"New Jersey has a millennials problem"

[retired711]

https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-jersey-has-a-millennials-problem-1501426802

Because this piece is behind a pay wall, let me summarize it:

* New Jersey is having trouble hanging on to those aged 18-34. More are leaving than are coming. Millennials are leaving NJ more than any other age category. (Those leaving tend to go to Pa. and NY rather than further.) This poses a threat to New Jersey employers, and any company thinking of locating in New Jersey; the educated work force such companies seek is leaving.

* One problem is NJ's high cost of living. (The average college graduate in the state makes $36,000, hardly a princely sum)

*Another is the nature of work locations. Millennials tend to want to live in urban areas, primarily the Hoboken-Jersey City area, but the employers are in the suburbs.

* Moreover, the suburban employers tend to be in office parks that are unattractive to millennials.

*So "a number of landlords have been investing heavily to renovate older buildings, adding lobbies with Wi-Fi, baristas and wine bars, lounge seating and cafeterias offering a variety of food options.

* "Others are subsidizing beefed-up transportation to and from train stations and hip downtowns using vans or ride-sharing apps."

* In addition, some landlords are redeveloping office parks to look a lot more like college campuses."

Just thought this item might be interesting to those who follow urban/suburban trends.

 

[NotInRHouse]

Like I said in the other thread, I think this is more of an issue for certain isolated suburban towns than an overall trend. The millenials in Hudson County work in NYC. I think it's definitely true that some NJ towns are seeing people leave HS and not return. But I think there are a lot of exceptions to that.

 

[RU-ROCS]

Camden - You and the article raise many valid points . The NJ cost of living is crushing for many recent college grads - particularity housing costs. The desire for an urban setting is also very real, as I know a number of millennials that do the ridiculous reverse commute from Hoboken to a sterile NJ suburban corporate park precisely because they really want to live in a place with a happening urban vibe. Dealing with tunnel traffic to/from NYC when reverse commuting from Hoboken is unpleasant, to say the least, but millennials do it because the allure of that type of walk-to-everything, low-rise urban setting is strong. In the Northern part of the state, Morristown and more recently Somerville are starting to compete with Hoboken as a more affordable, albeit less trendy and urban, alternative with an easy commute to many of NJ's suburban office parks. As those towns develop, they may help stem the tide.

 

[Jonny S]

I think as the article and Camden notes, this will impact certain areas more than others. The Gold Coast is in good shape. I think Middlesex and NE NJ in general will fare relatively well. The economy in Middlesex is also diversified, supply chain is HUGE with all the warehouses along the Turnpike.

I think Somerset County, Ocean County, and other exurbs that boomed since the 80s are going to feel the brunt of this. In general it's a problem for a lot of our employers.

One argument that you have to consider against this trend is that perhaps younger people have been delaying starting families and will start moving more to the suburbs. I disagree though. I think we just have far more income inequality than we used to, and that's unlikely to change.

The other argument, which I actually think is pretty sound, is that this isn't THAT huge of a deal because of immigration.

 

[Korbermeister]

Camden - You and the article raise many valid points . The NJ cost of living is crushing for many recent college grads - particularity housing costs. The desire for an urban setting is also very real, as I know a number of millennials that do the ridiculous reverse commute from Hoboken to a sterile NJ suburban corporate park precisely because they really want to live in a place with a happening urban vibe. Dealing with tunnel traffic to/from NYC when reverse commuting from Hoboken is unpleasant, to say the least, but millennials do it because the allure of that type of walk-to-everything, low-rise urban setting is strong. In the Northern part of the state, Morristown and more recently Somerville are starting to compete with Hoboken as a more affordable, albeit less trendy and urban, alternative with an easy commute to many of NJ's suburban office parks. As those towns develop, they may help stem the tide.

lol somerville has a looong way to go to catch and i don't think they even want to anything other than a nice suburban town with a busy main st. the most recent lowrise housing complex gives half its residents a view of the shoprite parking lot