There's the Appalachians in NJ, which are quite nice. But there are no mountain ranges in or near NJ with the altitudes, steep ascents, or variety that you see out west.
OT: RU grads that relocated to another state
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sorry, but SF has changed an awful lot--its not the city from Tony Bennett's song anymore--been there countless times--we used to spend August's in Lake Tahoe by way of SF---it's now filled with homeless, pretty dirty and somewhat unpleasant in many sections--I bypass it when I can, it sorries me how it has changed
That's part of the draw to NJ. It's not a massive state that Nothern Cal people can't easily access Southern Cal. I can get in my car from north Jersey to Cap May in 2 hrs (6 hrs on a summer Saturday morning).
Yep, all SF needs is some nice beaches within 2 or 3 hours .. maybe some of those towering NJ mountains. Then it could compete!
I moved to the Atlanta area to go to grad school at Georgia Tech in 1992 and have been here ever since. I love where I am now, but I'd probably be that way anywhere I settled down because I tend to look for the positive sides of things.
What I miss most about NJ: family, the shore, Rutgers, a little more snow would be okay, and White Castle. I almost never went to NYC, just a few times for Broadway, museums, and ball games.
The main thing that kept me from seriously looking to move back to NJ is the cost of living. I have a 5 BR, 3.5 BA house that feeds into excellent schools and my property taxes are around 3000 per year. I'm sure the house purchase cost was far less than a comparable home in NJ, too. The congestion here can be awful too, my commute would be bad if I worked in downtown Atlanta but I don't so it's not usually an issue for me. I love the spring and fall weather here and am used to the hot and humid summers. The new Braves stadium is a 20 minute drive from my house, very convenient.
I've been in the San Fran and LA areas for work on many occasions and cannot imagine living in either place. They obviously appeal to many people and I enjoyed visiting them, but I have zero desire to live in either one. To each his/her own.
What I miss most about NJ: family, the shore, Rutgers, a little more snow would be okay, and White Castle. I almost never went to NYC, just a few times for Broadway, museums, and ball games.
The main thing that kept me from seriously looking to move back to NJ is the cost of living. I have a 5 BR, 3.5 BA house that feeds into excellent schools and my property taxes are around 3000 per year. I'm sure the house purchase cost was far less than a comparable home in NJ, too. The congestion here can be awful too, my commute would be bad if I worked in downtown Atlanta but I don't so it's not usually an issue for me. I love the spring and fall weather here and am used to the hot and humid summers. The new Braves stadium is a 20 minute drive from my house, very convenient.
I've been in the San Fran and LA areas for work on many occasions and cannot imagine living in either place. They obviously appeal to many people and I enjoyed visiting them, but I have zero desire to live in either one. To each his/her own.
"I tend to look for the positive sides of things."
That's the way to live.
"The new Braves stadium is a 20 minute drive from my house, very convenient."
It's only a few blocks away? ;)
Have a friend who lives in Atlanta who says the traffic is brutal there. Sounds like you are well-positioned.
Again, you are comparing SF to NJ. I take Manhattan over SF any day. If I live in Hoboken it's more relevant than Southern Cal to Northern Cal. Don't get me wrong. I love SF but not really a good comparison to The state of NJ. SF is also stupid expensive. For that kind of money you can live in a great town in NJ that's near Manhattan.
We moved from NJ to the Seattle area about a year and a half ago....we do not live in Seattle itself but on the Eastside which is less expensive and close to where I work...in fact I walk in most days. This is a really nice part of the country with a lot of things to do if you like the outdoors (3 national parks within 2 hours or so plus lots of state parks, bike trails). A job opportunity led us to move here and the cost of living is definitely less given there is no state income tax. People think property taxes are high here but it's relative.....we have a house that is 2x the size of house in NJ (2000 vs 4000 square feet) and slightly larger lot but our taxes are about 2/3 of what we were paying in NJ.....school district is better than the one in NJ. I would say weather is somewhat better - summer here is beautiful while winters are warmer though days are short, gray, and wet. I do miss Manhatten and going to Broadway shows and NYC restaurants, the Jersey shore, pizza (terrible here), and the Jersey attitude. I also lived for a 6 years in Miami (grad school), 3 years in Maine (postdoc), and a couple in Massachusetts where my wife was from before we moved back to NJ for 11 years. Miami was my favorite with the warm weather but no good pharma/biotech jobs. I probably wouldn't mind living in San Diego one day.....my wife visited it for the first time when we went in December and really liked it as did my daughter. They haven't been to SF yet.
I go to Seattle for business. Fun city. For good, unique pizza try Serious Pie in downtown. Also Brooklyns in downtown is a good Surf and Turf place.
Hawaii has the best beaches in America. All the rest are crap in comparison. Beach TOWNS on the other hand are a different matter. California has many scenic beaches but the towns all tend to be similar--either former beach towns turned into suburbs or sleepy remote beach towns. Florida beach towns are mostly the same as each other, too--cookie cutter high rise hotels and dull tourists--but without the scenery of California. New Jersey has mostly dull beaches but a great variety of towns in a very small area, much more than anywhere else.
Depends on what you like about the beach.
Hawaii has more beautiful beaches, true.
But I am not fond of the rocky coral outcroppings that cut my feet, and there is no hardened tidal flat that makes walking, running and sports activities more pleasant.
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I'll have to check them out - there is a good place in Ballard called Delancey and Essex - the owner is (of course) from NJ.
Never lived in NJ; only came there to play football. After graduating lived in Maryland, England, and for past 43 years in New Hampshire.
