OT: RU grads that relocated to another state

[PatrickRU92]

There are things I miss about NJ, but I do not regret moving to California, and I'm never moving back

 

[RUgrad]

Left in 1985 and never came back. Lived in Boston, NH, LA, Orlando, and Dallas. I'd say that I got homesick after a few years away, but ended up moving back to Boston instead. After that I never felt the need to return.

 

[tychicus.]

moved to the bay area 6 months ago, no regrets yet...

I do miss good korean food and pizza

 

[NorthernKnight_rivals]

You live in Massachusetts and think there is no traffic? My company is just outside Boston and I'm up there most weeks of the month. Boston traffic is worse than northern New Jersey where I live.

I live in Western Mass...no traffic. Thanks for feeling the need to correct me though...

 

[NorthernKnight_rivals]

NJ worse drivers than Massholes?

Yes. Definitely.

 

[anon_ivydyf0amkzay]

I miss my hometown of oceanport...I kiss the shore...but the convoluted politics and other BS, no...of course I Iive in the cluster F*** known as NY so not much different

 

[Caliknight]

********.
New Jersey has a lot more. Mountains to the west, beaches to the east and farms in between. Great large towns/small cities like Red Bank, Long Branch and Asbury Park. Great entertainment options from small theaters, large venues, and great clubs for live music, especially in and around Asbury Park. It really is much like California- congested, rife with all sorts of issues, but the positives far outweigh the negatives. The biggest negative for me with NJ is the weather. ****** winters and hot and humid summers.

We have lived in upstate/western NY, Cincinnati, North Carolina and we spend a lot of time in Arizona. To us, they were all lacking in a lot of ways in diversity of people, foods, entertainment, etc.

It certainly has those things but none are particularly great. The mountains and beaches of Southern California are much better, for instance.

Pizza. Diners. Other food. That is where NJ shines. Beyond that, there are some nice areas, but with the, taxes, congestion, terrible weather, generally salty people...well, I was there for 5 years. The thought of living there beyond that never crossed my mind. I have lived in Australia, Baltimore, San Diego, areas around L.A, and you could add SF too with as much as I traveled there. If I had to move to NJ I would be depressed. But it isn't just NJ. I wouldn't move back to Baltimore either, though I would move there before NJ. The are lots of areas that don't add up to living in SoCal. I wish they did. Maybe then people would stop coming here in droves from around the world. NJ, like many places in the world, is truly lovable for one reason- you are from there.

 

[onesimus_rivals]

Not from what we see in the media reports ....quality of life in France , Great Britain etc. is certainly not what it was 15-20 years ago...I know several people who make just the opposite claims ...when was the last time New Jersey had armed military and police patrolling the streets ?...New Jersey certainly has many things I and others don't like but making a statement about the European quality of life in 2017 and how good it is?...do us all a favor stay and enjoy it...keep turning a blind eye to the issues Europe faces let alone the USA...

I don't live in either of those countries so whatever BS you're regurgitating from Fox News isn't applicable to me. In the same way sheepish Americans like you think Europe is being overrun by immigrants, there are people outside the U.S that think the police goes around shooting minorities indiscriminately in U.S. In other words- wake up and stop being so damn naive.

So yeah I'll take my 5+ weeks of vacation, 18 months of paid unemployment, 4 weeks of paid paternity leave, high salaries, and excellent quality of life for now.

 

[RU2055]

It certainly has those things but none are particularly great. The mountains and beaches of Southern California are much better, for instance.

Pizza. Diners. Other food. That is where NJ shines. Beyond that, there are some nice areas, but with the, taxes, congestion, terrible weather, generally salty people...well, I was there for 5 years. The thought of living there beyond that never crossed my mind. I have lived in Australia, Baltimore, San Diego, areas around L.A, and you could add SF too with as much as I traveled there. If I had to move to NJ I would be depressed. But it isn't just NJ. I wouldn't move back to Baltimore either, though I would move there before NJ. The are lots of areas that don't add up to living in SoCal. I wish they did. Maybe then people would stop coming here in droves from around the world. NJ, like many places in the world, is truly lovable for one reason- you are from there.

