OT: Looking to Downsize from Current home- would love some advice on NJ locations not in Bergen co..

[phs73rc77gsm83]

Well, it is done and we have closing date and where we are moving to. Decided to just rent for a year or two instead of looking to rush into buying. We went from looking at waterfront apartments in Weehawkin/West NY (1400-1800 sq ft) to Townhouses and houses local to where we are now. Settled on a great compromise of "downsizing" and still having comfort. Also found single floor living to help with our older German Shepard. Renting a fully renovated expanded ranch in Franklin Lakes- 3000 sq ft - 1/2 acre. Dogs can go inside/outside/bed/play without taking a single stair. We have room for all of our furniture including outdoor and reduce cost of living x3. 1/27 closing.
Now- packing up...........

Best of luck, sounds ideal! I like the idea of renting for a bit rather than rushing into a purchase too.

 

[CERU00]

Is that really true? I may see it in a spec home but not custom built.

Sure, any custom builder will build whatever you want but you won't see any ranches offered as standard options in most places. Builders want to maximize profit. Concrete foundations and roofs are two huge costs for the builder. As another incentive, builders can squeeze more homes into a given property because two story homes have smaller footprints.

 

[RU4Real]

Strange thing, sea-sickness.

I've seen people who've sailed for decades in all manner of conditions, without the slightest hint of motion sickness ever, all of a sudden become violently ill and then be miserable for days. Even for long-time ocean racers, certain type of seas with certain points of sail can bring it out, apparently.

When ocean racing, most of our crew would prophylactically patch up with Scopolamine for the duration of the race. Even though I've never been prone to motion sickness of any kind, I would usually take some low-dose non-drowsy Dramamine for at least the first couple/few days, often stopping mid-race if conditions were easy.

The trick is starting with the Scopolamine or Dramamine (or whatever) about 12 hours prior to getting on the boat. Seems to be a lot more effective than starting while already under way.

If the wife hasn't ever tried to use something like Scopolamine/Dramamine AND started it the day before getting on the boat, it might be worth a try for her. But, you know, keep a bucket handy.

My experiences have generally been the same. It's really just a matter of convincing her to keep trying stuff until she finds something that works.

I do not, however, have any expectation that she would be interested in passage-making, which she describes as "camping and barfing at the same time." The idea of 3 weeks at sea is really exciting to me. She makes a weird face whenever I talk about it.

 

[yesrutgers01]

Best of luck, sounds ideal! I like the idea of renting for a bit rather than rushing into a purchase too.

We started out looking to purchase and two things, we couldn’t decide on where and then the timing. It took longer then we hoped to sell so every time we saw something, we couldn’t offer and then it was gone. So I convinced my wife to go the rental route.
River/City views with all the Amenities was exciting for a bit but just not enough room. We also have two larg dogs- the GS is a service dog and the boxer an ESA so we couldn’t be denied but in a high rise 2 big dogs 3 times daily...
And we just didn’t want to rush a purchase. We may rent for 2 years then build our forever home next. Already had our dream home built but time to be smart about it.

 

[mildone]

My experiences have generally been the same. It's really just a matter of convincing her to keep trying stuff until she finds something that works.

I do not, however, have any expectation that she would be interested in passage-making, which she describes as "camping and barfing at the same time." The idea of 3 weeks at sea is really exciting to me. She makes a weird face whenever I talk about it.

As I get older, the idea of 3 days at sea followed by 2.6 weeks in berths at yacht clubs or waterfront bars/restaurants filled with fun-loving boaters (aka drinkers) is starting to look lots better than 3 weeks at sea. LOL

 

[MoobyCow]

My experiences have generally been the same. It's really just a matter of convincing her to keep trying stuff until she finds something that works.

I do not, however, have any expectation that she would be interested in passage-making, which she describes as "camping and barfing at the same time." The idea of 3 weeks at sea is really exciting to me. She makes a weird face whenever I talk about it.

I have been trying stuff for about 40 years now... and if I go out on the ocean I'm getting sick. I keep trying because I love going out (minus, you know, the barfing). I don't blame your wife, motion sickness is simply awful.

 

[mildone]

I have been trying stuff for about 40 years now... and if I go out on the ocean I'm getting sick. I keep trying because I love going out (minus, you know, the barfing). I don't blame your wife, motion sickness is simply awful.

Did you try starting whatever it is at least 12-24 hours in advance of getting on the boat? By all accounts, it really makes a difference.

