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Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
23,814 posts, read 34,751,094 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TheEmissary
palmetto75 - Thank you for that post! I think you hit the nail on the head for that one. It's interesting though, that you mention being broke or nearly so, but that's part and parcel of being young in an expensive area! You have an excellent insight into the "friends and family gravitation pull" of NJ for many of its residents.
As chuckles34 has mentioned, your view of your former home tends to reflect your economic circumstances. Most of the people who have moved from NJ to the Charlotte area tend to be middle-class or better by NJ standards which tend to be a lot higher, money-wise, than a middle-class North Carolinian's would be. It's relatively painless to move to NC from NJ!
Can you imagine a reverse move of a middle-class Charlottean to Northern NJ? That's a process I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy! Can you see a family of 4 or so selling their nice all-brick 3000 sq ft home for $300,000 and then shopping for a home 1/3 the size with a tax bill 4 times what they paid in Charlotte. Couple this with the fact that they'd be living in a "inner-ring suburb" of a cr*ppy NJ city at that price point, in a 40-70 year old house! And just wait 'till they shop for car insurance! What fun!!!
LOL, Emissary, truer words were never spoken!
I liked the comment that someone put in a thread on the NJ board. "NC is South Jersey 30 years ago, which isn't a bad thing." I'd say that that averages out to be true. Depending on the specific area, it's 20- 40 years ago, & that's definitely a good thing.
palmetto75 - Thank you for that post! I think you hit the nail on the head for that one. It's interesting though, that you mention being broke or nearly so, but that's part and parcel of being young in an expensive area! You have an excellent insight into the "friends and family gravitation pull" of NJ for many of its residents.
As chuckles34 has mentioned, your view of your former home tends to reflect your economic circumstances. Most of the people who have moved from NJ to the Charlotte area tend to be middle-class or better by NJ standards which tend to be a lot higher, money-wise, than a middle-class North Carolinian's would be. It's relatively painless to move to NC from NJ!
Can you imagine a reverse move of a middle-class Charlottean to Northern NJ? That's a process I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy! Can you see a family of 4 or so selling their nice, all-brick, 3000 sq ft home on a quarter acre for $350,000 and then shopping for a home 1/3 the size with a tax bill 4 times what they paid in Charlotte. Couple this with the fact that they'd be living in a "inner-ring suburb" (with a so-so school district) of a cr*ppy NJ city on a .10 acre lot at that price point, in a 40-70 year old house! And just wait 'till they shop for car insurance! What fun!!!
haha - this could be applied to Long Island just as easily... maybe even much of the TriState area!
I liked the comment that someone put in a thread on the NJ board. "NC is South Jersey 30 years ago, which isn't a bad thing." I'd say that that averages out to be true. Depending on the specific area, it's 20- 40 years ago, & that's definitely a good thing.
You posted that while I was re-editing! Sometimes, NC reminds me of North Jersey 50 years ago! I used to get a laugh out of those NJ CD threads that had titles like "I make $150K and my wife makes $50K - can we make it in NJ?"
The usual response was "Yeah, you'll be O.K.", .... "but just barely"! "Don't think you'll be living "high on the hog" for that paltry sum!
I liked the comment that someone put in a thread on the NJ board. "NC is South Jersey 30 years ago, which isn't a bad thing." I'd say that that averages out to be true. Depending on the specific area, it's 20- 40 years ago, & that's definitely a good thing.
The problem is if the yankees keep piling into NC, in 30 years it will be like NJ and thats not a good thing.
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
23,814 posts, read 34,751,094 times
Reputation: 10256
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheEmissary
You posted that while I was re-editing! Sometimes, NC reminds me of North Jersey 50 years ago! I used to get a laugh out of those NJ CD threads that had titles like "I make $150K and my wife makes $50K - can we make it in NJ?"
The usual response was "Yeah, you'll be O.K.", "but just barely"! "Don't think you'll be living "high on the hog" for that paltry sum!
Good Lord! You could do well on that in South Jersey today!
If I could get that much for oneyear, here in the ever-unfashionable City of Kings Mountain, I could really get myself set up!
