From the Star Ledger:
North Dakota’s no-property-tax dream is infectious
As New Jersey homeowners fall asleep tonight, maybe they’ll dream of North Dakota. It’s possible that the folks in Fargo will wake up this morning as the first state to abolish the dreaded property tax. Pinch me, they’ll say.
The average property tax bill in North Dakota is $2,600, chicken scratch compared with New Jersey’s, which was more than $7,500 in 2011. That’s up 20 percent from 2009, and nearly 12 percent of a family’s annual income.
Big numbers are one reason to hate the property tax. Here’s more:
• Middle-class mauler: It’s a flat tax, hitting the one-bedroom bungalow at the same percentage as the mansion next door, taking a larger chunk of the middle-class taxpayer’s paycheck.
• Pockets of poverty: Taxing private property creates hopeless pockets in cities, where there is precious little property to tax. In Newark, a third of the real estate is occupied by tax-exempt properties such as churches, schools and government buildings.
• Suburban sprawl: For municipalities that need extra income, it’s tempting to approve new development — if only to create a new stream of property taxes. Need money? Say yes to the strip mall.
• Pay up: If your pay is cut, your income tax rate drops, too. But you pay your full property tax bill no matter what happens to your income. For many, the only way to get property tax relief in tough times is to sell.
• Anti-ownership: One of the loudest criticisms in North Dakota’s anti-property tax campaign was that it’s the only tax that can cost a family its home. In the words of one critic: “It means all of us are renters — none of us are homeowners.”
From the Record:
Christie says he won’t negotiate N.J. budget with Legislature until taxes are cut
A few days after his administration started preparations for a possible government shutdown at the end of the month, Governor Christie said Wednesday that he “will not negotiate a budget with the state Legislature until they cut your taxes.”
Democrats from both the Senate and Assembly are scheduled to meet Thursday in Trenton to go over the parameters of an agreement that Democratic leaders say they have reached – with their own version of tax relief, not Christie’s, still on the table.
But Christie’s comments at an event in Galloway on Wednesday were some of his strongest yet on the budget as the deadline for a new spending plan draws closer.
Christie and the Democrats who control the Legislature did not negotiate a budget last year. But there was no government shutdown because Democrats sent the governor a budget bill by the constitution’s June 30 deadline. Christie used his line-item veto power a day later to enact a spending plan with the changes he wanted.
This year, Democrats say they are also planning to again propose their own version of the budget and send it to Christie’s desk by the constitutional deadline. The question that remains unanswered, however, is whether the Democrats’ bill will sacrifice revenue to tax relief –something Christie has been calling for since the beginning of the year — even with tax collections not meeting the governor’s own budget projections.
C’mon please. Taxes will never go down here. It goes against the laws of nature.
Just like gravity pulls objects down to earth, NJ taxes, tolls, and fees always go up.
From Bloomberg:
Americans See Biggest Home Equity Jump in 60 Years: Mortgages
Americans are digging themselves out of mortgage debt.
Home equity in the first quarter rose to the highest level since 2008 as homeowners taking advantage of record-low borrowing costs to refinance their loans brought cash to the table to pay down principal. The gain in percentage terms was the biggest jump in more than 60 years, according to an analysis by Bloomberg of Federal Reserve data.
It’s the strongest sign yet that Americans’ home-loan debt burden is beginning to ease after the record borrowing that created, and ultimately popped, the housing bubble, leaving almost a quarter of homeowners with mortgages owing more than their properties were worth, said Richard DeKaser, deputy chief economist at Parthenon Group LLC in Boston. Half the mortgages refinanced in the fourth quarter reduced loan size, a record, according to Freddie Mac, the government-owned mortgage buyer.
“The willingness of homeowners to carry housing debt has been radically altered,” said DeKaser, chairman of the American Bankers Association’s Economic Advisory Council. “When the market was booming, a mortgage was used as a leveraging tool, and now it’s seen as a risk.”
Measured as a share, rather than in dollars, homeowner equity was 41 percent of U.S. residential property value in the first quarter, including homeowners who don’t have mortgages, according to the Fed study released last week. The last time the share was that high was in the third quarter of 2008.
From Zillow:
Zillow: 30-year mortgage hits 3.56%
Zillow reported the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate at 3.56%, down three basis points from last week’s 3.59% and the lowest rate since its inception in April 2008, according to its Zillow Mortgage Marketplace website.
The rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage is 2.95%, while the rate for a 5-1 adjustable-rate mortgage is 2.68%.
Erin Lantz, director of Zillow Mortgage Marketplace, said she expects the record-low interest rates to stabilize despite the Spanish bailout.
“We expect rates to remain fairly stable this week,” she said. “Beyond that, we could see some rate movement after this weekend’s Greek election or late June’s EU summit where leaders plan to discuss longer-term solutions to the region’s economic challenges.”
Good Morning New Jersey
From Dean Baker/Business Insider:
NPR Tells Us That Harvard Boys Who Completely Missed the Bubble Think That Housing Is Looking Up
In Washington the definition of an expert is someone who can be wrong all the time and still be an expert. The folks at the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard are clearly experts.
The Joint Center gained notoriety in the last decade for completely missing the bubble, dismissing those of us who tried to warn that homebuyers in the years 2002-2007 were taking serious risks. Here are a couple of choice comments [thanks to Ben Zipperer].
(click the link to read the comments)
Given that the Harvard Center completely missed the largest decline in the U.S. housing market ever, they would naturally be the people you would contact to discuss the bottom of the housing market. In this case the Harvard boys happen to be right, sort of like a stopped clock will be right twice a day.
Due to the extreme volatility some market analysts foresee could result in the coming days, OANDA fxTrade will not accept any trading activity from 6:00 AM EST until approximately 3:00 PM EST, on Sunday, June 17, 2012. OANDA believes the convergence of a major market event during off-market hours represents a potential trading risk and has taken this rare step to protect traders from excessive rate fluctuations.
Please note that during this halt in trading, you can still access your account details but no trading activity will be accepted. For this reason, OANDA strongly recommends that all traders consider minimizing currency exposures prior to the trading halt.
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For more information, please contact a Customer Service representative.
Best regards,
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http://www.zerohedge.com/news/due-extreme-volatility-some-market-analysts-foresee
Having one’s income taxes increase is not a bad thing, if, and this is a BIG “if,” one’s tax rate has not increased. With ststic rates, higher income taxes just reflect higher income.
