The essential NJ survival guide: A resource to all moving or considering a move to NJ (Newark: houses, construction)
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Plenty of people from NJ move to NC. This is because cost of living is cheaper, life is slower, and you can get a much bigger house for your money in NC than you can here. I know of at least three families from my neighborhood alone who have done this and listed those reasons as why they loved it so much down south. They also miss NJ, though. NYC proximity and beaches (two of the people I know moved to NC about three hours from a beach, coming from a half hour to a beach in NJ) are things they usually miss.
As for gun laws, we are the most densely populated state in the nation. Owning a gun is not a good idea somewhere that is so heavily and closely populated. It can only cause problems, so no, getting a gun is not easy and having one may not always be legal. We do have woods but we don't really have forests, we just lack room. It's also illegal to hunt in NJ I believe for that sole reason, we just don't have to room to safely use guns really of any kind.
I assure you, the two major highways you said you've only been on in NJ do not do it justice. Come here yourself, truly come here, and see if you like it before you decide based on what your friends who moved, probably because they could no longer afford it here, have told you. And by the way, moving from here is totally understandable because it is ridiculously expensive. Pretty much everything is overpriced. Some people can't afford it, some can't deal with it and I have no problem with people leaving for either of those two reasons.
If I went there a lot or had family there, I'm sure I would find something about the state that I liked. I love eating, so I'm sure I would love sampling Italian restaurants, pizza parlors & sub shops. I'm sure your cities offer good night life, etc. though I am a bit past my prime for night life. I love beaches too. BTW, many NC communities are much closer to the beaches than 2-3 hours. Wilmington, our major port city, is a beach town & many smaller towns nearby. Morehead City is our other port, many beach towns nearby. Various other towns are about an hour. We also have lots of mountain areas here. We are about halfway. Takes us 2-3 hours to different beach towns, about 3-5 hours for mountain places. 1 park in foothills is just under 2 hours.
Uhh, lots of people hunt in NJ? Everyone I know who hunts go to PA. Where is it legal to hunt in NJ, seriously? Obviously I was mistaken, but I actually have hunters in my family. They own guns and keep them in the house, but 1. the process to get guns is pretty difficult considering other states' processes and 2. they don't hunt here… they belong to hunting clubs in PA. I have never heard of hunting in NJ. Please do tell me I am curious where you're allowed to hunt in NJ I was always under the impression that you couldn't.
All I meant when I said we don't really have guns here is that you can't go to a Walmart and buy a gun like you can in many other states. Of course you're allowed to have them, but each state's gun laws are different. Ours are stricter. We are not a hunting or even overall a wildlife/outdoorsy driven state and most people don't even think about hunting or guns.
Also, I'm not a 'Mr.'
"We are not a hunting or even overall a wildlife/outdoorsy driven state and most people don't even think about hunting or guns."
On the gun issue, I am OK with limited regulation on discharge of firearms. Many counties in NC require one t be 8 feet off ground to use a rife for deer hunting, for example. That keeps longer range bullets from hitting someone hundreds of yards away. I obviously do not wish to fire my pistol down a city street to hit a can I see on the sidewalk. But I should not be restrained from putting a bullet into a mugger or rapist I may encounter. That involves the right to carry. A one sided imbalance of power occurs when only the police and other public officials have the right to carry weapons. Then we have a police state. I have corresponded on various forums with people from NJ who complain about authorities who are hostile to citizen gun owners. I told them they need to form a state level organization to fight for them. Here, we have Grass Roots NC, that has done a lot for concealed carry & castle doctrine, among other gun issues. NJ needs something similar, so does NY. In fact, NYC gun owners probably need a city level group of their own to fight the mayor's office.
The right to bear arms is the teeth of the Constitution. Without it, all other liberties hang in jeopardy.
