The Covid effect.

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Norm said:
I do find it interesting that in a state where the average house price is like $600k, a few $1-$2 items are such a topic.

I think Walter alluded to it above, but NJ really does have a lot of mediocre food. You can get almost anything here, but it's not always great. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a good bagel and/or pizza as much as the next NJ native. But that's not enough to tip the balance to stay here. That said, there are a lot of positives about this area. Between NYC/Broadway and the ease of EWR to literally fly direct to almost anywhere in the world, it's hard to beat.

I also find the passive aggressive stuff about rich people & private schools pretty weak/obnoxious. We send our kids to public schools but we also know people who go to or send their kids to private schools, and the characterizations above are pretty pathetic. Again, don't get me wrong. I'm sure as hell not paying for our kids to to go Pingry. But good for the people who do. Make the decisions that you think work for you. Glass houses and stones, etc etc.

And it's pork roll.
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When we decided to leave NJ, pizza and bagels was basically the reason everyone gave for us being dumb for leaving. I don't want to shit on NJ food, but it definitely is mediocre considering the population density. There's definitely some great food options but it's amazing you can live in a high density spot and everything is mediocre. I attribute it probably to the high cost of running a food establishment. But then I almost moved to a place with OK food options but very limited on choices. I have to travel half an hour for OK Ramen or Indian. My pizza consumption is easily 10x what it was in NJ... I haven't even attempted to eat pizza from the generic pizza places in my town but there's a couple "gourmet" pizza places.

NJ has a ton of great jobs, I can't say it's any worse than most places out there and it's very diverse. You could be as urban as you go living near NYC or living in the middle of nowhere in plenty of the state. If you're in a few industries like finance or pharma it's worth paying the costs during your career. Part of surviving is to get the job that does not require a stupid commute, or live in a spot that leaving the driveway for anything sucks the life out of you.
 
I had really good pork roll chili at the Allenwood General Store after an Allaire ride recently.

The high school taxes in most wealthier towns subsidize all the low income area schools.
 
Norm said:
I do find it interesting that in a state where the average house price is like $600k, a few $1-$2 items are such a topic.

I think Walter alluded to it above, but NJ really does have a lot of mediocre food. You can get almost anything here, but it's not always great. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a good bagel and/or pizza as much as the next NJ native. But that's not enough to tip the balance to stay here. That said, there are a lot of positives about this area. Between NYC/Broadway and the ease of EWR to literally fly direct to almost anywhere in the world, it's hard to beat.

I also find the passive aggressive stuff about rich people & private schools pretty weak/obnoxious. We send our kids to public schools but we also know people who go to or send their kids to private schools, and the characterizations above are pretty pathetic. Again, don't get me wrong. I'm sure as hell not paying for our kids to to go Pingry. But good for the people who do. Make the decisions that you think work for you. Glass houses and stones, etc etc.

And it's pork roll.
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I think NJ has phenomenal food...but so much non phenomenal food to weed out to find it. Matt's Red Rooster grill in Flemington, Just restaurant rt 9 old bridge, dickie dees Newark, Top's Diner Newark(#1 in the country), Delucia's pizza rarity, Francesco's pizza freehold, Sam's Taylor Ham Red Bank. NYC is a shithole now, can't convince me otherwise. Actually almost all cities are now. I've had good times in NYC and done Broadway but the experience is so not worth it anymore. Not living in NJ to be close to EWR. I'd rather drive 2 hours or more the one or two times a year May fly than to base myself near an airport. I have nothing against private schools but most can't afford them. Great MTB trail system. Some crappy counties that won't even allow MTBs.
 
Anyone using pizza and bagel as the reason to stay in NJ doesn't really have a reason in my opinion. When we leave NJ I will miss some aspects of it but the negatives of living here out weighs the positives by leaps and bounds. I just feel it keeps testing me and is daring me to leave.
 
Dave Taylor said:
On average I see between 5 and 6 stolen high end SUVS being stripped of personal belongings in the mouth of our driveway...EVERY WEEK. I literally have to drive past them in the process(it;'s always 2-3 cars at a time). The cops don't care either. They do nothing.
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Do you ever call the cops and they don't come?
 
