Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > New Jersey
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Thread summary:

Moving to New Jersey: transplants, taxes, buy a home, real estate, market.

Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 02-16-2007, 04:32 PM
 
3 posts, read 7,468 times
Reputation: 11

Advertisements

I definitely agree about the urban areas. I have a friend who lives in JC, and it's nice. You can get a brownstone on the cheap (relative, everything's relative), and it's just across the river from the mecca of tough-guy accents and the overpriced faux-martinis that the kids are crazy for nowadays.

Of course, if you have kids and have to worry about good school districts, JC is right out.

There's a lot of in-between as well. There are some sections in Plainfield I would live in if I were young and single. Or the Oranges. I'd even consider Princeton if I were a little hipper and snobbier.

Like I said, not a bad state... but it sprawls.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 02-16-2007, 06:39 PM
 
19 posts, read 96,253 times
Reputation: 11
Smile Lions And Tigers And Bears, Oh My

What is wrong with living in an area of the country that affords one the opportunity to be close to some of the biggest and best museums, theater, educational institutions, recreational activities, etc in the the world? I'm thankful for all the opportunities that living in the NYC/NJ area have given me and my family over the years. Great every moment? No. Great every week? No. Over the course of a year, however, those things that are part of every human beings micro level of existence become little, minor challenges. What is the saying? Two things unavoidable in life are death and taxes? Death? Too bad - it's a given. Taxes? Rent. There are some beautiful 3 bedroom rentals available. But then you wouldn't have an asset to sell. Can't have it all. Rough concept. Circles, schmircicles. Jughandles, mughandles. Try NYC subways and you'll love driving everywhere because there is a parking lot. Bottom line? It's all relative. Moving to NJ from NYC is one of the best things I'm going to do in the near future than I've done for myself in quite a while.

As for offensive people like mrnate, they are inevitable. They can be included in the 'unavoidable' category.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-23-2007, 11:41 AM
 
10 posts, read 38,147 times
Reputation: 10
Quote:
Originally Posted by EB2 View Post
What brought you to the state, and why?

Do you regret it or not?

I came here 2.5 years ago, because if work in NYC, from upstate Albany area.

I live in NJ and love it, cost is very high, I pay more for rent than my mortgage which includes property/school taxes and insurance.

But i'm single so when i need to cut something out it's easy for me. I think it's a better alternative than living in NYC, by the end of the day, i'm ready to go home to NJ and leave the nonsense in the city for at least another 10 hours.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-23-2007, 02:18 PM
 
Location: Jersey City
7,053 posts, read 19,216,998 times
Reputation: 6911
I came in 2004 to attend school at Rutgers-New Brunswick. Rutgers has a great program for my field of study and the financial aid was too good to pass up. I got an internship that turned into a full-time job after I graduated last year, and the rest is history.

I like living in NJ. There are two huge, awesome cities nearby (NYC and Phila), and most of the "suburbs" in NJ are more densely populated and have more interesting/ethnic/vibrant neighborhoods than most "big cities" in other parts of the country.

People never get sick of complaining about the cost of living here, and think places in the Sunbelt are the answer. Being from the South myself I disagree. Salaries and rents in Virginia compared to New Jersey aren't that much different. And contrary to popular belief, my car insurance premium went DOWN when I moved to Jersey! You guys have free car inspection at MVC facilities, in Virginia you have to pay for that. VA has a "personal property tax" on vehicles that NJ doesn't have. VA taxes groceries (even "essentials") that NJ does not. I wish people in NJ wouldn't turn their nose up at the idea of municipal consolidation because I think a lot of the expense that comes with living here is a result of extreme home rule.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-23-2007, 08:29 PM
 
Location: Some got six month some got one solid. But me and my buddies all got lifetime here
4,555 posts, read 10,352,737 times
Reputation: 2162
Quote:
Originally Posted by lammius View Post
I came in 2004 to attend school at Rutgers-New Brunswick. Rutgers has a great program for my field of study and the financial aid was too good to pass up. I got an internship that turned into a full-time job after I graduated last year, and the rest is history.

