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My boyfriend and I are moving from California to the East Coast. He's working in the heart of NYC while my job is in East Hanover. We are looking for a place together where we can both commute (him by train and me by car).
1) We're both in our middle to late 20's. So no family, no kids, ect. Ideally looking for a town with activities for young-ish folks.
2) We're working professionals earning low six-figure salaries each and looking for the most tax-friendly areas for our income levels.
3) We are renting obviously.
Coming from CA, we are used to high rent so the figures here will not shock us. That said, we would both like to be as economical as possible (while still living in a decent place) since we will need to save for the future. We would like the commute to be as equal as possible for both of us, while being as strategic as possible. Things that are most important to us, in order:
1) Commute times
2) Cost and location (safe, attractive, have things to do, ect)
Although I have some ideas, I would love to hear people's thoughts on this (seeing I haven't a clue besides looking at a map). Thanks in advance for your inputs.
I think you're better off being a little east of E. Hanover to cut your BF's commute. Check out Montclair; your commute will be shorter, but his would be reasonable (depending where exactly "heart of NYC" is). Montclair has an active downtown with lots of restaurants.
I think you're better off being a little east of E. Hanover to cut your BF's commute. Check out Montclair; your commute will be shorter, but his would be reasonable (depending where exactly "heart of NYC" is). Montclair has an active downtown with lots of restaurants.
Agreed, Montclair would be a great choice with good rental options and a decent commute for both of you.
You could also consider downtown Jersey City--the commute to NYC is a breeze, and the commute to East Hanover wouldn't be too painful. You'd have a better commute from Montclair, but the tradeoff would be Jersey City's proximity to NYC. More rentals available, too.
Thanks for the inputs. Why Montclair as opposed to South Orange? I looked on a map and South Orange would be a closer commute for both of us. I like the idea of Jersey City. Is it reasonable to think it will be about a 40 min commute for both of us from Jersey City?
What do you mean by "tax friendly" areas? Since you're renting, you won't have property taxes and your income tax situation should be the same anywhere in NJ...
(or is this just why you are thinking NJ instead of NYC?)
What do you mean by "tax friendly" areas? Since you're renting, you won't have property taxes and your income tax situation should be the same anywhere in NJ...
(or is this just why you are thinking NJ instead of NYC?)
Oh I see I wasn't sure. In Cali taxes vary depending on where you live (at least the sales tax). I don't know too much about finances, I heard several mention this to me and I didn't know they were referring to property tax, income tax, or something else...
Thanks for the inputs. Why Montclair as opposed to South Orange? I looked on a map and South Orange would be a closer commute for both of us. I like the idea of Jersey City. Is it reasonable to think it will be about a 40 min commute for both of us from Jersey City?
Montclair has more restaurants and shops than South Orange. South Orange is more of a "bedroom community", though it does have a small downtown area.
Jersey City would be a less equal commute (closer to NYC, further from East Hanover), but certainly practical.
Income taxes are the same anywhere in NJ (much lower than if you live in NYC, where there's an extra 4% or so); there are places in NJ with lower sales taxes (though that may be going away), but you don't have to live there to take advantage of it.
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