I still also have an Upstate NY and a NJ bias.
Not buying that western NY or northern Delaware pizza and subs suck.
We had pizza in Middletown before heading home on Sunday. Realtor brought us to a small pizzeria in a strip mall. I would not be able to tell you that there was any difference than NJ.
The difference in cost- that is huge. Living here in NJ- I had a 5 Br5.5 bath home on an acre- pool and beautiful 1 acre property-
While we still traveled into the city for brunches…our life really centered around our back yard and traveling the world. We stepped onto a NJ beach exactly once in 20 years.
But traveled the world and created a backyard wonderland that friends called vacation.
If I can do the same in DE, and save 10-15k a year in property taxes, no state income tax , much lower home prices- over the next 10 years before retirement- that is 500k+ in cash for my retirement and fun.
