Where is everyone moving (to)...
Hi, just wondered what states or area(s) everyone is thinking of moving to.
I wondered what everyone thinks about Delaware. Have heard two sides of the coin on it. Some say expensive, some say no. Some say snobby, some say not.
Any advice would be appreciated. Also, can anyone recco a good moving company?Experience with pods, anyone?
AJMS 
Jdem I have a coworker who just moved from Long Island to Delaware. Prices near the coast are rising but there are still affordable properties down there. My parents are planning to move out to Nazareth Pa area next year and buy a townhome in a new development. They’ll be close enough without the exorbitant taxes and senseless regulations. It is a shame what this state has become.
Matilda Fuentes 
JeffersonRepub true Delaware is Top Two, 2019
http://worldpopulationreview.com/states/cancer-rates-by-state/
CBGB Lived in NJ for 58 years, 28 years in Washington moved to PA when we retired in 2015 only thing I miss from NJ are bagels and pizza. Moved to the Philadelphia suburbs to a university town, 20k students and alive downtown with 60 restaurants, live theater, small shops, etc. We can be in the country in 10 minutes. Looked at Delaware and could not find a place with a small town feel and alive downtown. We are 20 minutes from DE and enjoy no sales tax and cheep gas!
NotIn NJ Anymore 
3wbdwnj 
Eperot The cost of housing in West Chester is high compared to Warren County with homes often selling in a few days. The prices keep getting higher in 4 years based on Zillow our home has increased $50k, no plan on selling but it is amazing. Here is what Zillow says comparing Washington and West Chester....
Here is an example, 4 days on the market
https://www.redfin.com/PA/West-Chester/217-S-Darlington-St-19382/home/38382567?utm_source=myredfin&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=instant24_listings_update&riftinfo=ZXY9ZW1haWwmbD00ODU2NzczJnA9bGlzdGluZ191cGRhdGVzX2luc3RhbnRfMjQmYT1jbGljayZzPWZhdm9yaXRlcyZ0PXZpZXdfZGV0YWlscyZlbWFpbF9pZD00ODU2NzczXzE1NjE4MDM1MTJfMyZ1cGRhdGVfdHlwZT03Jmxpc3RpbmdfaWQ9MTA3MTQ3NDc5JnByb3BlcnR5X2lkPTM4MzgyNTY3JnBvc2l0aW9uX251bWJlcj0w
Neighborhood home value
07882 home values have fallen 2.0 % over the past 12 months.
One-year prediction
Zillow predicts the home values in 07882 will decrease 3.5% in the next year.
Neighborhood home value
19382 home values have risen 1.8 % over the past 12 months.
One-year prediction
Zillow predicts the home values in 19382 will rise 2% in the next year.
We gave up on the taxes and high expenses for a better quality of life in South Carolina. A nice 3 bedroom 2 bath condo in a quiet area close to shopping cut our expenses by more than 60%. Great weather, proximity to the beach, and traffic down here is 10 cars in front of you at a light. There are some great things about Hackettstown I will miss but the cost of living there is out of control as my taxes were over $9,000 which went down to a small HOA fee and about $1,000 a year in taxes. Life is good here, low crime rate, friendly people, and the best barbecue I have ever tasted.
MK Not to through cold water because with a family home-base on the Main Line, I would live in West Chester in a heartbeat, but how are you handling the egregious PA inheritance tax since PA may be OK to retire in, but it is no place to die in.
StrangerDanger Life is all about trade offs!!! In Pa no taxes on my pension, 401k, ira not to mention lower property taxes.... my kids will have to deal with taxes when I am gone IF any $$ is left to worry about.....lol
Well, that crosses PA off my list, too bad, I like Western PA a lot. But having closed one estate there, when the taxes were more egregious than now, for sure, I can say it really pissed me off. Took years and very complex like stealing tax based on income generated post death, pre closing the estate. --- freakin making me work days so they could steal pennies off the dead's eyes.
At least NJ is somewhat self-serve, many states are very self-serve, PA --- you better get a lawyer ---- or, at least, it was that way a decade ago. Just pain upon pain.
But thanks, I was pretty sure "normal" folk hadn't found a work-around yet. And, as a family, obviously we came to your exact conclusion. Just shelter what you can, if you can, don't hold back but gift away under the gift tax exemption wire, even if you "trust fund" or have your kids sock it away for a "rainy day" after you die. But please, don't hold on to too much, each hundred dollars loses $4.50 (4.5%) if you hold onto it. That's a fairly high sales tax just for dying, check your assets, you can quickly do the math. And if not going direct descendent, but siblings or other relatives, look out. It only gets worse.
I enjoyed my time in the Philly suburbs but would choose north or north west instead of south west. And at least for me, I would be taking that 10 min ride to the country and living there instead. A short ride to the bigger town to gain the lower house cost quieter neighborhood is worth it.
