Leaving NJ. Where to go? FL or GA?

[hoyaguru]

Uh, where the hell did you figure that was true?

I have a $250K house in Gwinnett county and my taxes are $3400/year, which is more than two mortgage payments.

My wife's sister lived in Statesboro (outside of the city line) years ago, and they were paying $300 to $400 a year in tax. That WAS years ago, and it was a small house, I'm guessing she was just in the right place.

Just asked the wife, she's been looking for houses online, and she said the taxes she's seen are between $800 and $2000, depending on where the house is, so I guess that's a little more accurate than $300. We're not looking for anything big, we don't have kids, just a couple of dogs.

 

[highland145]

Idiots with confederate flags on their crappy cars who speak in a heavy, heavy southern accent, are pretty much evangelists, and are extremely racist.

What crap. I've been in the south for 47 years and don't fall into any of your stereotypes.

 

[mugs]

Call it a "real estate transfer tax", or an "exit tax", it's the same thing: Crooks in office taking my money for the simple reason that they can. The only way not to pay it (from what I heard) is to sell your house and stay living in the state for 2 years, then move.

I was told it was 2%, thanks for the chart, hope it's up to date, that looks better than 2%. Looks like the most I'll have to pay is 1.31%, depending on if my county takes .1%.

OK, what you're referring to is actually a withholding, not a tax. They withhold up to 2% of the sale price to cover capital gains tax if you leave the state, to prevent people from leaving without paying the capital gains tax. When you file your tax return you get back whatever you didn't owe. The tax owed is the same regardless of whether you stay in NJ or leave, the only difference is when you pay it. So no, staying in NJ for 2 years after you sell the house would have no bearing on what taxes you have to pay.

Unless you're selling your house for a large profit ($500k or more profit) you won't owe any capital gains tax. I think the 2 years confusion came from the requirement that you lived in your house for 2 out of the last 5 years to be eligible for the $500k capital gains exclusion.

As for the "crooks" taking your money just because they can - tax revenues come from a lot of different sources. You could say any of those sources are arbitrary and shouldn't be subject to tax. Why should you pay tax when you buy something? Why should you pay tax because you make money? Why should you pay tax because you own a house? You can make the same argument about any tax, so I'm not sure why you have a big issue with this particular tax.

If you want to see why NJ taxes are so high, look at how much the federal government spends here compared to other states. They take our money and spend it in backwards states like Georgia.

WTF is a "true" southerner? I think you got hold of some bad beef jerky.

Presumably the ones in Deliverance. You got a purty mouth.

Uh, where the hell did you figure that was true?

I have a $250K house in Gwinnett county and my taxes are $3400/year, which is more than two mortgage payments.

Yeah I always scratch my head when people say their property taxes are absurdly low. Even the states with terrible schools spend $5k+ per student. The only way < $1000 property taxes are feasible is if either a. the population has disproportionately fewer children than other areas or b. schools are primarily paid for by some other tax. Option a is unlikely in most places, and option b is not exactly an apples to apples comparison. People always brag about their state not having an income tax or a sales tax or whatever - it's not the taxes that you need to care about, it's the spending. If you eliminate or decrease one tax without reducing spending, you have to get that revenue from some other tax - or some other time (as in deficit spending = future taxes).

 

[Beev]

What crap. I've been in the south for 47 years and don't fall into any of your stereotypes.

Err, I didn't say everyone there was like that... I said there are more in Georgia than Florida... My dad lives in Georgia and isn't like that either.

 

[classy]

Central, but yeah... If the state had an actual @$$hole, it would be Camden.

Camden is South Jersey, not even close to central jersey. I live 20 mins by highway from there.

 

[highland145]

Err, I didn't say everyone there was like that... I said there are more in Georgia than Florida... My dad lives in Georgia and isn't like that either.

Sorry about being pissy. "True southerners" are decent people for the most part, imo. I know quite a few "red necks" that would watch my back anytime.

Damn shame that the KKK-ers, racists, and the poorly educated are what most think of the south.

 

[nanette1985]

Up here in northern NJ it's common for people to move out of state when their kids finally finish high school. A lot of my friends/acquaintances are moving to S or N Carolina and really like it there. You might want to think of that as a possibility.

Best of luck to you whatever you decide.

 

[ThePresence]

I'm staying in Jersey.

 

[alfa147x]

Also if you have kids North Gwinnett high school (in Suwanee):
"ranking number 1 in the county 2nd in the state for best school"

 

[Ninjahedge]

Central, but yeah... If the state had an actual @$$hole, it would be Camden.

Isn't that where people from Patterson look at and say "No way man, much to much crime in that s.hole!"?

Northern NJ is not that bad, especially when you get OUT of the industrial areas (like Hackensack, Patterson, Bayonne...). There are nicer areas in even some of those places.

But you get to areas like Upper Saddle River and Franklin Lakes and you know where all the money went in NJ. Some REALLY nice places.

Also, areas like Hoboken have cleaned up, and other town centers in areas like Ridgewood and Rutherford are nice as well.


As for taxes? Yes. If you do too well as a state the country does not give you any money back. Since NJ schools did so well (on average compared to the nation) it gets almost nada. Same thing for a lot of stuff.

