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I would think Orlando would be a good place to be a chef; especially with all the tourism. Don't expect high pay though.
3/4 of the restaurants there in ord are franchise/chains using prepackacged, portioned controlled food that is heated up by zombies in the kitchen.
Are there any real restaurants near there?
He's be better off heading down south to miami/broward, or west to sarasota or tampa, people are a bit more sophisticated there
I think if you're going because its just cheaper you're making a wrong decision. If you have no interest in NC as a place than I would suggest find someplace where the culture and lifestyle interest you. If its purely because its cheaper I think you're making a mistake. I say be ready to adjust to the place you're at and not try make it like home. Also I don't really understand this fixation on NC. There are 49 other states most of which are cheaper than your current one.
I lived in NJ all my life. I decided to get out because I was also tired of the taxes and weather and needed a change. Don't do it. I moved to Sarasota Florida in 2005. I have three kids. The insurance here on your car and home is more then NJ. The property taxes change with the sales of homes in your area. The laws are different then NJ. Its very very slow in the south. If your use to a active life then don't go south. Its a different life all together. I can't wait to go home.
I moved from NJ to Nashville, Tn a year ago. It was the Best thing we did. My husband asked for a transfer here and moved at same Salary but no state income tax. I traded in a 2200 sq foot house for a 4200sq foot all brick home, for $30,000 less than I received for my home in Manalapan. Taxes are half, and would be moreso now because they received a huge raise this month.
Car Insurance, much less. More things to do, more shopping. Downtown Nashville has Theater, Sports. With the interstate at 70mph nothing is far. Husband traded the long comute to NYC to a 25 min comute by car, which he parks under the building, at no charge.
Since my daughter finished her senior year of HS here and obtained over a 3.0 overall average, Tn offers a Lottery Schlorship which she received. It's on grades not income.
The air is cleaner, people nicer. I joined a club called New Neighbors League and have met people that moved here from all over US and also from England.
There is no way in the world I would move back. Hopefully my son will be moving here soon. It's in his plans.
I moved from NJ to Nashville, Tn a year ago. It was the Best thing we did. My husband asked for a transfer here and moved at same Salary but no state income tax. I traded in a 2200 sq foot house for a 4200sq foot all brick home, for $30,000 less than I received for my home in Manalapan. Taxes are half, and would be moreso now because they received a huge raise this month.
Car Insurance, much less. More things to do, more shopping. Downtown Nashville has Theater, Sports. With the interstate at 70mph nothing is far. Husband traded the long comute to NYC to a 25 min comute by car, which he parks under the building, at no charge.
Since my daughter finished her senior year of HS here and obtained over a 3.0 overall average, Tn offers a Lottery Schlorship which she received. It's on grades not income.
The air is cleaner, people nicer. I joined a club called New Neighbors League and have met people that moved here from all over US and also from England.
There is no way in the world I would move back. Hopefully my son will be moving here soon. It's in his plans.
I'm sure Nashville's pretty cool but I don't know about the more stuff to do part. I really think that depends on what you're looking for. I agree with restless, the south can be pretty slow/laid back. This, however, is in no way a bad thing because many people prefer this though, its that way nonetheless
I've been reading many posts about this and thought I'd throw my opinion in as well. I was born and raised in NJ as was my wife. We moved to Charlotte 8 1/2 years ago. We like the area for it's "newness", weather, and more affordable housing. Yes, the property tax in Charlotte is lower but it's starting to creep up. Also the houses are starting to get a little more expensive. The surrounding counties have increased even more. With all the people moving there to escape the "expensive" living of Charlotte, the taxes can't stay low forever. Who's going to build the infrastructure? Car insurance is cheaper too but there are other factors to think about:
You pay a personal property tax on your car every year. The newer the car, the higher the bill. My wife's 2007 Saturn VUE cost us almost 300 dollars.
Groceries are higher, much higher.
Sales tax is higher. Clothes are taxed.
You pay for a car inspection (I don't remember that being the case in NJ)
Income tax is much higher.....as a comparison using 50k as an example, married filing jointly in NC is 7%, in NJ it's 1.75% (using bankrate.com for these numbers....contact your accountant for exact details, I am not one!)
No matter where you go they're going to get their money one way or another!
Also, in my opinion, the schools aren't run very well. The area we live in has great schools and great teachers (some of which I know personally) but the school board is a mess.
We now have two small children and all of our family and friends still live in NJ. So now it becomes a choice of what's important to us and use that to determine whether to stay or go back to NJ.
We miss our family, they miss us. Even after 8 years my wife hasn't fully embraced NC as the place she wants to live. It's almost certain we'll be moving back, I say almost because after almost 2 years of searching, I'm struggling to find a job.