Dave Taylor said:
Sure, if you live in a wealthier area and pay the taxes for them. We ended up in a phenomenal school district in Md. i went to school in Bernardsville which at the time was a great school. Times have changed and that school sucks now as well as Hazlet where we had our kids in school in NJ. I think in general schools are deteriorating. The rich don’t want smart kids.
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What makes you say the schools suck in Bernardsville? I've never heard that before, i have a few friends who live there and they seem to be happy with the schools.
 
I'm not on the Jersey Chamber of Commerce, but I think NJ is pretty great. I'm not a broadway guy, but its there and Hamilton was great! The beaches are nice, the area is beautiful, especially in the fall. You can say a few spots are shitholes, but what state doesn't have that? There are a lot of excellent places to eat within 20-30 min of Motown and i'm sure its the same all over the state. Some of the best golf course in the world are in NJ and the tri state area. I don't get the NJ hate, or the rich hate. Wouldn't we all like to be loaded and not have to worry about cash?, I know I would.

If you don't fly that often, it doesn't matter, but having 3 airports to choose from, all within 90 minutes to most of NJ (depending on traffic) is great.

Yes many parts are expensive, the property taxes are definitely high, but you do get a lot for your money on that end. Free school, in Morristown, they even come and pick up your leaves, you just blow them into the street. And many places in a lot of other states are really expensive also.

And most IMPORTANT, we have awesome mountain biking. I've been to quite a few places mountain biking, and NJ can't compare to the views out west, but the actually riding? I'll put it up with most places I've been.
 
goldsbar said:
It's a MTB forum and NJ has some great MTBing. I can think of at least ten areas within 30 minutes of my house and the riding at all of them is somewhat unique. Expand to 45 or 60 minutes and there's much more. Not many states can claim that.
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This is one of the things I miss the most about leaving NJ. Sure we have local trails to us but they all feel the same and maybe 7-10 miles each at the most.
 
Dave Taylor said:
https://www.macrotrends.net/states/new-jersey/population Pretty crazy looking back in time. From 1900 -today NJ has had less approximately 6-8 years where the population actually decreased. During the covid era the population increased around 5%. Crazy that with so many people I know moving away that this many more moved in. I'll say it again, if you can't tell by the congestion increase in the last 5 years in the metro areas, NYC migrated to NJ. I think the biggest factor was the ability to WFH. With that being said who wants to WFH in a city apartment? I'll just buy a nice house in Eastern NJ and work there.Well, the plus to this for NJ was the ones that capitolized on it with business. From bike shop owners to builders and entrepreneurs that created new businesses that worked. The other plus is this gave people like myself and others the opportunity to get out. This sounds odd as I am kinda back(never living here again). I didn't move by choice either. We were literally in a 796 sq/ft house with 3 young kids and it was crowded. We couldn't afford to size up with the covid increase in housing and taxes so we moved out. Obviously I like parts of NJ.I was born and raised here. Even where I grew upon Somerset county on the hunter don border isn't too bad but as someone driving to the metro area for work and commuting 3 days a week...WE ARE NUTS FOR ENDURING THIS SH!T! You all know I am a sucker for punishment but any sane person would not raise a family within 40 miles of the Bennie cities. Side note: I work in a relatively secure and extremely well taken care of construction yard off route 21 in Newark. I have been back since September 11th and apparently the driveway to our company is at a side street where it hops back on route 21 north. On average I see between 5 and 6 stolen high end SUVS being stripped of personal belongings in the mouth of our driveway...EVERY WEEK. I literally have to drive past them in the process(it;'s always 2-3 cars at a time). The cops don't care either. They do nothing.
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You kinda leave out that driving into the city or NE NJ increases your pay a huge amount. While WFH changed that, it is swing back to hybrid and large companies tracking in office time. And dont you commute 2.5 hours one way to get that pay?

