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it had some good some bad things. what i love about NJ is the shore, especially ocean city), the food , the restaurants, the italian and german bakeries…places like Corrados. the mountains and lakes.
the things i hated about nj were the extreme high costs, tolls, overcrowding and over development. draconian laws, government overreach, confiscatory property taxes, no plans to curtail government spending, horrific DMV, too many bad drivers, too many rich white people, nasty people, places like Maplewood.
It's a good place to live, but I am fortunate that my wife and I both earn six figures with zero student loan debt. We make enough money to own our own condo and have discretionary income to take advantage of all great things that NJ has to offer. Hikes/mountains, beaches, proximity to Manhattan and Philly, smaller downtowns like Hoboken/Ridgewood/Morristown that we like to frequent, some of the best food options in the entire country, etc. We both have marketable skills and the job market here is strong.
The landscape might change in a few years when we begin to grow our family. I can imagine my sentiment changing if we have to live on one income for a while so my wife can raise kids. Or if we are lucky enough, my parents and extended family can help raise them part-time which will offset some of the childcare costs.
All in all, it is a great place to live if you can afford it. One thing I want to add, the people here are not anymore "nasty" than anywhere else. That is so overblown.
Last edited by NjDevils3027; 09-20-2023 at 08:16 AM..
NJ in my view is like a bunch of little states each with its own pros/cons. It heavily depends on where you choose to reside. I'm in the northwestern part of NJ. I like it very much.
Schools (in my area)
Low crime (in my area)
Not too crowded (in my area)
Culturally diverse
Wide variety of restaurants and venues.
Lots of stuff to explore and do
You have cities, towns, mountains, lakes, shores, wilderness, easy access to PA (ex Poconos), easy access to NYC
Weather is relatively mild; 4 seasons. I grew up in an area that really only 2 seasons and summers are very hot.
NJ ranks high in services for children and families. Wife works with children with special needs; NJ is very generous in providing services.
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The high cost of living is my biggest complaint.
Property tax is too high. I choose to live in a small house for this reason alone. The amount of tax I pay for my tiny (and old) house is not reasonable.
Government overreach. Over-regulation
The landscape might change in a few years when we begin to grow our family. I can imagine my sentiment changing if we have to live on one income for a while so my wife can raise kids. Or if we are lucky ernough, my parents and extended family can help raise them part-time which will offset some of the childcare costs.
It was a big challenge for us. Part-time child care ended up costing more than my mortgage. I ended up taking on two jobs. The 2nd pregnancy was even more challenging as we had twins.
You are very lucky if you have family that can assist.
I do like living in NJ, but mostly because my friends and family are here. I’m a pretty adaptable person so I think I would be happy in most places. The big downside is the cost of living. We’re a family of 4 on one income so we really have to keep a close eye on expenses to make it work. Keep debt to a minimum, just one 10 year old car, east most meals at home, etc. Having my wife be a stay at home mom has been great for our family so I’d like to keep that going as long as possible. You have to find a way to earn more if you want to raise a family in NJ. Complaining about the cost of things won’t bring them down.
I like living in south Jersey (I would probably hate north Jersey due mainly to the traffic) because it's comfortable and familiar, my family is here, and I feel like we have the best of both worlds, in that it's semi-rural and traffic isn't heavy where I am, but it's not a far drive to stores. I wish though we had a better supermarket near us, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Wegman's. They are all a hike, and in heavy traffic areas. I'm 45 minutes to the shore, and about the same to Philly.
Keeping to the traffic theme, my favorite thing about south Jersey is that there's at least one "back way" to almost everywhere you want to go. I will almost always pick the over the river, through the woods drive over a highway drive even if it adds 10 minutes to the drive. I have a 50 minute commute, but almost all of it is on lightly traveled scenic roads. Most of my family is less than 15 minutes drive.
I do worry about deer on the drive, though.
I also like that we don't have very extreme weather (outside of the recent years phenomenon of tornadoes with summer storms).
NJ in my view is like a bunch of little states each with its own pros/cons. It heavily depends on where you choose to reside. I'm in the northwestern part of NJ. I like it very much.
Schools (in my area)
Low crime (in my area)
Not too crowded (in my area)
Culturally diverse
Wide variety of restaurants and venues.
Lots of stuff to explore and do
You have cities, towns, mountains, lakes, shores, wilderness, easy access to PA (ex Poconos), easy access to NYC
Weather is relatively mild; 4 seasons. I grew up in an area that really only 2 seasons and summers are very hot.
NJ ranks high in services for children and families. Wife works with children with special needs; NJ is very generous in providing services.
---
The high cost of living is my biggest complaint.
Property tax is too high. I choose to live in a small house for this reason alone. The amount of tax I pay for my tiny (and old) house is not reasonable.
Government overreach. Over-regulation
Don't look now but the reason you don't like NJ (Government over each) is explained in your reason for why you like it.
I would give my eye teeth to move back. Even though I despise the politics.
I can't believe a guy from WILDWOOD with a condo bought my condo in FL when I was trying to move back and couldn't - WE COULD HAVE JUST SWAPPED and I'm not even kidding.
Jersey Shore - (watch it on youTube and tv)
Basking Ridge - gorgeous wooded peaceful.
I grew up in Longport, running wild as a kid on the beach, the bay, the Atlantic City Boardwalk, "The Trampolines" whats not to love. Well, except today's boardwalk. A MESS in AT CY. But the other ones are great.
P.S. You can ALWAYS have a JOB and CAREER and rich social life in NJ. And PA for that matter.
Last edited by jaxrivers; 09-20-2023 at 01:55 PM..
Don't look now but the reason you don't like NJ (Government over each) is explained in your reason for why you like it.
I would typically want to argue with you just on principle but you're right on most counts. Nobody should be surprised certain political leaning people have no undersanding of this.
(except: Lots of stuff to explore and doYou have cities, towns, mountains, lakes, shores, wilderness, easy access to PA (ex Poconos), easy access to NYC Weather is relatively mild; 4 seasons. I grew up in an area that really only 2 seasons and summers are very hot.)
When I hired a guy out of Tennessee his wife literally cried and sobbed seeing the fixer upper houses they could afford in NJ compared to their palace back home. IN 1994. (but at least the fixers were on acreage)
LOL I guess Mid Atlantic weather IS more mild than the North, West and North East. You still get snowed IN, though.
1994 two weeks. Housebreaking a puppy on ice.
I had to pay the Pizza Delivery guy to get me milk and cigarettes.
Last edited by jaxrivers; 09-20-2023 at 02:34 PM..
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