From the NY Times:
Wait, New Jersey Was Once Not Cool?
New Jersey chic used to have a name: Bruce Springsteen. And that was pretty much it, at least according to the Garden State’s haughty neighbors across the Hudson River, a point that justifiably rankled generations of New Jerseyans. No matter how much New Jersey natives fired back by extolling the virtues of spacious split-levels on family-friendly half-acre lots, or summer beach strolls in Cape May, or even New Jersey’s rich literary legacy (forget Brooklyn Heights; Norman Mailer was from Long Branch!), New Yorkers long took it as a birthright to dump on their neighbors to the west.
As the writer Frank DeCaro put it in this Clinton-era Styles cover story: “New Jersey didn’t become a national punch line — ridiculed as a repository of industrial waste and bad taste — without reason. The words ‘New Jersey’ conjure up sights and smells for many nonresidents of the northern stretch of the New Jersey Turnpike — tank farm after pipeline after brewery.” And that was from a guy who grew up in the town of Little Falls!
Consider the deeper context. As recently as the ’80s, even Jersey natives like Mr. Piscopo, from Passaic, were expected to milk their home state for easy laughs. Remember his Paulie Herman character from “Saturday Night Live”? The whole gag was built around the supposed horror of being trapped with the Jersey-est of Jerseyites in, say, a diner booth as he squawked, “I’m from Jersey? Are you from Jersey?”
…
The pendulum had to swing eventually, and sure enough, by 1999, the Garden State was in full bloom, according to Mr. DeCaro. Exhibit A: Lauryn Hill, of South Orange, then “the most popular woman in hip-hop,” shouted to a sold-out Madison Square Garden, “New York, let me take you out to New Jersey and bring New Jersey back,” without, he added, “a trace of irony or condescension.”By that point, the article argued, New Jersey had “captured the attention of moviegoers, readers and couch potatoes alike,” thanks in part to Generation X film directors from New Jersey like Kevin Smith (“Clerks,” “Chasing Amy”) and Todd Solondz (“Welcome to the Dollhouse,” “Happiness”), not to mention a certain HBO show involving an angst-ridden mob boss.
It was the dawn of a “post-Springsteen school,” Mr. De Caro wrote, “that has rethought the suburbs as a place of humor, color and intrigue. These works recast New Jersey’s little towns as Peyton Places with secrets in every cupboard, and they raise the question: If the suburbs are so boring, why is this stuff so fascinating?”
…
It made sense that New Jersey was suddenly embraced by the cool crowd, Mr. DeCaro argued, since seemingly every other celebrity turned out to be from there. A Vanity Fair story from a few years earlier, “Garden State Babylon,” listed more than 120 New Jersey-bred celebrities and influencers, including Charles Addams and Pia Zadora, broken down by turnpike exit. Meryl Streep, Martha Stewart, Bruce Willis, Jack Nicholson, Deborah Harry, Tom Cruise — was anyone super-famous not from New Jersey?And then there was that little-known comedian from Lawrenceville, Jon Stewart, before he transformed comedy television with “The Daily Show.” No wonder that by 1999, New Jersey had “gone from a private shame to a juggernaut,” as the playwright Paul Rudnick, from Piscataway, was quoted as saying.
Two decades later, those old New Jersey jokes sound as dated as a Bob Hope routine (although Jersey bashing enjoyed a brief renaissance with “Jersey Shore”). Sure, the Nets fled the Meadowlands for Brooklyn. But lately, the real flow seems to be going the other way, as stratospheric real estate prices in New York City have inspired members of the creative class to decamp to the Boss’s backyard to live, raise families and, you know, “create.”
The migration is enough of a thing that Time Out New York ran an article a few years ago, “The Coolest Places in New Jersey for New Yorkers,” that offered Garden State alternatives to New York neighborhoods: Montclair as Greenwich Village; Jersey City as Williamsburg; Westfield as the Upper East Side; and so forth. It was a useful guide for would-be colonizers, surely. But ask any Jerseyite: They really don’t need New York publications to tell them they’re cool, thank you very much.
I’d imagine prayer during the shift meeting at Chick-fil-a goes something like:
Ricky: Dear Lord Baby Jesus, or as our brothers to the south call you, Gee-Zuz, we thank you so much for this bountiful harvest of Domino’s, KFC, and the always delicious Taco Bell. I just want to take time to say thank you for my family, my two beautiful, beautiful, handsome, striking sons, Walker and Texas Ranger, or T.R. as we call him, and of course, my red-hot smoking wife, Carley who is a stone-cold fox.
Cal: Mmmm.
Ricky: Also wanna thank you for my best friend and teammate, Cal Naughton Jr. who’s got my back no matter what.
Cal: Shake and Bake!
Ricky: Dear Lord Baby Jesus, we also thank you for my wife’s father, Chip. We hope that you can use your Baby Jesus powers to heal him and his horrible leg. And it smells terrible and the dogs are always bothering with it!
Cal: Mmmm.
Ricky: (continuing) Dear tiny, infant Jesus…
Carley: Hey, you know, sweetie, Jesus did grow up. You don’t always have to call him “baby.” It’s a bit odd and off-putting to pray to a baby.
