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For those who've moved to Jersey (Read 805 times)


ultramarathon/triathlete

    First the good news :-) 

    My wife and I are expecting... and it's twins (well, the second part will one day be good news, for now, it's oh shit news). 

    So, with that in mind, we're thinking we're eventually going to have to leave our wonderful 1 bedroom apartment in Park Slope, for something bigger. Which might mean, not Park Slope. I really don't want to move to some other neighborhood, but realistically, we may not be able to afford to stay considering daycare (or a nanny) will likely cost us close to 3 grand a month. 

    My mother-in-law, in NJ (my wife is from NJ) wants us to move there. Out of mild curiosity I checked out the Times real estate, and saw some pretty amazing places in Essex county for much less than our current apartment (even considering the insane NJ taxes). 

    So, the question: 
    For those who have moved out to NJ. Did your life end? Do you hate it? Or is it actually a mecca that people in NYC just choose to ignorantly ignore? 

    HTFU?  Why not!

    USATF Coach

    Empire Tri Club Coach
    Gatorade Endurance Team

    stadjak


    Interval Junkie --Nobby

      NJ is a cultural and intellectual wasteland.   But then again, you're having a kid which means you've just checked the Suburbia option in life.

       

      /me escaped NJ 15 years ago and haven't looked back.

      2021 Goals: 50mpw 'cause there's nothing else to do


      ultramarathon/triathlete

        NJ is a cultural and intellectual wasteland.   But then again, you're having a kid which means you've just checked the Suburbia option in life.

         

        /me escaped NJ 15 years ago and haven't looked back.

         

         

        *Two kids*

        HTFU?  Why not!

        USATF Coach

        Empire Tri Club Coach
        Gatorade Endurance Team

          NJ is a cultural and intellectual wasteland.   But then again, you're having a kid which means you've just checked the Suburbia option in life.

           

          /me escaped NJ 15 years ago and haven't looked back.

           Coward. 

          "If you have the fire, run..." -John Climacus

            First the good news :-) 

            My wife and I are expecting... and it's twins (well, the second part will one day be good news, for now, it's oh shit news). 

            So, with that in mind, we're thinking we're eventually going to have to leave our wonderful 1 bedroom apartment in Park Slope, for something bigger. Which might mean, not Park Slope. I really don't want to move to some other neighborhood, but realistically, we may not be able to afford to stay considering daycare (or a nanny) will likely cost us close to 3 grand a month. 

            My mother-in-law, in NJ (my wife is from NJ) wants us to move there. Out of mild curiosity I checked out the Times real estate, and saw some pretty amazing places in Essex county for much less than our current apartment (even considering the insane NJ taxes). 

            So, the question: 
            For those who have moved out to NJ. Did your life end? Do you hate it? Or is it actually a mecca that people in NYC just choose to ignorantly ignore? 

             

            I live in Jersey and may be moving to Passaic County (borders Essex).  I moved to Jersey from Rockland County, New York (where I grew up), just outside the City.

             

            Regarding culture, the New Jersey Performing Arts Center is in Essex County, in the Ironbound section of Newark. NYC is very accessible from Essex/North Jersey.  I should know: I access it all the time.       

            "If you have the fire, run..." -John Climacus


            A Saucy Wench

              Park Slope?  You are already on the wrong side of the bridge, what does it matter if you are instead on the wrong side of the tunnels?

              I have become Death, the destroyer of electronic gadgets

               

              "When I got too tired to run anymore I just pretended I wasnt tired and kept running anyway" - dd, age 7


              Feeling the growl again

                 Coward. 

                 

                No kidding.  My first trip to Jersey I drove through Camden in a borrowed, brand new Mercedes.  Nothing quite compares after that.

                "If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does.  There's your pep talk for today.  Go Run." -- Slo_Hand

                 

                I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills

                 

                  No kidding.  My first trip to Jersey I drove through Camden in a borrowed, brand new Mercedes.  Nothing quite compares after that.

                   

                  Camden has the highest crime rate in all of New Jersey.  But every state has corners into which it pushes the poor to the point of desperation, resentment, and violence.  This social problem is not unique to New Jersey.  

                   

                  The Jersey Shore cast is largely from Staten Island, NY, incidentally.  

                  "If you have the fire, run..." -John Climacus

                  Wing


                  Joggaholic

                    No kidding.  My first trip to Jersey I drove through Camden in a borrowed, brand new Mercedes.  Nothing quite compares after that.