Increasing residential property taxes, on the other hand, are pernicious, as they do not reflect any increased cash flow.
Pay up: If your pay is cut, your income tax rate drops, too. But you pay your full property tax bill no matter what happens to your income. For many, the only way to get property tax relief in tough times is to sell.
[insert Joe Pesci voice here] Sell? Sell to f*cking whom?
I love the smell of a short sale in the morning:
http://www.trulia.com/property/photos/3063778207-7-Windsor-Pl-Old-Tappan-NJ-07675#item-0
Did you enjoy yesterday’s Dog & Pony Show?
Charting the Cozy Connections between JP Morgan and the Senate Banking Committee
http://www.propublica.org/article/charting-the-cozy-connections-between-jp-morgan-and-the-senate-banking-comm
Nice read for yield curve watchers:
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/stock-dead-long-live-flow-perpetual-qe-has-arrived
I particularly liked this comment by “Harlequin001”:
“The simple explanation I believe, is that when you examine the events surrounding and leading up to Weimar, and without going into too much detail, there must always be sufficient cash in an economy to liquidate bonds at par, and by that I mean all of them if necessary. If there isn’t, then bonds are sold for whatever cash you can get for them, i.e. at a loss, and thus higher yield. Since all bonds will revalue in line with the new yields, or at least should do the important thing to watch is always the quantum of bonds in issue relative to cash available to liquidate them. Whilst the Fed can bluster all it wants, it either prints sufficient to allow bonds to liquidate at par, or self destructs with it’s commensurate higher costs through higher yields. When you consider how many of these bailouts are being funded by already over issued bonds, and the liquidity problems we already have in trying to liquidate at par, the bond markets either blow up individually leading to the collapse of individual governments one after another if they don’t print, (and no self respecting politician is ever going to accept that), or they all blow up in one go if they do, (which is by far more preferable) in which case all central banks need to print massively and simultaneously and we deal with the currency problems later.
There is already no alternative to that. You’ll see QE100 if the market doesn’t fail long before it, which it will, but not yet.
Whichever way you look at it, the bond market is toast. So unless Bernanke is actively buying the long end with CASH and not more debt issuance, neither flow nor stock have any real relevance because default is ultimately unavoidable since we are exacerbating the same problem that started it i.e. a lack of cash to liquidate at par because there are too many bonds waiting to be sold. The bond markets will never recover from this because they cannot. The instant the Fed stops buying everything fails, and they, and we know it.
It doesn’t help that prices have already been distorted beyond comprehension, including pm’s, which are far too cheap at these prices when you consider how much cash MUST yet be produced.
‘To QE or not to QE’ is really not an option…”
I was in this one. This one reeks of that 1960s modern look. It’s as if they were trying to channel their inner Jetsons. There’s a new deck on the back of the house burnished with a ginormous spider web and a scary looking spider resting in the center that overlooks a serious drop beset by thick brush and forest (This sounds like a realtor write-up… LOL). Bring your checkbook, smoking jacket, Martini & Rossi and Burt Bacharach records as this beauty won’t last.
http://www.trulia.com/property/3083429055-808-Arcadia-Pl-River-Vale-NJ-07675
Are you ready for this one?
4/9/2001 – sold – $480,00
8/11/2006 – sold – $1,100,000 (omg!)
4/11/2012 – price change – $989,000
5/8/2012 – price change – $949,000
Any Questions?
http://www.trulia.com/property/3081540687-399-Faletti-Cir-River-Vale-NJ-07675
What is with the Victorian style bath fixtures in a mid century home? Could be worse, there are some choice Contemporonials out in Morris Co.
4bd/3bth in Washington Twp. with a “3” handle and under 10K in taxes. It’s all about the price tag and this is worth a looky-see at this price:
http://www.trulia.com/property/3079695424-588-Jackson-Ave-Washington-Township-NJ-07676
4bd/1.5bth in the mid 300s. Again, in a decent town with a price tag that strikes a pose:
http://www.trulia.com/property/3083016944-52-Oak-St-Hillsdale-NJ-07642
In Montvale: This one is dropping 25K every two weeks. Considering the town and property, the taxes don’t make me vomit but sure as he11 don’t make me smile, either. I smell a 98 mph inside fastball coming:
http://www.trulia.com/property/3081510127-2-Beechwood-Rd-Montvale-NJ-07645
I think a good weekend movie to rent is the 1981 movie Rollover.
AG 18 Goodfellas too.
JJ – From yesterday –
Most of what JJ says is true. Having lived in NJ and LI and having lived away from both places for more than a decade, I’d say for day to day life, LI & NJ are about the same. Interestingly, the biggest house and property we ever lived in was in Long Island (Centerport), but mostly houses and yards are smaller for the same money and being that almost everyone is connected with NYC, there is more of a traditional neighborhood feel to most towns in LI. Now if you like driving for pleasure or you like mountain sports, you’re pretty much going to hate LI. The one exception is Mountain Biking, there actually are some great places to MTB in LI. The restaurants, overall, are much better and more plentiful in LI. I used to have a small apt in Huntington Village where I could walk to a different restaurant every night for a month straight and never walk more than two blocks. It almost seems as if there is no such thing as a bad restaurant in LI, I guess because the competition is so fierce. The one thing that might turn a NJ native off to LI restaurants, at least in the mid-90’s, was service. I’ve never had so much good food served by such lousy waitresses. I guess because of the traffic and captive nature of LI, the restaurant owners only have snotty, spoiled, HS girls to choose from. There aren’t enough poor areas that are close enough to have some hot single Moms struggling and shaking it for tips like there are in NJ.
I dont think people in Jersey really know LI. They know huge amounts of traffic. They know getting their is horrible. They see houses on top of each other. All true. But beauty is I never drive anywhere and since I am never home does not matter, for men it is a place to sleep, for women Nassau is close enough to city so hubby does not have to leave at crack of dawn or get home to late, and for kids great schools and everything is walking distance so they have freedom.
It is bad for someone who does not work in city, has no kids and likes land and is not going to city a lot. I go out in NYC a lot. Going to a party at Hilton for instance tommorrow. Go to shows, dinners out etc. I like having train to jump on and no driving. Jersey in parts of Bergan county has same advantage. But trouble is it is crowded and expensive too.
If I had my way I would have a townhouse in NYC and a vacation home.