Ricky: Well, I like the Christmas Jesus best and I’m saying grace. When you say grace, you can say it to grownup Jesus, or teenage Jesus, or bearded Jesus or whoever you want.
Carley: You know what I want? I want you to do this grace good so that God will let us win tomorrow.
Ricky: Dear tiny Jesus, in your golden-fleece diapers, with your tiny, little, fat, balled-up fists…
Chip: He was a man! He had a beard!
Ricky: Look, I like the baby version the best, do you hear me? I win the races and I get the money.
Carley: Ricky, finish the damn grace.
Cal: I like to picture Jesus in a tuxedo T shirt, ’cause it says, like, “I wanna be formal…”
Ricky: Right!
Cal: “… but I’m here to party, too.” ‘Cause I like to party, so I like my Jesus to party.
Walker: I like to picture Jesus as a ninja fighting off evil samurai.
Cal: I like to think of Jesus, like, with giant eagle’s wings.
Ricky: Yeah!
ChiFi, I have a friend who owns an insurance company and is looking to take some chips off the table. How can I put him in contact with you? Feel free to get my email from Grim. Thanks in advance.
Brian O Halloran the star of Clerks was born in the Bronx. I knew him. I was good friends with his older brother we went to grammar school and high school together. And hung out in the bars in the west Bronx. His older brother my friend was born in Ireland and came to the USA when he was 8 Brian was born there as well. They moved to Ft. Lee in the mid 80s but my friend always came back to hang with us in the Bronx. Eventually the family moved to south Jersey and my friend out to long island.
Careful 3b or expat will dox you.
Hold its all true. Clerks and the sequel are cult classics. His career never went further than that as far as I know. I lost touch with his older brother so don’t know what either one is up to these days.
Murphy hit the nail on the head when he said NJ taxpayers don’t mind paying a few pennies extra to live here …Last week, he once again affirmed his commitment to raising the sales tax, imposing a millionaire’s tax and spending more money on virtually every program he can think of.Most disturbing of all in the 2017 updates were the police salaries. It’s no secret that New Jersey police officers are among the best paid in the nation .. And what makes the salary figures even more worrisome is the impact they will have on pension obligations. Most officers are eligible to retire in their late 40s at up to 70 percent of their final pay. They now rank among New Jersey’s most affluent classes, firmly ensconced in the second economic quintile.
@davidfrum
The lives of Americans and the peace of the world are in hands you wouldn’t trust with your beer money.
@washingtonpost
Republicans lose their favorite campaign message: Repealing Obamacare
Dentss,
Donuts ain’t free
Frank Sinatra, anyone? Joe Pesci? Ray Liotta? Jerry Lewis? Frankie Valli? The list is endless.
By the way, Oblammy is a p.ussy with his “red line” bullsh1t and Trump is not.
Jersey: A Great Place, To Be From
GaryDoes he need to get his Shoe Shine Box?
https://twitter.com/twitter/statuses/985200901815140352
“Mission Accomplished!” Its deja vu all over again.
Trump is a mob boss! :)
I saw excerpts of the ABC interview with Comey. He really is a “slimeball”. He has an air of a dispassionate and sober analytical thinker, but then you list to some of what comes out of his mouth and you have think “you think I am going to buy that bullsh!t”?
The idea that he wrote a book and is pitching it now is all you need to know about his character.
list = listen
@MichaelSLinden
If only there had been some concrete indication that Trump was going to be one of the most corrupt and secretive presidents in history.
On a totally unlrelated note: has Trump released his tax returns yet?
#April15 #TaxMarch
Sold for 615K a few months ago; asking 879K after a Home Depot gloss over. Get bent. This won’t even smell that price.
http://www.njmls.com/listings/index.cfm?action=dsp.info&mlsnum=1813310&openhouse=true&dayssince=&countysearch=false
At 840K, I would rather go for this one then the double wide ranch above. No amount of lipstick on a box is going to convince me. This is dated but has charm:
http://www.njmls.com/listings/index.cfm?action=dsp.info&mlsnum=1813461&openhouse=true&dayssince=15&countysearch=false
so . much . wallpaper
A townhouse at 830K and 17K in taxes. If I have to share a wall with strangers, I’m not dropping this much.
http://www.njmls.com/listings/index.cfm?action=dsp.info&mlsnum=1813534&openhouse=true&dayssince=15&countysearch=false
The wallpaper yes. I’ve seen worse and so have you but walking in that CHC would make me breathe. I can see a sunny day in the fall in that house.
Wow, 38 degrees and dropping after an 80 degee day. Climate change is real. The extreme variations in our weather is insane. How do plants and wildlife even adjust to this? Hell, how bout human farmers?
Such a shame. Such a highly intelligent species, yet so stupid.
2 bed/2 bath with a “2” handle and 7K in taxes in Hillsdale although, with a $307 monthly fee. I wonder if the train rattles you out of bed?
http://www.njmls.com/listings/index.cfm?action=dsp.info&mlsnum=1811943&openhouse=true&dayssince=15&countysearch=false
8:52
Fast,
That looks like it’s going to be the norm for nj new construction. Rich will still occupy single family homes, but everyone else will be living in something similar to this. Basically, call them projects across America for everyone that can’t afford to buy a single family home.
