Jersey Residents: Need Your Avice :) (Newark, West Orange: for rent, car registration, mortgage)
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I pay $2600 per year for 2 cars (2007 and 2013) with full coverage and $250 deductible.
i've got a $500 deductible, but i can't imagine that makes up that big of difference. i'm a 2006 and a 2010. maybe the 2013 is pulling you higher, but i'd shop it. i got quotes as high as $3900/yr when i shopped my insurance. state farm, traveler's, and one other were far and away the highest.
i've got a $500 deductible, but i can't imagine that makes up that big of difference. i'm a 2006 and a 2010. maybe the 2013 is pulling you higher, but i'd shop it. i got quotes as high as $3900/yr when i shopped my insurance. state farm, traveler's, and one other were far and away the highest.
It used to be $2200 but increased after I received two zero point tickets (down from 4 points I think) in 2011 and 2012. Perfect record before that.
We moved here from Ga. I knew the cost of living was higher. I did web searches that suggested 30 to 40% increase. In actuality it was probably more like 60%. I new the taxes and housing would be sticker shock.
What I hadn't anticipated was the huge increase in utilities, food, and fees for just about everything. There is even charge to go to the beach. For the first time in my life I had to pay to walk onto a beach. In JC you have to pay to park at the shopping mall. Someone mentioned car insurance. A friend of mine was living in Manhattan and move to JC. She was totally shocked at how much her car insurance increased. Try to keep your car registered in Ohio.
My husband negotiated approx. 50% increase in pay and our standard of living has decreased. Please note, most of the apartments I have seen are a downgrade from my children's college apartments. Our children paid $700 a month for a brand new 1300 sqft 2 bdrm. They had a large kitchen with wood cabinets and tile floors. My son's townhouse even included a one car garage. We are currently paying $3295 a month for a 2 bdrm. We have old laminate cabinets, floors, and counters. My appliances are the old low grade white style.
Also, when navigating distance during traffic hours, figure 15 mins per every 3 to 4 miles.
My suggestion would be to visit. Do the commute during business hours. Actually look at what $1300 will get you. Ask a neighbor what their monthly utilities average. Stop at a local grocery store and have dinner at a local restaurant. This will give you a better idea of how to budget and negotiate salary.
Btw it isn't as negative as I made it sound. The people are very friendly. I just think you should know what you are getting into. I have lived in Dayton, Chicago, St Louis, and Atlanta. In most parts of the country you could live a very nice lifestyle for $48,000 a year. Here you will be paying your bills, probably living in a bldg with no central heat and air, and be just getting by.
Familyrules has made some very good points and has given you some good insight into the realities of life in NJ. One thing I must comment on though, is the suggestion of keeping your car registered in Ohio. Doing so is insurance fraud, and can have very serious consequences, such as if you have an accident, your insurance would not cover anything, and you could also find your self criminally charged with insurance fraud and facing jail time. The state is cracking down hard on those who live here and register/insure their cars in another state. (IIRC lawmakers recently passed a law with tightens loopholes and increases the penalties as well as created a special department in the state prosecutor's office specifically to deal with insurance fraud. State of New Jersey)
I thought you only had to register if this was a permenant placement. Most people are here temporarily. My insurance company advised me to keep my car registered in GA. Now I'm concerned I was advised wrong.
Cleveland's sales tax is 7.75%. income tax in NJ for up to $40k is 1.4% for 0-$20, 1.75% for 20-35, and 3.5% on the last $5k of income. assuming $40,000 salary, that's $717.50 in NJ. Ohio's is 0.59% for 0-$5,100, 1.17% on 5,100-10,200, 2.35% on 10,200 - 15,350, 2.94% on 15,350 - 20,450, 3.52% on 20,450 - 40,850. So that's $1,048.89 in Ohio, or $331.39 higher income taxes if he stayed in Ohio at the same salary.
So he'll come out $331.39 in income tax, his sales tax will apply to less goods in NJ, and be 0.75% lower, and he'll have access to a handful more jobs than he would in Cleveland, OH.....