Dude, to each his own. I am born in San Jose but I would never live in California. Don't get me wrong, I like California very much, but there are things about California where New Jersey is better. For starters, the standard of living there isn't matched by the salaries. The divide between the rich and poor is very wide. I know tons of people who moved to NJ from California for this reason. Also, people in California are fake and pretentious. They give new meaning to the term "keeping up with the Joneses." They all think they're Hollywood. Also, you want to talk about congestion - holy moly, California is the king of congestion and traffic. The NJ Turnpike has nothing on the 101 freeway.

As far as people moving to California in droves, uhm, people are moving to New Jersey in droves too.

 

[TdogRU]

It certainly has those things but none are particularly great. The mountains and beaches of Southern California are much better, for instance.

Pizza. Diners. Other food. That is where NJ shines. Beyond that, there are some nice areas, but with the, taxes, congestion, terrible weather, generally salty people...well, I was there for 5 years. The thought of living there beyond that never crossed my mind. I have lived in Australia, Baltimore, San Diego, areas around L.A, and you could add SF too with as much as I traveled there. If I had to move to NJ I would be depressed. But it isn't just NJ. I wouldn't move back to Baltimore either, though I would move there before NJ. The are lots of areas that don't add up to living in SoCal. I wish they did. Maybe then people would stop coming here in droves from around the world. NJ, like many places in the world, is truly lovable for one reason- you are from there.

SoCal is nice. Mountains are bigger. Weather is generally better minus the smog. All these responses about the negative aspects of NJ ignore the most important draw of NJ, easy access to NYC which is by a wide margin the most interesting and exciting place in the entire country. Only places I've been that compare are London and Paris. That's the draw of NJ not Taylor Ham.

 

[T2Kplus10]

It certainly has those things but none are particularly great. The mountains and beaches of Southern California are much better, for instance.

Pizza. Diners. Other food. That is where NJ shines. Beyond that, there are some nice areas, but with the, taxes, congestion, terrible weather, generally salty people...well, I was there for 5 years. The thought of living there beyond that never crossed my mind. I have lived in Australia, Baltimore, San Diego, areas around L.A, and you could add SF too with as much as I traveled there. If I had to move to NJ I would be depressed. But it isn't just NJ. I wouldn't move back to Baltimore either, though I would move there before NJ. The are lots of areas that don't add up to living in SoCal. I wish they did. Maybe then people would stop coming here in droves from around the world. NJ, like many places in the world, is truly lovable for one reason- you are from there.

Whenever I visit SoCal and the LA area, I always get the vibe that this place is so fake. Fake people, fake lives, fake images. Obviously not you Cali!

But seriously, it just doesn't seem on the level.

 

[ponyfoot19]

I spent 50+ years in NJ, and agree with the thought if you grew up there you can pretty easily handle living elsewhere. Now retired and living in Virginia. Went from a 1600 sf home on a 50 x 150 lot to a 3600 sf house on just over 10 acres of mostly wooded property. Taxes are 20% of what I paid in Essex County. While I miss old friends still in NJ, we have the same stores (sans great delis) that are in NJ. For me its a better pace of life, people are friendlier and you can see the stars at night. I wouldn't move back to NJ unless I somehow got a good sized baachhouse with a waterview with my current property taxes.

 

[RU85inFla]

All these responses about the negative aspects of NJ ignore the most important draw of NJ, easy access to NYC which is by a wide margin the most interesting and exciting place in the entire country.

$197 RT from Florida to NYC. Many of us spend far more leisure time in NYC, Paris and London per year than when we lived in NJ.

 

[TdogRU]

$197 RT from Florida to NYC. Many of us spend far more leisure time in NYC, Paris and London per year than when we lived in NJ.

+ $300 hotel room. I can get there in 30 min on the weekend and be back home at night. It's more likely you just weren't taking advantage of proximity when you lived here.

