From the Herald News:
‘More are leaving than coming’
Barbara Sloan last drove on a highway in 1988. But in December, she packed up her possessions and set out westbound on Interstate 80. Sloan didn’t stop — for 538 miles.
“It was nothing like driving in New Jersey,” said Sloan, 69, who traded her 34 years in the state for a small town in Ohio. “People are courteous. You don’t have to get out of their way.”
Every year, more New Jersey residents are hitting the road for the long haul.
A study released Monday confirmed previous findings that thousands of people are leaving New Jersey each year, primarily for the South and the West Coast.
…
Kevin Smith of the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development questioned the survey’s sampling size but acknowledged there is an “outward migration” from the state.New Jersey dropped out of the nation’s top 10 most populous states in 2006 for the first time in almost a century, according to U.S. Census data released last month. The state was replaced by North Carolina — where, ironically, many state residents move to.
Several North Jersey-based movers agreed on the outward bound trend. “More are leaving than coming, very much so,” said Craig North of AAA Hometown Clifton Reliable Moving and Storage.
Jane Schneider of All Muscle Moving, in Garfield, has watched her customers, family and friends beeline to the Carolinas in the last few years. After her aunt moved to Raleigh, N.C., Schneider started considering it herself.
“My aunt won’t even think about moving back,” said Schneider, 40, of East Rutherford.
…
More than 72,500 people left New Jersey for other states last year, the Census found. While immigrants still streamed into the state, the rate has slowed in the past five years.New Jersey’s high cost of living is a big driver of the migration, experts and residents said. Since she moved, Sloan has happily watched her gasoline expenses come down by about half. Food is cheaper too, she said.
When Tim Reilly moved to Pennsylvania, he was shocked that he could insure his two cars for $1,000. The Paterson public school teacher hoped to buy a home in New Jersey, but couldn’t pass up the home he found on an acre of Pennsylvania land. The price was $229,000.
“It was an unbelievably large home for a small price,” said Reilly, 33. “As a new teacher, it’s impossible to live in Bergen and Passaic counties.”
Corporate workers, especially in the pharmaceutical industry, have also been making the move, said Lesley Weiner, a Totowa financial planner. “They took early retirement and got a job somewhere else,” she said.
Weiner said that few of her clients leave because of property taxes. It’s the job loss that drives them away, she said.
New Jersey created a third fewer jobs than the national average in 2006, according to Philip Kirschner of the New Jersey Business and Industry Association. Companies either aren’t expanding or moving some of their operations to the south, Kirschner said.
“It’s really disappointing,” he said.
Sloan has happily watched her gasoline expenses come down by about half.
People are certainly moving from NJ, but they aren’t doing it to save money on gas.
The problem with this particular antidote also is that it is very likely untrue. If this woman hadn’t driven on an interstate in 20 years, exactly how much driving was she doing?
I guess it’s possible, but it’s also meaningless.
As for the teacher, he may be saving $1K on his car insurance, but he is clearly paying at least half that amount for the gas required by his longer commute. He also spends way more time in the car than if he lived closer to work.
I’m well aware that NJ RE is overpriced, but the idea that a person who works here can save much by moving to PA is nuts. Any place close enough to be convenient to work almost certainly is comparably priced to the same area of NJ.
No guarantees, but he probably would have been better off renting and buying on the downturn.
I’m sure Booya Bob would agree.
While the article is nothing new, what I find interesting is the increased frequency of articles like this. The combination of high housing costs and high taxes are really starting to take their toll on NJ.
Anecdotally, many of my friends, myself included, are considering making the move out of state. A few years ago, this wasn’t even of the table. It was just a given that I would continue to live in NJ.
I to am a native ,Manasquan,however with my property tax over 20k my auto insurance over 4,200. (2 cars no tickets or accidents)health ins. I’ve been draining my savings for years just to make ends meet…I’ve been looking in MD & the Carolinas…I could buy a nicer home for 1/3 the price taxes 1/10..I keep asking myself …why wait….just do it !
Fannie’s David Berson: Still haven’t hit bottom in housing
http://www.marketwatch.com/tvradio/playerFull.asp?media=0&band=0&remPref=1&guid=%7BA3DA389C-AB5F-4C0F-8B7A-56FF9F1197D0%7D&siteid=yhoo
Expect more disappointment on the home front this year. The worst is probably behind us. No more dramatic drops in sales. But that does not mean we have reached bottom. So says David Berson, chief economist for Fannie Mae. He tells John Wordock home sales and housing starts will fall a bit more this year.
Italics fixed?
now?
“I’m well aware that NJ RE is overpriced, but the idea that a person who works here can save much by moving to PA is nuts. Any place close enough to be convenient to work almost certainly is comparably priced to the same area of NJ.”
Assuming, of course, that the job is in NY or NJ.. Companies are relocating, especially backoffice jobs, and the ones that don’t go to India will certainly not be in hightaxland and highutilityland…
It seems to me that retirees can’t afford or see no sense in paying the high taxes in this state. Its especially crazy if you have no kids to utilize the school systems nor a high enough income to get a worthwhile deduction.
But then, I notice that property taxes are just as high in Westchester and Long Island (Nassau county). So why doesn’t Westchester or Nassau county have the same exodus problem? Anyone can explain that to me?