Did you know that the averahe family in Ohio pays $1,200 in income taxes vs the average family in NJ pays $718?
Wow, actual facts vs. the bitter ranting of a "gentleman"!
We moved here from Ga. I knew the cost of living was higher. I did web searches that suggested 30 to 40% increase. In actuality it was probably more like 60%. I new the taxes and housing would be sticker shock.
What I hadn't anticipated was the huge increase in utilities, food, and fees for just about everything. There is even charge to go to the beach. For the first time in my life I had to pay to walk onto a beach. In JC you have to pay to park at the shopping mall. Someone mentioned car insurance. A friend of mine was living in Manhattan and move to JC. She was totally shocked at how much her car insurance increased. Try to keep your car registered in Ohio.
My husband negotiated approx. 50% increase in pay and our standard of living has decreased. Please note, most of the apartments I have seen are a downgrade from my children's college apartments. Our children paid $700 a month for a brand new 1300 sqft 2 bdrm. They had a large kitchen with wood cabinets and tile floors. My son's townhouse even included a one car garage. We are currently paying $3295 a month for a 2 bdrm. We have old laminate cabinets, floors, and counters. My appliances are the old low grade white style.
Also, when navigating distance during traffic hours, figure 15 mins per every 3 to 4 miles.
My suggestion would be to visit. Do the commute during business hours. Actually look at what $1300 will get you. Ask a neighbor what their monthly utilities average. Stop at a local grocery store and have dinner at a local restaurant. This will give you a better idea of how to budget and negotiate salary.
Btw it isn't as negative as I made it sound. The people are very friendly. I just think you should know what you are getting into. I have lived in Dayton, Chicago, St Louis, and Atlanta. In most parts of the country you could live a very nice lifestyle for $48,000 a year. Here you will be paying your bills, probably living in a bldg with no central heat and air, and be just getting by.
Wishing you the best of luck.
if the OP keeps his car registered in OH and ever needs to use his car insurance, the insurer will end up back-charging him when they run a credit check and see his name on a lease in NJ. absolutely do not consciously TRY to commit insurance FRAUD...it never ends well.
you don't have to pay $3300/month, and $3300/month could get you a much nicer place then you describe. i started off out of college at $50k/yr and lived in Hoboken. I paid my bills, went out in NYC virtually every weekend, ate out or ordered take out frequently, and saved a lot of cash and contributed to a 401k. not to say your money doesn't go farther in those other cities, but it's really not "just getting by" here. oh - and my rent in hoboken never topped $2500/month and that included a parking space and a two bedroom, granite counter tops, nice living space, central air, w/d in unit, etc. granted rents have gone up since i moved in 2010, but there are plenty of units available for a more reasonable price.
Familyrules provided some facts while l gave personal insight......funny thing is......they both painted the exact same picture so I'm not sure what your whining about ?
I thought you only had to register if this was a permenant placement. Most people are here temporarily. My insurance company advised me to keep my car registered in GA. Now I'm concerned I was advised wrong.
just to give you a quick story. my wife finished pharmacy school and moved out to Hoboken with me. she moved in to my apartment, and we added her name to the lease. I'm not sure what your definition of temporary is, but if you've moved in to a place and it's where you live most of the time, and you have your vehicle in that place, you must pay for the risks associated with having your vehicle in that place. They do this with parents - if your kid goes to college and cannot take the car, you get a discount, but if they take the car, your insurance charges you based on where they are at college (and it doesn't get more temporary than college really). so, back to my wife. she moved out, and was lazy and never changed her insurance. she got hit one day, and her insurance denied the claim stating that she has a NJ address and is insured at a PA address. she spoke to them, and provided evidence of when she moved to NJ (they wanted to bill her as a NJ address all the way back to when she graduated, when she didn't actually move out right away). she had to provide bank statements and tax documents for her time in PA, and then provided the lease she signed with the start date. they only back-charged her to the start of the lease. This was the insurance company being nice, because she really was irresponsible to not have ever changed it. so she paid the insurance premium difference and all was fine. but...she easily could have been accused of committing insurance fraud.
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