But if you're retiring there, the inheritance is a real issue for the children. A big house and they have to come up with cash $$$ to keep it. It saves them so much it's a regular thing to have the house in the kids name with a life time guarantee the parents can live there rent free.
GC 
Drew GC --- sometimes that's like squeezing jello in a tube; the bad stuff comes out somewhere. We had a life tenancy for life for a relative under our grandparents that forced us to care for the place that was going downhill well before our time, on behalf of an incapable Uncle, OR suffer a huger loss than we did. Sure, the tenancy demanded upkeep; you figure out how to enforce that without spending your life doing so.....
We are heading to Missouri, lots of hunting and fishing there and friendly gun laws.
Calico696 We moved to Virginia last year. We continually meet people that have also moved from NJ. We are very glad to be here.
Real1 
BrotherDog Gone to Delaware! It’s wonderful here, the sun, the ocean, nice community. Five miles from the boardwalk and closer to the outlets. Life is good! Don’t know about how all the expenses compare yet as we’ve only been here a few days. We will be traveling back and forth bringing stuff down.
RAS 
Longvalleymom Great subject, thanks for sharing. My husband and I will be retiring in 2 years and having been looking into different areas.
Happygirl Yes AJMS there is crime in Delaware just like everywhere. My niece is at UD, so I am a crazy person and am always reading the Delaware news..
https://www.delawareonline.com/news/crime/
JrzyGirl88 We are not in a tornado area but hurricanes do pass by. I am not in a flood area but still have flood insurance in case of water\storm damage. I love the clear blue skies every day, the temps in the 90's, long pool season, the friendly people, low gas prices, the list goes on. I love the life I have down here.
The Dupont's in Delaware - the whole state is a toxic waste dump and that family polluted it all...gunpowder and chemicals.
Good times.
Facing billions in claims, DuPont, Chemours fight turns ugly
A lawsuit unsealed Friday pits the Delaware chemical companies against each other in a battle over who must pay for pollution of Teflon...
https://www.delawareonline.com/
ru Recently had retiree friends move to Boulder (1), and Austin (2); Boulder home was very expensive. Another friend has split between upstate NY and FL.
OnTheEdge 
Jnnjr 1992. It's been so long since I've been back, I probably wouldn't recognize the area now.
Well come back and check out West Chester just a few things going on...
36 pages of stuff to do...
https://west-chester.com/DocumentCenter/View/10206/2019SummerGuideHIRES?bidId=
The Shenandoah Valley region near Roanoke Virginia.Taxes reasonable and good health care.I meet many NJ retirees during my visits there.Cost of living there is reasonable too.
murofI have a co-worker we call Teflon. No matter what you try to teach him, nothing sticks.
Never asked him if he lived in Delaware.......
dodgebaal I’m eyeing northern California,
Yes, there’s the cost of living but there’s so much more to do than here and more opportunities in my industry.
So, if I’m going to pay a lot to live somewhere I might as well like it.
For reals We are moving to PA next month. Can't wait to leave this state! House is over 1,000 sq ft bigger than our current one, brand new, and taxes $4k less! Good riddance NJ!
Elmo Research triangle park area of N.C. - love it here 3100 sq foot home and property taxes are under 3k
Skippy 
Linda Pompey Why leave NJ? Don't you want to pay for state worker retirement and $45 Cadillac health plans? LOL
iJay 
lisa1 Can I ask, if so many people no longer live in Hackettstown, why are you still on the Hackettstown Life forums?
honestyseasy Because (A) it's a free country (once you leave NJ, that is...) and (B) many of us still have family/friends in that area and we like to keep in touch with what's going on. Yes, we can (and do) talk offline as well, but the forum provides a more open conversation where even those of us who have moved away can participate in if we have experience that can be useful to others (i.e. feedback on local businesses, locations, etc.)
Mark Mc. Florida, Arizona or California. (California really not being much of an alternative to corrupt NJ but has better climate and friendlier people)
Don Also, if Hackettstown border was the limit for this forum, it would be boring and die anyway. Too few people.
maja2 I guess when you live in the same place for 28 years, raise a family and then move away old habits are hard to break. We do come back to the old neighborhood occasionally so it is good to keep up as to what is going on.
NJatheart Great perspective, NJatheart. I always feel like NJ gets no love, but l imagine every state has people who complain about life there. There are certainly drawbacks to NJ, but many great things as well.
Thanks Eperot .. Hackettstown is in a beautiful area, diverse, close to so many things to do ..if I had to do again I would not have moved. The grass is NOT always greener on the other side .
If I get a chance to, Montana or Wyoming. Granted those areas have their own problems (water wars? really?), but it's a lot more open space and a lot less people.
JJB Commenting is no longer available.