Actually, Kings Mountain reminds me of Cherry Hill, when the family moved there in '64.
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
23,814 posts, read 34,751,094 times
Reputation: 10256
Quote:
Originally Posted by cec311
The problem is if the yankees keep piling into NC, in 30 years it will be like NJ and thats not a good thing.
I hate to ruin your weekend, but you ain't seen nuthin' yet. Considering what the new governor is trying to do & is doing there, in a year or two the flood gates will open. Now some will stop in DE & some will stop in VA, but NC has a bullseye on it.
The problem is if the yankees keep piling into NC, in 30 years it will be like NJ and thats not a good thing.
I take a bit of umbrage at that line! I'm sure there was no "hand-wringing of wet hankies" in NC, SC, and Georgia as well as the rest of the South, when the massive migration of poor, rural Southern blacks to Northern cities was taking place in the 50's and 60's. Y'all seem to forget about that, now!
Wasn't NC a "paradise on Earth" back then? Do ask an old-time Newark resident about what it was like in 1955!
The irony is my grandparents moved down from Hoboken about 48 years ago. (Sinatra Anyone???) My dad was 18 when they moved however you would never guess thet he wasn't a born country boy. He adapted well obviously.
When I took the job in Jersey for a grand total of $30K I thought I had hit the lottery. Then I realized 4 of us had to rent a 3 bed house for $2500. My roommates and I luckily befriended the liqour store owner down the street who gave us all the promotional crap nobody wanted to drink even wanted for free.
You are right in saying going back is not an option for most people. If you do it you must do it quickly before the cost of living sticker shock is too much to bear. I know a couple of families that were fighting the urge to go back pretty hard in the initial years, but they toughed it out and love it here now.
The irony is my grandparents moved down from Hoboken about 48 years ago. (Sinatra Anyone???) My dad was 18 when they moved however you would never guess thet he wasn't a born country boy. He adapted well obviously.
When I took the job in Jersey for a grand total of $30K I thought I had hit the lottery. Then I realized 4 of us had to rent a 3 bed house for $2500. My roommates and I luckily befriended the liqour store owner down the street who gave us all the promotional crap nobody wanted to drink even wanted for free.
You are right in saying going back is not an option for most people. If you do it you must do it quickly before the cost of living sticker shock is too much to bear. I know a couple of families that were fighting the urge to go back pretty hard in the initial years, but they toughed it out and love it here now.
We Jersey Folks are very adaptable because we've "seen it all", "done it all" and then some! The funny thing with Hoboken is, is that it's now a Yuppie Paradise and those old "tenement-type houses" have been transformed into upscale brownstones and if your Dad still owned a nice one, he could sell it and be living in Myers Park with a new BMW and a few bucks to spare!
Now, for all of you ex-New Jerseyans who might have gotten a little home-sick, yearning for those "pizzas of yore", I've found some "real estate bargains" that you cannot simply pass up!
This baby is perfect for those who don't want to stretch that budget in returning to the Garden State. This house is really good for those who have tired of looking at 2 bank buildings and a few half-filled high-rise condos!
You get that nice view of Manhattan for not alot of money when you think about it! Who knew, that with "only" a $450,000 yearly property tax bill on this home, you could keep 2 Charlotte Libraries open all by yourself!
For those of you that consider the above home too cookie-cutter for your tastes, I suggest a look at this little beauty in Alpine! It ought to impress your friends who live in one of those "Sleeze by the Sea" homes in the Hamptons. MikeyKid - you know those types! Royal Pains to be sure! It's part of a new development ....and the original old house nearby, is on sale for only $57 million! It might make a great clubhouse!!
If you get home-sick for your old Charlotte home, you might consider using it as a "Christmas decoration" in the foyer of this little gem! Who needs those little Dickens Village houses anyway? I know it's hard to "downsize" to 30,000 sq ft from the Biltmore's 75,000, but for 68 million bucks what the h*ll do you expect these days? Hey, times are tough!!!
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Do ask an old-time Newark resident about what it was like in 1955! 