Like grim always says, standard of living dropping for most.
When you are pushing residential on top of retail as the “desirable” way to live with “everything within walking distance,” you are indeed conning people into accepting a lower standard of living. Yes, my dream is to leave on top of retail with everything within walking distance because I can’t afford a car to travel anywhere.
So does today’s result from St. James’ Park mean that we won’t be hearing from the High Poobah of Latinized Hubris for awhile?
One hopes.
OK, back to work. See you next week
Eddie, re the townhouse – $840,000 plus over $21,000 in taxes and maintenance seems a bit much even for Woodcliff Lake. Any amenities besides a “common area”? CHC is desirable, in my book, but whoever buys that is looking at $50,000 just in cosmetic improvements.
$840,000 plus over $21,000 in taxes and maintenance seems a bit much even for Woodcliff Lake.
For those who don’t care about shared spaces, perhaps a little older, empty nesters, maybe this works for them. I’ve had house tour guides tell me Woodcliff Lake prices are warranted. Okay, whatever you say. I’ll take that CHC and redo it little by little.
Interesting how people think high housing prices are great than bemoan the fact that people will buy town houses and want to be within walking distance of amenities. With young people needing two incomes what’s the point of a s f h . Both spouses will be working and the house will sit empty for most of the week.
All the hate for Wayne on this blog, yet still A+ town. It’s still a great value price wise, but I’m sure that won’t last for too long.
https://patch.com/new-jersey/princeton/nj-towns-graded-d-how-did-your-community-do?
Why is it so damn important to be within walking distance to everything when you can afford to drive a luxury car around?
Again, high prices means not living with the lower class. Aka safe neighborhoods, low crime, good schools, houses maintained (aka it looks nice), and within commutable distance to large opportunities to work in a professional position.
Any questions?
Enough with the idea that the house will sit empty most of the week.
3b says:
April 15, 2018 at 10:50 am
Interesting how people think high housing prices are great than bemoan the fact that people will buy town houses and want to be within walking distance of amenities. With young people needing two incomes what’s the point of a s f h . Both spouses will be working and the house will sit empty for most of the week.
Blah ,blah blah lower classes luxury cars blah blah. Like I said the house will sit empty all week.
But it ain’t Franklin Lakes!
I think that Niche list strategicallynhad less “lower grades” yham higher grades for fear of backlash. Should’ve looked more like a bell curve. Westfield isn’t Metuchen.
Pumps, walkability over and over has proven desirable in real estate. Perhaps it is because rather than having to get in your car and drive somewhere and then park you can leisurely walk and buy whatever it is you want in short time. Again we are not talking about the large items we buy for living but rather for grabbing a quick bite to eat or some small item it is far more leisurely and enjoyable to take a short walk rather than drive fight traffic and for a parking spot and yes strip shopping centers while convenient are a blight on the landscape. The future is mixed use like the past, development that occurred between 1950-1980 was too car centric and really didn’t work out as intended, you wound up with residential quite a distance away from daily conveniences and needs, developers built the housing where money was easily made avoiding taking on the risky more complicated retail.
Pumps Wayne isn’t a bad town but it has bad property taxes which leads to lower prices and a fair amount of economic diversity which limits it’s attractiveness to the really wealthy. Property values in Wayne are a function of the surrounding towns housing markets and pricing. Wayne trades at a discount to your Wyckoff, Franklin Lakes, Cedar Grove, North Caldwell, and Upper Montclair which surround it. It is also Passaic County which further dings it.
3b yes to your point we spend exorbitant amounts of money on our home and it does sit empty an awful lot. The thing is I’ll get the million I put in back when I sell(hopefully), what I won’t get back is the exorbitant property taxes and maintenance costs(figure they avg 1% of build cost at least), etc. So the expense is considerable but to Pumps point it’s an opportunity cost, you need a place to live. I decided to skip the smaller or starter home and went straight from the apartment to the large 5br home, as the starter home seemed to be a money loser for a lot of people I know, my sister sold her’s for exactly what she paid after sinking in tons for renovations, had to pay transaction and moving costs and only lived there for 5 years before another kid had them needing more space.
3b,
God, I hope no one gets sick, pregnant, divorced, unemployed or that purchase could become an economic strangle. Of course, the chances of any of these things happening are slim..snicker.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/r-lee-ermey-dead-golden-globe-nominee-full-metal-jacket-was-74-1102863
Jcer,
Good write up as always.
I think walkability will appeal to the masses in a society that has a falling standard of living except for the top 20% of the population. The masses are being sold this, but the truly rich will always have a place for the one family or penthouse. They love their privacy, and single family homes do a good job of giving you privacy.
Being able to drive your 100,000 automotive has to have some joy for the classes able to afford it.
