Posted on 07/18/2007 10:18:35 PM PDT by Coleus
Montville Township was tops among eight New Jersey towns included in Money magazine's best 100 places to live in the United States, weighing in at No. 13.
No New Jersey town made the top 10, but six Garden State towns were in the top 50, including the Middlesex County Borough of Sayreville, which was 47th on the list.
Hillsborough (23rd), River Vale (29th), Marlboro (33rd), Berkeley Heights (45th), Readington (58th) and Moorestown (78th) rounded out the Jersey selections. Moorestown had been the top choice in 2005.
Middleton, WI., was the best place to live, the magazine said.
Towns were ranked on a series of factors, including cost of living, employment markets, median income, property taxes and housing prices. Crime, congestion, public schools and climate were also considered.
(Excerpt) Read more at nj.com ...
I don't believe it," said Edwin Michalik, 84. "You must be pulling my leg," he added as he relaxed on his Main Street home's porch.
I can’t imagine why anyone would want to live here. I live in a very affluent town, a stone’s throw to Moorestown, and this area is changing so drastically, even in the 15 years I’ve been here. Taxes were always high, even before we moved here, and my dad was right when he said NJ had the highest taxes around. However, it was a step up for us, living in Philly (well me, my husband is from and affluent suburb of Erie PA).
I think we have the highest property taxes and state taxes in the country (or at least close to the highest). If I sold my house tomorrow, I could get at least $500,000 for it but couldn’t “move up” in this area. The worst part, even the usually conservative areas are mostly glaringly liberal now. We won’t leave, kids in school, family close, etc. but if I had it to do over I would have never settled here initially.
However, Tony Soprano might think your on to something.
#16 La Palma Nice!!
Proximity to NYC has been a factor in these “most livable city” surveys before.
Bit of a bias factor there.
Money magazine seems to think that a prerequisite for “best places” to live is to be no less than 30 minutes from a sprawling, expensive, crime infested urban center.
Taxes are really bad here but I think California has it worse.
It's not just an East Coast mentality, I think it's also a socialist mentality. I noticed of the Northwest towns on the list, ones that seemed to have the most taxpayer-supported amenities. I lived in a few places out on the Olympic Peninsula that had more town spirit than Sammamish, WA or Sherwood, OR.
Funny thing is, the place I just moved to, Nanuet, NY is #24 on the list. I can't figure it out for the life of me, I just took a walk through the local mall for the first time yesterday, and about a quarter of the non-anchor storefronts were vacant. It reminded me of what happened to the timber towns when the spotted owl dried up the lumber mill payrolls. My lady and I cannot wait to move from this high tax environment to South Carolina when we can retire!
many of the communities are bedroom communities to new york or philadelphia....
nj still has the some of the highest property taxes/state income taxes/sales taxes....most corruption of state & local politicians.....
but in nj, people can NOT pump their own gas and the price is at least 10 cents cheaper than national averages ~ so...as lib/dems think everything is equalized!!!
In fairness, proximity to a major city generally means more jobs to choose from.
I do note that they don't factor in things like wide-wlell-paved roads, parks and green space, proximity to wilderness areas, arts programs, nice small restaurants, historical sites, museums ... all things that, at least to me, contribute a lot to creating a pleasant place to live.
The key phrase is "when we can retire" ... presumably you can't move there today and get jobs as good or better than you have in NJ. That's the kind of thing that counts a lot for Money's rankings.
Part of it is the "golden handcuffs" of her job, that's why I moved to the East Coast. Four more years, and she gets to retire with full medical benefits. Then we can take whatever jobs will pay the bills in SC, and chances are, we can buy a house for the equity in this townhouse we're living in now.
Money Magazine is a waste of a few good trees in my opinion.
There are also myriad cultural options (music, theater, museums, pro-sports, restaurants, etc.) that play a key role.
The taxes, cost of living, congestion and influx of leftist refugees from NYC has turned a once affluent, but within reach of the upper middle class, suburban haven into an enclave of rich liberals.
We moved across the Delaware to Pennsylvania nine years ago and it was a great decision. Unfortunately, the same trends that drove us out of Jersey are poised to overrun Southeastern PA, except the changes are coming faster here with both Philly and NYC feeding the beast.
It’s fortunate you’ve moved. I was raised in south philly and NJ was a promise land, lol. It’s getting worse here. I live in a very affluent town and never thought it would happen here.
This State is shot imo. This area has all the philly refugees (as I call them) and they’re all libs. I seriously think it’s because they’re so prone to follow the herd, whatever is PC, to make themselves appear more educated/informed, etc. I see the NYC influence too.
It’s a different world than the one my parents grew up in and fought for.
I’d never move. Not now. Our family is here (my parents are gone but the immediate family is still here). Family is important too. I want my kids to grow up seeing their cousins, etc. We keep saying once they’re all out of the house, we’ll move. My husband keeps talking about retiring to State College (we’re both alumni of Penn State) and I keep saying a beach town in South Carolina :)
I honestly can’t see how we’d afford living here too much longer. Plus, I really want to live in an area that isn’t so liberal and the taxes aren’t so atrocious.
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