While i moved back to PA, NJ is almost unmatched in the number of mtb spots, not too many places with the variety NJ has.
 
stb222 said:
You kinda leave out that driving into the city or NE NJ increases your pay a huge amount. While WFH changed that, it is swing back to hybrid and large companies tracking in office time. And dont you commute 2.5 hours one way to get that pay?

While i moved back to PA, NJ is almost unmatched in the number of mtb spots, not too many places with the variety NJ has.
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I drive a total of 13.5 hours a week on avg. I drive from md on monday and back on thursday. Mid week commute may be getting quite a bit shorter soon.
 
roc said:
I'm not on the Jersey Chamber of Commerce, but I think NJ is pretty great. I'm not a broadway guy, but its there and Hamilton was great! The beaches are nice, the area is beautiful, especially in the fall. You can say a few spots are shitholes, but what state doesn't have that? There are a lot of excellent places to eat within 20-30 min of Motown and i'm sure its the same all over the state. Some of the best golf course in the world are in NJ and the tri state area. I don't get the NJ hate, or the rich hate. Wouldn't we all like to be loaded and not have to worry about cash?, I know I would.

If you don't fly that often, it doesn't matter, but having 3 airports to choose from, all within 90 minutes to most of NJ (depending on traffic) is great.

Yes many parts are expensive, the property taxes are definitely high, but you do get a lot for your money on that end. Free school, in Morristown, they even come and pick up your leaves, you just blow them into the street. And many places in a lot of other states are really expensive also.

And most IMPORTANT, we have awesome mountain biking. I've been to quite a few places mountain biking, and NJ can't compare to the views out west, but the actually riding? I'll put it up with most places I've been.
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Well, don’t agree on the taxes part. I lived in Hazlet and the parks were kept up like shit. Overgrown, lack of maintenance and mowing etc. I live outside frederick, md. We have one of thw best mtb trail systems around(frederick watershed) and within 1/2 hour flow trails, hard pack, rocks etc. Michaux, Watershed, Greenbriar, Rivers Edge, Patapsco, Little Bennett. All less than an hour bot to mention the other stuff less than an hour away near DC, in WV and Va.
 
Dave Taylor said:
Well, don’t agree on the taxes part. I lived in Hazlet and the parks were kept up like shit. Overgrown, lack of maintenance and mowing etc. I live outside frederick, md. We have one of thw best mtb trail systems around(frederick watershed) and within 1/2 hour flow trails, hard pack, rocks etc. Michaux, Watershed, Greenbriar, Rivers Edge, Patapsco, Little Bennett. All less than an hour bot to mention the other stuff less than an hour away near DC, in WV and Va.
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But you live in NJ 1/2 the week. Hard to put a price on missing the kids, but I guess it’s worth it to you.
 
Dave Taylor said:
I think NJ has phenomenal food...but so much non phenomenal food to weed out to find it. Matt's Red Rooster grill in Flemington, Just restaurant rt 9 old bridge, dickie dees Newark, Top's Diner Newark(#1 in the country), Delucia's pizza rarity, Francesco's pizza freehold, Sam's Taylor Ham Red Bank. NYC is a shithole now, can't convince me otherwise. Actually almost all cities are now. I've had good times in NYC and done Broadway but the experience is so not worth it anymore. Not living in NJ to be close to EWR. I'd rather drive 2 hours or more the one or two times a year May fly than to base myself near an airport. I have nothing against private schools but most can't afford them. Great MTB trail system. Some crappy counties that won't even allow MTBs.
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LOVE the Rooster, plus it's BYOB.
My other fave BYOB spot unfortunately just got a liquor license (Ama in Hillsborough)
 
Bike N Gear said:
But you live in NJ 1/2 the week. Hard to put a price on missing the kids, but I guess it’s worth it to you.
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You’re right. It sucks mentally not being there all week. This isn’t a forever thing. Once the wife gets the job she wants I’ll be Audi 5000. NJ sounds great on paper but in reality it’s such an inconvenience to get to all the conveniences. People are here for the money. I lived in a very nice area in flemington for 3 years. The problem? Everyone drove an hour to work and didn’t have time or energy to go outside and go for a walk after work. I never saw the neighbors outside.
 
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