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New Jersey doesn't offer Broadway shows.....New York does. Hunter Mountain is in New York....not New Jersey and the other items you cited can all be found in other states......half of what you have offered as "unmatched" in New Jersey isn't even in New Jersey and the rest can all be found elsewhere.......the point was that New Jerseys outrageous taxes are worth it because of what NJ has to offer thats "unmatched" and so far no one has offered anything thats actually unmatched that makes the taxes worth it ?
Thats the great thing about the NJ metro areas is that we can enjoy everything NJ has to offer and also what our neighboring states have to offer. We are truly in an excellent location.
Thats the great thing about the NJ metro areas is that we can enjoy everything NJ has to offer and also what our neighboring states have to offer. We are truly in an excellent location.
The point of the discussion was what NJ had to offer that made it "unmatched" and worth the outrageous property taxes and all your offering what what the neigboring states offer......no one is offering anything from NJ that makes it "unmatched"......only neighboring states......based upon your offerings logic confirms NJ really has nothing unmatched to offer and its better to live in one of the neighboring states and pay less taxes.
The point of the discussion was what NJ had to offer that made it "unmatched" and worth the outrageous property taxes and all your offering what what the neigboring states offer......no one is offering anything from NJ that makes it "unmatched"......only neighboring states......based upon your offerings logic confirms NJ really has nothing unmatched to offer and its better to live in one of the neighboring states and pay less taxes.
You dont understand the point we are trying to make rather than that there is no point. NJ is all about the location. It hard to day trip from states like Delaware (that another poster mentioned) to the City or from PA to the beach but obviously those things do not matter to you.
Proximity to all of the things mentioned (several of which were in NJ), and I can't believe I forgot that it has the best schools in the area. Ranked 4th as compared to PA at 25th and NY is a closer 5th.
Yet Camden was ranked as the second most dangerous city in the country. Even worst than Detroit!
I'm not disputing the data. I'm glad to see New Jersey ranked as #16. Considering our population, the rank isn't too shabby. But it's all relative. While the suburbs are safe, most of New Jersey's cities aren't very desirable.
Literally EVERY state has cheaper property taxes than NJ and most have a lower cost of living.......you make NJ sound like utopia because they have roads, public transportaion, libraries, schools, beaches, culture, amenities and entertainment ? Well.....heres a news flash.....other states have good roads, public transportation, libraries, parks, schools, beaches, etc. too !!! Just for the record I'd be very interested for you to list exactly what you consider the culture, amenities and entertainment within New Jersey that you consider unmatched by any other state.
Correct, every state does have cheaper property taxes and a lower cost of living. Guess what? They have lower salaries to go along with a lower cost of living. NJ ranks number 1 out of all 50 states for median household income.
Quality of life is only top notch if you have an infinite amount of money to spend. Everyone else makes tough compromises. The fact that quality of life is excellent in Short Hills doesn't help if you're on a Jersey City/Newark sized housing budget.
Even if you have a lot to spend, if you're a Manhattan commuter, you still have to suck up a lengthy commute.
A person doesn't have to make a ton of money to have a good quality of life. The last time I checked road conditions, public transit, libraries, parks and public school systems were free or close to being free.
So, you get stuck in a lengthy commute. What is the big deal? Citizens of Los Angeles, Atlanta, Boston and Miami have lenghty commutes too, all big cities do.
Yet Camden was ranked as the second most dangerous city in the country. Even worst than Detroit!
I'm not disputing the data. I'm glad to see New Jersey ranked as #16. Considering our population, the rank isn't too shabby. But it's all relative. While the suburbs are safe, most of New Jersey's cities aren't very desirable.
What you have to keep in mind is that Camden is a very small city of 80 thousand and that is a very small part of the equation of a state with almost 9 million people. In addition, only 33 of the 332 homicides commited in NJ were in Camden.
Camden murders down 40% in 2009, leading N.J. decline | Philadelphia Inquirer | 12/30/2009 (http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20091230_Camden_murders_down_40__in_2009__leading_ N_J__decline.html - broken link)
Correct, every state does have cheaper property taxes and a lower cost of living. Guess what? They have lower salaries to go along with a lower cost of living. NJ ranks number 1 out of all 50 states for median household income.
A person doesn't have to make a ton of money to have a good quality of life. The last time I checked road conditions, public transit, libraries, parks and public school systems were free or close to being free.
So, you get stuck in a lengthy commute. What is the big deal? Citizens of Los Angeles, Atlanta, Boston and Miami have lenghty commutes too, all big cities do.
Great post, thats what I love about the NJ metro.
where-to-find-the-fattest-paychecks.html: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance (http://finance.yahoo.com/career-work/article/107793/where-to-find-the-fattest-paychecks.html?mod=career-salary_negotiation - broken link)
I don't know about all the other transplants, but I'm not taking a hit on compensation as a result of moving out. So I'm not relying on savings I put away in NJ.
If you're earning anything less than about 150k or so, your dollars will buy you a better standard of living outside NJ.
I don't agree with this. Many of the things that are touted as being part of this "better quality of life" -- e.g. top school districts, low crime -- you don't get these without buying into one of the upscale suburbs. If you can't afford to buy into such a place, you're out of luck. If you're a Manhattan commuter, you can add commute time, and probably working hours to the list of things that negatively affect your "quality of life".
When I looked into this, I found that by most of these "quality of life" measures, I could afford a vastly superior "quality of life" in PA.
So it's not as if people are moving from NJ to a state with low standards of living and sky high poverty. Indeed, the states that people move to, is much the same as the states they are moving from, but more are moving out than moving in.
The places people are moving to are awful.
Florida has zero jobs and is for retirees. North Carolina, Georgia and Texas offer low wage jobs, hillbilly culture, bad school systems and are poverty stricken. The whole state of Michigan has collapsed, no economy.
I can see someone moving to NY, PA, CA, VA or MA though.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GS37
I actually find that NJ's roads are far worse than most other states in which I drive. There are potholes all over the place, the entrance/exit ramps are all messed up and our bridges and overpasses look like they could come crashing down at any moment. I have an engineer friend who's a bridge inspector and he just shakes his head at the state of our roadways.
And what's so great about NJ Transit? Granted, I don't live in North Jersey so maybe it's better closer to NYC, but the trains always seem overcrowded, smelly and expensive. Train fare is very pricey compared to most places, and they usually hit you up for parking as well. Plus, they recently said they were going to raise fares 25% and cut service. Doesn't sound great to me.
I will say that NJ's state parks are excellent, and are very well maintained. NJ's beaches are also cleaner than most other states and the water quality is better thanks to superior environmental testing.
As far as "culture," that's in the eye of the beholder. Despite some nice parks and well-funded libraries (which are nice) I wouldn't say New Jersey offers a better quality of life - especially when you have the added stress of being able to afford living here.
I find the road conditions in New Jersey to be pleasant. Also, New Jersey ranks extremely low for wrecks and jughandles are provided throughout the state, which most other states don't have.
Yeah, NJ transit is great! I would bet huge money, New Jersey has the best public transit system out of all 50 states, loving the new line going to The Meadowlands.
What you have to keep in mind is that Camden is a very small city of 80 thousand and that is a very small part of the equation of a state with almost 9 million people. In addition, only 33 of the 332 homicides commited in NJ were in Camden.
Camden murders down 40% in 2009, leading N.J. decline | Philadelphia Inquirer | 12/30/2009 (http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20091230_Camden_murders_down_40__in_2009__leading_ N_J__decline.html - broken link)
So....10% of all the murders in a state of 9 million people were committed in a very small area......that sounds pretty dangerous to me ?
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