One other trick is to be sure not to eat a ton or be on an empty stomach. I used to bring boxes of pop tarts (brown-sugar cinnamon) along to nibble on. These days I'd just bring some unsalted raw pecans and almonds instead, but same idea. Keep the stomach acids from building up, keep some fiber in the system.

 

[MoobyCow]

Did you try starting whatever it is at least 12-24 hours in advance of getting on the boat? By all accounts, it really makes a difference.

One other trick is to be sure not to eat a ton or be on an empty stomach. I used to bring boxes of pop tarts (brown-sugar cinnamon) along to nibble on. These days I'd just bring some unsalted raw pecans and almonds instead, but same idea. Keep the stomach acids from building up, keep some fiber in the system.

Yes, I've tried it. I can get away with something like a gulf cruise, or calm caribbean seas, but small boats... Nope. It just is what it is, not enough medicine in the world.

As an example, was on a cruise all calm, but taking medicine every day just in case, 3 days in there's a bit of storm and... I went right to puking.

For reference, I can get queasy on my 15 min PATH train ride on occasion. I've got a design flaw of some kind ;)

 

[RU4Real]

Yes, I've tried it. I can get away with something like a gulf cruise, or calm caribbean seas, but small boats... Nope. It just is what it is, not enough medicine in the world.

As an example, was on a cruise all calm, but taking medicine every day just in case, 3 days in there's a bit of storm and... I went right to puking.

For reference, I can get queasy on my 15 min PATH train ride on occasion. I've got a design flaw of some kind ;)

Like @mildone said, it's a funny thing.

The last time I was seasick was going on 20 years ago. I was on a 48' sportfisherman making 25 knots out to Hudson Canyon in a flat calm. I was throwing up before we were 10 miles out.

Over the course of the next 12 hours conditions gradually deteriorated. By midnight we stopped fishing and pulled all the lines in because we were in 40+ knot winds and 10-12 foot seas.

The worse it got, the better I got.

 

[mildone]

Yes, I've tried it. I can get away with something like a gulf cruise, or calm caribbean seas, but small boats... Nope. It just is what it is, not enough medicine in the world.

As an example, was on a cruise all calm, but taking medicine every day just in case, 3 days in there's a bit of storm and... I went right to puking.

For reference, I can get queasy on my 15 min PATH train ride on occasion. I've got a design flaw of some kind ;)

I think the closest I ever came to motion sickness of any kind was on a large cruise ship in medium high following seas. Some of the ship's stabilizers cut out for some reason, so for a day or so, I had a bit of an unsettled stomach with some acid-indigestion. Was enough to slow my alcohol and food intake for the day, which was probably a good thing anyway. LOL

The second closest was the last time I was at Hershey park, and the lines were super short, or non-existent, so one could basically endlessly ride any ride repeatedly waiting at most one turn before going again.

My kids and I did the pirate ship thing (https://www.hersheypark.com/explore-the-park/rides/pirate/) a whole bunch of times, then did Storm Runner (https://www.hersheypark.com/explore-the-park/rides/storm-runner/) three times, all in a row with pretty much no break.

After I think the 3rd time on Storm Runner I got a massive headache. It was short-lived, but for a couple minutes, my head hurt so much I was starting to feel a little nauseated. I had a couple bottles of water and then a Slurpee (or something like it) while my kids did the ride a couple more times.

By the time I finished the Slurpee, I felt fine. But I was definitely feeling my age.

 

[herdof3]

Bradley Beach. mile from Asbury. next to Avon and Belmar. tons of restaurants, concerts, etc in the area.

 

[BigWill]

I used to go out to the Canyon out of Manasquan and found that the wrist bands with the marble like thingy worked well.

 

[RUBoken]

Id suggest getting a 3 bedroom townhome in the Princeton/Lawrenceville area. You’d need to compromise on the space, pool, and land,but property taxes would be around 6K.

Lifetime Fitness has built the best gym I’ve ever seen on Scudders Mill Road in Princeton, next to Bristol Myers Squibb’s old Plainsboro Campus. It includes a full gym, pool, and whirlpool. Memberships are pricey but worth it.

As you get older I don’t think you’d want to take care of pool and land.

Now if you must have land and space, look at Pennington, NJ. The tax rate is 2.6 %.

I live in Skillman, NJ about 3.5 miles from downtown Princeton. The train from Princeton Junction is a 55 minute ride into Penn Station. I have land but do not have a pool. My house is 2600 SQFT with a finished basement. The area has fantastic food, culture (plays, concerts, etc), hiking/ biking trails, etc. I live on a golf course community but am currently not a golfer.

Come on down but the taxes are around $15k but housing prices are well within your range.