My car is 13 years old this may. Still looks beautiful and runs like a champ. So might drag it out for a few more years due to the love affair I have with her, but when I do, prob getting a Porsche 911 or m label 3 series or higher. These cars were unattainable for me growing up….pure dream. Now that I worked hard, made the sacrifices, and right choices to be in this position going into my 40’s, mine as well enjoy it and make my teenage dreams come through. Prob will never keep another car this long again, but after keeping a car for 15 years, I deserve this.
Cars are a waste for some, but those people just don’t know how to have fun!
I understand wayne is not Franklin lakes or the likes, but how many towns are. That’s the top bar of society across the world.
For a little guy like me, wayne is a pretty high standard. Growing up, Montclair’s and Wayne’s were always held as rich snotty towns. Yes, most of Bergen was looked upon like this, but Wayne was too.
Wayne is a great down to earth town, that still has class. Yes, it has all classes of life, but for the majority, most of the citizens have class and know how to present themselves in public. They carry similar centric leaning to the right values as myself and value family/education. It’s not easy to find this kind of place in America anymore, but still exists in Wayne.
Franklin lakes type, is top tier. I don’t fit in there. To most people, I’m considered rich, but when I compare myself to Franklin lakes types, I don’t fit in. They make me feel poor. Wayne works for me.
At least in NJ you know where you stand. People will tell you based on the town you live in. Trouble is, with so much exceptionalism, where will all of the ordinary people live??
And remember when you go to sell your home, the I-generation will be saying that this home looks like it hasn’t been updated since B Clinton was in office. So go upgrade that kitchen with hopes of increasing your home value in 30 years when your dead and the kids sell it.
Seriously?
The migration is enough of a thing that Time Out New York ran an article a few years ago, “The Coolest Places in New Jersey for New Yorkers,” that offered Garden State alternatives to New York neighborhoods: Montclair as Greenwich Village; Jersey City as Williamsburg; Westfield as the Upper East Side;
^^^When I smell bullsh!t, I check the author.
In 2013:
We live in NYC and don’t have a car.
https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/modern-dad-alex-williams-190587
The author and his family couldn’t afford to stay, moved to NJ. Now he’s rationalizing how great NJ is.
^^^I stand corrected. They live in Brooklyn.
https://cupofjo.com/about/
They’re probably getting ready for NJ, though.
1. Franklin Lakes
2. Wayne
3. Monaco
I understand wayne is not Franklin lakes or the likes, but how many towns are. That’s the top bar of society across the world.
https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/country_result.jsp?country=Monaco
We moved to Boston proper 16 years ago. I’ve never seen a Marathon day with weather as bad as today in that time.
I just saw a reporter on local news who is a few hundred yards from our place on the marathon route. He said he’s been covering the marathon for 23 years and has never seen weather this bad for the race.
Fuses don’t work when wet
Raining = global warming
Snow = global warming
Sun = global warming
Wind = global warming
Cold = global warming
Warm= global warming
STFU
Bill to categorize SALT as “charitable contributions” is on Murphy’s desk.
Anybody have the guts to try it with the IRS?
https://www.politico.com/states/new-jersey/story/2018/04/12/new-jersey-legislature-passes-salt-workaround-362279
Balls
https://www.politico.com/states/new-jersey/story/2018/04/13/lonegan-wants-menendez-charged-for-holding-a-rifle-during-press-conference-363893
Yes update the kitchen now for 100k then when you sell in 20 years you add that cost to the purchase price. That’s how it works you know. An expert told me that.
The worst part is the 27 mph wind is an almost direct headwind.
The Original NJ ExPat says:
April 16, 2018 at 8:18 am
I just saw a reporter on local news who is a few hundred yards from our place on the marathon route. He said he’s been covering the marathon for 23 years and has never seen weather this bad for the race.
I paid over $1m income taxes this year. I could have put that to much better use than the government will.
No One: Thank you
Expat starts my day off with a laugh.
Monaco. Lol
No one
The gov could at least send you photos and bios of the gov employees you support. Cyou could trade them like baseball cards.
i’m a fan of semi walkable.
I can walk 5 minutes to the nyc bus
I can walk 15-20 mins to some restaurants, super markets, etc – but i still have a nice relatively private backyard (thx to the fence/trees) which I can enjoy in my SFH.
I think a townhouse, unless you are right in the heart of a city or downtown, is not worth it.
Interesting dinner conversation over the weekend.
I mentioned our son will be getting his license this month and what I should expect in terms of insurance and what perhaps I can do to prepare (other than his driver’s ed/school and GPA discounts). It turns out everyone has an approach.
One couple didn’t include their two sons in the family policy until after they turned 21 when rates are more reasonable. Fortunately, no accidents until then. Another couple said that we can wait to insure, if, God forbid, something happens, and do it retroactively (I think she meant few days or a week or so). Another couple actually fought to take their son off the policy after it didn’t make sense to have him on the policy (I think it was because the son didn’t have access to a car much during HS and then went off to college) – it sounded like it required quite a bit of work and back and forth with the insurance company to finally get it done. I can understand the pain of all these parents as I recall a couple of years ago a colleague mentioned that his insurance increased 150% (I think … he may very well have said 250%) when he put his newly licensed son on his insurance. Ouch!
