Reason to sell (Atlantic City: buying, college, incomes)

[zizi7]

Originally Posted by Bill Keegan

I'm sorry, I was a bit unclear in my question.
Your original post had some very specific numbers in it, as though you had already picked the house and know exactly what it will cost, but don't know if you can afford that. IS this true, or did I misread? If it's true, how did that come to be?
And for the record, I'm also originally from NY and now in NJ. We don't regret it.

We didn't pick a house yet but found a town we like, Paramus, so we know the ballpark of taxes on a house we hopefuly can afford. I know I wasn't very specific about my question, I guess what I meant was can people in similar circumstances afford comfortable lifestyle. I just saw so many people complaing about having to have to leave the state for financial reasons a started questioning our decision. Not that I don't do that all the time anyway Its just that we are used to pretty comfortable life, nothing extraordinary, 2 vacations a year, classes for kids, etc. and I don't know if that changes with mortgage and maintaing a house..

[Bill Keegan]

Originally Posted by zizi7

We didn't pick a house yet but found a town we like, Paramus, so we know the ballpark of taxes on a house we hopefuly can afford. I know I wasn't very specific about my question, I guess what I meant was can people in similar circumstances afford comfortable lifestyle. I just saw so many people complaing about having to have to leave the state for financial reasons a started questioning our decision. Not that I don't do that all the time anyway Its just that we are used to pretty comfortable life, nothing extraordinary, 2 vacations a year, classes for kids, etc. and I don't know if that changes with mortgage and maintaing a house..

It absolutely changes, especially if you aren't careful.
Try this, just for ballpark numbers.
You say a mortgage of $400k. I'll assume that means you have the 20% down payment to avoid PMI, making the house price $500k. If you have a good credit score you may be able to get a 30 year fixed rate mortgage at 5.5%. That would make your monthly principal & interest payment roughly $2,271. Add to that one twelfth of the taxes, or $667, and another $70 for home insurance (which is probably a little on the high side, but not terribly). So you're on the hook for about $3k per month. Then you'll want to build up a fund for repairs & maintenance, especially if you spent all yrou available cash to buy the place. Commonly, a range of roughly 1-3% of the home's value is used to estimate yearly maintenance cost. If we call it 2%, that would be $10k. (That is an average that will change depending on the specific house and it's condition, so keep that in mind. If the place is brand new, or if all the major systems & appliances were replaced, you'll likely see a few years of significanlty lower expenses.) That would be about $833 per month. Round up and call the total monthly nut about $4,000. How does that compare to your current housing expense?

Of course, there are a ton of other factors, some working in your favor, others not. It sounds like you might be a first time buyer. If you purchase that $500k house BEFORE December 1 2009, you'll probably qualify for the First Time Home Buyer Credit, netting you a tax credit of $8,000. Additionally, the interest you pay on your mortgage is tax deductable in most cases as well, so that will put a few dollars back in yru pocket too. How much does your commute change? Will it cost you more or less to get to work? Do you currently pay your own utilities, or is that built into the rent? Yes, there are some other things to consider as well, but I've gone on long enough.

[tahiti]

Originally Posted by FlyersFan

I'm not even sure why your posting on this thread........the OPs question was why are people leaving New Jersey........not why are they staying......next post try to be a little more relevant to the question.

hey, next time you accuse someone of taking a thread off topic, look towards yourself, understood?

http://www.city-data.com/forum/8913155-post4.html

http://www.city-data.com/forum/new-j...ml#post9124409

i could find many more. so stop playing thread police.

[NatasNJ]

Originally Posted by FlyersFan

OK Borat

People leave NJ and this thread is asking why people have left. I posted stating that I did LEAVE NJ and that I came back. Moving to an area where the cost of living was cheaper might have been dollar wise the smart move but the quality of life to me was not the same. Maybe I picked the wrong place in my move. Maybe NJ is just always going to be high on my list of places to live. So my posts are 100% on topic if you ask me.

There are so many threads of people moving to other states and some people love it. Good for them. No reason to live in NJ if you hate it. Plently of places in this country that offer different things for different folks. But to harp so much on why you hate NJ and yet still live here, I just don't get it.