Take a look at this one and tell me the pros and cons. It looks attractive but I can’t tell if there’s serious downside here:
http://www.trulia.com/property/3078921314-5-Mill-Rd-Woodcliff-Lake-NJ-07677
Jobless claims up 6,000 to 386,000.
Hope and Change is coming… I got your back.
Gary, I’m waiting for you to put up a link to one of my crappy listings.
Went on a listing appointment at a $1,000,000 plus home in Montvale. Seller was trying to get out of their existing listing agreement. Told me they were going to sue the broker for recommending too high an asking price. I asked seller why they didn’t just reduce the price. Something more going on there.
I quite like that Jetsons house. Not the commute though.
NJ Transit train is on other side of the lake, which I see as a net positive, though you will hear them, especially with the echo off the reservoir. One of the nicer homes you’ve posted and appears to be a decent deal and well maintained (judging by the roof shingles). I’d be glad to go peepee in your pool.
[insert Joe Pesci voice here] Sell? Sell to f*cking whom?
I would like to nominate Joe Pesci as the official NJ Real Estate Report representative for all real estate meetings and seminars, house purchase negotiations and closings and interactions with neighborhood associations.
[20] I just remembered that when I was a little kid my Dad was offered a job on LI. The whole family went out there one weekend to look at houses, maybe 1970? 5 kids in our family and we were living in a 5 year old 4BR 2.5Bath CH Colonial with a great view to the west. My mom researched the schools and was impressed, but when we went out and saw what kind of houses they could buy on LI, I think it was a real quick NFW.
30 year [23],
You have to give me a hint and I’ll gladly post one of your listings! ;)
20 – JJ touts LI all the time….but he doesn’t even want to live there!
“If I had my way I would have a townhouse in NYC and a vacation home.”
I assume this means his wife is making him (?), but I am sure he will share some long-winded answer about that notion…plus, he spends all his time on a NJ real estate website. How many of us on here post on LI real estate websites as well? That’s a big NO for me.
29
let me amend that: how many of us on here even THINK about LI real estate once in the course of a year?
Lib [25],
It’s funny… I got a bunker full of dry powder and yet, I gotta deal with this bullsh1t job market before I will pull the trigger. Usually, it’s the other way around. Hopefully, this interview I had two days ago will take root. It went very well. We’ll see.
Gary that Montvale Ranch looks nice but that 13 handle on taxes made my butt pucker as well as the price
Richard [24],
All the sky lights have water stains around the inside molding and one look off the back of the house will have you thinking otherwise.
[29] Guys from Jersey and NY have one thing in common. They both like to hang out with guys from Jersey. We’re just more interesting;-)
Seif company I previously worked for was acquired by a company on long island 10% of the staff quit before they even discussed layoffs.
Expat fishing and mtn biking are how I know long island and how I know I would never want to live there. LI only looks good from a boat, flying over it or leaving.
Pain [32],
Yes, it is a nice looking place but again, you have to saw off an arm and half a leg to enjoy it. I know, what’s the point if you can’t sleep at night.
I hope everyone is sitting down…………even housing “reality” shows aren’t real!
http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/story/2012-06-13/house-hunters/55581842/1?source=Patrick.net
[35] Pain – I don’t know anything about fishing, but I’ve mountain biked a lot of places in the NE, and I’ve done a week in Moab. I’m not going to say that any place in the NorthEast compares to Utah, but I had a lot of fun on LI trails. Did you ever ride Rocky Point? I loved that you could only ride in one direction on the main loop, so you never feared oncoming traffic.
http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/regions_pdf/rpmtbike.pdf
Expat fishing and mtn biking are how I know long island and how I know I would never want to live there. LI only looks good from a boat, flying over it or leaving.
What do you do when it doesn’t sell? Why, let’s increase the price by $50,000:
http://www.trulia.com/property/3075312684-709-Four-Seasons-Ln-Montvale-NJ-07645
#39 Gary – When the seller comes to you with the idea of increasing the price of their overpriced listing you give them an unconditional release and a referral to a psychiatrist.
21 Gary:
Garage? Doesn’t mention one and none in photos.
30 year [40],
Lol! Amen! I don’t know what people are thinking! They must be stuck in the denial stage of the Kubler-Ross model.
POS [41],
That’s a key point… doesn’t look like it would be a major factor but you never know.
I’m steamed…….our President is visiting the WTC-site and they are shutting the PATH train from 3-6PM…….there is no fcuking reason for him to go there except a photo op, but he is willing to inconvenience a few 100,000 (WORKING) people so he can pose for his narcissistic dream….WTF is this? Why not go when he ISN’T the President or better why not go on a SATURDAY, SUNDAY or HOLIDAY…….the guy is just not a businessperson…..prick!
Lesser Known Editing Symbols
http://pinterest.com/pin/89720217547008626/
Chfi – Michelle brought the kids to Independence Hall in Philly on a Saturday in the summer so they closed it down early for security purposes. To come on a Saturday alone is poor judgement but to do so in the summer when families, many who have traveled long distances, don’t get to see what they came for is unacceptable. It really is insensitive and rude not to mention upsetting to the kids. So when people engage in this type of behavior, have to wonder if they really care about people or it’s just a market segmentation ploy for the purposes of positioning.
BTW – I’m visiting Ground Zero today, but my ticket is for 12:30PM….
Gary 15 & 16: WT house is on Jackson Ave., which is rapidly becoming a thoroughfare for those of us who refuse to wait 20 minutes to get home from the GSP when it took us only 25 to get there from Parsippany. It’s close to the GSP and Washington Avenue egress is impossible…you have to go down to Crest St. or Ridgewood Blvd. and then out to Pascack Road.
Oak St. house is a bit too close to the brook for comfort. That area has been known to flood.
There’s a reason these houses are priced that way and haven’t moved.
Working people should be at work, not sneaking out early to go home. Plus go to Penn to go home or take the boat.
BTW I do own property in Jersey, I have Jets PSLs. Location Location Location counts I guess as my front row sideline seats go for double what I paid and same seats in my section in back are underwater.
I got offered a job twice in Jersey once near Princeton and one near Montville. The jobs never worked out. I think seeing my LI address was a killer. There are tons of people working in NYC already who live in NJ who would take the job as a lateral or a pay cut to avoid commute. Two of my staff from Jersey took lateral jobs in NJ just to avoid long Bus ride and was extremely happy. I am like no raise no promotion. But that bus is a killer. The train NJ people usually are happier.