So, what do you guys think I should do? Take my chances till the boy turns 21 (I wonder if my coverage would kick in at all in this case)? Take the retroactive route (this sounds way too sketchy and not sure even possible)? Or … just bend over.
Yikes No One, you must have made a lot of money last year. I was annoyed about the 200k I sent. The big problem is the government takes this money and basically burns it. I would willingly pay higher taxes if it was effectively used but it is squandered.
As for the rich, most have a place in the city and a home in CT, NJ, LI, Westchester and then also in FL as well, they are a different animal entirely. Many do not drive they have drivers to go with their more than 100k cars it dispenses the need to park, etc. A 100k doesn’t even buy a loaded S class anymore. It is the biggest waste once you are used to these cars they have no appeal, they really are for people with buckets of money, if you don’t have buckets of money they are just annoying. My dad had one(S560 I think it was something like 140k) and the ridiculous repairs(20in low profile tires, bad streets it felt like every 6 months it was a new tire and a bent rim from the quality NYC streets), etc don’t justify the cost or make them worth owning unless you are bleeding money.
In all actuality most of the Franklin Lakes people are only merely high income and high spend very little in the way of generational wealth there, I grew up there. The real rich live in Alpine, Saddle River, Short Hills, and Far Hills you are far more likely to see people setting up trust funds in those towns for their kids than the people in Franklin Lakes.
Monaco is disturbingly wealthy, only place I’ve been where Ferrari’s are commonplace and street parked. That’s what tax free does.
I’m in favor of not lying to insurance companies. Teens are expensive to cover because they have a lot of accidents.
Nice 3.5″ rainstorm this morning. My backyard looks like Venice. This is the first test of my new mega-pumping setup in my basement and worked perfectly. The backup pump (my old one) never even kicked in! But it’s nice to know that it will really take a whopper to flood my basement. Probably a 100 year storm. At that pace, it should probably be redone at least that often. And I have insurance for that. Flood insurance is cheap when not in a FEMA flood zone. I’ll upload a photo of the backyard. This is probably the second deepest it ever got.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/OrXSkjDIqnyMOEF52
Will have some good stories on the sale of the multi soon. Can’t share until finalized though. For now, I’ll just reveal that there’s enormous interest.
Move to Somalia and show us all how its done, genius.
No One says:
April 16, 2018 at 9:57 am
I paid over $1m income taxes this year. I could have put that to much better use than the government will.
Yes I’ll try it only if Murphy does …..https://www.politico.com/states/new-jersey/story/2018/04/12/new-jersey-legislature-passes-salt-workaround-362279
Jcer,
Franklin lakes is def rich and in the 1%(generational or not). Short hills and the like are the 1% of the 1%. They are all rich beyond the common man’s ability to comprehend. I don’t fit in with any of those places and never will.
I believe you are required to insure all drivers in your household. Whether there is any real impact of not doing so, I do not know. (You really do not even need a license to drive, may be an issue if you are pulled over I guess)
https://www.foxbusiness.com/features/dont-hide-your-teen-driver-from-your-insurance-company
@ianbremmer
Change in deficit, as a % of GDP, since 1977
Bush 43 +4.7%
Trump +1.8%
Reagan +0.5%
Bush 41 +0.4%
Obama -0.1%
Carter -0.4%
Clinton -5%
CBO via @nytimes
Bloomberg – thanks for the article. I agree with the last point in the article – parents waiting several years after the child’s 16th birthday to let them drive. Thinking the same – maybe not entirely let not let me son drive when he turns 17 – but, very little and mostly with an adult in the car for a while. Knowing my son with his phone habits and how easily he gets distracted – he can’t stay off when he is doing his homework or during “off” hours – it really concerns me and I want him to really get used to driving around without being distracted or giving in to the “ping” of his phone.
Moana P.ussy,
When the government budget is in surplus, the private sector has gone into debt by the exact same amount because balances must up add up to zero. Government deficits create private sector wealth, while government surpluses drain it. What we’re seeing is the increase in private sector wealth.
I’m with JCer – I don’t think Franklin Lakes (and Ridgewood) is a crowd that’s THAT well off. I think it’s more the crowd (especially Ridgewood) that aspires to a certain status and also a bunch of the follow the herd crowd that gravitates to these places. Like JCer said – I think if you are the real deal you are probably in Alpine, Saddle River, Short Hills and the like. I had a realtor several years ago that really wanted me to buy in FL – she lived there and genuinely liked the area – but I didn’t take to the area for some reason. Nothing bad about the area – just didn’t take to it. On the other hand, I stayed far away from places like Ridgewood – just so many wanna be’s – the more lower end, the more haughty and snooty it seems. I know a few families that live on the lower tier and seem like they struggle to barely keep up their address in “Ridgewood”. Much prefer areas like Haworth, Ho Ho Kus, Glen Rock to Ridgewood; OT, Demarest to Tenafly; etc. – that type of thing.
What matters the most is the size of the debt relative to the the economy and the number of taxpayer incomes from which revenues can be drawn. You can reduce the size of debt while simultaneously running a budget deficit. What Mona P.ussy is showing is the delta and not the actual deficit but does it matter? He can’t put a whole sentence together, let alone analyze anything.
