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SC has some pretty crappy areas too. I'm not sure if you've ever ventured off the coast, but there are quite a few rundown podunk towns down there too. Even more than are in NC where I currently live; and NC is a much larger state in population and land area......... ever been to some of the inland towns; Societly Hill for example? Pretty much every town in SC with a population of less than 50k that isn't on the coast is kind of dumpy too. All states have bad areas that can give the whole place a bad reputation.
They live there because its to expensive to live in NYC and Philly. Most people who live there do so because that's where they are from. I'll admit it, there are a few nice places in NJ but 75% of the state is worthless including every single city that has atleast 40,000 people. More than enough reason not to enjoy living there.
It is just as expensive as NYC. Where is it cheaper in NJ than in any of the 'other 4 boros' outside Manhattan??
North & Central NJ is really a large six & seventh of boro of NYC and most people who live that part of NJ think of themselves as regular NY'ers since technically most of North / Central Jersey is part of the NYC metro area and really no different than Queens or Nassau county...
It is just as expensive as NYC. Where is it cheaper in NJ than in any of the 'other 4 boros' outside Manhattan??
North & Central NJ is really a large six & seventh of boro of NYC and most people who live that part of NJ think of themselves as regular NY'ers since technically most of North / Central Jersey is part of the NYC metro area and really no different than Queens or Nassau county...
SC has some pretty crappy areas too. I'm not sure if you've ever ventured off the coast, but there are quite a few rundown podunk towns down there too. Even more than are in NC where I currently live; and NC is a much larger state in population and land area......... ever been to some of the inland towns; Societly Hill for example? Pretty much every town in SC with a population of less than 50k that isn't on the coast is kind of dumpy too. All states have bad areas that can give the whole place a bad reputation.
So the moral of this story really seems to be that you have to "live within your means". Period.
I put a lot of blame on the marketers and the lending institutions. As was said, they extend credit to people who really don't deserve it, and then those people feel empowered to spend way beyond their means. They give credit to every Tom, ****, & Harry nowadays. No payments for a year, 5% down, interest only mortgages, yada yada yada. Nobody has any equity in anything, and few people have the common sense to realize it. Sure it sounds great..."I get a brand new XYZ car and I don't have to make any payments till the end of next year!!!...Woo-hoo!" Yeah, then when you finally make that first payment, the car probably isn't worth as much as you owe and you're already "upside down". Suddenly it's boo-hoo.
If the lenders would stop extending credit to so many people, forcing people the other direction, it would certainly help!
So the moral of this story really seems to be that you have to "live within your means". Period.
I put a lot of blame on the marketers and the lending institutions. As was said, they extend credit to people who really don't deserve it, and then those people feel empowered to spend way beyond their means. They give credit to every Tom, ****, & Harry nowadays. No payments for a year, 5% down, interest only mortgages, yada yada yada. Nobody has any equity in anything, and few people have the common sense to realize it. Sure it sounds great..."I get a brand new XYZ car and I don't have to make any payments till the end of next year!!!...Woo-hoo!" Yeah, then when you finally make that first payment, the car probably isn't worth as much as you owe and you're already "upside down". Suddenly it's boo-hoo.
If the lenders would stop extending credit to so many people, forcing people the other direction, it would certainly help!
And don't forget people who pay ridiculous rents + large broker fees just so they can live in a trendy neighborhood.
Even in Jersey City a one bedroom is over $1,500 a month in JC Heights or Greenville.
Rents in North / Central Jersey are approaching those of Manhattan and the 'other 4 boros' outside Manhattan.
You cannot live here comfortably on a salary of less than 100K unless you live at home or can live rent free somehow.
Does anyone ever consider that some people live here because this state is their home?
No any kind of mathematical-tax-driving-miles calculations, just plane and simple – NJ is my home.
Also, what constitutes “civilization”?
“its extremely easy to borrow in this country” – so, if it would be easy to borrow in “other” countries then I guess people in “other” countries would have “lowest savings rate of all developed countries in the world”?
Does anyone ever consider that some people live here because this state is their home?
No any kind of mathematical-tax-driving-miles calculations, just plane and simple – NJ is my home.
Also, what constitutes “civilization”?
“its extremely easy to borrow in this country” – so, if it would be easy to borrow in “other” countries then I guess people in “other” countries would have “lowest savings rate of all developed countries in the world”?
Sorry, but I have no idea what you just said.
The point of my original post was that families in NJ make more money, on average, than families in any other state. Yes, our expenses are high as well but the ratio of income/expenses is pretty good. So, my argument is that people should stop buying crap and should start being more fiscally responsible.
“If its so bad, then why 8.7 million people still live here??? Ok, maybe half of those people have circumstances that "force" them to stay in NJ. What about the other half?” – Maybe some people live here because it’s their home. NJ has some kind of sentimental value for them. Not just mathematically planed place of living.
“The point of my original post was that families in NJ make more money, on average, than families in any other state.” – No one is arguing this, we all agree that yes we are making money.
However for most of the families that are making around $50-60K a year the state becomes too expensive to live in.
And saying if “You want low taxes, low bills, etc move to Florida” is not a solution to the existing problem. This benefits Florida and not NJ.
We all established that in the past 2-4 years everyone’s property taxes went up between $4K and $8K. It means that most of the families who are making $50-60K have $4-8K to spend less on “crap”. For families whose income is in this range it is a big impact when suddenly one finds that he has $400 to $800 less a month.
So, “being more fiscally responsible” is not really an answer to the problem. Most of the people are fiscally responsible.
Also, this site states that Internal migration 2000-2004: -135,483
And International migration 2000-2004: +244,994
135,483 is the number of people that moved out to “Florida” where salaries are “extremely low” and 244,994 moved in.
Well, most of the people that moved out are belong to middle-income class.
People that moved in are low-income class, and not members of the Saudi royal family.
This is not really healthy situation for the state.
“could never live anywhere that's too far from civilization” –very bold statement…“Civilization” only around NYC and maybe some area of NJ (I guess Hoboken)…
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