Do you ever think about moving out of state?

rick81721

Lothar
People take things too personally. Where you choose to live is a personal preference, just like what you like to eat or what you like to wear. I grew up in Pennsylvania "America starts here!" - that was a great slogan btw. I then lived 2 years in Chicago before moving to NJ in 1985.

There's nothing wrong with NJ or the people who live here. Are people in the midwest or south a little more polite? Probably, but I attribute more to a slower pace of life than anything else. For us, it came down to winters. We just aren't winter people, never were even in early adulthood. Later in life, winter became something unpleasureable to endure, and with it lasting basically one third of the year, it became untenable for us. So as soon as we retired, we moved part-time to the warmest place in the lower 48 states - Florida. But as nice as it is in the winter, the summers are brutally hot, as such our plan for the foreseeable future is to maintain a part-time presence in NJ for may - sept, at least as long as our son is in NJ. If he moves elsewhere after college/marriage, we will likely change part-time residence to whereever he goes.
 

stb222

Love Drunk
Jerk Squad
Who do you guys hang out with that you think everyone in this state is an asshole? I like my friends. Maybe you guys need new friends.

I've traveled for work to a bunch of cities in the US. I can agree that yeah, there are assholes everywhere.

I'm also mostly underwhelmed by food in NJ - as a general rule. There's plenty of good food to be had, if you're willing to travel/look for it. But there's a lot of very mediocre food here as well. The cost of real estate makes taking a risk on a fringe restaurant prohibitive. In my travels, I have found that the mid-level cities have a really good food & coffee scene. They're also often in barren areas that may or may not survive.

If you do not take advantage of NYC then NJ becomes much less awesome.
I know you go for work, but you are bascially
On an NJ vacation when you travel. You get to pick the best places where you are going, if you lived there, those places would become old too. I have travel les a bit in the us and the ethic diversity always seems to be lacking in other parts of the country.
 

stb222

Love Drunk
Jerk Squad
Went to CX Nats in Louisville this year. I wouldn't move there for various reasons but I definitely thought "This is a horrible fucking city to visit, probably pretty decent to actually live in"

The Tacos were legit. Have I mentioned NJ tacos suck?
You have not been to Tacoria, my
Friend.
 

qclabrat

Well-Known Member
Yes, every time we travel, but in reality no, not really.

If you are moving due to finances, then go for it, it's totally understandable.

Otherwise I think happiness is where you make it. I can envision a time in the future when the kids have all gone off to college where we just travel & roam wherever we want. I can work from anywhere. But the kids keep us here. So we're not going anywhere soon. Then there are the parents, strung between NJ and Canada.

We will almost certainly retire in Canada because the US sucks for that part of life.
What makes retiring in Canada favorable compared to US? If I can swing it, I'd like to work alternating in Asia and the west coast for a few months at a time. Will be econmical and allow me to travel more. My kids are older than yours but my parents are keep me local as well.
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
I know you go for work, but you are bascially
On an NJ vacation when you travel. You get to pick the best places where you are going, if you lived there, those places would become old too. I have travel les a bit in the us and the ethic diversity always seems to be lacking in other parts of the country.

100%

St. Louis had some really great places to eat but it was a rat race connecting the dots at times. And NFW would I ever move there.

I was going to mention the diversity in some of these other places but decided to delete it. But I agree with that sentiment as well. Some places I’ve been are a tad too overtly racist for my tastes.

I’ll reiterate that you usually find happiness within, not without.

I got one of the best espressos I’ve had in a long time today in Highland Park. And we had a fantastic hot pot lunch just down the road in Edison. So I’m probably not being entirely fair in that regard. Plus H Mart is awesome.
 

qclabrat

Well-Known Member
In the OOS thread I mentioned I was switching positions at work and it comes with the option of moving to El Paso Texas or Louisville Kentucky both of those are nopes I'd go to Colorado but mehhh. When I retire I'm going to my parents home country if my wife let's it.
But that's like 40years from now. I've paid jersey taxes longer than you've been alive... Think how I must feel. I actually like it here and it's not a priority to leave. Property taxes aren't terrible in all parts of NJ, I've lived in Somerset and Middlesex county, both are reasonable, unlike Bergen and Essex.
 

qclabrat

Well-Known Member
Went to CX Nats in Louisville this year. I wouldn't move there for various reasons but I definitely thought "This is a horrible fucking city to visit, probably pretty decent to actually live in"

The Tacos were legit. Have I mentioned NJ tacos suck?
Plainfield area has good tacos, so does Dover. I personally don't like the hipster west coast fakes. Kinda like the Chinese bao fashion. Most are terrible, I'd take a Chinatown steamed bun any day.
 

Patrick

Overthinking the draft from the basement already
Staff member
just rambling......ignore, you are warned.

since my spouse is from STL, i get the inside scoop on where to go, and not go. the locals (meaning my family) are not adventurous past bbq, but a little search,
and we force them to go.....

my nephew lives in Ferguson, and his mixed neighborhood is safe because everyone is sitting on the front porch saying hello,
and asking where ya from (since they know you aren't from there) - given all that went down, it is amazing. i guess it is all about the effort.
all the neighborhoods are the typical "development" - 100x75 lots. perhaps it is better than condo living? perhaps not.

