living cost between Madison, WI and New Jersey (Jersey City, Passaic: fit in, best neighborhoods)

[yan]

Hi,

I got an job offer from New York and with the bonus my yearly salary will be around $150,000. Currently I am working in Madison, WI and makes a little over $100,000 a year.

I plan to buy a house in North NJ and hope the commute is less than 45 minutes. I have looked at the house in north NJ and it looks very expensive.

Could anyone comment how is the living cost comparing North NJ and Madison?

I have a family and my wife stays at home. My daughter is about 4 years old so we hope we can find a safe town with a good school.

Based on my research, I have almost decided to decline the offer because of the much high cost of home in NJ.

Any comment or suggestion are welcome.

Thanks a lot
Yani

[MPBsr]

Originally Posted by yan

Hi,

I got an job offer from New York and with the bonus my yearly salary will be around $150,000. Currently I am working in Madison, WI and makes a little over $100,000 a year.

I plan to buy a house in North NJ and hope the commute is less than 45 minutes. I have looked at the house in north NJ and it looks very expensive.

Could anyone comment how is the living cost comparing North NJ and Madison?

I have a family and my wife stays at home. My daughter is about 4 years old so we hope we can find a safe town with a good school.

Based on my research, I have almost decided to decline the offer because of the much high cost of home in NJ.

Any comment or suggestion are welcome.

Thanks a lot
Yani

Any decent house, good neighborhood with less than a 45 minute commute into NYC will be $750,000+ and could be $12,000+ in real estate taxes.

Compare that to what you have right now.

[Obrero]

Originally Posted by MPBsr

Any decent house, good neighborhood with less than a 45 minute commute into NYC will be $750,000+ and could be $12,000+ in real estate taxes.

Compare that to what you have right now.

And if the taxes are only $12,000 you are getting a deal!

[stevemorse]

you can get a decent house for 450,000 not 750,000. I live in Hillsdale , NJ and would be happy to sell you my house!!!!!

[yan]

Originally Posted by MPBsr

Any decent house, good neighborhood with less than a 45 minute commute into NYC will be $750,000+ and could be $12,000+ in real estate taxes.

Compare that to what you have right now.

Property tax in Madison,WI is not low either. Our house is around $260,000 and our property tax is about $4800.

$750,000 is close to our limit but we are not looking for big house. 1500 squre feet 3 bed room house will be enough for us as long as it is not too old and needs too much maitainance.

Also, Could you recomment as what town might meet our needs? I am chinese if that matters.

Thanks again for the answer
Yani

[elfff]

hi yani,

i'm a somewhat recent midwest transplant (new jersey to chicago), and almost a year later i find myself still adjusting to the culture shock and cost-of-living. don't get me wrong: the COL seems much lower in chicago -- it's amazing to work in a major metropolitan area that you can actually afford to live in!!

i grew up in a nice town in northern nj and went to school at rutgers (new brunswick).. even in college, to rent a *bedroom* in a house in what was essentially a NB slum (ok, all of NB is kind of sketchy but up-and-coming) was $600/month -- and this was almost 10 years ago! my sister lives in a near suburb of nyc (wyckoff) which, granted, is pretty expensive, but they paid over $500k for a 1 bedroom+small office/den home about 8 years ago; they added a few rooms and now their home is worth nearly $1.2mil -- you don't want to know what their property tax amounts to! if i had to make a sweeping generalization about housing costs from NJ to chicago, i'd say that the price ranges are the same but you can expect a whole lot less for your dollar in nj.. if you want less than a 45min morning commute into the city and a beautiful suburban neighborhood with expansive yards and and white picket fences, don't expect to get a bargain.

that having been said, these differences are really only apparent after you've lived somewhere else. i never realized how much nicer an affordable apartment could be until i moved out here! it really comes down to what you can live without. if you're willing to commute an hour into the city, you may have more options -- but keep in mind that once you get *into* manhattan, it can still take quite some time to get to your destination. you might want to check some stops along the nj transit lines to help cut down on your commute.. driving into the city is a no-no.. the first time i saw morning traffic into chicago, i laughed -- no comparison to the hell that is the nyc morning commute.

i feel as though i've stressed all of the negatives, so let me take a moment to add some balance to this post. despite everything i've written above, my husband and i can't wait to return to the east coast. a few of the pluses:

1. the diversity. (i've never seen so many white faces as i have out here -- as an asian-american who has been surrounded with diversity all my life in nj, this is something of a shock. i've had strangers come up to me as i'm grocery shopping to share with me how they fought in the korean war.. what?!!?) it's like waking up one morning to find that society has regressed about 10 years... co-workers here say "indians" when they mean "native americans".. hardly anyone recycles.. and i hear people at work openly refer to jews as though they're pygmy refugees! this sort of vocal ignorance is so incredibly foreign to me.. i'm sure that there is an equal amount of racism and ignorance in nj, but the key difference is that at least they know to keep their mouths shut!!