I like living in NJ. There are two huge, awesome cities nearby (NYC and Phila), and most of the "suburbs" in NJ are more densely populated and have more interesting/ethnic/vibrant neighborhoods than most "big cities" in other parts of the country.

People never get sick of complaining about the cost of living here, and think places in the Sunbelt are the answer. Being from the South myself I disagree. Salaries and rents in Virginia compared to New Jersey aren't that much different. And contrary to popular belief, my car insurance premium went DOWN when I moved to Jersey! You guys have free car inspection at MVC facilities, in Virginia you have to pay for that. VA has a "personal property tax" on vehicles that NJ doesn't have. VA taxes groceries (even "essentials") that NJ does not. I wish people in NJ wouldn't turn their nose up at the idea of municipal consolidation because I think a lot of the expense that comes with living here is a result of extreme home rule.
It's all relative. Yeah the property tax issue is in crisis mode. Yeah the cost of living is higher than it is down south. Down south your pay check gets the daylights taxed out of it, your car gets taxed, many of your essentials get taxed. Generally the salaries the further south you go tend to be lower than New Jersey. So while your housing may be cheaper, your rate of pay will be lower to match. It's one big tradeoff.

If you're cashing out a home in New Jersey and outright buying one in the south, you will absolutely do good for yourself at the moment. If you're just moving to the south though, you're going to find that you're really not going to do all that much better in comparison.

Even with areas like Camden and Newark, cities that should weigh New Jersey down, it's still the richest state in the Union. That fact tends to get lost in the shuffle.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-24-2007, 11:55 PM
 
Location: Jackson, TN until we move back home to Jersey
46 posts, read 272,831 times
Reputation: 18
I totally agree with BrianH1970 and lammius! I came to NJ in 1999 after completing my master's degree in FL with my husband (to be at the time.) (He's originally from Bergen County.) I absolutely loved it here! Very similar to MA, where I grew up. I lived here for 4 years.

If you're concerned about the costs, just remember that everything comes at a price. While it may be more expensive to live here in terms of housing and property taxes, it's not the MOST expensive. Look at CA, NY, HI, CT. Your property taxes for the most part go towards education in your municipality. The New Jerseyans that complain about the crime, the taxes, etc. have probably never lived anywhere else. They have this pipe dream that it's always better somewhere else. That may be, but it all comes at a price.
Look at this data I posted on another thread. It will definitely reassure you.
http://www.morganquitno.com/srml91-06.htm
http://www.morganquitno.com/sr06mlfac.htm
http://www.morganquitno.com/dang07.htm
http://www.morganquitno.com/edrank06.htm
http://www.morganquitno.com/edfact06.htm#FACTORS


That being said, after living in MA, FL, NJ, PA, MI, and now TN, I'll take NJ any day and can't wait to move back.

Also, Montclair is a great school! I used to live close to there and go running in the neighborhoods close by.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-25-2007, 08:25 PM
NDL
 
Location: The CLT area
4,502 posts, read 5,581,332 times
Reputation: 3102
Quote:
Originally Posted by EB2 View Post
What brought you to the state, and why?

Do you regret it or not?
I lived in NJ for a year, and only moved back to the area that I grew up in, for work opportunities (not that there aren't plenty of opportunities in NJ, but there were more opportunities in my niche field, in my 'hometown' area); family and friends.

NJ is nice, and it's a good place to bring up children.

People in NJ complain about the cost of living, but the overall cost of living in NJ is appreciably lower (IMHO), than my native Long Island - specifically utilities, much lower rate on car insurance, lack of tax on groceries; lower sales taxes on things like gasoline; much lower state income taxes.

Although it's changing, what really irritated me, was the provincial thinking of some of the people I came across (with a seemingly endless fountain of opinions, about things they know nothing about); the lack of cultural identities and foods common to areas I was familiar with back home.

