Everyone is leaving...
-
12/28/2008
While NJ has its good qualities, like the beaches and its vicinity to NYC, the cons outway the pros by far. There are some nicer areas of NJ, but everything is so tightly packed in most of this state, too many people, buildings, cars for the size of the state, you never feel like you can enjoy the good things without dealing with the bad. In most areas, and its getting worse everywhere, the traffic is horrendous. I take long cross-country road trips and I never experience traffic issues except when leaving and re-entering NJ. The one exception to that is going through the Baltimore/D.C. area if I'm heading south, but timed correctly that can be avoided as well. Growing up in a state with beaches was nice, and they were an important part of my life, however, the season to enjoy them, since it's so cold in the winter, is short, and the beaches are overcrowded and not well kept. The size of the beaches has gotten smaller over the years and there are too many people and too much trash to enjoy it. Of course, some beaches are worse than others, and if you pick the ones without all the food and games and rides, and go for just the beach itself, it's somewhat better, but you lose out on the part that made growing up here fun. I don't think NJ has much else to receommend itself, other than the few things I mentioned. Yes, you are close to so many things, big cities, mountains, beaches, but at what cost? The cost of living here is so high, its difficult for an average family to live here and have any half decent quality of life. The more money you have, the easier it is to live here, of course, but for the average family it's a constant struggle. Many people, both those who are struggling and even those who aren't, seem to be moving to other states in large numbers. I think more and more people are realizing their money will go farther somewhere else, thus improving their quality of life. I am currently researching other states myself to decide where I want to go to improve my quality of life.
RR13 | Jackson, NJ