One bad part I will admit about my town is the small plot sizes although are easy to maintian and saves me a lot on taxes it annoys me that neighbors go right to property line all the time. They all like shade but puts trees against fences in corners so they dont have it taken up yards, try to make big fences on corner houses blocking views. Also I dont know two of the neighbors whose house borders mine as I like that I have peace and quiet but on other hands when neighbors have trees fall on your fence or build things that block you from getting out of driveway it becomes your problem. Even worse in other towns. I saw a foreclosure near me. Three bedroom, 1.2 bath home with a detached garage and a driveway. Get this on a 20×60 lot. House is like 40×16 and garage is like 18 by ten and sideways on plot. Grandfather bungalow. trouble is who every buys house only stip he has is tiny front patch of grass and one car driveway. You know front lawn will look bad and he will try to fence it. If I had a job in Jersey I would move to Jersey in a second. I do like houses are cheap there. I mean for a lousy 950k you get what looks like a mansion. Meanwhile any good neighbor hood on LI You need to spend at least 1.3 million to get a decent house you are not ashamed of.
chicagofinance says:
June 14, 2012 at 9:28 am
I’m steamed…….our President is visiting the WTC-site and they are shutting the PATH train from 3-6PM…….there is no fcuking reason for him to go there except a photo op, but he is willing to inconvenience a few 100,000 (WORKING) people so he can pose for his narcissistic dream….WTF is this? Why not go when he ISN’T the President or better why not go on a SATURDAY, SUNDAY or HOLIDAY…….the guy is just not a businessperson…..prick!
ex pat WE would leave on Friday night around 2 am head out to montauk fish until about 6am sleep for a a couple of hours. Ride montauk Grab lunch shower at the beach. find a bar hit on local island chicks. Leave bar around 2 am fish or sleep depending on how ripped we got. Leave around 6 am ride Rocky Point or Cathedral Pines on the way home around 8 AM(have to love those one way trails) be back in jersey about 1 PM. Hit bars around hoboken for 3 PM baseball games. Off to work the next morning at 7.
Since I met my wife did not due it anymore since how we started dating was teaching her to Mtn bike so I stayed local in Jersey. Hartshorne, Wawayanda, Stokes and Ringwood. Trails in LI are nice but I always thought the stuff in Upstate and jersey were much more technical. Plus I used to downhill so insstead of fishing trips they would get combined into DH/XC trips. Sadly I have not had time for anything bikes have collected dust since we bought the house.
It is not only the restaurants it is all types of food. I have three bagel shops, four chinese restaurants, four pizzerias, three 7/11’s and two red mangos walking distance from my house and Six supermarkets within one mile. Even the Supermarkets are always being renovated and offering specials as with six in a one mile radius it is tough.
Jersey has issue lots of towns have one bagel shop, one 7/11, one pizza place, one chinese places and your choice is to eat mediocre food or drive far. Hunterdoon for instance hates any retail store, the few that exists are grandfathered which stinks. The crowdedness is annoying but good. It even goes to Bars, places like Long Beach, RVC, Huntingon and Bayside have thousands of bar. You better be great, be super cheap, be trendy, have super hot customers, be on the water etc or you are bankrupt in a few weeks. NJ you can have some nieghborhood place. On LI such as Long Beach places that just opened like Pops have around 3,000 customers on a Saturday Afternoon happy hour three weeks after opening, guess what Pops starts getting sloppy with food or drinks they will be BK as there are like 100 hundred bars within one mile of pops. Jersey has to get over fact they think they are like a Norman Rockwell painting and let free market capitilism reign. You property taxes will plummet and you finally can get a decent bagel and slice of pizza withing walking distance of your house.
The Original NJ ExPat says:
June 14, 2012 at 8:29 am
JJ – From yesterday –
Most of what JJ says is true. Having lived in NJ and LI and having lived away from both places for more than a decade, I’d say for day to day life, LI & NJ are about the same. Interestingly, the biggest house and property we ever lived in was in Long Island (Centerport), but mostly houses and yards are smaller for the same money and being that almost everyone is connected with NYC, there is more of a traditional neighborhood feel to most towns in LI. Now if you like driving for pleasure or you like mountain sports, you’re pretty much going to hate LI. The one exception is Mountain Biking, there actually are some great places to MTB in LI. The restaurants, overall, are much better and more plentiful in LI. I used to have a small apt in Huntington Village where I could walk to a different restaurant every night for a month straight and never walk more than two blocks. It almost seems as if there is no such thing as a bad restaurant in LI, I guess because the competition is so fierce. The one thing that might turn a NJ native off to LI restaurants, at least in the mid-90′s, was service. I’ve never had so much good food served by such lousy waitresses. I guess because of the traffic and captive nature of LI, the restaurant owners only have snotty, spoiled, HS girls to choose from. There aren’t enough poor areas that are close enough to have some hot single Moms struggling and shaking it for tips like there are in NJ.
My favorite part out there was I used my summer house address to get a resident off road permit. The beach by montaulk you can drive your jeep for miles and miles. Even the mansions as long as I stay below tide line I can go by your house. Bit of a pain, take are out of tires, have tow rope, board for jack, shovel, be a resident. But I used to let it rip. Once I was cooking at 40mph on the sand by mansions on a sunny day with radio blaring and two old timers fishing looked at me and instead of a dirty look they laughed and waved. I was like Ohh Ohh. Next thing I knew I hit a dune thing went way airborne and luckily I landed just right and a triple bounce I perfect, except my jack, rope, shovel, benzi box and contents of glove box went flying. I got the old welcome to montulk look. That beach is great with horse back riding 4x4s, locals, fisherman etc. So far you have to go to enter impossible to walk it. I used to plop jeep on sand miles from anyone, bring out coolers of beers, play stero nothing like it. I would love a house out there with beach access. Have not seen anything like that at the Jersey Shore. I love the show Revenge too as they have some good Montaulk stuff.
Painhrtz – Oooh a Donut! says:
June 14, 2012 at 9:45 am
ex pat WE would leave on Friday night around 2 am head out to montauk fish until about 6am sleep for a a couple of hours. Ride montauk Grab lunch shower at the beach. find a bar hit on local island chicks. Leave bar around 2 am fish or sleep depending on how ripped we got. Leave around 6 am ride Rocky Point or Cathedral Pines on the way home around 8 AM(have to love those one way trails) be back in jersey about 1 PM. Hit bars around hoboken for 3 PM baseball games. Off to work the next morning at 7.
