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I haven't read all 18 pages either, but.. I grew up in central jersey, thought I would never, ever move. Then my husband got a promotion to move to south FL with what was supposed to be a temporary move back in 1996. (right after the blizzard of 96). He originally told them no to the move, but after digging out of 3 feet of snow by myself, I said to tell them you changed your mind, I'm not doing this again. We've now lived in Plantation, Weston and Wellington, FL. I LOVE it down here. My husband would move back to NJ in a heartbeat. We both have friends and family in NJ, but I am the type that can make friends pretty easily, and it takes him a long while. Sure, I loved getting a house up in Long Beach Island for a week last year, right on the beach, and seeing my family and friends. But the traffic up there is a nightmare, and commutes are ridiculous. Here, anything more than 20 minutes away is like a long commute. Although I now figure skate, I hate the cold weather. Hate driving in snow and ice. Plus, NJ got hit more by storms than FL did last year. Taxes in Nj are crazy. My brother pays more for electric bills than we do, and we run the A/C for a good 9 months out of the year. The only thing that kills me in FL is the home insurance, as the windstorm part is just ridiculous.
We now have to move to CA for his job, and with his new title, figures he can go to other companies at some point. We are going to rent our home in FL so we have an out if we need it. I am nervous though that he would want to find a company in NJ, because he'll have to drag me back there kicking and screaming.
I recently visited a friend of mine who moved to North Carolina (research triangle). His rent is ridiculously low, if he decides to buy, he can get a nice house for 200k, and the taxes down there are a joke.
And yet you couldn't pay me to live down there! Durham and Chapel Hill, despite being college towns, are incredibly boring. To get to a real city, you have to drive 4 hours to DC or 6 hours to Atlanta. There is very little to do, and most of the small towns are in fact rather poor.
Gotta correct you about Durham. I'm not sure of where your friend lives but Durham is waaaaay more interesting/hipster/better than where I grew up in Northern NJ. There are boring places (to me) in the NC triangle, but Durham isn't one of them...real foodie/craft beer/artsy city (Durham, not where I grew up). Very progressive.
I'm torn between buying in Durham and moving back to NJ because I'd like to be closer to family. I currently live in Wilmington, NC, which is nice, great beaches, but eh. Then again, I pay insanely low rent for a single family home on 1/4 acre. I have a hard time reconciling coming back to Jersey and being house poor and having no way to really save for the future. I think the taxes are the kicker and why people are getting out of dodge and going south. Life is generally easier as well in terms of just getting around...better traffic, fewer potholes, etc.
Gotta correct you about Durham. I'm not sure of where your friend lives but Durham is waaaaay more interesting/hipster/better than where I grew up in Northern NJ. There are boring places (to me) in the NC triangle, but Durham isn't one of them...real foodie/craft beer/artsy city (Durham, not where I grew up). Very progressive.
I'm torn between buying in Durham and moving back to NJ because I'd like to be closer to family. I currently live in Wilmington, NC, which is nice, great beaches, but eh. Then again, I pay insanely low rent for a single family home on 1/4 acre. I have a hard time reconciling coming back to Jersey and being house poor and having no way to really save for the future. I think the taxes are the kicker and why people are getting out of dodge and going south. Life is generally easier as well in terms of just getting around...better traffic, fewer potholes, etc.
I just went to Raleigh and I'm amazed it can even be called a city, I looped around 5 times and each time I was like that's it?? There isn't much there. Seems like the hippest place to be is PF Changs by the mall otherwise I don't see any other hip spots and 10 minutes out and you are in the boonies again with rusted Chevys on people's lawns
I was hoping to work at red hat but when I saw its headquarters it's just a dinky 5 story building in the middle of a college campus. Not sure what people do there for fun but i was really bored so we bailed and drove back early to DC. Now dc is fun. I imagine Charlotte has more of a city type atmosphere that Raleigh and Durham
I live in Putnam county New York but I plan on moving to Camden New Jersey.
Who really plans to move to New Jersey?
Does anyone really say I have dreamed all of my life to move to New Jersey?
Do people in other countries say oh boy I can't wait to move to New Jersey when I go to the U.S?
As a young boy in Italy Guido always dreamed of moving to New Jersey.
Isn't it kind of just something that happens?
Like well I kind of dont want to live in NYC or Phillie so I will just live in NJ
I recently visited a friend of mine who moved to North Carolina (research triangle). His rent is ridiculously low, if he decides to buy, he can get a nice house for 200k, and the taxes down there are a joke.
And yet you couldn't pay me to live down there! Durham and Chapel Hill, despite being college towns, are incredibly boring. To get to a real city, you have to drive 4 hours to DC or 6 hours to Atlanta. There is very little to do, and most of the small towns are in fact rather poor.
We have it good in NJ, with NYC and Philly, two of the greatest cities on the East Coast being so close. Tons of great historical small towns, the shore, a diverse population, and you can find gorgeous parks, trails etc. almost wherever you go.
Gotta correct you about Durham. I'm not sure of where your friend lives but Durham is waaaaay more interesting/hipster/better than where I grew up in Northern NJ. There are boring places (to me) in the NC triangle, but Durham isn't one of them...real foodie/craft beer/artsy city (Durham, not where I grew up). Very progressive.
I'm torn between buying in Durham and moving back to NJ because I'd like to be closer to family. I currently live in Wilmington, NC, which is nice, great beaches, but eh. Then again, I pay insanely low rent for a single family home on 1/4 acre. I have a hard time reconciling coming back to Jersey and being house poor and having no way to really save for the future. I think the taxes are the kicker and why people are getting out of dodge and going south. Life is generally easier as well in terms of just getting around...better traffic, fewer potholes, etc.
I know exactly what you are talking about. I got offered a job in Raleigh too by RedHat. I turned it down in an instant. I may hate NJ sometimes (because of high taxes, crazy drivers and insane regulations) but there is no way in hell I'm moving to the boonies of NC.
NC is very beautiful and it's amazing for a vacation. But that's it, if I spend more than 2 weeks in NC, I'm sure as hell gonna kill myself.
I'm not a huge Raleigh fan but I'll say the area near downtown is much better than the surrounding suburban areas. Nope the skyline isn't what NYC is, that's for sure. It's got some nice historic areas though that are a bit like Montclair. IMO Durham is more interesting, near downtown.
My biggest complaint about the triangle area of NC? NO GOOD BAGELS. Seriously that is my biggest complaint! Pizza can be found, Chinese food in Durham is as good or better (many Chinese families relocate because their kids are at Duke).
Anyway, it depends on what you like. There are a lot of NJ transplants in areas of NC like Cary, Apex, more suburban areas of Raleigh and they absolutely love it. Not so many in Durham, because Durham has a reputation (undeserved) for being high crime. I used to live in Manhattan and like "gritty" - suburban Cary isn't for me. Much of NJ isn't either.
I am too rooted here to move elsewhere. All my family and friends live here and I make a good living.
The taxes can be a bit much at times, but I think the voters in state and local elections have finally realized we can not continue spending willy nilly. I think going forward the general public is going to pay a lot more attention to the financial health of the government on local, state, and federal levels.
Outside of that, I really have no complaints. I am not unsatisfied with the state enough to uproot my entire life to leave. I think that there is a good amount of opportunity here.
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