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It's so humdrum compared to New York. Forget about it.
Well for you *yes* that might be the case, but am here to tell you others see things differently.
While Staten Islanders have long been bailing out for New Jersey you are now also seeing more and more Manhattan and Brooklyn residents doing the same. Only differences seem to be where they are heading.
Off the Rock we usually end up in south NJ (Monmouth, Ocean Counties right down Route 1/9 or NJTP/GSP). Manhattan and Brooklyn seem to be going to places like Summit, Maplewood, (some) parts of the Oranges, etc... In short the traditional "bedroom" communities of Essex, Union, Middlesex counties and so forth.
Like seems to go to like and the Brooklyn/Manhattan person are looking for "diverse" communities that mimic Park Slope, UWS, and the other trendy areas they are being priced out of. Maplewood is so hot from what one has heard real estate people are now running bus tours for NYC residents, and properties are moving! You'd be surprised at the numbers of households both straight and otherwise moving to NJ from Manhattan, Brooklyn and Staten Island.
Staten Islanders have long liked "south NJ" because quite frankly much of it resembled or resembles what the Rock looked like before over-development set in. Old Bridge, Matawan, Middletown, etc... are peaceful, quiet and clean places with nice housing stock on often decent plots of land. Much of these areas was and is still rural so that is "like home" as well. You see proof of this every Christmas and Thanksgiving with the traffic on Outerbridge or Goethals bridges is backed up with peeps coming from NJ to get back to SI or out to Brooklyn.
Cost and tax wise many of you again don't know or haven't crunched the numbers.
Yes, you pay less in RE/property taxes in NYC. But OTOH the public school system here largely stinks and many of the private including Catholic aren't much better. But you still pay for the latter because it is still better than the former.
OTOH you can move to NJ and if you choose the right place there will be a good to excellent public school system with plenty of extras for the kids free or cheap as well.
Know gay and other childless households that have moved to NJ as well. People wanting to own a home preferably detached with some property attached are not finding what they wanted in NYC.
Union City and West New York are the most densely populated cities in the United States. They are almost universally Hispanic so if you are not Spanish speaking you will be a Stranger in a Strange Land.
All commuting is by bus through the Lincoln Tunnel which can be an awful grind at the best of times. Smelly little jitneys will make you feel like you are living in a third world country.
Brick housing stock is nice though. The two family home is an almost universal.
You will get SO sick of Port Authority bus terminal and all trips beginning and ending at Times Square.
(I had a friend who lived at the GALAXY in Gutenberg: same issues but with a GORGEOUS apartment.)
Union City and West New York are the most densely populated cities in the United States. They are almost universally Hispanic so if you are not Spanish speaking you will be a Stranger in a Strange Land.
All commuting is by bus through the Lincoln Tunnel which can be an awful grind at the best of times. Smelly little jitneys will make you feel like you are living in a third world country.
Brick housing stock is nice though. The two family home is an almost universal.
You will get SO sick of Port Authority bus terminal and all trips beginning and ending at Times Square.
(I had a friend who lived at the GALAXY in Gutenberg: same issues but with a GORGEOUS apartment.)
Agree - "grind" is actually a positive terminology here.
Anyone considering a job that requires that will need to be desperate.
Agree - "grind" is actually a positive terminology here.
Anyone considering a job that requires that will need to be desperate.
Oh I don't know.
Living in parts of SI that require an express bus or bus to ferry to subway commute can be equally "grinding". Ditto LIRR or Metro North if you don't live in a town or near a station. Oh and leave us not get started about the whole Poconos, PA to NYC commute.
People do what they gotta do. If you want a house with property for your family sometimes choices have to be made.
i can't stand nj . there isn't a thing i like about it other then our kids live there . no wonder you pay a toll to get out , it is well worth it .
don't die in new jersey either . they have the worst estate taxes in the country with the lowest exemption . they have both an estate tax and an inheritance tax . .
Haha very true, having lived in NJ during high school. I agree with this.
Well for you *yes* that might be the case, but am here to tell you others see things differently.