I don’t know, if ridgewood and franklin lakes are a bunch of wannabes, you guys must be in the 1% to take up such a position. To most people, that’s what you call rich. If you are raising a family in a 1.5 million dollar house, how are you not rich?
Of course if you want to compare yourself to the 1% of the 1% and claim you are not rich, which is just silly, but understand to most of the population, you are rich. They can only dream of living in million plus homes in franklin lakes.
Are we really comparing generational wealth to upper middle class?
Franklin lakes, ridgewood, montclair, etc are all mostly high W2 income.
Does your family have a 3 million dollar mantaloking or bay head beach house? Then you aren’t in that top 1% of 1%
Pumpkin lots of earned money there, not as much wealth(don’t conflate earning power with wealth). There is a sizable per capita income but it is largely spent maintaining a lifestyle, people there live well(big houses, nice trips, fancy cars, jewlery, etc). When you start looking at places like Saddle River, they are spending but earn even more. People on the low end in places like Franklin Lakes, Ridgewood, and Short Hills/Millburn definitely seem to have a complex(they aspire to live the lifestyle but ultimately cannot afford to live there and feel pressure to keep up). You definitely have some really wealthy in Franklin Lakes and Ridgewood for that matter but it is few and far between where as in Alpine or Short Hills in certain neighborhoods it is practically everyone who has so much in the way of wealth they don’t need to work to support their lifestyle.
Franklin Lakes is a good buy at the moment, the lack of a downtown or anything for that matter and no train has made prices there quite soft compared to other places in NJ.
Mike S. – nailed it.
And who really cares? I probably have more saved than many of the haughty taughty folks in my parts. Yet my house cost a measly 423K. Judging by the cars I drive and the clothes I wear, most people would think I come from Clifton rather than the Ridge. And I prefer it that way. And many of our neighbors are pretty well off. We know, because when the D got sick, they were way to generous to not have the goods. Either that, or they just felt bad for the seemingly poorest residents of GR.
When we were looking for uppitty train towns, the best deals appeared to be in Slummit.
$389k in annual household income will put you at the top 1% of earners in the USA. That number jumps to $692k in metro NYC. Far and Short Hills, Alpine and the likes are home to .25%-ers. Most of us on this board will never understand that kind of money
Yup! Lots of rappers in Alpine.
Fyi, I’m upper middle class, and I consider myself rich. If I want to sit here and compare myself to a 1%er, I’m poor. You are only focusing on 1% of the population in your analysis, take a look at how 99% of the population lives.
Come on, telling me someone making more than 95% of the population is not rich? Might not have a 3 million dollar beach house, but they are still rich.
All these silly little towns play these wanna be games. Oradell thinks they are better than River Edge, Washington Township thinks they are better than Westwood. New Milford thinks they are better than Dumont and Bergenfield. Some of the biggest wanna bed and snooty types are the first generation crowd that went to college. The multi generational wealth like I saw in my GS days were some of the nicest and most decent people I have ever met. And down to earth.
Grim please unmod. Don’t know what I said that triggered it.
Lib – Yikes! Comically, two adjacent pictures each showing half a playhouse give the illusion like the playhouse is an off it’s foundation teardown.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/OrXSkjDIqnyMOEF52
It looks bad. In another hour or so, there will be no sign that the lake was there before. Definitely worth 5K a year or more to me.
Pumps – it’s never too late to get an education.
I don’t fit in with any of those places and never will.
My oldest daughter turned 16, the driving age here in MA, a couple months ago. We haven’t even discussed driving. Most kids in Boston do not get their driver’s licenses at 16, even though they legally can. None of my daughter’s friends drive. The majority of teenagers don’t really even show an interest. I think one of the major issues, besides cost, is texting. For the kids, I think they see operating a vehicle as something that would seriously impede their digital lives. For parents, we think about their literal lives.
I agree with the last point in the article – parents waiting several years after the child’s 16th birthday to let them drive. Thinking the same – maybe not entirely let not let me son drive when he turns 17 – but, very little and mostly with an adult in the car for a while.
Lib
Our pump is going off every 3 minutes and my house elevation is 1500ft. Neighbor has a gravity sump running into the sewer, it will be running for the next few days.
Lib, how often does your yard get that flooded? I’m surprised it even happened that quickly.
Democrats won’t allow you in their party if you are pro-life or pro-math.
What matters the most is the size of the debt relative to the the economy and the number of taxpayer incomes from which revenues can be drawn. You can reduce the size of debt while simultaneously running a budget deficit. What Mona P.ussy is showing is the delta and not the actual deficit but does it matter? He can’t put a whole sentence together, let alone analyze anything.
Pumps – just compare yourself by speed limit. That makes you the king.
Fyi, I’m upper middle class, and I consider myself rich. If I want to sit here and compare myself to a 1%er, I’m poor.
My sewage pump for the basement bathroom has been going off every few hours (seems like the cycle is getting shorter – 7 hours, 4 hours, 3 hours … ). This is the sewage pump (NOT the sump pump which looks completely dry). I’ve been able to override it (plugging one of the double plug thingys directly) and pump the water out. Is this normal when it rains this hard? Should I be concerned something is happening and get prepared? Isn’t there some type of valve in the pipes to prevent backflow on these things? Don’t think it has gone off in the last 5 years due to heavy rain.