We belonged for a while to a local corvette club. They would organize weeky drives through the spring/summer through all the small and winding roads throughout Somerset and Hunterdon county. You can NOT believe how beautiful New Jersey is. I lived here for decades and knew how nice NJ could be, but did not realize the tremendous beauty that truly still exists in these two counties. Even as I drive to work everyday these past few weeks, with the sun coming up over the changing color of the leaves, the Raritan river, etc., it truly is a feast for sore eyes.
Uhh, lots of people hunt in NJ? Everyone I know who hunts go to PA. Where is it legal to hunt in NJ, seriously? Obviously I was mistaken, but I actually have hunters in my family. They own guns and keep them in the house, but 1. the process to get guns is pretty difficult considering other states' processes and 2. they don't hunt here… they belong to hunting clubs in PA. I have never heard of hunting in NJ. Please do tell me I am curious where you're allowed to hunt in NJ I was always under the impression that you couldn't.
All I meant when I said we don't really have guns here is that you can't go to a Walmart and buy a gun like you can in many other states. Of course you're allowed to have them, but each state's gun laws are different. Ours are stricter. We are not a hunting or even overall a wildlife/outdoorsy driven state and most people don't even think about hunting or guns.
If I went there a lot or had family there, I'm sure I would find something about the state that I liked. I love eating, so I'm sure I would love sampling Italian restaurants, pizza parlors & sub shops. I'm sure your cities offer good night life, etc. though I am a bit past my prime for night life. I love beaches too. BTW, many NC communities are much closer to the beaches than 2-3 hours. Wilmington, our major port city, is a beach town & many smaller towns nearby. Morehead City is our other port, many beach towns nearby. Various other towns are about an hour. We also have lots of mountain areas here. We are about halfway. Takes us 2-3 hours to different beach towns, about 3-5 hours for mountain places. 1 park in foothills is just under 2 hours.
Oh I know - NC has great beaches. One family I know is currently having a house built 5 miles from the beach in southern NC, I think they said only a few towns north of Myrtle Beach, SC so they and I am very excited about that as I will get to visit.
You would love the food here, let me tell you that.
We're not an outdoorsy state? We have one of the best parks systems in the nation (compared to our density), there are people who hike every weekend. There's tons of hiking and biking and mountain biking and stuff. Just in my home of Bergen county you've got tons. You've got the nature park of the palisades, with the giants' steps, an awesone hike of nothing but boulders on a cliffside. That same park has a road through the woods to bike on along the Palisades and the Hudson from Alpine all the way down to Englewood.
You couldn't be more wrong about hunting and outdoorsy
NJ really isn't known to be a typical nature loving state is all I meant. We're not known for guns, hunting, fishing, etc. Doesn't mean any of that doesn't exist, of course it does. It just means that it's not our specialty, if you will. We're more known for our beaches (good or bad reputation as far as the Jersey Shore goes, thanks MTV) and proximity to Philadelphia and New York City. We're not a very rugged outdoorsy type group of people, at least the majority of us. We live in suburbs for the most part with neighbors fifty feet away or less, most people don't spend their free time out in the woods. This isn't to say there aren't people who like to hunt, hike, etc. Just overall that's not really NJ.
This picture was taken yesterday by me on the 15 mile trail near my home. Yes, we are not outdoorsy:
That's a beautiful picture. And unfortunately, you misunderstood what I meant. Please refer to my latest post to see a clarification.
I for one LOVE watching the leaves change. I live across the street form woods and a river and I love it. I love watching all seasons, and I do walk through the woods often.
I like nature. But come on, NJ as a whole isn't known for our nature, even though it does exist and it is very beautiful. When you think of NJ you don't think of people with guns hunting in the woods or even people hiking in the mountains. This is partly due to stereotypes about our state (negative ones) but all stereotypes have some truth to them. I wish people would consider that we ARE called the Garden State for a reason!
"The Pinelands also contains range overlaps, where species of 109 southern plants and 14 northern plants reach their geographic limits."
I don't know why people who live regionally wouldn't consider fishing here. We border the ocean and there are many bays. We have a rich maritime history.
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