While Staten Islanders have long been bailing out for New Jersey you are now also seeing more and more Manhattan and Brooklyn residents doing the same. Only differences seem to be where they are heading.
Off the Rock we usually end up in south NJ (Monmouth, Ocean Counties right down Route 1/9 or NJTP/GSP). Manhattan and Brooklyn seem to be going to places like Summit, Maplewood, (some) parts of the Oranges, etc... In short the traditional "bedroom" communities of Essex, Union, Middlesex counties and so forth.
Like seems to go to like and the Brooklyn/Manhattan person are looking for "diverse" communities that mimic Park Slope, UWS, and the other trendy areas they are being priced out of. Maplewood is so hot from what one has heard real estate people are now running bus tours for NYC residents, and properties are moving! You'd be surprised at the numbers of households both straight and otherwise moving to NJ from Manhattan, Brooklyn and Staten Island.
Staten Islanders have long liked "south NJ" because quite frankly much of it resembled or resembles what the Rock looked like before over-development set in. Old Bridge, Matawan, Middletown, etc... are peaceful, quiet and clean places with nice housing stock on often decent plots of land. Much of these areas was and is still rural so that is "like home" as well. You see proof of this every Christmas and Thanksgiving with the traffic on Outerbridge or Goethals bridges is backed up with peeps coming from NJ to get back to SI or out to Brooklyn.
Cost and tax wise many of you again don't know or haven't crunched the numbers.
Yes, you pay less in RE/property taxes in NYC. But OTOH the public school system here largely stinks and many of the private including Catholic aren't much better. But you still pay for the latter because it is still better than the former.
OTOH you can move to NJ and if you choose the right place there will be a good to excellent public school system with plenty of extras for the kids free or cheap as well.
Know gay and other childless households that have moved to NJ as well. People wanting to own a home preferably detached with some property attached are not finding what they wanted in NYC.
I live near Middletown, though I am from North Jersey originally. Middletown is so full of Staten Islanders and Brooklynites that I thought Middletown people all had sort of a New York accent. Then someone took me to a dive bar full of people who look like the inbred natives of the Poconos where my sister lives. They were the clam diggers and crickers (they fish for crabs in the crick) and they speak with a country accent. They are the original inhabitants of Middletown, now outnumbered.
AND my friend taught me how to look at a house and figure out if they came from Brooklyn. If they came from Brooklyn, the front yard is full of statues. The Staten Islanders, not as much.
Clearly some of you have no idea what you are talking about.
First NJ is not "full of low income persons", far from it. Just like NYS the place has a bit of everything demographically but can assure you there is a strong middle and above class.
Commute wise things are what they are. Tolls are no more onerous than coming from anyplace else. If you have an EZ-Pass rates for the Hudson River crossings are discounted.
Taxes? Yes NJ has some of the highest in the nation. No big news. But many have and are willing to pay them for various reasons including quality of life and access to good or excellent public education. Several of the top public schools in the USA are located in New Jersey.
Persons who complain about the costs of living in NJ obviously didn't do their homework before moving out there. Anyplace within an hour or less of NYC or good train service into NYP (such as Summit) is expensive, period. So peeps are having to move further south or into central NJ to find "affordable" housing. Fair enough but that increases commute times and or costs.
Main problem with New Jersey is it is a very high tax state with local taxes bending persons over as well. That is driving businesses and persons out of the state which in turn feeds a downward spiral.
New Jersey has a very strong home rule local government with every town or village acting like a fiefdom. Small towns that would do well with combining LE and other services with local neighbors won't because elected officials won't cede power.
Housing prices largely depend upon where you live. If it is a top school area that is safe and offers excellent quality of life then you're good. You don't see homes in Maplewood, Summit, Princeton, Bernardsville, Milburn, etc... being given away nor decreasing in values. OTOH places like Camden are another story.
The only way to find out is to go to your accountant and have them do the tax analysis for you whether it makes sense to live in NY or NJ.
I say if you make over $90k, the costs are about the same.
