one, go for it. Prior to landing here, we lived in a major sunbelt city and both had good jobs and a lower cost of living. We came up here for my wife's career (when I found a new job, I was making marginally more, but not enough to compensate for cost of living.) My wife more-than-doubled her salary, all-in. So we ended up coming ahead financially overall, although we definitely sacrificed space. The bars/restaurants/cultural stuff was a nice bonus before we had kids, but honestly now we don't take full advantage due to parental exhaustion
I guess where to go would be a personal choice. NEPA would not be on my list for lots of reasons (notably lack of job opportunities for either of us), but could understand why it may appeal to some people. For us, it would likely be Austin (lots of family there, robust economy, fun & laid back), Denver (robust economy, have always liked it as a city, proximity to outdoor stuff), or maybe somewhere on the west coast (but may not be any cheaper than here).
I'd like to leave New Jerky, but our daughter and her family live here, literally around the block from us. We won't move away from family. If my son-in-laws job took them to a free state, we'd be out of here in an instant. They are the only things holding us here.
I'd like to leave New Jerky, but our daughter and her family live here, literally around the block from us. We won't move away from family. If my son-in-laws job took them to a free state, we'd be out of here in an instant. They are the only things holding us here.
NJ was a free state. The slave states were south of the Mason-Dixon Line.
All kinds—- they work in hospitals, own business, investors, consulting, real estate, internet, etc. each makes at least $150k a year.
Sure they do.
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