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.
Same for Irvington, Newark, Paterson, Passaic, New Brunswick, Plainfield, East Orange, Orange, etc.
Good luck speaking English in Union City, Cliffside Park, Fort Lee, Palisades Park, or North Bergen.
The Meadowlands, and the towns that surround it, are known toxic waste dumps with more Superfund sites than many states 4x the size of NJ. The Passaic River is where much of the Agent Orange was dumped years ago. The photo attached is a tributary of the Passaic in Kearny- no it is not enhanced in anyway, the anti-freeze color is real. Berry's Creek in Lyndhurst is one of the most polluted waterways in NJ- it has mercury levels that make the water in Onondaga Lake look like a bottle of Fiji.
Linden / Elizabeth area has huge oil refineries, its where NJ gets its characteristic smell and is a known cancer cluster.
Further west, towns are ok but almost untouchable by the vast majority of people of average means.
And to think the state is know at the Garden State......
Same for Irvington, Newark, Paterson, Passaic, New Brunswick, Plainfield, East Orange, Orange, etc.
Good luck speaking English in Union City, Cliffside Park, Fort Lee, Palisades Park, or North Bergen.
The Meadowlands, and the towns that surround it, are known toxic waste dumps with more Superfund sites than many states 4x the size of NJ. The Passaic River is where much of the Agent Orange was dumped years ago. The photo attached is a tributary of the Passaic in Kearny- no it is not enhanced in anyway, the anti-freeze color is real. Berry's Creek in Lyndhurst is one of the most polluted waterways in NJ- it has mercury levels that make the water in Onondaga Lake look like a bottle of Fiji.
Linden / Elizabeth area has huge oil refineries, its where NJ gets its characteristic smell and is a known cancer cluster.
Further west, towns are ok but almost untouchable by the vast majority of people of average means.
None of that has anything to do with the question I asked.
Quote:
East of 287 is looking more and more like a third-world hellhole.
Emphasis mine. How so?
Virtually every one of the problem areas you mention are either the same or better than they were 10 years ago.
Interesting piece in the NY Daily News (yeah I know but it came up on Google News's "NY" section) about the slow death of the suburbs of New Jersey, Westchester and Long Island.
Cannot say I agree with the entire article but some of it does ring true. Know more than a handful of family members and friends who bailed out of not just NYC but NJ and LI for the South.
"At a time when New York City itself is growing, the suburban dream here has slowly died, choked off by a difficult commutes, stagnant local economies, RAPIDLY RISING HOUSE PRICES, and punishing property taxes.
If it sucks so bad, how can home prices be rising rapidly? People should be leaving, and prices should be falling. Just with that sentence alone the guy has zero credibility.
The fact is, most families of four can afford to live in desirable parts of New York City. Sure, you can live in Bensonhurst or Washington Heights, but do you really want to.
The close-in suburbs of Westchester County are doing very well, thank you very much. And they always will. A house, a driveway, a lawn, and a good school district will always be a strong pull.
This article seems spot-on from what I've observed and experienced first-hand. Not one person I know is seeking to move to Long Island or suburban areas in NJ. West of 287, NJ is dead. NE PA is dead as a doornail; people can't even sell their homes for peanuts there. I know, I'm there once a week. East of 287 is looking more and more like a third-world hellhole. The only part of NJ that is growing naturally is Ocean County. By naturally I mean, people want to live there. Unlike most of NJ where 5 middle-class families move out, and 5 immigrant families move in. Hence the appearance of stability but anyone whos been here can see that Christie has done nothing here but fill in a few potholes and allow online casinos in his 8 years.
$80 billion deficit to be coming down the pike as well, with an 8 million population to pay for it. All to fund bloated pensions so no one in NJ will see any benefit from it (most of the retirees already moved to cheaper states anyway). Who's gonna stick around for that? Not me...
Taxes of $12k on a $300k house? Its the same on Long Island and Westchester. What's the point in buying anything?
Westfield is a hellhole? Summit? Basking Ridge? Maplewood? Livingston? Dozens more? Are you out of your mind?
Same for Irvington, Newark, Paterson, Passaic, New Brunswick, Plainfield, East Orange, Orange, etc.
Good luck speaking English in Union City, Cliffside Park, Fort Lee, Palisades Park, or North Bergen.
The Meadowlands, and the towns that surround it, are known toxic waste dumps with more Superfund sites than many states 4x the size of NJ. The Passaic River is where much of the Agent Orange was dumped years ago. The photo attached is a tributary of the Passaic in Kearny- no it is not enhanced in anyway, the anti-freeze color is real. Berry's Creek in Lyndhurst is one of the most polluted waterways in NJ- it has mercury levels that make the water in Onondaga Lake look like a bottle of Fiji.
Linden / Elizabeth area has huge oil refineries, its where NJ gets its characteristic smell and is a known cancer cluster.
Further west, towns are ok but almost untouchable by the vast majority of people of average means."
"At a time when New York City itself is growing, the suburban dream here has slowly died, choked off by a difficult commutes, stagnant local economies, RAPIDLY RISING HOUSE PRICES, and punishing property taxes.
If it sucks so bad, how can home prices be rising rapidly? People should be leaving, and prices should be falling. Just with that sentence alone the guy has zero credibility.
The fact is, most families of four can afford to live in desirable parts of New York City. Sure, you can live in Bensonhurst or Washington Heights, but do you really want to.
The close-in suburbs of Westchester County are doing very well, thank you very much. And they always will. A house, a driveway, a lawn, and a good school district will always be a strong pull.
Depending on where you work or what you do, yes! Not everyone likes long commutes.
With that said there will always be some well of suburbs. At the same time clearly there are bad suburbs and suburban poverty is growing as poor people move out of the city into suburbs and as professionals move from suburbs to big cities.
"At a time when New York City itself is growing, the suburban dream here has slowly died, choked off by a difficult commutes, stagnant local economies, RAPIDLY RISING HOUSE PRICES, and punishing property taxes.
If it sucks so bad, how can home prices be rising rapidly? People should be leaving, and prices should be falling. Just with that sentence alone the guy has zero credibility.
The fact is, most families of four can afford to live in desirable parts of New York City. Sure, you can live in Bensonhurst or Washington Heights, but do you really want to.
The close-in suburbs of Westchester County are doing very well, thank you very much. And they always will. A house, a driveway, a lawn, and a good school district will always be a strong pull.
Agree on behalf of Nassau county! I live in central Nassau and I've seen home prices that are rising back to pre-2008 levels in some neighborhoods. And young families are not always willing to play Russian Roulette with the NYC school application system, so there are definitely an influx of families from the city moving out here.
Agree on behalf of Nassau county! I live in central Nassau and I've seen home prices that are rising back to pre-2008 levels in some neighborhoods. And young families are not always willing to play Russian Roulette with the NYC school application system, so there are definitely an influx of families from the city moving out here.
And even so the stats show the white population has declined in the suburbs, while it has GROWN in NYC!
Lastly the school systems in LI aren't magic. I've known married white parents in the suburbs to raise kids who became washed up addicts with no career. There is not totally perfect school system and it's a myth life is perfect in the suburbs.
First, the authors are Wendell Cox and Joel Kotkin, who are basically extremist urbanity-bashers. They hate older metro areas and think the future is in places like Phoenix and Charlotte. That's their whole shtick. They write dozens of articles like this every year, with lurid headlines like "Why San Francisco is doomed" or "How can Boston fix itself".
The actual data shows that the NYC metro area is actually outperforming the national economy. Yes, the suburban parts are growing slower than NYC proper, but the overall region is doing very well on a comparative basis.
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.
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.