2. the pace of life. i find that people move incredibly slowly out here, it actually drives me crazy! slow drivers stay in the left lane, bank and store personnel feel as though they need to have entire conversations with you before running your transaction, etc. i've given the matter some thought i and think that this has to do with the way courtesy is expressed in the midwest and east coast. in the midwest, you're a decent and courteous individual if you try to make someone feel welcome; in the nyc metropolitan area, the best way to show respect for someone is to respect the fact that their time is precious, so don't waste it!

3. you'll be near the most exciting, vibrant, intellectually stimulating city in the world. but just a few more words on location... if you choose to live in central nj and take nj transit to the city, you'll be equi-distance from nyc and philadelphia. if you can get a $150k job in nyc, you could easily get one in philadelphia. philly is probably a whole lot closer to what you have in madison, AND it's actually affordable to live in the city (by east coast standards)! it also has beautiful suburbs in both nj and pa.

i am, of course, a bit biased but i can't imagine having had a better childhood environment than my east coast upbringing. it does have its tough parts, of course -- nj isn't known for its gracious manners and finishing schools! -- but our public schools are among the best in the nation, we have two top research universities in the state (princeton and rutgers), and we consistently rank among the most diverse populations in the country. notice how i still think i live there?

i hope some of this this ramble helps you make your decision!

ps. i forgot to mention nj car insurance rates. my husband is considering a position in madison and when we were told that car insurance is ~$600, our reactions were: per month?

[TomWaits]

Just for fun, I found a site where I plugged in what $100k gets you in Madison vs living in NJ...
44.7% more expensive to live in Bergen-Passaic, New Jersey than Madison
37.9% more expensive to live in Middlesex-Somerset-Hunterdon, New Jersey than Madison, Wisconsin
It's only 25% more expensive to live in Jersey City... but you don't

Not only is it more expensive... as elfff mentioned there's the whole car insurance thing. But chances are you will be travelling back to WI to visit family and friends.

NJ is a great place to live, but if you are used to a "certain standard of living"... the extra $50 ain't gonna cut it.
Moderator cut: linking to competitors sites is not allowed

[herreraj]

Hi Yan , I am currently selling my home to relocate near relatives. My home is for sale at Foxtons.com. I live in a town in Northbrunswick , nj . Blue ribbon schools. Dead end and friendly neighborhood with children of different ages. My home is a ranch that has 4 bedrooms with a 3/4 acre back yard and nice front yard. We are selling for $550,000. Transportation by train is only 5 min to go into NY and is approx. 45 min to get there . we live in one of the best neighborhoods and we are very diverse. there are many asian population living in the Brunswick are with churches. We have lots and losts of shopping areas near by. Your kids will love it. We currently have 3 children ourselves who are under 10yrs.

I hope you make the right decision and may God bless you and your family.

[Diane Giam]

Originally Posted by yan

Hi,

I got an job offer from New York and with the bonus my yearly salary will be around $150,000. Currently I am working in Madison, WI and makes a little over $100,000 a year.

I plan to buy a house in North NJ and hope the commute is less than 45 minutes. I have looked at the house in north NJ and it looks very expensive.

Could anyone comment how is the living cost comparing North NJ and Madison?

I have a family and my wife stays at home. My daughter is about 4 years old so we hope we can find a safe town with a good school.

Based on my research, I have almost decided to decline the offer because of the much high cost of home in NJ.

Any comment or suggestion are welcome.

Thanks a lot
Yani

Yan, don't take the relocation. NJ is much more expensive on everything, Houses , Taxes, Car Insurance, Electric, you name it.
Your real estate tax is on the low side for NJ. I left last year, moved to Nashville, Tn. It's the best thing I ever did in my life. Fyi, and my real estate tax is in the mid 3's. Electric $200 a month on a 4200 sq foot house, paid $500 a month in NJ on 2200 sq feet.
Diane in Music City

[familymom]

We live in Warren, Somerset County, NJ. We have a large Asian community among us. Our homes may be higher in price but our taxes are alittle better for the size of the lots. Berkley Height (rated one of the nices towns, Money Magazine) is our neighbor and they have a train to get into the city. Most people who live in Berkley Heights want to move into Warren because of the property sizes and more rural feel. We are 45 min. to NYC. Good Luck, at a salary of 150 you will fit in to most neighborhoods fine.