I could fly to Florida for just the same price and skip sweating to death for 6 months.

 

[SteveVA2]

As noted above, my son lives in LA. As a footnote to nothing, he says that the 405 is called that because it takes that many minutes to get any place on it.

 

[Knight Shift]

It certainly has those things but none are particularly great. The mountains and beaches of Southern California are much better, for instance.

Pizza. Diners. Other food. That is where NJ shines. Beyond that, there are some nice areas, but with the, taxes, congestion, terrible weather, generally salty people...well, I was there for 5 years. The thought of living there beyond that never crossed my mind. I have lived in Australia, Baltimore, San Diego, areas around L.A, and you could add SF too with as much as I traveled there. If I had to move to NJ I would be depressed. But it isn't just NJ. I wouldn't move back to Baltimore either, though I would move there before NJ. The are lots of areas that don't add up to living in SoCal. I wish they did. Maybe then people would stop coming here in droves from around the world. NJ, like many places in the world, is truly lovable for one reason- you are from there.

You seem to want to focus on only the negatives of NJ and the positives of Ca.
I don't like earthquakes, wildfires or mudslides, so that rules SoCal out. Beaches in California suck. Water is cold, coastline is rocky in the north and towns along the beach around LA are full of homeless, crazies and weirdos. Traffic sucks much worse than NJ.

You probably never spent any time at the true Jersey Shore. No, not Seaside or Belmar. Sea Girt, Spring Lake, Ocean Grove, Asbury Park, Long Branch, Monmouth Beach, Rumson and Red Bank are much nicer than any coastal California town around LA. Further north there are some nicer towns such as Carmel and Santa Barbara, but these are exceptions.

A person living at the Jersey Shore can be in Philadelphia in just over an hour and to NYC by ferry in under an hour. But with the emergence of Red Bank and Asbury as major destinations, you don't have to go to the cities.

 

[T2Kplus10]

You seem to want to focus on only the negatives of NJ and the positives of Ca.
I don't like earthquakes, wildfires or mudslides, so that rules SoCal out. Beaches in California suck. Water is cold, coastline is rocky in the north and towns along the beach around LA are full of homeless, crazies and weirdos. Traffic sucks much worse than NJ.

You probably never spent any time at the true Jersey Shore. No, not Seaside or Belmar. Sea Girt, Spring Lake, Ocean Grove, Asbury Park, Long Branch, Monmouth Beach, Rumson and Red Bank are much nicer than any coastal California town around LA. Further north there are some nicer towns such as Carmel and Santa Barbara, but these are exceptions.

A person living at the Jersey Shore can be in Philadelphia in just over an hour and to NYC by ferry in under an hour. But with the emergence of Red Bank and Asbury as major destinations, you don't have to go to the cities.

And the south NJ beaches are even better.....Stone Harbor and Cape May!

 

[Caliknight]

Whenever I visit SoCal and the LA area, I always get the vibe that this place is so fake. Fake people, fake lives, fake images. Obviously not you Cali!

But seriously, it just doesn't seem on the level.

Living here is much different. Unless you know people here, SoCal isn't a great place to visit. You need to know how to navigate it. Fake people are everywhere from my experience. No more here than anywhere. There are just more people. It's funny though, the stereotypical fake people I meet here aren't from here. They are from everywhere else. Usually "industry" types. I get the same vibe from NY Wall St. guys, they are just more obnoxious and brash.

I guess it's just what you are into. If you like good weather, outdoor activities, skiing, surfing, golf, this is a great place. Like NYC, everything comes to you. If there was one city I was forced to live in and never leave, it's L.A. Fortunately I can. If you are willing to jump on a plane and go within 2 hours in any direction (ok 5 west to Hawaii), the possibilities are endless. Utah, Colorado, Arizona, Vegas, Punta Mita, Cabo...Jim Morrison had it right.