I am a North Jersey guy and it took a little getting use to the slower pace but it is great.

 

[yesrutgers01]

I live in Skillman, NJ about 3.5 miles from downtown Princeton. The train from Princeton Junction is a 55 minute ride into Penn Station. I have land but do not have a pool. My house is 2600 SQFT with a finished basement. The area has fantastic food, culture (plays, concerts, etc), hiking/ biking trails, etc. I live on a golf course community but am currently not a golfer.

Come on down but the taxes are around $15k but housing prices are well within your range.

I am a North Jersey guy and it took a little getting use to the slower pace but it is great.

When we decide to purchase again, I think we will be planning to be on water.
Could be the Brick area or maybe go for lake living and maybe look at Mt Arlington

 

[BigWill]

Water; Love it or leave it...
Ocean;
When we were allowed back in our home after Sandy (east of the RR tracks).

There was a lone telephone pole in my side yard with the tags from JCPL that identified that it was from Sea Girt.

There was 3 feet + of water in the first floor, measured by the stains on the outside above the windows.
Lake;

Our family camp in the Adirondacks was built in 1912 and other than having electricity added after WW 2 is unchanged and unspoiled.

Brick; Would not my choice to recc anyone that asked my opinion as a real estate appraiser. (back in the day, when Mary Anne told me to get out of the house I was driving her crazy.)

 

[beaced]

I live in Skillman, NJ about 3.5 miles from downtown Princeton. The train from Princeton Junction is a 55 minute ride into Penn Station. I have land but do not have a pool. My house is 2600 SQFT with a finished basement. The area has fantastic food, culture (plays, concerts, etc), hiking/ biking trails, etc. I live on a golf course community but am currently not a golfer.

Come on down but the taxes are around $15k but housing prices are well within your range.

I am a North Jersey guy and it took a little getting use to the slower pace but it is great.

Go farther South and you will find that not only is the pace slower but also about a day behind.(confirmed by family member who moved to Delran years go)

 

[yesrutgers01]

Water; Love it or leave it...
Ocean;
When we were allowed back in our home after Sandy (east of the RR tracks).

There was a lone telephone pole in my side yard with the tags from JCPL that identified that it was from Sea Girt.

There was 3 feet + of water in the first floor, measured by the stains on the outside above the windows.
Lake;

Our family camp in the Adirondacks was built in 1912 and other than having electricity added after WW 2 is unchanged and unspoiled.

Brick; Would not my choice to recc anyone that asked my opinion as a real estate appraiser. (back in the day, when Mary Anne told me to get out of the house I was driving her crazy.)

One of the things we will be careful about if we go the ocean/bay route, is the flooding. We may end up at that time trying to purchase a lot and building and making sure it is raised enough, just in case. As for lake living- we love Lake Hopatcong but would have to make sure to be in Morris County. Love Mt Arlington. But a concern is that they had the green algae and I would have to watch it for a while to make sure last year was isolated.

 

[198hamilton]

Born and raised in Mt. Arlington. Algae issue way overblown. New regulations were way too stringent. You could swim in Connecticut with same levels. You can look at Star Ledger articles. My daughter and her friends swam in the lake all summer with no issues.
I don't live there anymore. The lakefront homes are nice. The rest are just average. No center of town. Sparta is a million times nicer. They both suck to commute from. Don't go by Google. The traffic on 80 is as bad or worse than anywhere in the state. I understand your wife is African American. Both Mt. Arlington and Sparta are as lily white as towns come but I don't believe they are racist at all. I am confident about this in that I lived in town for 40 years and now live one town away. Hope this helps

 

[yesrutgers01]

Born and raised in Mt. Arlington. Algae issue way overblown. New regulations were way too stringent. You could swim in Connecticut with same levels. You can look at Star Ledger articles. My daughter and her friends swam in the lake all summer with no issues.
I don't live there anymore. The lakefront homes are nice. The rest are just average. No center of town. Sparta is a million times nicer. They both suck to commute from. Don't go by Google. The traffic on 80 is as bad or worse than anywhere in the state. I understand your wife is African American. Both Mt. Arlington and Sparta are as lily white as towns come but I don't believe they are racist at all. I am confident about this in that I lived in town for 40 years and now live one town away. Hope this helps

Sparta is nicer if concerned about schools, didn’t like many of the houses though. Almost pulled the trigger on a beautiful home on Bertrand Island Rd. You would know the couple that live there. He also told us about it being overblown and that in most places, never would have been considered an issue. In any case- if on a lake, it would have to be on the lake. Don’t really see the point otherwise.
As for racial- first, and have to clarify, she is Caribbean American lol She always checks off “other”.
Anyway- there is a huge difference between lack of diversity and being racist. And being interracial- we get intitial looks no matter where we go except Manhattan.

