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It depends on where you are in your career and life, too. My commute wasn't 90-100 minutes until five years ago, and I figured I could put up with it for the last few years once I didn't have to worry about schools so that I could have my own place instead of renting. I was not able to afford a place of my own where I used to live, but I had family for childcare and the schools were pretty good. The commute from Ridgewood was about an hour and 10.
thus, where else do they work? sure there are a few towns/cities with some office buildings (Red Bank, Woodbridge, etc.).
thoughts?
Maybe they are mostly unemployed or work for seasonal businesses catering to shore tourists? Perhaps that is why NJ unemployment rate is one of the highest in the country...
Last edited by DefiantNJ; 09-10-2015 at 07:21 AM..
Myave they are mostly unemployed or work for seasonal businesses catering to shore tourists? Perhaps that is why NJ unemployment rate is one of the highest in the country...
Yes, a lot of the employment in Monmouth County is in restaurants, hotels, etc., or at the malls along 35. There definitely are a few good-sized businesses, but nothing like the employment centers of NYC or even more northern NJ.
Thinking of my neighbors and where they work: The guy to my left works in a restaurant making sushi. The guy next to him appears on a cable TV show and does their website but he can hardly be making big bucks because he lives where I live. On the other side is a retired couple. She worked as an office manager at Fort Monmouth till it closed, and he was a mailman. On the other side of them is a youngish guy who goes out every day wearing a jacket and carrying a briefcase, but I don't know what he does. Another lady, about 70 years old, works in one of the local supermarkets.
People I know outside my neighborhood but in the area--a college professor at Seton Hall, some sort of clerk at the courthouse in Freehold, a real estate agent, a couple of people who work with special needs adults, a math teacher, people who do maintenance work for the county. A nurse or two. Most of the "professional" types I know commute, but that's probably because I do, too, and that's how I know them.
Oh and CNAs or others who work in local assisted living facilities or nursing homes are plentiful, too. That seems to be a field where people can find work, although I don't think it pays a huge salary.
We need CaptainNJ to chime in on where he and his neighbors work! :P
On the block in Holmdel I'm very familiar with, there is one couple who both work in NYC and do the grinding commute while a nanny watches their 3 little ones. One family is retired. Another is a builder local to the area, so he seems to have good work life balance. 4 other families on that block--wife stays at home while the husband commutes to the city and works in finance.
Based on that distribution, I suspect many of the owners of the McMansions moved to Monmouth County for the housing value/school district with the idea that only one of the two parents would be commuting and the other would hold down the fort.
My wife and I both work in NYC and we have been planing to move to Holmdel for a while.... right now we live in Payonne NJ, a town that geographically close to NYC but the actual commute time is hellishly long and uncomfortable with crowded trains and awkward transfers plus long walks...
Perhaps New Brunswick, Edison, Jamesburg, Woodbridge, Perth Amboy, maybe even out to Princeton, Bridgewater, and Elizabeth. These are pretty heavy job centers. Certainly, to NYC isn't out of the realm of reason either. People commute to NYC from even further away.
My mother is 86 and had a quadruple bypass last Thursday. And she could still beat you up with her oxygen tank attached to her! Neh neh, neh neh neh
Oh, I didn't know that. Hope she is feeling better. Please substitute your father in the joke. And if that would be inappropriate a sibling or cousin will do.
I live in Old Bridge and commute to NYC for work. 90 minutes each way roughly. I have worked in the city for 16 years. I lived in Hoboken/NYC for 13 of those years and have been commuting from OB the past 3. Definitely days it sucks - where the traffic is horrendous, but there are times where it's also not that bad and I busy myself on the bus by reading or continuing to work.
It really depends on your job as to whether you can work in NJ. For the past 16 years I have worked at a large advertising agency and what I do there just really doesn't exist in NJ. I can certainly go to a client side (media) job at a large corporation (Verizon, J&J) and that may be something for the future. I've been at my company 10+ years, get 30 vacation days, a good salary and they are very generous with holidays (closed the week in between Christmas/nye, etc.). Additionally I have a 1 year old daughter, so I have an agreement with my boss, I can work from home a few days a month which helps immensely. So it's very hard to leave my company because I feel I have it pretty good there.
However, I do not know how parents do it if they are both going into the city and have long days. I luckily have a husband that has flexibilty. Daycares are only open until 630 which I am rarely home by so he picks her up. If we were both in the city we would have to either go for a nanny (more $$), or hire a nanny to pick her up from daycare (so pay for both).
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