 

[jmg75]

I have lived in NYC, Tarrytown NY and Boston, but always ended up back in New Jersey. My wife and I returned Sunday from two weeks in California: Carmel, Santa Barbara & Montecito, back up to Monterey and then Napa
Valley. All great places, but when the driver dropped us off at our house in Sea Girt lateSunday night, we were both extremely glad to be home. It is a beautiful world out there, and we travel quite a bit to see it, but I don't think we could ever move out of New Jersey.

 

[Scarlet4ever]

Only moved over the Delaware Memorial Bridge and there are things I miss about NJ. There are also things I don't miss.

I am close enough to get back, especially for RU games. Even so, I do miss friends that stayed in NJ as its not easy to get back to North Jersey very easily or for more than a day trip, which also makes the travel suck. I also miss the proximity to NYC and the Jersey Shore. The food is another big thing. In NJ, we often take it for granted how many options we have. Pizza especially is not nearly as good just the hop down to Delaware. Also miss NJ sloppy joe's. It would also be nice not to deal with 2 hour commutes to RU games. But I guess I am lucky I am close enough to get to most games still.

Even though I moved away, most of the things I "don't miss" are things a football or basketball prospect wouldn't have to deal with while a student. I do not miss the traffic. I do not miss the property taxes. I do not miss the cost of real estate. For the price that I paid for a nice house in DE, I wouldn't be able to find a fixer-upper shack in NJ. Not sure how you guys that are residing there do it. Add on the fact that property taxes makes it like you are literally paying a second mortgage. I don't know how a lot of you guys afford it.

Fortunately I am close enough to get back when I really miss it. In Delaware I can get to Philly, NYC, Washington/Baltimore, Annapolis, NJ or DE beaches very easily, which is nice. In a perfect world, where I could afford it, I would love to have one house in the shadow of Rutgers Stadium and a more permanent address in the west somewhere like Colorado.

 

[FanuSanu52]

You seem to want to focus on only the negatives of NJ and the positives of Ca.
I don't like earthquakes, wildfires or mudslides, so that rules SoCal out. Beaches in California suck. Water is cold, coastline is rocky in the north and towns along the beach around LA are full of homeless, crazies and weirdos. Traffic sucks much worse than NJ.

You probably never spent any time at the true Jersey Shore. No, not Seaside or Belmar. Sea Girt, Spring Lake, Ocean Grove, Asbury Park, Long Branch, Monmouth Beach, Rumson and Red Bank are much nicer than any coastal California town around LA. Further north there are some nicer towns such as Carmel and Santa Barbara, but these are exceptions.

A person living at the Jersey Shore can be in Philadelphia in just over an hour and to NYC by ferry in under an hour. But with the emergence of Red Bank and Asbury as major destinations, you don't have to go to the cities.

Lol, now the Jersey Shore is nicer than the California coast. And Ocean Ave is probably more scenic than PCH, too. Must be because those NJ mountains are so big and beautiful, dropping right to sea level.

You're a shameless homer.

 

[TdogRU]

Lol, now the Jersey Shore is nicer than the California coast. And Ocean Ave is probably more scenic than PCH, too. Must be because those NJ mountains are so big and beautiful, dropping right to sea level.

You're a shameless homer.

California coast is much more beautiful and dramatic but if you plan on swimming it's too cold. I'll take the east coast beaches if you plan on going in.

It's not that NJ is the best at anything in particular outside of food it's that the variety of experiences is among the best in this country. Drive to ski in Vermont. Atlantic Ocean in the summer. The capital of the world a short drive away on any rainy day and all that comes with NYC. Most public schools are decent enough to send your kids to and plenty of tree lined suburbs with quaint downtowns. Most jobs in NYC metro area pay more (excluding Cali/Boston/DC). There's plenty of nice areas in this country but NJ can hold its own with any of them.

This thread also shows a sample bias because the crowd being queried are people that left NJ. If you left you most likely didn't appreciate it while you were here. Unsurprisingly you find a lot of negative viewpoints.