 

[e5fdny]

Sparta is nicer if concerned about schools, didn’t like many of the houses though. Almost pulled the trigger on a beautiful home on Bertrand Island Rd. You would know the couple that live there. He also told us about it being overblown and that in most places, never would have been considered an issue. In any case- if on a lake, it would have to be on the lake. Don’t really see the point otherwise.
As for racial- first, and have to clarify, she is Caribbean American lol She always checks off “other”.
Anyway- there is a huge difference between lack of diversity and being racist. And being interracial- we get intitial looks no matter where we go except Manhattan.

We’re looking at her. ;)

And as for the City, I was taught as a young fireman to look in a way (withOUT sunglasses) you don’t get caught. Some of us i’ll give you are better than others at this skill. LOL

 

[yesrutgers01]

We’re looking at her. ;)

And as for the City, I was taught as a young fireman to look in a way (withOUT sunglasses) you don’t get caught. Some of us i’ll give you are better than others at this skill. LOL

Truth be told- any of those on here that have met my wife, will tell you it doesn’t matter where she is from or color of her skin- she IS definitely the one everyone is looking at.
I married way out of my league.....
Just too bad that in many places, even if some can see her beauty on the outside, because of her skin, they never get the chance to really meet someone extraordinary.
And I never mind if men stop to look in an admiring way...

 

[Proud NJ Sports Fan]

Sparta is nicer if concerned about schools, didn’t like many of the houses though. Almost pulled the trigger on a beautiful home on Bertrand Island Rd. You would know the couple that live there. He also told us about it being overblown and that in most places, never would have been considered an issue. In any case- if on a lake, it would have to be on the lake. Don’t really see the point otherwise.
As for racial- first, and have to clarify, she is Caribbean American lol She always checks off “other”.
Anyway- there is a huge difference between lack of diversity and being racist. And being interracial- we get intitial looks no matter where we go except Manhattan.

Careful in Brooklyn, the hate capital of America

 

[yesrutgers01]

Man oh man- talking about the move...Now that I am in my 50's and we are moving a 5 BR home, we decided that we are going to use a professional moving company this time. I knew we have to pay for this but cripes, these companies are a damn joke.
6 mile move but they want $98 in fuel plus a $300 fuel surcharge...And while we will have everything in boxes already and waiting in the garage, they really only have to deal with 4 beds, dressers and maybe 10 additional large or heavy items. At the new home- which we have a gap of a month before we can actually move in but will be allowed to deliver our stuff into the garage and basement- movers do not have to reassemble or bring heavy stuff into their proper places, just drop off. And the first place that quoted us estimates that it will take 6 guys and 22 hours for the move. plus $1900 in packing supplies.
that is a total of 132 man hours. If I ever quoted projects like this, I would be out of business.
Do some home owners just pay this without even questioning the quotes they are provided? And I couldn't imaging moving to another state.

I'm thinking a trip to the local DD and renting a truck is the way we are going to go...

 

[Knight Shift]

Man oh man- talking about the move...Now that I am in my 50's and we are moving a 5 BR home, we decided that we are going to use a professional moving company this time. I knew we have to pay for this but cripes, these companies are a damn joke.
6 mile move but they want $98 in fuel plus a $300 fuel surcharge...And while we will have everything in boxes already and waiting in the garage, they really only have to deal with 4 beds, dressers and maybe 10 additional large or heavy items. At the new home- which we have a gap of a month before we can actually move in but will be allowed to deliver our stuff into the garage and basement- movers do not have to reassemble or bring heavy stuff into their proper places, just drop off. And the first place that quoted us estimates that it will take 6 guys and 22 hours for the move. plus $1900 in packing supplies.
that is a total of 132 man hours. If I ever quoted projects like this, I would be out of business.
Do some home owners just pay this without even questioning the quotes they are provided? And I couldn't imaging moving to another state.

I'm thinking a trip to the local DD and renting a truck is the way we are going to go...

Try these guys, ask for Steve Lowy. Not sure they will go up your way. They have done residential moves and office moves for us. Top notch and fair pricing. You can do a face time quote with them.
https://lowys.com/

 

[BigWill]

Or call your local Police Dept and see if someone on the job has a part time moving company or they know someone that does.

My ex-midnight partner in NJSP had a moving truck (that at one time he slept in while in a divorce.) that he used to move clients and hired some of us from time to time.