Since I met my wife did not due it anymore since how we started dating was teaching her to Mtn bike so I stayed local in Jersey. Hartshorne, Wawayanda, Stokes and Ringwood. Trails in LI are nice but I always thought the stuff in Upstate and jersey were much more technical. Plus I used to downhill so insstead of fishing trips they would get combined into DH/XC trips. Sadly I have not had time for anything bikes have collected dust since we bought the house.
here is a JJ-worthy story that just happened to me this morning about 1.5 hours ago – every bit true:
my entire office is a u-shape. my personal office is at one end of the u. i sort of have my own out-of-the-way space. there is one office next to mine that is not currently occupied. one of the younger kids (25?) who works here (i have known him since he interned about 4 years ago) strolled out of the extra office and past my door, in workout clothes. This isn’t that odd because sometimes he hits the gym in the morning and then changes in that extra office…but recently he came late after a night of partying and actually slept at his desk all night. As he strolled past my office I said “did you sleep here again?” He responded “no. what are you talking about?” and I just shrugged it off…but I did start thinking: I have been at my desk for 20 minutes and didn’t see him walk into the office past mine…hmmm. he went back in there and I called over to some of his buddies in the open space cubicle area and asked “did X sleep here again last night?” they said no and that they knew nothing about it…then a minute later X walked a nice (naughty?) young lady out of the room and to the elevators…with about 15 young guys standing and applauding and whooping it up. the ULTIMATE WALK OF SHAME! he came back into the room to a hero’s welcome. I took a peak in the extra office…air mattress. Classic.
peek
Chi -, He was in town two weeks ago for three fundraisers and now he is back again and will be headed over to Sarah Jessica Parker’s house on East 10th Street for a $40k per person fundraiser. I used to live a block from there, those townhouses run about 15 million these days. Who says O isn’t a man of the people?
Juice: With SuperPacs and Rmoney having raised over $72 million, how do you suggest Obama run against that kind of money? Hold bake sales? Or would you just prefer to eliminate elections entirely? Inquiring minds want to know.
God Bless this man and send him my congratulations. He is truly doing the lords work.
seif says:
June 14, 2012 at 10:10 am
here is a JJ-worthy story that just happened to me this morning about 1.5 hours ago – every bit true:
my entire office is a u-shape. my personal office is at one end of the u. i sort of have my own out-of-the-way space. there is one office next to mine that is not currently occupied. one of the younger kids (25?) who works here (i have known him since he interned about 4 years ago) strolled out of the extra office and past my door, in workout clothes. This isn’t that odd because sometimes he hits the gym in the morning and then changes in that extra office…but recently he came late after a night of partying and actually slept at his desk all night. As he strolled past my office I said “did you sleep here again?” He responded “no. what are you talking about?” and I just shrugged it off…but I did start thinking: I have been at my desk for 20 minutes and didn’t see him walk into the office past mine…hmmm. he went back in there and I called over to some of his buddies in the open space cubicle area and asked “did X sleep here again last night?” they said no and that they knew nothing about it…then a minute later X walked a nice (naughty?) young lady out of the room and to the elevators…with about 15 young guys standing and applauding and whooping it up. the ULTIMATE WALK OF SHAME! he came back into the room to a hero’s welcome. I took a peak in the extra office…air mattress. Classic.
55 – that’s the great thing about O, he relates to all ends of the spectrum. watching Mitt fumbling around awkwardly with some of the most common things and phrases is cringe-worthy . i know many of you guys hate O and his politics but he is definitely comfortable with people on all ends of the spectrum…that goober W was as well. I hated his politics and policies but I would like to pull a few tubes with him. I would surely bust a gut laughing. Mitt on the other hand seems so out of his element when dealing with “the little people” that it is creepy and uncomfortable to watch.
57 – “God Bless this man and send him my congratulations. He is truly doing the lords work.”
funny you say that…did i mention that his name is lloyd blankfein?
re: # 56 – Jill, both sides have SuperPacs. My point is last time around O man of and for the people raised allot of money from the regular people, it wasn’t just large donors. About half of the $650 million he raised in 2008 was donations of $200 or less.
This time around the campaign seems worried. Michelle recently said “This is going to be a close one, so we are going to welcome any and everyone who wants to step up and support the progress that we’ve made.”
Translation we don’t expect the support we got last time from the regular Joe so we will who**re ourselves out and expect our celebrity friends to do the same.
I for one do not wish to move to a Monarchy but I do wish they would take money out of politics since money buys access and favors, campaign contributions should be limited like they are in the great state of Montana.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/04/opinion/an-invitation-to-keep-money-out-of-politics.html
Seif there is only truly one politician that was comfortable with all walks of life in my lifetime and that was Clinton. Genuine or not he made you feel that he could relate with you no matter what your station was. Chairman O is only comfortable with his types and people who want to hang on the cuff of his sleave to genuflect about how great he is. I don’t think Romney is comfortable with anyone and that includes his compatriots on wall street. He is a business nerd and a probably a bit of a sociopath wouldn’t surprise me if he was the inspiration for Patrick Bateman
On the other hand is sucking up to Sarah Jessica Parker is what it takes to be president. F*ck that, she is so homely I couldn’t stand to be in her presence to hear the smug emanating from her orifice.
Jill [48],
Thank you for the info! :)
seif [58],
Ya know what? I tend to agree. Romney needs to get some blue collar religion real fast if he wants to have a chance. He better keep the snooty sh1t in check. The liberals make me laugh but the right side elitists make me want to punch them in the f*cking face. I get angry over that “haughty, better than you” attitude.