Funny that so many people who left feel that it was a great place to grow up so obviously even they believe it's a pretty good place to raise a family

 

[RU Mike73]

Left in 1980. 12 years in Richmond VA, 4 years in Toledo, 10 years in ST Louis and now 10 in Omaha. Still a football season ticket holder. Love NJ for all things RU but kids and grandkids scattered all over. Probably end up back in STL when I retire next year.

 

[RutgersSam]

I'm from Maryland and I get back enough not to miss it and get crabs shipped out so no worries. That state has gone downhill through.

I never once wished I moved back to NJ after graduating. Pizza. That's all NJ has. I would never live there.

Haha ok. This could be the most absurd post I've ever read.

 

[FanuSanu52]

California coast is much more beautiful and dramatic but if you plan on swimming it's too cold. I'll take the east coast beaches if you plan on going in.

It's not that NJ is the best at anything in particular outside of food it's that the variety of experiences is among the best in this country. Drive to ski in Vermont. Atlantic Ocean in the summer. The capital of the world a short drive away on any rainy day and all that comes with NYC. Most public schools are decent enough to send your kids to and plenty of tree lined suburbs with quaint downtowns. Most jobs in NYC metro area pay more (excluding Cali/Boston/DC). There's plenty of nice areas in this country but NJ can hold its own with any of them.

This thread also shows a sample bias because the crowd being queried are people that left NJ. If you left you most likely didn't appreciate it while you were here. Unsurprisingly you find a lot of negative viewpoints.

Funny that so many people who left feel that it was a great place to grow up so obviously even they believe it's a pretty good place to raise a family

You can swim in CA beaches. Plus better surfing. Was swimming, paddleboarding, surfing and kayaking on some of Cali's northernmost beaches first week of May - cold but doable, especially for the Cali folks on the trip.

I consider driving (4+ hours) to ski Vermont a disadvantage, part of why I moved. Have about 10,000 acres of world class resort ski terrain + cat and heli skiing + legit backcountry touring that hardly exists in the Northeast, all within under 30 mins. All much less crowded than Northeast, with limited numbers of NY and TX gapers, with untouched powder for days, even weeks. That's when skiing is a local advantage, not when you have to drive 7 hours to good, not great, skiing.

NJ does have a great mix of its own, but a lot of aggrandizement going on here. Better beach than the West coast, great skiing access, mountain life? C'mon!

 

[FanuSanu52]

Btw seems there are just as many folks who live in NJ singing its praises, not surprising, given the demo skews heavily toward NJ residents. Im not finding fault at all - gave my endorsement the second post of the thread. But keep it honest.

 

[RU85inFla]

California coast is much more beautiful and dramatic but if you plan on swimming it's too cold. I'll take the east coast beaches if you plan on going in.

It's not that NJ is the best at anything in particular outside of food it's that the variety of experiences is among the best in this country. Drive to ski in Vermont. Atlantic Ocean in the summer. The capital of the world a short drive away on any rainy day and all that comes with NYC. Most public schools are decent enough to send your kids to and plenty of tree lined suburbs with quaint downtowns. Most jobs in NYC metro area pay more (excluding Cali/Boston/DC). There's plenty of nice areas in this country but NJ can hold its own with any of them.

This thread also shows a sample bias because the crowd being queried are people that left NJ. If you left you most likely didn't appreciate it while you were here. Unsurprisingly you find a lot of negative viewpoints.

Funny that so many people who left feel that it was a great place to grow up so obviously even they believe it's a pretty good place to raise a family

Nobody said it was a random sample. Read the title.

 

[BeantownKnight]

I have to say that it's been pretty enjoyable reading the posts in this thread. I'm getting a little window, a little insight, into the lives of the people who call this message board home. Some of these stories parallel mine. Some, are from it. All in all, we do have at least one thing in common -- we all left. How we each feel about that fact is another matter.

