People who left NJ...and never looked back (living, garden)

[Steve_TN]

Originally Posted by weisgarber1

Nashville is amazing.....as a little, "big city wannabe!"

I don't think Nashville aspires to be a "big city". I think it just aspires to be the unique wonderful city that it is.

[cyntmac]

I understand about rocket science but this is not something that will change with a particular candidate in one election cycle. I don't have the answers and I have always lived in high cost areas.

My experience living in NC was as a kid and I ran as fast as I could to leave it. I have never contributed to the tax base there. I've said before that corruption has many different faces. It's almost 2009 and it's not just about old school and "da boys". Coming on here talking about clown rape offers no insight whatsoever.

I don't base where I live on the cheapness factor but I am at the life stage where I have to be realistic. My options are somewhat limited. I know some people who actually work (unpaid) to change things but they are knowledgeable enough to know that their impact is limited.
Most people really don't know where all that tax money goes. Really smart people will question what they are told in that regard- even those who think they are expert.

The amount of money people are paying now is almost criminal. ( in NJ especially and a few other states). Can we start sending people to jail? This system of government will not allow that to happen. NY, NJ, and the new england states have an antique form of government. The people who are profiting won't go anywhere, muchless jail which is where some of them belong. But the entire system would have to be changed.
It is not just about a few boys or girls for that matter.
Someone is watching too many old movies.

[Diane Giam]

Originally Posted by BrianH1970

Tell that to some of the Obama-philes.

What's going on in New Jersey isn't rocket science. I dug up an article dated Oct of 07, but the point is pretty clear:

New Jerseyans are fleeing state faster - Breaking News From New Jersey - NJ.com





Had the nation's economy been in better condition, who knows how big the number for 2008 could have been.

And to those economists who aren't sure as to why there was an exodus, stating the possibility that people are also more mobile these days, I'd love to see a poll of those who left and why they left. I'd bet anything that the overwhelming majority would put the blame squarely on the property tax/cost of living burden.

I bet some left because their company moved south. I know a lot of companies are being offered big tax write-offs to move here. So there is always someone moving here on a relocation.
Our Governor tries to attract big business. It creates Jobs and Revenue.
Diane G

[nudnk]

I lived in Northern NJ for 44 of my 45 years. Having spent the past 6 months outside of Charlotte, the only thing I miss is the Sussex county scenery.
We have found the cost of living pretty much the same with the big exception of property tax, leaving NJ in effect gave us a $6000 a year raise with a far nicer house and neighborhood than we came from in NJ. Not surprisingly, most of our neighbors are damn yankees.
We have also found the Union County NC schools superior acedemically than the NJ school district we came from.
Looking to the future, I knew that I would never be able to afford to retire in NJ. We also didn't have any family to leave behind in NJ or employment issues, so perhaps that made it easier on us than others.
No place is a paradise, it is what you make of it.

[MAK802]

We moved to San Diego in October after living in NJ for over 20 years. Don't miss a thing about it! The weather here is amazing (has been in the high 70s/low 80s since we got here), and the culture is just so much better. People are actually outside all the time, walking their dogs, jogging, doing whatever. In NJ, it was rare to see anyone out, especially at the end of November. We will never move back to the East Coast and have met many Jersey transplants around here that feel the exact same way. We live a couple of miles from La Jolla Shores, which is one of the top rated beaches in the US. Where else can you wear shorts in November and take your dog to the beach for some playtime? I love CA!

[NMyTree]

Originally Posted by Diane Giam

I bet some left because their company moved south. I know a lot of companies are being offered big tax write-offs to move here. So there is always someone moving here on a relocation.
Our Governor tries to attract big business. It creates Jobs and Revenue.
Diane G

And don't forget that North Carolina is very corporate friendly in regards to worker/employee rights. Companies down here can do just about anything they want and employees don't have much recourse or much in the way of state laws protecting them.

[cyntmac]

That is true but remember less regulation less taxation. That is what people want along with a lower cost of living. You are making tradeoffs.

[brightdoglover]

I grew up in Cherry Hill age 4-18. I felt very affiliated with downtown Philly as soon as I could get on a bus and when they built the train.
I think the poster who said people who "never look back" likely come from difficult family situations. I always thought there was, well, just something *wrong* with south Jersey, without realizing there was a lot wrong in the household I grew up in.
That said, I hated the development there, even as a child, although of course my subdivision and post-war first-generation parents were part of the problem. Every woods, every farm, every anything that existed before 1956 seem to vanish with each passing year. The commercial development along the main roads is ghastly and ugly.

On the other hand, in more recent years, the population has become much more diverse. I recently met a young Korean-American doctor who graduated my high school in 1995 and said, "Our Korean Club had 40 kids, and all the National Merit scholars were Asian." A far cry from the Jewish/Catholic/mostly white 1950s and 1960s. For a while, you could still see the remants of the old black communities- segregated in fact if not by law- little old houses, a church, unpaved roads. All gone for a subdivision named after something that was mowed over- "Pine Crest of Woods Acres" or some such.
Also on the plus side, the area is completely urbane now. All sorts of restaurants, interest in arts, and not strictly centered on Philadelphia for cultural life as before.
That said, the few times I go back, my skin crawls. Don't know if it's the family thing or the monstrous overdevelopment, but I wouldn't live there again with a large weapon at my head. I suppose it's a good place to raise children. Very good schools, low crime. And housing looks reasonable (at least to these Massachusetts eyes).

[Danny Baiza]

Originally Posted by newjitty

There are certain things I like about NJ (specifically Bergen County). I've read some stories on here about people leaving the Garden State to find themselves missing the pizza, bagels, shore, etc, and rightfully so.

Just curious to hear from anyone who are the opposite and identify leaving NJ as one of the best things they did, and never looked back. Where did you move to, and what is it you like about your location now, and what don't you miss? Thanks.

I left N.j. the Union city area in 96 and I miss the food big time, I'm thinking about going back to plant a church, not sure yet, but I do miss the pizza esp. Benny's Pizza in Hoboken and the shore Seaside-Wildwood, I'm going through wthdrawals it will be 12yrs in Dec/24, oh the cuban food as well perhaps some h.S football games on a friday night.

[BrianH1970]

Originally Posted by NMyTree

And don't forget that North Carolina is very corporate friendly in regards to worker/employee rights. Companies down here can do just about anything they want and employees don't have much recourse or much in the way of state laws protecting them.

True but that's not the main reason as to why companies in New Jersey flee all points south or west. States like New Jersey have been very unfriendly in regards to businesses for years. The cost to operate a business in the state has forced enough of them out. Corzine's signing into law allowing businesses to carry forward operating losses for 20 years, up from the original seven, is most likely going to wind up being a token campaign ploy. Businesses are going to continue leaving New Jersey to places like North Carolina or Pennsylvania not because of it being a "right to work" state (I don't believe Pennsylvania is) but the cost burden no longer makes it feasible for them to stay, especially in this economy.

The states that are more corporate friendly are going to be the ones that thrive on the revenue and contributions those businesses bring to the city and state they reside in. Put up one big company and watch other companies pop up around it, whether they be fast food places, dry cleaning places, etc.. Make it corporate friendly and watch your state economy grow. Drive it away and you might wind up like Michigan. Or like New Jersey and watch them dive right into your pocket in an attempt to avoid making the cuts they should be making.