                     

                    I drove through Camden once late at night, in a crappy borrowed car. I constantly feared the thing falling apart going over countless bumps and potholes. I also thought my GPS was crap because it had no reason to direct me through the local streets...

                      NJ is a cultural and intellectual wasteland.   But then again, you're having a kid which means you've just checked the Suburbia option in life.

                       

                      /me escaped NJ 15 years ago and haven't looked back.

                       

                      I will assume that this is either a joke, or you're opinion which I don't agree with.

                       

                      Those pesky places like Princeton...yeah, cultural and intellectual wastelands...

                      Jeff

                        Camden, and Newark (Ironbound notwithstanding) yes, can be very scary places to drive through in your Mercedes.

                         

                        But, yeah, let's judge the entire state by those two cities that are essentially the dumping grounds of New York and Philadelphia.  And also, yes, let's judge by what we see on TV's "Jersey Shore".  A show that features people who aren't even from New Jersey.

                         

                        Yep.  Let's do that.

                         

                        If anyone really wants to discuss New Jersey intelligently, I'm willing.  I dont' know much about "North Jersey", being from the South, where there are more farms than houses, but I know enough to know which are nice and less pleasant places to live in the North.

                         

                        If some of you thought you were making jokes, well, I wasn't laughing.  I'm having a bad day.  Sorry to take offense.

                        Jeff


                        Feeling the growl again

                          Camden has the highest crime rate in all of New Jersey.  But every state has corners into which it pushes the poor to the point of desperation, resentment, and violence.  This social problem is not unique to New Jersey.  

                           

                          The Jersey Shore cast is largely from Staten Island, NY, incidentally.  

                           

                          I was trying to be funny about my experience with Camden.  It has a "special" reputation.  Of course I do not extrapolate that to represent the whole state any more than inner Detroit represents my birth state.

                          "If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does.  There's your pep talk for today.  Go Run." -- Slo_Hand

                           

                          I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills

                           

                            I was trying to be funny about my experience with Camden.  Of course I do not extrapolate that to represent the whole state any more than inner Detroit represents my birth state.

                             

                            Camden is truly an unpleasant place to be in (yet, I know people who grew up there, and still live there). 

                             

                            I live about 20 miles from there, and a few times, after dark, have gotten "stuck" there, accidentally getting off the interstate in the wrong place for one reason or another, lost in the town, stuck by one way streets, etc.  One time I actually followed an ambulance (that had stopped and picked someone up at a bar after a fight) through red lights and through stop signs and one way streets because I knew he was going to Cooper Medical Center, and I knew how to get home from there.

                             

                            It was not an enjoyable experience.

                             

                            It really was odd.  Literally, I was maybe 2 blocks from where I wanted to be, and I was scared out of my mind.

                             

                            But, in the 22 years I have lived in NJ, this has happened twice.

                             

                            Not sure if that means "Jersey is a cultural and intellectual wasteland".  And yes, I know you weren't the one who said that.

                             

                            Oh, also, Camden, oddly enough, has some extremely safe areas, particularly around Rutgers, the waterfront, the aquarium, and the arena. 

                             

                            Does that mean I would like to live there.  No.

                            Jeff

                              I was trying to be funny about my experience with Camden.  It has a "special" reputation.  Of course I do not extrapolate that to represent the whole state any more than inner Detroit represents my birth state.

                               

                              I have driven through Detroit, and wasn't happy about it.  Not at all.

                               

                              But, my destination at the time was "the thumb", on Lake Huron, and when I got to where I was going, I was close to thinking I would love to live here forever.  I can't recall, but it was directly north of a town called Bad Axe.  Right on the lake.  Beautiful.

                               

                              This is the problem with blanket statements.  And yes, once again, I know you weren't the person who originally made the statement that got me riled.

                              Jeff


                              Prince of Fatness

                                But every state has corners into which it pushes the poor to the point of desperation, resentment, and violence.  This social problem is not unique to New Jersey.  

                                 

                                Yeah pretty hard not to have those problems when you are sandwiched in between New York City and Philadelphia.

                                 

                                I grew up in Warren County and back when I was young you'd never know that I was anywhere near a city.  It was all small towns and farms.  Today I live about 10 miles from the house that I grew up in and while urban sprawl has made its way out here it's still not all that bad.

                                 

                                I'll never retire here as it's too damn expensive, but for now I will stick around.  I love the neighborhood that I live in, can afford it, and my wife and I have family close by.  That and we are within a couple of hours to the shore, the mountains, or the cities.

                                Not at it at all. 

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