Lurks. It has happened 5 times in 7 years. There are basically two triggers for the flooding. >.75 and hour rain, or over 2″ in about a 12 hour period. Also, if the ground is frozen, forget about it. I just looked outside and it’ll be gone in about an hour. I’m just super happy about my new sump pump. I can’t believe the second pump didn’t even kick in! The truth is, if big rains are predicted, we park the cars in the front of our driveway and not down by the detached garage. This was quite the surprise soaker. We got 3.43 inches since 7pm yesterday. That’ll always do it.
There is a cheap valve called a check valve that restricts the water that you pumped upwards from falling back downwards into the pump (due to gravity) and then eventually burning out your pump from constantly triggering on and off. My guess is that you are getting some back pressure from pipes that probably have roots protruding through them where water is getting in. Or, somewhere in the line, sewer lines and regular storm wastewater is combining when it shouldn’t. In my multi, the Pittsburgh Potty flushed really slowly during storms. I KNOW we have roots in our (original) line to the street.
Hey Grim, do you know of any cheap oil tank removal companies? I’m pretty sure there is no leakage since company that decommissioned the tank is still in business and I have their papers.
Sorry to keep prying – do your neighbors experience the same effect in their backyard? I’m happy your pump works too, especially with the almost yearly occurrence.
ExPat,
Yup … spot on. The texting as well as driving around with 3-4 friends in the car (doesn’t seem to be enforced) is a huge concern for us. Unfortunately, the culture here it seems is that everyone pretty much gets a new car on the day that they get their license on their 17th birthday. Wish it was much like what you have in Boston. Growing up in the city, I didn’t even bother to get my license until I graduated from college. Subway, bus, and walking (and few friends who had cars for parties in Jersey) was my mode of transportation for high school.
The two houses to my right have same issue. The road I’m on has the slightest downhill grade, but it shifts to an upward grade right as it hits my house. So all of the heavy rains that everyone’s lawn can’t absorb ends up washing down to mine. We knew about it when we bought the place. For most, it seems horrible. For me, it screamed massive discount on house price and super low property taxes. I actually see it as a bonus. We lose the use of our backyard for about 12 hours every 500 days or so. But now you know why we purchase flood insurance for $450 a year. If what happened this morning was three times bigger, our basement WOULD fill up.
My nanny knows all texts wait until the car is stopped. I have a really good relationship with my soon to be teenager. When he gets to drive, he’ll have to buy his own beater and if I catch him texting while driving, he’s simply a dead man.
Anyone know how it works if your car is covered under collision and you amass a bunch of minor dents and scratches, but don’t fix them at the time they occurred or even report any of them so no police reports. Then you decide you don’t want to drive anymore, but want to get all of the damages fixed to sell the car. This is for my brother in law whose father ruined his car, but he drives so little that Uber is his solution going forward. He doesn’t care that his rates will go up as he’s dropping car insurance.
Lib – Wouldn’t one just go to a body shop and have the damages repaired? I’m not aware of any reporting laws for dents, dings, and scrapes.
Oh, I get it. Is there a way to get the insurer to pay, is your real question? I’m pretty sure they’ll want police reports.
Kenyans were literally blown away by today’s weather in the Boston Marathon. A US woman won for the first time in 33 years. Another US woman finished 2nd, the first US 1-2 finish since 1979. US women took 7 of the top 10 places.
A Japanese guy won on the men’s side. He was not an unknown, but had never won a major race before. Behind him Americans took 6 of the top 10 spots, including 3rd and 4th.
I’ll call my friends at the 5.0.
1:23 apologist for stupidity. Rationalizing cuntdom.
Pumps again back to my description, you are not “rich” until you can fund your lifestyle with the assets you own rather than your labor, High Income != RICH. When you are riding the income roller coaster you aren’t rich, if you get lucky and are prudent with your money you can become rich as a result of working but the key distinction between the rich and the rest of us is that they make a sizable income off investments and have a sizable net worth.
There are plenty of high income and high spend people, they live well but aren’t saving much and don’t have too much in the way of income. My brother-in-law makes a big income but my they live like they are rich, they spend like drunken sailors on vacations, home renovations(anything older than 10 years is instantly upgraded and replaced with the latest, greatest and most high end they can find), cars, etc. You’d look at them and say wow they are rich(big beautiful house, fancy vacations, dining at the finest places, newer luxury cars, whole family dressed to the nines from bloomingdales) and you’d look at me as say wow he’s a schlub…because I don’t spend on clothes drive a 12 year old car, eat cheap ethnic food when I go out mostly…..my only tip off is my house which I don’t love as I have had multiple contractors call me rich(usually connected to trying to up sell what ever I’ve called them there for)…..which means I’m getting ripped off. But in any event I have a higher income and a lot more savings and up until I bought that house nobody had any clue as to how much money we make or have. My dad was largely the same, he was making literally a ton of money and had huge assets as well but was very cheap(until he was actually rich and he started to spend a little), his comment on my sister was always something along the lines of I make a hell of a lot more money then them and I’ve never spent as much on (insert item or renovation project), conversely he’d tell me to spend some money you have it…your being cheap(he’d also tell me my wife should stay home with the kids yet another story for a different day). My dad had a rich person’s mentality, he’d only borrow money if he thought he’d make money, so financing was only for investments and only non-recourse(after he became rich before obviously only a small mortgage I think they put down like 50% when they bought the house I grew up in), a home was a place to live NOT an investment. Money was never to be borrowed for cars or boats or any consumer expense or luxury, write a check for it or you cannot afford it these are not things you borrow for.
