Salary to live in New Jersey?

U.S.A. New Jersey

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Specializes in Gen Surg, Peds, family med, geriatrics.

My husband has been approached about possible position in New Jersey. The company is supposedly somewhere near Giants Stadium and the New Jersey turnpike. My question to you all is this, what kind of salary should a family of 4 earn to live comfortably there? We live in Canada and the salaries and cost of living are very different so we have absolutely NO idea what is considered a "middle class" to "upper middle class" salary. I'm talking a salary that would allow us to live in a nice area, own a nice house, send our kids to private school and even save a little bit of money. Can anyone give me some ballpark figures?

Thank! :)

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My husband has been approached about possible position in New Jersey. The company is supposedly somewhere near Giants Stadium and the New Jersey turnpike. My question to you all is this, what kind of salary should a family of 4 earn to live comfortably there? We live in Canada and the salaries and cost of living are very different so we have absolutely NO idea what is considered a "middle class" to "upper middle class" salary. I'm talking a salary that would allow us to live in a nice area, own a nice house, send our kids to private school and even save a little bit of money. Can anyone give me some ballpark figures?

Thank! :)

In that area------over $100,000/yr at least between the 2 of you

Look at realtor.com to see areas of NJ you might want to live and look at the cost and types of houses

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Specializes in Gen Surg, Peds, family med, geriatrics.
In that area------over $100,000/yr at least between the 2 of you

Look at realtor.com to see areas of NJ you might want to live and look at the cost and types of houses

We know nothing about that area. Are there areas to avoid or areas that are good? Is it better to commute in from elsewhere?

Thanks again,

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We know nothing about that area. Are there areas to avoid or areas that are good? Is it better to commute in from elsewhere?

Thanks again,

I would think you would need closer to 150k+ annually for the lifestyle you are talking about. Not to mention you would be in a highly congested area traffic wise. You're talking about 400-500k for a decent home with about a 1/2 an acre or more of land in a good area. Not to mention you would definitely want to check out taxes in that area because property tax in New Jersey can be pretty high. And bergen county which is the next county over is pretty high as well. We don't pay tax on clothes or food which is a plus because most other states do. Our sales tax is 6% and in some of the urban areas only 3%. You may also want to look at the nj.gov site to get an idea of how the department of education is set up. I would definitely visit the area before he even contemplated such an offer.

You may want to contact some realtors such as Coldwell Banker, Weichart Realtors or Remax and request that they send you some info on relocating.

They should have a list of private schools in that area and give you an idea of the price of tuition.

Good Luck with your decision.

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Specializes in Gen Surg, Peds, family med, geriatrics.
I would think you would need closer to 150k+ annually for the lifestyle you are talking about. Not to mention you would be in a highly congested area traffic wise. You're talking about 400-500k for a decent home with about a 1/2 an acre or more of land in a good area. Not to mention you would definitely want to check out taxes in that area because property tax in New Jersey can be pretty high. And bergen county which is the next county over is pretty high as well. We don't pay tax on clothes or food which is a plus because most other states do. Our sales tax is 6% and in some of the urban areas only 3%.

Good Luck with your decision.

Yowza! :uhoh21: That's even worse than here! We were blown away by the salary offer which is higher than anything offered here for the same job, but I'm beginning to realize that it's just as expensive to live there as it is here.

Yeah, I think if hubbs decides to consider this job we will have to take a trip there, poke around and then decide.

Thanks for the info.

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Yowza! :uhoh21: That's even worse than here! We were blown away by the salary offer which is higher than anything offered here for the same job, but I'm beginning to realize that it's just as expensive to live there as it is here.

Yeah, I think if hubbs decides to consider this job we will have to take a trip there, poke around and then decide.

Thanks for the info.

But there are some up-sides... Giants Stadium is only a few minutes from Manhattan and all it has to offer. Not to mention the shopping ... if you can't find it in North Jersey, you don't need it!!

But really, it is expensive around here, and I think you'd be lucky to find a house for $500,000, unless you would consider a long commute. As for the traffic, the all-news radio stations have traffic reports around the clock, because there's that much traffic around here.

