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The South is a big place. I was specifically talking about the Charlotte area in NC.
The couple next door bought a house for $150k in 2010 while making $12 an hour each. You buy for $350k in 2021 after housing ran up over the last decade. Are there enough jobs to support the higher prices long term? Or were people just moving to the area because of the nice weather and cheap housing? Do people continue to move into the state while paying the higher real estate prices?
I’m just saying it’s a lot riskier then buying a house for $525k in Bergen county that was worth $400k 10 years ago.
Of course the risk goes up if you buy after a large run up in prices.
Well it isn't Alaska but you can't really be serious about that comment.
As a lifelong Jersey resident who spent last winter in rural Ontario, yeah, I'm serious.
-30F on New Year's Day, neighbors cut through the ice on the lake outside--18 inches. The world turns white in late November, early December at the latest, and stays that way until patches of ground appear in late March, early April.
And no grey slush at the sides of the road a day after a snowfall!
If I had to go to work here, I couldn't do it, but I'm retired.
NJ is cold enough to have a ski resort and plenty of ski resorts at the same latitude in PA in the Poconos. Also, I live on lake here in NJ and most years (dependent on the Jet Stream) the lakes freeze over for a month or two, and we can ice skate, fish, and walk on it. Also the Delaware river in some years will freeze over and if you drive by the Delaware Water Gap on rt. 80 in January you might see 50 people ice fishing with tents setup in the middle of the river at a given time. There is no doubt NJ gets a pretty heavy winter.
If you're a REAL foodie (and you're the one who emphasized it), then I can't imagine the food in Charlotte would be good enough.
I mean I'm sure it's OK. I've been there for a visit. I can't imagine the Asian food in Charlotte is any good. There's places I can go to in NJ where I can forget that I'm even in America. That's kind of nice.
Asian, Indian, Middle Eastern, Italian, even Russian/Uzbek is decent. And that's not even getting into places in the city ... where I lived for years.
That said, if you're expecting less, then it's probably good enough. But keep in mind, you can always live in a place like NYC or Philly when you're young and move to a place like Charlotte later when you get older and more boring.
I've always thought that people who don't need the 'ethnic' part of NJ or the 'broadway' of NYC are paying a big premium for a lot of nothing. Especially in 2021.
That said, if I moved, it'd be somewhere more extreme. Colorado, Hawaii ... Thailand...
Charlotte has growth, while NJ is #1 in the country in decline with people and businesses leaving thanks to our atrocious governor and no end in sight of things being fixed. Additionally with some of the working population now having flexibility to choose where they can work from home, it makes no financial sense to live here if you do not have to.
My boss just moved from Chicago to Charlotte about 2 months ago (another person fleeing a blue state) as a result of the company I work for relocating their HQ from NJ to Charlotte. It took her 4 months of looking to even find a house for sale that she could move into. I'd think Charlotte will see homes appreciate more over NJ. The only thing NJ has going for existing home owners, is the Mount Laurel Doctrine, which really stopped new single family homes from being built so supply is an issue keeping value quite high.
Also NJ is holding onto a line of old blue chip companies which have here for a century keeping salaries high and competitive in the state. It will only take a few bad years of business to cut expenses and move out of state, or leadership to realize that they are being ripped off in taxes and move out of state.
What's to distinguish Charlotte from places like Indy, Columbus, or Louisville?
If finances were my concern, I'd probably move to Indy. That's even cheaper.
I moved to Charlotte about 15 years ago from Phoenix in order to take a job at the university here. Housing was/is relatively inexpensive and there were/are plenty of neighborhoods that were family-friendly with walkable elementary schools, kids riding bikes to the pool, choice of several grocery stores, and a decent commute. It's really green here with plenty of trees and parks. They say that 2/3 people are transplants to the city and I think that's about right. Easy access to a decent international airport hub, 2 hrs to the mountains, and 4 hrs to beautiful beaches. But you are living in a bubble in Charlotte. Go 45 min outside the city and the vibe isn't just conservative but (in my opinion and my experience) a painful composite of all the stereotypes that accompany Southern conservatism. It has never really felt like home to me and I miss that feeling a lot.
If you're a REAL foodie (and you're the one who emphasized it), then I can't imagine the food in Charlotte would be good enough.
I mean I'm sure it's OK. I've been there for a visit. I can't imagine the Asian food in Charlotte is any good. There's places I can go to in NJ where I can forget that I'm even in America. That's kind of nice.
Asian, Indian, Middle Eastern, Italian, even Russian/Uzbek is decent. And that's not even getting into places in the city ... where I lived for years.
That said, if you're expecting less, then it's probably good enough. But keep in mind, you can always live in a place like NYC or Philly when you're young and move to a place like Charlotte later when you get older and more boring.
I've always thought that people who don't need the 'ethnic' part of NJ or the 'broadway' of NYC are paying a big premium for a lot of nothing. Especially in 2021.
That said, if I moved, it'd be somewhere more extreme. Colorado, Hawaii ... Thailand...
This is 100% accurate. Charlotte has some great new southern food. It's delicious. But that's really it. NJ has really better food in pretty much every other category. Your "average" restaurant in NJ is better by a mile.
I moved to Charlotte about 15 years ago from Phoenix in order to take a job at the university here. Housing was/is relatively inexpensive and there were/are plenty of neighborhoods that were family-friendly with walkable elementary schools, kids riding bikes to the pool, choice of several grocery stores, and a decent commute. It's really green here with plenty of trees and parks. They say that 2/3 people are transplants to the city and I think that's about right. Easy access to a decent international airport hub, 2 hrs to the mountains, and 4 hrs to beautiful beaches. But you are living in a bubble in Charlotte. Go 45 min outside the city and the vibe isn't just conservative but (in my opinion and my experience) a painful composite of all the stereotypes that accompany Southern conservatism. It has never really felt like home to me and I miss that feeling a lot.
This is my concern of moving anywhere in the south, really. Can’t compromise happiness for lower cost of living.
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Maybe Charlotte