Mentioned in my thread that Toronto was amazing. It is a big city if you are from anywhere that doesn't have a big city - and i mean big city, not philly. :D
Thought it was fantastic - even for just a few days. Same with Vancouver. I liked the diversity.

My parents retired to florida - lived in a walled community that had families. It wasn't expensive in NJ terms, easily affordable on their retirement income,
in fact they were cash flow positive. go figure. so there is that. Near the QVC studios - @seanrunnette .....

Cold: i want to visit cold, not live there. Vail in late March/April is amazing. But it is a young person's game to work there.
Hot: Hell no, i was in Phoenix at 110 couple of years ago. holy crap. Dry heat, yeah, dry you out.
 

clarkenstein

JORBA Board Member/Chapter Leader
JORBA.ORG
During Thanksgiving my wife and I flew the kids out to my sister-in-law’s place in Monument CO. It started a conversation we haven’t had in a while. We started talking about moving. We both agreed that CO is pretty much Jersey now compared to the last time I was there. COL went up something like 33% in the last handful of years in that area and it shows. Houses now priced Jersey style - just cheaper taxes and more Walmart’s. Traffic was the same as here since everything built is crammed into the Front Range. I shared one picture on Instagram on the first day and got hit with 4 realtors - two sending PMs within the hour of the post. That was a little... intense, sorta like jersey.

That said we started thinking about it. And as the universe likes to do, I get a call from a headhunter offering up a decent possibility out there. I passed on it, but it got me thinking.

As @fidodie talked about it wasn’t a lateral move in title (a title up) but financially speaking it almost was lateral. Plus I’m in Pharma and like the industry and we live in the nations medicine cabinet. That’s changing though.

For riding, I love my local roads, but they are getting developed. New housing is getting dropped left and right and it sucks. @stb222 you pretty much have the best of both worlds but I would beat myself to death with my current commute, which probably won’t be a long term commute but I have never had a good one anyway. @Santapez great post and you and @Norm are right on the food though. It’s rare to score around here.

My kids don’t seem in love with our area except the beach. And that’s one thing I have a very hard time with - being landlocked. I’ve always been by the ocean. And even head to the beach in the winter here and there. It would be strange to have to fly to it and my kids freaking love the beach.
 
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rick81721

Lothar
My kids don’t seem in love with our area except the beach. And that’s one thing I have a very hard time with - being landlocked. I’ve always been by the ocean. And even head to the beach in the winter here and there. It would be strange to have to fly to it and my kids freaking love the beach.

Totally forgot about that. We both like being close to the ocean (but not right on it), that was a requirement as well. I like mountains but wifey doesn't. We actually seriously considered Hawaii for a time but ruled it out as too inconvenient for visitors or travel back to family.
 

thegock

Well-Known Member
My wife and I had dinner with Jimmy Page on the upper East side and then saw Seinfeld live at the Beacon Friday...so there are advantages to NYC proximity.

I fantasize about Asheville, SC is not far away, but two notches more racist. TBS, a pickup truck driver, waited for me to ride my road bike down a mile of dirt road before passing us on the county pavement in SC about 8 years ago. Wouldn't see that in NJ, maybe.


IDK

IMG_20190203_122402-01.jpeg

I like Jersey.
 
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Mr. E Man

Well-Known Member
When I graduated high school I had the opportunity to move to Florida but didn’t because my first niece was born and I wanted to be part of her life.
My father moved to PA, and regrets it. And I don’t blame him. Yes, it might be cheaper than NJ but certain parts it’s like their 10 decades behind NJ. It’s really depressing. And when I go there it makes me appreciate NJ more. A lot of people forget that schools in NJ are really good too. One day I’ll have a family and once my kids graduate high school.. I’m out of this suck hole corroputed state.
 

Robin

Well-Known Member
We've been fortunate to live in a few cool places (San Diego, VT and ME) as well as travel a lot. Some how we are back in NJ.

As an educator I see how NJ values teachers as opposed to other states. One reason we are staying.

Another reason is family. While we don't have kids keeping us grounded, my parent's health is a concern. I need to be close to them (they retired in PA).

We sometimes complain about being here but it's home for at least the next 13 years, when I retire.
 
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Tim

aka sptimmy43
Who do you guys hang out with that you think everyone in this state is an asshole?

I should clarify that it's not that everyone is an asshole per se. Things here are just faster paced. Everyone is in a rush. Traffic can be horrific. Everywhere you go there are lots of people. There are a lot of high paying jobs here. That leads to more stress. Things are expensive, etc. Take all that and add it up and people aren't always too cordial.
 

A Potted Plant

Honorary Sod
But that's like 40years from now. I've paid jersey taxes longer than you've been alive... Think how I must feel. I actually like it here and it's not a priority to leave. Property taxes aren't terrible in all parts of NJ, I've lived in Somerset and Middlesex county, both are reasonable, unlike Bergen and Essex.

My taxes aren't to bad because this is all I know. I think ours is 6500, which in NJ is on the better end so it will keep me from bitching for a long time.
 
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