So Pumps being “RICH” is more than having income it takes discipline to grow your assets and invest prudently.
Beer commercial…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTbl3DB1lHc
I’d say they are rich. If you can afford that lifestyle, you are rich.
It’s not all about how much money you bank. Being rich doesn’t mean you don’t work and just live off passive investments. Is Tom Brady not rich because he is working?
Incomes in the hundreds of thousands, like 300,000 a year, allow you live life and invest. If you are making 300,000 a year and don’t realize you are rich on income alone, you have to do the math. In ten years, you make 3 million. You should have some crazy passive income generated within 10 years with that kind of income being produced. And if not, you are living it up because that’s a lot of money to spend in 10 years.
I’ll never understand the people that accrue stupid money, but never spend it. One day they will realize that life has passed them by and they should have enjoyed some of the wealth they were lucky enough to have.
“My brother-in-law makes a big income but my they live like they are rich, they spend like drunken sailors on vacations, home renovations(anything older than 10 years is instantly upgraded and replaced with the latest, greatest and most high end they can find), cars, etc. You’d look at them and say wow they are rich(big beautiful house, fancy vacations, dining at the finest places, newer luxury cars, whole family dressed to the nines from bloomingdales)”
So are we looking at Shredder Accident or a Hotel Fire?
A federal judge ruled prosecutors have to turn over the seized material from last Monday’s raid to Michael Cohen’s attorneys so they can tell the judge how much of it might be subject to attorney client privilege.
Cohen’s lawyer can then share subsets of the material to Trump and the Trump Organization.
Judge Kimba Wood indicated she would rule after prosecutors and Cohen come back with an estimate of the volume of material that could be subject to attorney client privilege. She will then decide whether a government “taint team” of investigators separate from the investigation or an appointed special master would ultimately review the seized materials before prosecutors can use the evidence in the investigation.
The judge asked both sides to provide four names each as potential special masters, but made clear she has not decided that will be her final decision.
Cohen declined to comment while leaving the courtroom.
Jcer,
I totally understand your point, but I’m just trying to get you to understand for the majority of the population out there….200k and up is like hitting the lottery. You just aren’t around enough of the less off people to see that Ridgewood is rich.
High Income != RICH.
Depends on your view point and your spending habits. I don’t make $300K, but I looked at my savings and Net Worth and I could retire tomorrow. It would mean downsizing but maybe that wouldn’t be a bad thing. I have 10-15 years left to make a really comfortable retirement. This gig, touch wood, should give me a least 5 given the work on the horizon.
If I had to make the transition tomorrow. I would still work in some capacity, but not necessarily for the income. If I stay in the TriState, yes I would have to match the income, but a few acres upstate for a Farm and a Winery and I could have a happy life, sampling the product.
Expat in the interests of full disclosure.
https://twitter.com/SethAbramson/status/985770128506871809
I am still of the view that it should have been a quick process to flag all the emails as duplicates. And with the review no new emails came to light.
Rudy has to get caught up in this at some point!
I had been waiting for someone to post this!
https://twitter.com/NothingsTweet/status/986038233002860545
I took the a really bad Family Vacation to Boston last week. My Mini-van ended up at dealer for an engine rebuild (i have to drive back and pick it up tomorrow). But that pales in comparison with my kid ending up with an ambulance ride and overnight in Boston Childrens with an allergic reaction.
We have no idea where the allergic reaction came from (the kid loves peanut butter). I suspect as the hotel was overlooking Fenway, so i guess she’s allergic to the Red Sox.
The point I want to make is that I had to go to CVS to pick up a prescription for Epi Pens. My insurance gave me two packs for a single $25 copay. The lady behind the counter (in an nice way) said, “You have really good insurance, this is a $1300 prescription!” And that folks is what is wrong with this health system. I can pay full freight for the pens, but many can’t. the vaccine does not get made. Even most insurance plans put the cost out of a lot of families reach.
#SinglePayer
J. Edgar Comey
Fab – in case you’re looking for some interesting reading material:
https://www.scribd.com/document/376298359/DOJ-IG-releases-explosive-report-that-led-to-firing-of-ex-FBI-Deputy-Director-Andrew-McCabe#from_embed
^^^^^ Here’s your cheat sheet:
Special Counsel = Lisa Page
DAD = Peter Strzok
AD/OPA = Mike Kortan (who retired Feb 2017)
PADAG = Matt Axelrod (retired Mar 2017)