It's 4th of July here tonight, as I write this, and that means that it's 19 years ago today that I moved to Boston. I didn't think that I'd be here more than a few years, if that. Actually, I didn't really do much thinking. I just wanted a city -- a place to call home that wasn't NYC or DC (where all of my friends had relocated after school). I worked in New Brumfus for a few years, sent out resumes, and was interviewing all over this great land of ours before an offer came in from right here in Boston. I had no connection to Boston, no family or friends, and never even visited but figured "well - it's a city, so let's give it a try!"

Like a great many others here in this thread, in my first 10 years here, I found all of the things that were different and that I'd missed about my former home in New Jersey. But, then I stopped thinking about all of that. I came to enjoy all of the unique and special things about my new home (accents aside, of course). There are opportunities here that I'd never had back in NJ; people I've met; places I've seen.

I still have family back in the Garden State and still visit a couple of times a year (the beauty of not moving too far away). I love to bring my family down to Cape May for vacation in the summer. But, after that (and my dear old Rutgers), I can't say that there's much I miss. Besides, after almost two decades away, too much has changed for me to recognize the place any longer.

I loved the home I had in Central New Jersey - and it will always have a special place in my heart - but I'm glad I've found a new home.

 

[nafije]

It certainly has those things but none are particularly great. The mountains and beaches of Southern California are much better, for instance.

Pizza. Diners. Other food. That is where NJ shines. Beyond that, there are some nice areas, but with the, taxes, congestion, terrible weather, generally salty people...well, I was there for 5 years. The thought of living there beyond that never crossed my mind. I have lived in Australia, Baltimore, San Diego, areas around L.A, and you could add SF too with as much as I traveled there. If I had to move to NJ I would be depressed. But it isn't just NJ. I wouldn't move back to Baltimore either, though I would move there before NJ. The are lots of areas that don't add up to living in SoCal. I wish they did. Maybe then people would stop coming here in droves from around the world. NJ, like many places in the world, is truly lovable for one reason- you are from there.

 

[nafije]

I am sure there are other places in the US that I would enjoy as much as living in NJ. But, naming pizza and diners trivializes what this area has to offer. I love the shore (which puts some other places to shame), the Theater district, world class museums, Rutgers football, many pro teams, outdoor activities year round, family, etc. Taxes are high, but salaries are higher for the driven people.

 

[LC-88]

Great post Beantown. I started life at 9 Gloucester St. between Commonwealth Ave. and the Charles. Boston would be my pick too if I lived in a city. I like mountains though. One of the reasons I moved to NC. 80 acres of trees, 3 springs, 3,500 ft. up in the Pisgah National Forest 1 mile from the TN line and the App. Trail.

 

[rutgersal_rivals139582]

You can swim in CA beaches. Plus better surfing. Was swimming, paddleboarding, surfing and kayaking on some of Cali's northernmost beaches first week of May - cold but doable, especially for the Cali folks on the trip.

I consider driving (4+ hours) to ski Vermont a disadvantage, part of why I moved. Have about 10,000 acres of world class resort ski terrain + cat and heli skiing + legit backcountry touring that hardly exists in the Northeast, all within under 30 mins. All much less crowded than Northeast, with limited numbers of NY and TX gapers, with untouched powder for days, even weeks. That's when skiing is a local advantage, not when you have to drive 7 hours to good, not great, skiing.

NJ does have a great mix of its own, but a lot of aggrandizement going on here. Better beach than the West coast, great skiing access, mountain life? C'mon!

No offense, but California beaches are pretty ******, which was a big disappointment for me. I've been to CA beaches from Pacifica to San Diego. Better surfing than NJ. Of course, but how many people actually surf. I'd say the swimming is about the same. The best beaches in the US are actually in FL. Siesta Key for one, blows away anything that CA has.

 

[brianoc]

To me it is about family. I want to live in close vicinity to them. Several moved but all came back. I love NJ but if I was born in raised in South Dakota and that was where my family was I would love that too.

 

[Upstream]

To me it is about family. I want to live in close vicinity to them. Several moved but all came back. I love NJ but if I was born in raised in South Dakota and that was where my family was I would love that too.