[50] Pain – I get it. I thought you were saying you would never live in LI because the fishing and mountain biking sucked, but you meant the opposite. I used to do Waywaynda, Ringwood, and Stokes when we lived in Nutley. I had to Google Hartshorne, that looks cool. Too bad I wasn’t into Mountain Biking yet when I lived in Holmdel in ’91 or I would have spent a lot of time there. I was surprised you didn’t mention South Mountain Reservation, that used to be a great place, but I just Googled it and I guess there’s no Mountain Biking allowed there anymore. I used to ride that place all the time ’94-’96 and the hiker/biker fights were just heating up back then. The hikers were supposedly stringing neck high lines across downhills to take out bikers and then XC guys I think were putting ankle-high trip lines across trails in retalliation(26″ wheels would just roll over them) I guess the hikers won. I heard tale of both but never saw either first hand. Anyway, I guess the hikers won saying the XC riders were causing erosion, which turned out to be BS.
ex pat WE would leave on Friday night around 2 am head out to montauk fish until about 6am sleep for a a couple of hours. Ride montauk Grab lunch shower at the beach. find a bar hit on local island chicks. Leave bar around 2 am fish or sleep depending on how ripped we got. Leave around 6 am ride Rocky Point or Cathedral Pines on the way home around 8 AM(have to love those one way trails) be back in jersey about 1 PM. Hit bars around hoboken for 3 PM baseball games. Off to work the next morning at 7.
Since I met my wife did not due it anymore since how we started dating was teaching her to Mtn bike so I stayed local in Jersey. Hartshorne, Wawayanda, Stokes and Ringwood. Trails in LI are nice but I always thought the stuff in Upstate and jersey were much more technical. Plus I used to downhill so insstead of fishing trips they would get combined into DH/XC trips. Sadly I have not had time for anything bikes have collected dust since we bought the house.
expat believe me the fishing and mtn biking were part of the reason we kept going back. Everything else would drive us nuts though it resembled my BC roots and Brigantine where I lived during college.
our evening rides were trails we poached at Rifle Camp Park that were off the beaten path. Small loop, but great views of the city with some technical spots. We still ride it when we visit the in laws. South Mountain was already closed when I got my first mtn bike but heard about the wars. hartshorne is great but you have to be a great technical rider to handle some of the trails, I’m a lousy climber and would struggle. Downhills made it worth it though.
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gary, with whom I have more in common than I ever would have imagined, said:
“The liberals make me laugh but the right side elitists make me want to punch them in the f*cking face. I get angry over that “haughty, better than you” attitude.”
Both sides have their haughties. The problem is this notion that just because you inherited more money than God (or inherited the connections that made it possible) that you are somehow more “deserving” and that those who have lost their jobs are somehow “undeserving.” Willard Rmoney isn’t successful because he’s smarter or better than anyone else, he got his Big Break at Bain because he was George Romney’s son. Just the way Shrub was Poppy’s son. Willard’s wealth isn’t because he works harder than anyone else, it’s because he was born on third base. Doesn’t mean he hit a triple.
Noblesse oblige or something to that effect, is dead. So is rock music.
[65] Pain – that’s me to a “T”. In Moab I’d often be the last one of our group of 18 up hills, then I’d pass most of them on the descents. My local trails, 5 miles from doorstep at Cutler Park in Needham, has some Rocky Point like single track without too much elevation change which is perfect for me. This girl I met on the trails there showed me some real cool hidden single track that has some not too long, but very steep sections. There’s this one roller coaster section that is like 40 feet down and 30 feet up. Going from the 40 foot to the 30 foot is a piece of cake, but getting up the 40 from the 30 took me weeks to figure out. The trick was leaving my front derailleur out of the equation. I now fly down the 30′ using a cross chain in my granny gear (22×11) gaining as much momentum as possible, then count down 8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 making 8 downshifts in about 8 seconds until I get to 1st and then I know it’s all me to make it to the top. Before I was trying to do a front shift and it never worked out.
I’m a lousy climber and would struggle. Downhills made it worth it though.
[69] I meant getting from the 30′ to the 40′ is tough, obviously.
LI vs. NJ, come on basically the same place. Traffic is worse in LI, as for the restaurant think NNJ varies from place to place, in some parts the restaurants are good, in others it is a barren wasteland. NJ wins on cost and being connected to the mainland, because LI has no connection to america besides through nyc, it is inconvenient. We have a few friends who live out there and every time we go skiing with them it takes them 2 hours longer to get to Killington, we usually leave Jersey city by 4:30 and make it to Killington by 9:30 including a stop for dinner. They tend to leave Huntington Station at the same time and if they make it before midnight they are doing well. Also even more so than in Jersey many “Nice” parts of LI have some really ugly areas, dollar for dollar NJ is nicer but as a whole the NYC area is fairly homogeneous.
“walking distance from my house ”
Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time.
In my NJ hick town 950K will land you a nice Cape.
“If I had a job in Jersey I would move to Jersey in a second. I do like houses are cheap there. I mean for a lousy 950k you get what looks like a mansion. Meanwhile any good neighbor hood on LI You need to spend at least 1.3 million to get a decent house you are not ashamed of.”
Gary:
One big downside with the Woodcliff Lake property is that it sold.
http://www.susanlaskinrealtor.com/MyHomeDtl.asp?HomeID=1290991&P=2000
#21 – “Take a look at this one and tell me the pros and cons. It looks attractive but I can’t tell if there’s serious downside here”
expat 30′ to 40′ transition knew a couple of spots like that in ringwood. We have a lot of double track right across the street from me in morris county good to get you lungs pumping bu tnot very technical. Kids showed me a lot of the single track they cut in off the mains. Some nasty switch backs, some North Shore stunts which I avoid now, rocky and rooty typical NNJ. also 20 minutes from a lot of the technical stuff I used to ride in Morris. We hit it alot when we moved here but withthe twins it has been out of the equation this year. Needham has some decent stuff from what I remember from friends who rode in Mass.
JJ I think one of the bots is trying to tell you something
JJ probably bought it.
jcer says:
June 14, 2012 at 12:00 pm
People from Huntington Station ski? I never new the illegal Mexicans and Gang Members who live in Huntington Station went skiing on the weekend.
Huntington is far out. When I used to Ski I tried to drive to work on a Friday, Boss would let me work 8am to 4pm on Ski weekends and my buddies from NJ would go with me. Car pulling out of garage in NYC at 4:01 on a Friday was quickest, we go right up west side highway. First 90 minutes was key. Sometimes I would be at Slopes or HVI at six pm at Hunter on a Friday. Killington sucks. first I can beat traffic as I hit all the CT rush hour traffic and in Hartford. Second the damm drive on a Friday combined with early bar closing made Friday a waste. I did do it a few times direct from Little Neck after work with GF but it was a bear in CT. Also VT had a lot of hotels that make you pay for most nights. I would get stuck in Rutland in the Howard Johnsons which would let you pay for only one night. But that involved taking GF home with me, yadda yadda yadda, getting up at 4am hitting mcdonalds drive through and drive like a maniac. Last time I drove there I was averaging 100mph for a full hour and did it in record time, till stupid buddy realized how do I know my skis are still on roof. They were but I had to stop and look.
