Maybe you find yourself living in Bronx, Brooklyn, Stanton Island, New York City, etc. and you are strongly considering to move to New Jersey, right next door New York. In this article, we purport to show you why this might not be a bad idea at all.
One of the first thing you will love doing when settled in New Jersey is to have breakfast at Krispy Kreme, by the way, they have a factory in New Jersey city. Although their doughnuts are loaded with tons of calories and carbs, but if you love doughnuts, then you’ll feel like treating yourself here.
I would like to dispel some myths surrounding the city of New Jersey, for example, “Jersey City costs more to transport than Manhattan”. False! New York’s city costs 40% more than Jersey city.
The second myth I’ve heard is that it takes a lot of time to get to work from Jersey city. False! A lot of people that live here work in New York and they know that is not as Brooklyn or Manhattan where things take longer to transport. This is more slow-paced so that you can relax compared to Brooklyn or New York City.
The cost of living in New Jersey is so much lower than New York, Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan, etc. If you are looking to save some money, you really need to move there.
If you lived in New York City, you’ll find that grocery stores are not as ubiquitous as it is in New Jersey. What people do in New York is that they go to places like Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Bodegas; which are expensive. Contrary to that, one of the benefits in New Jersey city is that you do have grocery stores with coupons. Now, don’t get me wrong, there is Bodega in New Jersey too.
Unlike Manhattan where you have to go to different blocks to find different stores, here in New Jersey city you have a plethora of stores centralized to find virtually everything you need in one area.
- There’s even one street where people go at night and eat burgers, steak, try different restaurants and the prices are very affordable compared to New York.
- Moreover, if you’re looking to get the most bang out of your buck, you will be able to find something spacious in New Jersey for a reasonable price.
- In terms of accessibility to New York, Pennsylvanian, Jersey Shore. This state is definitely conveniently accessible to so many important places. On top of that, you could drive for miles in northern New Jersey and some of the north western areas and you’ll find that there’s nothing but farms.
- Now, the tomatoes, the blueberries, the corn and specially the peaches in New Jersey are among the best anywhere.
- Furthermore, education is arguably one of the best in the country. You got some of the top rated schools. Of course, most people are more concerned about the economic implications of moving to New Jersey but comparing pound to pound of what you pay in New Jersey to other states, the value is there.
There’s a lot that needs to be done to improve even more the economy of the State, but depending on where you are, you’ll experience the value you’re getting for your money. Think about it in terms of the space, transportation, food, education, you can’t beat it!
There are some extra details that you’ll get to know in New Jersey:
- Not having to pump gas in your car. Pumping gas into your car is not going to be a problem in New Jersey, and trust me, once you try it, you’ll love it (specially in the winter).
- Quality Chinese food. It doesn’t matter where you call in New Jersey, you’ll always love the quality of chinese food there.
- New Jersey has the most unfavorable opinion in the entire union. This is a bit of a joke but, hey, if you are going to live in a place that’s hated by everyone, then you better rank number one.
I recently found out that people in other states don’t curse as much as people here (not sure about New York) I’ve honestly found that my friends from New Jersey curse so much to the point that they’re very creative when it comes to curses. You’ll end up speaking that way. Don’t get me wrong, there are people with gracious and hospitable qualities, for the most part.
Maybe being that way is how they have managed to get moving and avoid laying back and slacking. They’re always putting energy into work and the way they do things. So, if you happen to find someone who’s rude to you, most probably is that that person is not rude, it’s just that you’re too slow.
Some Cons of Living in New Jersey
I think that enough apologetics in pro of New Jersey has been made in this article, that I must add a fact that some people hate and others miss when move out of state. That is snow. New Jersey is cold. You couldn’t expect less if you are up north.
Taxes are a it high, but are manageable if you watch your income and expenses responsibly. In fact, some people have complained that they’re home taxes are higher than their mortgage.
According to Investopedia:
On average, New Jersey levies the highest property tax rates in the United States. The average assessment is 1.89% of the property value, which is the highest in the nation. This average assessment equates to 7.45% of an individual’s annual income, which is also the highest in the nation. The 2015 median property tax paid in New Jersey was $6,579, which again topped the amount paid nationwide. New Jersey’s 2016 effective property tax rate of 2.29% leads the nation as well.
Although New Jersey only has 21 counties, the state has 565 municipalities with their own support staff, which requires funding. Property taxes levied in New Jersey support municipal services, such as police and road maintenance. They also support regional public schools, county government, parks, elections, library service and fire service taxes. State support covers only 15% of municipality expenses, and the average cost to operate the local governments within New Jersey has increased 44.3% from September 2000 to September 2012. Meanwhile, the budget allocations for municipality tax relief programs decreased 18.4% from 2001 to 2011. New Jersey implements a very high property tax rate because it is the almost-exclusive funding source for municipalities.
Funding for schools is another reason as to why the property tax rates in New Jersey are so high. Only one-third of school spending is covered by state support, with the majority of this cost going toward salaries and benefits. For example, in 2014, the average cost per pupil in New Jersey public schools was $15,257. Of this amount, $13,064 went toward staff base pay and benefits. The 2014 budget allocated 25% of resources to directly aid New Jersey’s public schools. New Jersey is celebrated for having one of the most progressive and generous school funding systems, and this is made possible through heavy property tax levies.
Overall, you can decide based on true testimonies from people who are making a very decent living there, or just guide your choice by dark prejudices of those who find among the “haters” of New Jersey.