With telecommuting, I could really live anywhere I want. One of my colleagues lives in North Dakota. I don’t know why she lives in ND (family, husband's job, or another reason), but she loves it there, and it's her home.

I choose to stay in NJ, even though I could choose to live elsewhere.

As someone else pointed out, the respondents in this thread are mostly people who moved from NJ. Whether they chose to move away, or feel that they were forced to, there was something that took them from NJ to their new home. I would hope that they're happy there. Especially if they've been in their new home for a decade or longer, and have put down roots, it would be sad if they are unhappy with their new home.

 

[Scarlet16e2]

Left New Jersey 10 years ago.
Born and raised in NJ and I will always love it there, but I also love it here in New Hampshire and have no desire to move back. I drive my RV down for every Rutgers home game, plus still have family in Cape May County, so I get back enough to get my fill.

 

[RBS05]

For people who left NJ either with young kids, or before having kids, how would you compare schools where you ended up vs what you know about NJ?

 

[TonyLieske]

I am kind of neutral on NJ. I grew up here (South Jersey) for the most part and went to undergrad here (Rutgers). After I graduated I started working at a company local to where I grew up but eventually moved to Montreal. It was nice to experience something different for a while but the weather was too much for me to consider living there permanently. Eventually I ended up moving back to South Jersey to go to grad school in Philly (Temple). After finishing that I moved back to Canada, but this time ended up in the suburbs of Toronto. Weather was surprisingly much more mild than Montreal and actually not that different than NJ. The population was much more diverse so it followed that the cuisine was also much more diverse. Coming from South Jersey though the cost of living was much higher actually. All things considered though I liked living there and would have been happy to stay there indefinitely, but eventually ended up getting offered a job/promotion back where I started in South Jersey.

Now that I am back in South Jersey I like it here well enough . I know from traveling for work that i couldn't live in the south of the US. Its funny seeing complaints earlier in thread about NJ's "hot and humid" summers...I don't think I ever knew what humid was until I spent some time in South Carolina and Georgia. Mr brother lived in Texas for a few years so I got to experience that a bit when I visited him and I don't think I would want to live there either. Haven't ever tried way out west though so maybe it really is nicer. I am just generally skeptical of claims about how much nicer this place is versus that place...generally speaking every place I have seen has its ups and downs. For me NJ is a nice mix of weather/convenience/stuff to do.

I would note that people shouldn't conflate how expensive North Jersey/NYC surburbs are with all of NJ. I live in what i consider to be a nice house in a nice neighborhood. Its a 2100 sq ft home with a 600 sq ft attached garage and I pay about $5000 a year in property taxes. Higher than average for the country of course but doesn't seem outrageous to me. I live about ~5 miles away from where I work so moving to Delaware or PA or save on property taxes would get lost in higher fuel costs and wear and tear on my car, not to mention the amount of wasted time commuting. I probably won't retire in NJ though TBH. Once I am on a fixed income the property taxes would be a bigger deal.

 

[Guaro316]

I'm not originally from NJ, I went to Rutgers and stayed 13 more years after graduation, so I can easily say NJ is rough around the edges to say the least. But I have to it is. It as bad as some make it out to be, while living there I tried to see as much as I could and can say there are some wonderful places in NJ. Last November I moved my family to Wilmington, NC since we have family down here. Wilmington is a nice little city but have definitely grown a bit homesick, people are nice and home prices are great but it is definitely an adjustment to southern culture.

 

[ru66]

there's no place like home

 

[newwavedave1]

The Shore, the food, archery deer hunting, old friends, family, and RU games top the list of things I miss. Crushing taxes/high real estate prices , traffic/overall congestion,humidity, and lousy roads are just a few of the things I don't miss. Lower taxes/real estate prices, low humidity, archery elk hunting, salmon/steelhead fishing, REAL mountains/wilderness, Oregon/Washington coasts, Puget Sound/San Juan Islands, Lake Chelan, and well maintained roads, make North Central Washington hard to beat. In fact, Wenatchee has made more than one list of great places to live.