I have never taken kids skiing as too much of a pain going upstate and expensive. I never ski’d really till I was 29. Luckily with my cat like razor sharp reflexes I was skiing double black diamond out in Ajax in Aspen in a matter of a few weeks laughing at the celebs in their fur coats as they fell like dominos in front of me. Like the movie Limitless my ability to pick up new skills is legendary.
New Jersey Had Biggest Jobs Gain in 7 Years, Christie Says
By Terrence Dopp – Jun 14, 2012 10:59 AM ET
New Jersey added 17,600 jobs in May, its biggest employment gain in more than seven years, Governor Chris Christie said.
The Bike Paths worked!!!!!! Camden no longer in top 5
http://realestate.yahoo.com/news/most-dangerous-cities-in-america.html
[58] seif,
“that’s the great thing about O, he relates to all ends of the spectrum”
Is that why he referred to his brief stint at a for-profit employer thusly?
“Eventually a consulting house to multinational corporations agreed to hire me as a research assistant. Like a spy behind enemy lines, I arrived every day at my mid-Manhattan office and sat at my computer terminal, checking the Reuters machine that blinked bright emerald messages from across the globe….
…[A]s the months passed, I felt the idea of becoming an organizer slipping away from me. The company promoted me to the position of financial writer. I had my own office, my own secretary, money in the bank. Sometimes, coming out of an interview with Japanese financiers or German bond traders, I would catch my reflection in the elevator doors-see myself in a suit and tie, a briefcase in my hand-and for a split second I would imagine myself as a captain of industry, barking out orders, closing the deal, before I remembered who it was that I had told myself I wanted to be and felt pangs of guilt for my lack of resolve.”
That seems to be the closest he came to relating to the private sector.
http://www.northjersey.com/news/159070175_Englewood_Cliffs_amended_budget_would_raise_taxes_6_percent.html
A little 6% increase in your property taxes in Englewood Cliffs, its for the children
and the salaries of the Teachers/Police /Public employees and of course all the benefits . We deserve it . Screw the tax payers ,
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/stanford-gets-110-years-role-171331968.html?l=1
Corzine/Dimon/and the rest of the bunch are still on the loose
U.S. 30-Year Bonds May Yield Record 2.725% today.
Who the heck is buying 30 year bonds today with a 2.75% coupon? The magic number for pension plans and life insurance companies is 8%. They need bonds paying on average 8% coupon in the 30 year range.
I choke on a 2.725% ten year muni that is tax free. This is a 30 year taxable bond. Even if rates went back up to 4% on a 30 year these bonds would be crushed beyond belief.
re: #86 – JJ you don’t need to be an actuary to know that pension is going the way of the dinosaur go long cat food.
82 – i think you missed the mark there.
Oh no wife engaged a realtor! Looks like I may join the masses finally and become a bagholder. It’s all good as it seems like a good time for our family to buy. Question to the field. I am looking in towns with very disparate property taxes for my price range. Example 600k house in Bay Head has taxes of 5k while a 600k house in Point Boro would have taxes of 10k. How much do you value every 1k of savings on property taxes when comparing? BTW – homes are no where near the same size.
Jill [48],
I rode by that house on Jackson just a little while ago. I actually wanted to check out this house in River Vale and decided to check it out coming off the GSP. It’s got some heavy vegetation which needs to be pared but I still think it still deserves a tour despite the traffic. For those with a tighter budget, it may work since it’s got a “3” handle. The one on Oak I totally forgot about and I drove right by the street. I was curious to see where the brook is located. I believe it’s right around the corner from Wilkes Deli. I’ll check that one out as well.
Sterling Grey [74],
What was the hammer price on that house? I didn’t see it.
Juice [88],
Do pensions really exist? I thought they were extinct 20 years ago.
prtraders: I value the quality of the services way more than the cost of the services. I also would look at total town debt, as someone is going to have to pay for it and there will be no federal government or state bailout of well-off towns that spent past their means. This is the main reason we bought in Glen Ridge vs. Montklair. Both towns have similar taxes, but one has significantly better services and significantly (very) less debt. If inflation comes, Montklair is in bad shape. Already 1 out of every 5 tax dollars goes to pay for debt service. I would rather it go towards providing services.
Oh, and the new council is anti-outsourcing.
90.
I would go with Bay Head. No high school means taxes are more stable. In addition your kids will goto Pt Beach HS which is arguably better than Pt Boro. That 10k will be 15k given enough years. The increases are exponential. Thats why it is critical for homeowners to keep the taxes low to begin with.
86,
Marc Faber agrees. “Those buying treasuries today will lose a ton of money.”
Median family net worth in 2010 dollars: However, if you factor in each families share of the national debt it is zero.
1989: $79,600
1992: $75,400
1995: $81,200
1998: $95,500
2001: $106,100
2004: $107,200
2007: $126,400
2010: $77,300
Gary:
I don’t have MLS access but the broker (Sue Laskin) shows the listing as sold at $640,000. I clicked through to the broker’s site.
Nice home though.
2010: $77,300
How does one even consider retiring on $77,300?
I guess Social Security and Pensions? $77,300 should be your annual pension. Not total savings. Scary part to me is all those people who work off books. SS is based on your 30 highest years of earnings. I know people like waitors, cab drivers etc. way underreport on their tax return but come retirement they are screwed.
Libtard in Union says:
June 14, 2012 at 3:25 pm
2010: $77,300
How does one even consider retiring on $77,300?
Law Grads Are Now ‘Indentured Servants’ to the U.S Government
I gather the statist-types always were uncomfortable with an influential yet independent professional class. So they turn the medical industry into a municipal utility — making a Doctor on par with a DMV clerk; and they indenture the bar, and in doing so pay off the entrenched leftists in the ivory tower.
As for the middle class: be quiet or you won’t get your next mortgage mod — we all know you can’t afford to sell and we plan to keep it that way.
I agree. I expect to be able to spend 100K per year for each individually without touching the nestegg and living off the interest. I never calculate social security as part of the equation since you can’t guarantee it will be there.