The higher taxes in NJ only if you own a property in a high price county. Nassau and Suffolk county has NJ property taxes beat by 5-10%
If you own a home in NYC, the property taxes are low but your city income taxes pads it up. Even if you rent you still have to pay NYC income tax.
The true surplus to living in NJ over NY is the quality of life factor that is hard to take into account. In NJ I don't worry about feeding parking meters or watching out for parking spots. I don't have to rush out to take the subway train, I just drive where I need to go. In NYC, you can drive but watch where you park and there's too much traffic jams. As for family life, NYC is very hard to get into a good area and schools are over crowded and you're rushing your kids out in the morning to get them to school while trying to go to work. A difficult juggling act.
There's a lot of factors involved with deciding if NYC or NJ is better for you, it's not only about $$.
I still can't figure out why someone will pay $3500-5000 to rent in NYC and live essentially the size of my living room and kid's bedroom and a closet bathroom. These are people I see at work that gets in the morning the same time as I do. The flipside is they don't have to pay $300/month for NJ Transit but that's a small chunk compare to the huge difference in living cost.
Do the math:
-food costs is higher in NYC if you do comparative shopping of various goods
-high sales taxes for non-food essentials.
-higher gas price in NYC
-higher price fast food and dining options.
-higher price entertainment like movies
Union City and West New York are the most densely populated cities in the United States. They are almost universally Hispanic so if you are not Spanish speaking you will be a Stranger in a Strange Land.
Yes, but, I would except the waterfront area/so-called 'Gold Coast' from that statement. Yes, if you go up the "hill" to Union City or West New York proper.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kefir King
All commuting is by bus through the Lincoln Tunnel which can be an awful grind at the best of times. Smelly little jitneys will make you feel like you are living in a third world country.
Again, mostly true but if you live along River Road, you have the option of taking the free ferry bus to the terminal and getting to Midtown/Downtown from there. Yes, it's expensive, but you can skip breathing all the pollution in the tunnel. Or, if you have to get Downtown, the Hudson-Bergen light rail meets up with PATH at Exchange Place. Again, not the greatest commute, but the combined passes are still cheaper than the ferry.
You are misinformed, as someone that has lived in NYC area for over 30 years I much rather live in NJ these days than NYC.
Quieter, less hectic, less stressful, and more places to go than NYC. For example going to the DMV in NYC is an exercise of patience and futility.
Most folks in NJ care less about public transportation since majority of us drive and feel safer in our cars. In NYC, having a car is like have another girlfriend. Someone might damage it or steal it and you gotta constantly check it to make sure it doesn't get towed or gotta park the right safe spot.
As for eating there are lots more places to eat and if in the mood for some diversity there are many ethnic hotspots for food.
Chik-Fi-La and WholeFoods, TraderJoes were in NJ way before NYC got theirs. Not to mention more malls and less tourists blocking my way when I shop.
People who move to NJ are people who are looking to settle down and have a family. Believe it or not the overall taxes are actually cheaper if you chose wisely than being in NYC.
Folks that are dumb enough to pay $3k for a small apt while I get a huge yard and 1 hour commute to midtown and I usually get in the office before all these Brooklyn folks.
NYC sales sale = 8.6% NJ Sales tax = 7.5% and many areas is only 3.5% which is why there are tons of people from NYC doing shopping in NJ.
Gas prices, my last fill-up $1.67/gallon good luck finding that anywhere in NYC.
Living in NYC is all about keeping up with the Jones, you want to be closer to where other rich and famous people live and you're struggling to keep up.
Do agree with quite a bit of this. NJ isn't perfect either and I hate the suburbs, but after living in BK for a few years I finally saw the light and would take close-in NJ hands down over outer-borough NYC, which I've grown thoroughly sick of and would have zero interest remaining in long term. Took awhile though I'll admit. There's a bit of a "New Jersey sucks, I'm not doing that" mental barrier that newbies to the tri-state area have to get over, but you can enjoy the city just as easily if you're near a PATH station and there is actually a whole other world over here that the NYC snobs tend to ignore completely. Far less silliness in general over on the NJ side of the Hudson and much easier to live with.
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