David Agatone

I'm in the process of merging my company with another in N.J. (Morristown area) This will require a relocation from the Va. Beach area of VA. The question is, how far will $120K annual go in that area? At this time, I have 2K in fixed monthly expenses. I'm try to keep the salary lower to retain a higher percentage of the company. Thanks for any insight!

Dave

Dave

You can do Ok around here for that figure, depends on what kind of standard of living you're used to. Grocery and gas prices are just a fraction higher here than they are in my parents area of VA (Northern neck, Kilmarnock area), housing costs and taxes are the big difference. Real estate taxes will knock the wind out of you here but at least there's no tax on personal property (cars, boats, etc). I'm in a middle class area 10 miles East of Morristown and home prices start ~$350k ( for a little cape cod) and go up fast, if you want to be closer to Morristown or expect to buy something over ~2800SF bring at least ~$1M and expect an annual tax bill that's over $10K. I have no idea how this compares to the VA Beach area.
Let me know if there's anything I can help you out with.

njwilser

Dave,

Morristown and Morris County are not cheap. Housing will be mucho$$.
In a good area w/ decent school system a decent 4 br house will be at least 400k and quite possibly 600-800k. Real estate taxes 10k/year min.
Car insurance is a total ripoff. My wife and I combine to make about 180k and we probably could not by our own house again today. ( She does pee $ away pretty good and for the clothes in her closet I could prob. have a nice 911 rather than a nice 19 year old 944.

Good luck I wasn't trying to discourage but only helpful

MW

David Agatone

That's pretty much the same scenario that I've been finding in my own research. About triple on housing costs. 2800squ runs around 300-375K. The original location was going to be in Mt. Lakes, of which I think would be flat out insane, now it's looking like the Flanders area. I'm open to looking into living in E. Stroudsburg, PA and commuting in but have no idea what kind of a PIA that would be. My daily driver is my 944, and it would need to be sorted through pretty well to be trusted. The upside is that there are a lot of quality Rennlisters in that area.

Dave

Rt. 80 Eastbound in the morning can be a zoo, especially from rt. 15 to rt. 287, there are a lot of options that might be better.

David Agatone

Thanks Dave! I'm open to any suggestions as I'm not very familiar with the area.

Dave

Where I am is probably the best bang for the buck east of Morristown and the income is probably about right for the area, I doubt you'd end up much over 2200SF here (depending on what you want to put down. I'm not as familiar with the areas north, south and west of Morristown but I'd think that something out Rt. 10 might be the easiest commute. You may want to scale down the distance that you're willing to commute until you've looked into it a little more, NJ has the highest population density of the 50 states last I heard and the northern third is the crowded part. Driving a set distance here probably takes longer than you are used to. I have no idea what your needs are as far as SF, lot size, type of neighborhod, schools, etc. but it sounds like you're ready to be discusing that with a realtor (I can recommend someone if you want to look at Union county). Realtor.com is obvious but, if you haven't found it yet, www.gsmls.com is better in this area.

Z-man

D'oh! I just finished writing up a nice "Northern NJ" travelogue about what towns to look into, and my puter freaks out on me! Grrr...

Anyway, before I get into certain towns, what are you looking for in terms of setting? Country? Suburbs? Wooded / lake community? Affluent neighborhood? City? All of the above are availbable and within 30-45 minutes of Morristown.

Some towns I would recommend are:

West of Morristown:
-Mendham: just west of Morristown, nice affluent town.

South of Morristown:
-Bridgewater: middle to upper class town south of Morristown, a short ride down Rt. 287

-Berkeley Heights: South on 287, then go a little east on Rt. 78 - Nice town

North of Morristown:
-West Milford (Sussex co): a bit of a hike, but if you like the country, you'll enjoy Sussex county

North East of Morristown (my neck of the woods):
-Wayne (Passaic county): my town. lots of middle to upper income communities

-Ringwood: (Passaic co): a little cheaper in terms of real estate, but taxes are a bit higher, but if you like a wooded area, this town is for you. (Two state parks, state gaming lands, Monksville reservoir -- very nice setting).

-Oakland/Franklin Lakes/Ridgewood (Bergen co): Affluent towns, nice communities. (Ridgewood is like a busier Mendham)

-West Caldwell (Essex co): more of a town setting like Ridgewood & Mendham.

Hope this helps!
-Zoltan.

PS: the NNJR PCA region is very, very active! In the 'Porsche season' (March through November here), there's something to do with your Porsche just about every week and weekend!!

AndyK

Good to see another lister added to the NNJR fold!

Depends on location! My taxes are around $6k for my small 3br house in Morris county. Head East, and taxes could be double that, depending on the town. That makes a big difference on your take-home, as you know.
Also, you didn't mention the size house you need. I assume your company will be paying for the move, etc? Also, do you need great schools, or no? That makes a big difference, because you can get a nicer house in an area not famous for their schools--but nice in every other respect.

I just started driving to work, and seems every day there is a report about how bad traffic is on 80/287! I take 78, which is much better...I work in Jersey City though.

Z-man

Hey Andy, I'm east of you, in Wayne, and pay about the same as you do for a 4 bedroom bi-level (mother/daughter) on 1/3 acre wooded property.
Then again, I live in Passaic county, and while it has some nice towns in it, it isn't considered 'as nice' as Morris county or Bergen Co.

Let the Northern NJ county debate begin!
-Z.

horsepowerfarm

I like Hunterdon Co. somewhat lower taxes than Morris Co. and Somerset Co. Lots of good roads too. $400-500,000 will buy a pretty decent home, taxes between $7 and 8,000/ yr

David Agatone

Thanks guys! Schools are not an issue as I have no children(that I know of, perks of living at the beach) I prefer a more upscale, rural setting. Looking for around 2500-3000 squ. Actually, just got of the phone with one of the partners and it looks like Bridgewater will be the location. Off of Rt.22 near the Lexus dealership.

Dave

Albeit a little premature, welcome to NJ.

David Agatone

Dave, Thanks! Yeah, a little premature. They're going to have to get off the wallet a bit first, but it should happen in the next week of two. I'm going to have to research Bridgewater a bit it seems...

Dave

Bridgewater is a large town with a lot to choose from, different parts of town have different character. I know the Lexus dealer but I don't know the neighborhood around it too well (I would have guessed that was Somerville). You should have no problem finding something that suits you. As far as the NJ GTGs go, that's about halfway between Winslow (Horsepowerfarm) and Damian, Andy and myself (within a few miles of each other).