[DailyJournalist]

Originally Posted by NatasNJ

People leave NJ and this thread is asking why people have left. I posted stating that I did LEAVE NJ and that I came back. Moving to an area where the cost of living was cheaper might have been dollar wise the smart move but the quality of life to me was not the same. Maybe I picked the wrong place in my move. Maybe NJ is just always going to be high on my list of places to live. So my posts are 100% on topic if you ask me.

There are so many threads of people moving to other states and some people love it. Good for them. No reason to live in NJ if you hate it. Plently of places in this country that offer different things for different folks. But to harp so much on why you hate NJ and yet still live here, I just don't get it.

What people like FlyersFan seem to never talk about is all the people and young professionals moving in to New Jersey daily for better opportunities.

[mike0421]

Originally Posted by CaptainNJ

im confused, northeast cities are different than cities in oklahoma, ohio, indiana, arizona, etc. etc.?

Yes, for the most part. Not as much Ohio or Indiana. It goes back to historical geography, and land use planning, in a spatial construct. The obvious factor here revolves around the evolution of the automobile. Most northeast cities were settled prior to the invention of the automobile. NJ is in a unique position in this manner because many of the inner core suburban towns comprise what were some of the only pre-car era suburbs, which means towns such as Hoboken, much of Bergen County and inner Camden County are built to a more human scale. Towns such as Haddonfield or Summit are rare on a national level. Not coincidentally, they have some of the most desirable real estate. And that's because at heart, this way of living is more desirable to the masses.

[fay111]

I know of many people leaving NJ not because they "hate" it-but they can't afford a decent quality of life here. While the cost of living has always been high here, the erosion of the middle class is accelerating in this country, and that is forcing people out. Yes, there are many people making incomes high enough to stay - but more and more are not. Think of all the job changes in recent years - UPS workers on a 2 tier salary, administrative assts. whose starting salaries have barely budged in a decade, workers whose hours are cut or haven't gotten a decent raise in years - the list goes on and on. Many are hardworking people who can't ever afford a house here (and no, I don't mean a McMansion - just a modest house for their family). I know quite a few who have moved to PA for this reason - most of them didn't want to leave, but felt they had no choice. Because NJ has such high property values and taxes, more and more are moving. Because of the erosion of the middle class in this country I think this will continue for some time.

[colleeng47]

Ok, I thought I would post a funny story to break the tension this thread has developed.

My 19 year old son is the holdout in our move. He's not happy here in OK and wants to go back to NJ/PA. On spring break in March he went back to NJ to stay with friends for the week. He loves everything Philly and spent a lot of time there, eating his favorite (Philly Cheese Steak). After he came back, feeling a little blue, he went to the mall with some friends. There was a counter at the food court advertising Philly Cheese Steaks. He ordered one and was looking forward to it until the man behind the counter asked him if he wanted mayo, lettuce and tomatoes on it. Somehow he knew then it wasn't going to be like Philly. . . . . .

[mike0421]

Originally Posted by colleeng47

Ok, I thought I would post a funny story to break the tension this thread has developed.

My 19 year old son is the holdout in our move. He's not happy here in OK and wants to go back to NJ/PA. On spring break in March he went back to NJ to stay with friends for the week. He loves everything Philly and spent a lot of time there, eating his favorite (Philly Cheese Steak). After he came back, feeling a little blue, he went to the mall with some friends. There was a counter at the food court advertising Philly Cheese Steaks. He ordered one and was looking forward to it until the man behind the counter asked him if he wanted mayo, lettuce and tomatoes on it. Somehow he knew then it wasn't going to be like Philly. . . . . .

Once you start traveling west of Oklahoma, pineapples begin to emerge as a topping choice for pizzas. I am sure your son would just stand in line for the opportunity to place this order.

[NatasNJ]

Originally Posted by colleeng47

Ok, I thought I would post a funny story to break the tension this thread has developed.

My 19 year old son is the holdout in our move. He's not happy here in OK and wants to go back to NJ/PA. On spring break in March he went back to NJ to stay with friends for the week. He loves everything Philly and spent a lot of time there, eating his favorite (Philly Cheese Steak). After he came back, feeling a little blue, he went to the mall with some friends. There was a counter at the food court advertising Philly Cheese Steaks. He ordered one and was looking forward to it until the man behind the counter asked him if he wanted mayo, lettuce and tomatoes on it. Somehow he knew then it wasn't going to be like Philly. . . . . .

People in TX put Mayo on EVERYTHING. So gross.