Lib & Ag – thanks for the responses. Good point about checking town finances to see how likely a future tax surprise is. If my time horizon is 15 yrs the 5000 difference is a cumulative 100k in property tax savings assuming taxes go up 3% per year. So how much is that 100k in property tax savings worth? At today’s rates, I guess nearly 100k.
How do you guarantee your interest will be there? SS will never go bankrupt. Technically they control the retirement age to collect. Also they do not have to pay for children or disabled people. If SS simply said retirement age is 70. No disability no kids benefits upon death it would be fine. They let too many people such as ex wives, widows, orphans and disabled people who never paid in the full 30 years or paid in at all on the system. I collected SS for awhile myself when I father died and was a minor. But think about it my Dad had four minor children and a stay at home wife. SS is set up today as it was back then to pay out five checks upon the death of a working man. It is a nice social safety net. But not sustainable.
Libtard in Union says:
June 14, 2012 at 3:33 pm
I agree. I expect to be able to spend 100K per year for each individually without touching the nestegg and living off the interest. I never calculate social security as part of the equation since you can’t guarantee it will be there.
JJ – numbers of working age people now on on SSDI and SSI is now somewhere around 14 million. It is the new form of welfare and has dramatically increased over the last few years.
JPM called all its pref stock today, brokers are calling clients. Sad lots of old people buy pref stock and JPM was one of biggest and safest. Trouble is broker is having what else can you get me from a blue chip company that pays 8%. Nothing honey.
Chi,
I think the term is “Fcuking Tourist” and I’m not talking about O.
WTC Path was closed for a long time after 911. Take the boat or take the subway to Chistoper St or 9th Ave and pick up the Path there.
At least with this event it’s not as bad as the UN where they shut one of the Tunnels to get the cars to the airport.
Shortage of homes for sale creates fierce competition
http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jun/10/business/la-fi-inventory-20120610
I guess a 1% property tax cap helps.
#63 Gary,
Thats the smallest of Mitts problems. The constant gaffes and position reversals will bury him. I did like his walkback on teachers and firefighters.
Shocked, I tell you, I’m just shocked.
Poll: More blame Bush than Obama
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0612/77416.html
easier to blame bush than a guy from the bushes
Last
Central PA housing update:
http://newsitem.com/news/33-homes-back-on-the-books-1.1329666#axzz1xp1rmnbY
33 homes back on the books
SUNBURY – Approximately $157,000 was generated through the sale of 33 properties at a county judicial sale Tuesday.
Northumberland County Tax Claims Bureau Director Jan Nestico reported a total of 98 properties had been available for sale. She said the remaining 65 properties will go to a repository sale, which requires a minimum bid of $500 for regular houses and $300 for mobile homes.
Nestico said, “We were hoping to sell at least half of the properties, but the 33 we sold generated $157,598.07. The sale went smoothly. I was happy with the money we got for the properties.”
She said more than 100 people attended the sale in the public meeting room at the county administration center. She said only two of the 53 bidders who pre-registered didn’t attend.
Nestico said a property in Riverside sold for $36,000, which was the highest amount received at the sale.
Eight properties in Mount Carmel sold for a total of $21,653.71. Seven Shamokin properties sold for a total of $11,329.05 and three properties in Sunbury sold for $29,700.
Three properties in Coal Township sold for $4,762.02. Two properties in Kulpmont generated $4,600 and one property in Marion Heights sold for $9,500.
One property in Zerbe Township generated $2,100 and one property in Mount Carmel Township sold for $2,700.
Two properties were sold in Watsontown for $17,500. One property each was sold in Lower Mahanoy Township ($1,819.32), Milton ($933.97), Point Township ($6,500) and West Chillisquaque Township ($8,500).
Next sale November
Northumberand County Commissioners Vinny Clausi and Stephen Bridy served as auctioneers. Nestico, chief clerk Gary Steffen, tax claims bureau solicitor Vincent Rovito and staff from the tax claims office assisted at the sale.
Nestico said the next judicial sale will be held in November.
The tax claims director said the 65 properties that will be added to the repository sale list should be available at the county website at northumberlandco.org and at her office within the next week. She said the properties sold at Wednesday’s sale are posted online.
Anyone with questions regarding the sale can contact the tax claims office at 988-4116.
Prior to 2009, no judicial sales had been conducted in the county since 2001.
In 2009, Nestico said 165 properties were sold among the 230 available for sale, generating $492,231. In 2010, 55 properties were sold among 89 available for sale, generating $186,500. Last year, 47 properties were sold among 85 available for sale, generating $150,392.
Read more: http://newsitem.com/news/33-homes-back-on-the-books-1.1329666#ixzz1xp2Xkq2e
http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/7901-W-A-St_Lincoln_NE_68532_M84956-29506
$387,000
Here’s your opportunity to start up or continue your future horse operation facilities just outside of Lincoln. Everything is setup on 39.16 acres of land. The buildings include 90′ x 33′ Horse Barn with 8 interior stalls, hay loft upstairs and a 90′ x 12′ lean to with 4 exterior stalls; 80′ x 60′ Metal Pole Shed with a 60′ x 24′ open lean to; 36′ x 24′ Horse Shed, 2 Grain Bins and standard size Storage Shed. The clean and well maintained home is prefabricated and set on a foundation with crawl space access. The many amenities include a 12′ x 12′ sun room, formal and informal dining and an enclosed rear entry. Appliances stay. There is a lot of landscaping across the acreage and the scenic views help make your decision to buy that much easier. Call to come and see this appealing opportunity when you’re ready.
I think Meat is right, the roving packs will arrive shortly, but they won’t be coming from Camden or Newark. They’ll be roaming East and West from flyover country.
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NJ Expat,
Both Lincoln and Omaha are quite nice places, although the visitors’ locker room at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln is quite a hole.
[115] Shore – One of my friends from HS sold his house in Mountain Lakes for $800K in 2006 and bought a house in Lincoln for 1/4 the price. It is a time warp time town. Virtually no participation in the RE bubble, very low unemployment now, and most of the HS girls seem to get married right out of HS like it was 1952.
The Haymarket area has good places for dining, and the Lied center and the University bring in top-name entertainment. Similar for Omaha and the Old Market. I could live in either of those two cities.
A lawsuit worthy of JJ:
http://abovethelaw.com/2012/04/lawsuit-of-the-day-no-its-not-a-pencil-in-this-bike-dudes-pocket/#more-154817