It's helpful to get the input of others who are familiar and have gone through what you're thinking about but it boils down to what's best for YOU. Like previous posts, research, research and research. List pros and cons, prioritize what's important to you and base your decision on that. You can take the opinions of others to help point you in the right direction but ultimately, it's something you need to decide on your own.
For my wife and me, NJ is still and always will be "home". With children now and family members having children, being closer to family is what's important for us. I'm not looking to skyrocket up in my living style, as soon as I can find a job that will pay me an amount to keep the style of living we're used to, we'll be going back.
[quote=Diane Giam;1090815]I moved from NJ to Nashville, Tn a year ago. It was the Best thing we did. My husband asked for a transfer here and moved at same Salary but no state income tax.
IMO: The key phrase here is SAME SALARY.
Here's my short story.
I'm a Jersey Girl. I moved to Tampa Florida for a few years. I worked at a large Bank in Tampa which was headquartered in NY. The head honchos were "given" a transfer to Tampa WITH their big fat NY salaries. They purchased fancy cars, joined the Country Club and purchased mansions. They were set for life. I was not part of the transfer and I joined the company from an outside firm. I left my position back in NJ, leaving my meager 37k salary and thought, WOW when they look at my resume in Tampa they will surely make me a great offer. HA- After several months being unemployed I finally had an interview at a large corporation. I started at 14k. Bottom of the barrel. There were 10 other girls in the office (wearing low low cut tops) hoping to get the position that I filled. I'm back home now- thank god. Life lesson for sure !
Whatever you decide, good luck. Keep an open mind and open eyes.
Location: Lived Large in Parsippany NJ - Lived Larger in Livingston, NJ -- Now Living Huge in Bethlehem PA
466 posts, read 2,201,285 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by StaceyNJ
Anyone contemplating relocating from Jersey to another State? Our family is thinking about relocating to NC next year...the property taxes are getting higher and higher....the auto ins is high and there seems to be no end in site...and unfortunately as the cost of living goes up it doesnt seem the salaries are going up to compensate for the COL. Like to hear your thoughts...
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Zoom zoom zoom and never look back ..... bye bye New Jersey it was nice knowing you..!!!!
My husband and I are relocating from NJ this month. We've traveled around the U.S. a bit over the years and decided we'd be happier in a slightly slower-paced, less built up environment - of course the cost of living is a huge factor, too.
So we did our homework; made lists of places we really liked, and then found out what the average salary was at these places for our lines of work. We checked out the Raleigh, NC area (the pay for what my husband does is actually higher there than it is here in NJ), but we didn't care for it. It felt very similar to NJ except for a lack of Italian restaurants and more trailers. Also my husband disliked the idea of being that far from a major league sports team.
Eventually we decided on the Kansas City, MO metro area. We visited and really liked it - super friendly people, very low cost of living, major league sports teams, plenty of recreational opportunities. The average pay for what my husband does is also slightly higher there than it is in NJ, which was a real surprise. (The average pay for what I do is lower, but I'm going to be a stay at home mom in the next year or two so we base all of our expenses on my husband's salary alone.)
I have no idea if it will work out in the long run. I feel confident it will, but until we are there, who knows? If it doesn't work out for us in Missouri though, we won't be returning to NJ. Whatever you decide, best of luck.
I think many who choose to leave New Jersey stay on the east coast, and go south, because it's closer to the northeast, (you can drive back in a day) and the i-95 corridor has been previously traveled, so there is a perception of at least a vague familiarity of the states, often because one passed through areas on their way to Disneyland or Myrtle Beach. The midwest is more mainstream American. The southeast culturally is somewhat of an anamoly compared to other parts of the country (the same can also be said of New Englan). The further west you go, the more homongenous lifestyles are (as well as accents). I live in New Mexico now, (relocated from New Jersey) and this lifestyle is the flip side of everything New Jersey has to offer. I could make positive points for both places, but I had to consider cost of living and raising a family. Although I sometimes miss family and friends from back home, I wouldn't move back there. Ultimately, they don't pay your bills. You do.
We are actually making the move from NJ in 2-3 weeks. You have to decide what is right for you. There are always positives and negatives to everything so you do have to keep that in mind. You could always move back if you don't like it.
Location: Some got six month some got one solid. But me and my buddies all got lifetime here
4,555 posts, read 10,417,247 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bigbri20
We miss our family, they miss us. Even after 8 years my wife hasn't fully embraced NC as the place she wants to live. It's almost certain we'll be moving back, I say almost because after almost 2 years of searching, I'm struggling to find a job.
You haven't worked down here in NC in almost two years????
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Same salary
Consider west, not south