Even if you didn't decide to move here, you and your family could have a nice NYC getaway while checking out the area....

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My husband works in Newark, but we chose to live much, much further south. We live in Burlington county and it takes him an hour to get to work (works the night shift). We were able to find a 3 bedroom 1 bath house for under $240,000. It's one heck of a commute for my poor husband, but we're happy.

We also moved here recently from out of state. We were told that northern NJ is very congested and much more expensive than southern NJ. In fact, a friend of mine from southern NJ described northern NJ as 'yuck'. Now of course I can't say whether or not it's really that bad because I don't live there and very seldom go up that way.

One of my biggest surprises about this state is that it's very pretty! Well, at least in the more rural areas.:rolleyes:

You know, overall, I like it here.:)

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Specializes in CTSICU, SICU, MICU, CCU, Trauma.
My husband has been approached about possible position in New Jersey. The company is supposedly somewhere near Giants Stadium and the New Jersey turnpike. My question to you all is this, what kind of salary should a family of 4 earn to live comfortably there? We live in Canada and the salaries and cost of living are very different so we have absolutely NO idea what is considered a "middle class" to "upper middle class" salary. I'm talking a salary that would allow us to live in a nice area, own a nice house, send our kids to private school and even save a little bit of money. Can anyone give me some ballpark figures?

Thank! :)

I read some of the other input on your question and would have to say that I don't know how a couple earning $100,000 or $150,000 could even afford to live in NJ. I myself made $96,000 last year and this year will make about $115,000. My husband makes about $90,000 and has a company car. At this point, I hate to say it, but we are just comfortable. The cost of utilities and gasoline have greatly cut into our earnings. And taxes in NJ are just unbearable. I live about 50 miles south of Giants stadium and right now I could sell my 4 BR house that is about 2800 sq ft for at least $650,000. It is on less than an acre. I have a 17 yo and he just bought a car.....so now my car insurance will be doubling. I'm telling you, it just never ends. All the new construction in my area is over $1.2 million. God knows what the taxes on those houses are. Private school? That will set you back anywhere from $15,000 to $25,000 per year per kid.

So, if you're thinking of a move to NJ......bring ALOT of money. I'm born and raise here and can't wait to get out of here as soon as my son goes to college.

I think that if you want to live on the comfortable side you are going to have to have a household income of about $250,000. Even if you bring a load of cash to put down on a house, it's going to take you alot of money to keep your lifestyle going. Remember too, that if you buy a nice house in a really nice area (like maybe Englewood) you might not need to shell out money on private school. That will save you some money.

Good luck! When you move here I'll move to your place in Ontario!:chuckle

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Specializes in Currently: Certified School Nurse.

I live in NYC now, but i am born and raised Jersey girl who is looking to but a house there and settle down in NJ.

My best friend *just* bought a nice 3BR, 2bath house in a very nice area of Bergen County for $389K. It is do-able! I am looking in Central NJ in the $400-$425K range and its tricky, but again its do-able.

yes, its very expensive, but you can survive if you want to. And the schools in many towns are excellent so i would not be stuck on sending your kids to private school - in most towns that's just not necesary and quite costly.

Good luck!

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Yes, you can find many houses between $350.000- $450.000. They are generally older, smaller. Not your today's dream house but liveable.

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Laurasc - I personally think it depends on what you consider a comfortable lifestyle. If you want the nice house, good school system, safe neighborhood, vacations and to be able to save it will cost alot to do it in NJ.

I agree with RNMAVEN if you choose to live in Nj bring alot of $$.

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We know nothing about that area. Are there areas to avoid or areas that are good? Is it better to commute in from elsewhere?

Thanks again,

Arent the taxes in this country less than Canada's? I thought that Canada took 60% of your income. Where here it is about 30%. I would say it would be comfortable - family of four $150,000 a year. But you could probably live on $120,000 a year but you might not have that much to save. Alot of people commute 30 min to 1 hour in NJ!! Work with a realtor to find a decent house in a not so expensive, but nice neighborhood.

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