On the balance, with NJ, there are no surprises. I find the people nicer in NJ than my native Long Island, plus a host of other niceties. For example, on Long Island, the populace is overwhelmingly self serving, where in NJ, people are a lot more considerate, and civic minded.

Would I go back? Absolutely, although this time, I would probably move to a shore town, that has more cultural identity, and greater diversity in it's housing stock, than the cookie cutter subdivisions of the town I lived in NJ.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-17-2007, 05:04 PM
 
Location: Union Township NJ
28 posts, read 124,680 times
Reputation: 29
Althought it is a small and crowded state - I love it. I was born and raised an Brooklyn, NY and it will always be in my heart but to live there it is not in my life anymore.

What Jersey offered me is a backyard and not have my neighbors frown on it. Have parties in the summer and plenty of places for guests to park.
A driveway - no alt side of the street parking.
A decent size house.
Somewhat better roads
Larger supermarkets
Lots of businesses out here to work for or be your own boss with less square footage to pay.

I Just Love NJ
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-18-2007, 01:27 AM
EB2 EB2 started this thread
 
Location: Florida
1,925 posts, read 6,338,218 times
Reputation: 1066
Quote:
Originally Posted by jstar41 View Post
oh must definately look at UCC.. I have been to Kean/Rutgers/Hunter and I would pick UCC, my g/f goes there and her professors really care about teaching.. it's also less expensive.. the students there are so friendly, they are there to study.. unlike the other schools, many are there just to waste time.. not all but many.. the 2nd choice would be Kean.. is pretty affordable too..
in reference to rents you can probably get a good size studio for about 800. all included.. if you need a room, you can probably rent that for about 300-400.. in a safe area in Elizabeth... which is a convenient location for either UCC or Kean.. send me a message if you need help with renting a room/studio..

good luck!!
Thank you very much! I'll keep you in mind when I will be needing a room!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-18-2007, 01:44 AM
EB2 EB2 started this thread
 
Location: Florida
1,925 posts, read 6,338,218 times
Reputation: 1066
Quote:
Originally Posted by lammius View Post
I came in 2004 to attend school at Rutgers-New Brunswick. Rutgers has a great program for my field of study and the financial aid was too good to pass up. I got an internship that turned into a full-time job after I graduated last year, and the rest is history.

I like living in NJ. There are two huge, awesome cities nearby (NYC and Phila), and most of the "suburbs" in NJ are more densely populated and have more interesting/ethnic/vibrant neighborhoods than most "big cities" in other parts of the country.

People never get sick of complaining about the cost of living here, and think places in the Sunbelt are the answer. Being from the South myself I disagree. Salaries and rents in Virginia compared to New Jersey aren't that much different. And contrary to popular belief, my car insurance premium went DOWN when I moved to Jersey! You guys have free car inspection at MVC facilities, in Virginia you have to pay for that. VA has a "personal property tax" on vehicles that NJ doesn't have. VA taxes groceries (even "essentials") that NJ does not. I wish people in NJ wouldn't turn their nose up at the idea of municipal consolidation because I think a lot of the expense that comes with living here is a result of extreme home rule.
Agreed. Every place has their fault.

Florida, where I currently live, is an expensive state, especially when considering income (for minimum wage. The state's is still under 6.70 an hour). We pay nearly top dollar for rentals and buying houses/condos/etc...and generally don't get a whole lot for what is paid out. Looking at houses in NJ (I'm not looking to buy...but just a curious person), more seems to be offered for the dollar there, than it is here for my area.

There was talk not long ago of cutting out property tax and raising sales tax to 10%. 10%! That's absolutely ridiculous, and would set ours at the highest of the nation. I see it as, if you want to buy the property, suck it up and pay for it. No one forced you to purchase that land/house.

Not everywhere is perfect...and I'm perfectly okay with that.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:




Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > New Jersey

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top