Also, since everyone commutes and it is one of the densest populated states in the union (I think it is THE densest) the demand for roadways is more than anywhere else.

So, although many of the things to hate about NJ are there, it is still in a pretty nice spot. Close enough for a day's drive to NE, DC, Phili, NY, and even some places further south.

It has TOLERABLE weather shifts, and the air in MOST areas is really clean. It has many reserves and parks and is a pretty interesting state in and of itself (go to Kansas and take a look around....).

If you like most of the pros from NJ, I have heard and would recommend Atlanta and the surrounding area. If you like more of a generic 'burban area (with a proliference of McMansions, BTW) Florida might be more your liking (although I have heard that the weather in the summer makes it so most do not get out much... same for areas of Texas...)

I wish you luck in looking, and if it was not for my own family connections, I think I would be looking in some of the more populated areas of GA or the Carolinas......

 

[Ninjahedge]

What crap. I've been in the south for 47 years and don't fall into any of your stereotypes.

You haven't tried hard enough!

 

[highland145]

You haven't tried hard enough!

Fuuuuu.......... I'm a loser at being a loser? Fuuuu.........

 

[EagleKeeper]

You haven't tried hard enough!

Fuuuuu.......... I'm a loser at being a loser? Fuuuu.........

But only a loser can tell!

 

[highland145]

But only a loser can tell!

 

[xanis]

I really like GA. I'd probably go there if I were in your shoes.

 

[SuperSix]

So much ignorance.. It is ATOT after all..

Florida. While our insurance is a bit high - there's no state income tax, low sales tax (~7&#37 and really nice weather. The summers will be hard for a few years, but you do get used to it. PM me if you have any questions.

 

[Scotteq]

Camden is South Jersey, not even close to central jersey. I live 20 mins by highway from there.

20 mins?


Move.


Biggest shithole in the country, if you ask me.

 

[highland145]

So much ignorance.. It is ATOT after all..

Florida. While our insurance is a bit high - there's no state income tax, low sales tax (~7%) and really nice weather. The summers will be hard for a few years, but you do get used to it. PM me if you have any questions.

Tampon, FL? Really? Sounds menstrational.

 

[Demo24]

Thought about Texas, but both me and the wife come from very close families, and that's just too far off. My parents are moving to Florida, and my sister and her family. My wife's sister is in Georgia. The main reason I thought about Texas was that there is a lot less humidity there than FL or GA. I spent some time in Mississippi during tech school in the Air Force, the humidity there was terrible. They say you get used to it, but I'm not looking forward to it.

Well I can say the humidity thing about Texas is dead wrong! I thought Georgia was bad but it's got nothing on central/eastern Texas!

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Property tax is going to vary on county. When I was looking at a house it would have cost me under 600 a year, which would have been roughly one mortgage payment. I never got the house so I don't know how it changed. I am in the north, so that helped some. Going closer to ATL will raise your prices.

If you want to live on the coast then I suggest looking into the Brunswick, St. Simmons area. Few of my friends have relatives down there and I've heard it's nice, although I've never been.

You'll want to do your homework about wherever you choose. Atlanta is a dangerous city and several of the ones below it frequently hit that FBI list. There's always going to be good and bad areas, so just make sure you get it all checked out.

 

[nageov3t]

20 mins?


Move.


Biggest shithole in the country, if you ask me.

with Jersey driving, "20 minutes by highway" could easily be one of the nice areas like Somerset County

 

[Scotteq]

with Jersey driving, "20 minutes by highway" could easily be one of the nice areas like Somerset County

I live (t)here - I know

And yeah - Still too close to Camden!

 

[SuperSix]

Tampon, FL? Really? Sounds menstrational.

Witty! Nice!

 

[highland145]

Witty! Nice!

Always thought FL was a blue state.

Have a nice weekend.

 

[nanette1985]

Isn't that where people from Patterson look at and say "No way man, much to much crime in that s.hole!"?

Northern NJ is not that bad, especially when you get OUT of the industrial areas (like Hackensack, Patterson, Bayonne...). There are nicer areas in even some of those places.

But you get to areas like Upper Saddle River and Franklin Lakes and you know where all the money went in NJ. Some REALLY nice places.

Also, areas like Hoboken have cleaned up, and other town centers in areas like Ridgewood and Rutherford are nice as well.


As for taxes? Yes. If you do too well as a state the country does not give you any money back. Since NJ schools did so well (on average compared to the nation) it gets almost nada. Same thing for a lot of stuff.

Also, since everyone commutes and it is one of the densest populated states in the union (I think it is THE densest) the demand for roadways is more than anywhere else.

So, although many of the things to hate about NJ are there, it is still in a pretty nice spot. Close enough for a day's drive to NE, DC, Phili, NY, and even some places further south.

It has TOLERABLE weather shifts, and the air in MOST areas is really clean. It has many reserves and parks and is a pretty interesting state in and of itself (go to Kansas and take a look around....).

If you like most of the pros from NJ, I have heard and would recommend Atlanta and the surrounding area. If you like more of a generic 'burban area (with a proliference of McMansions, BTW) Florida might be more your liking (although I have heard that the weather in the summer makes it so most do not get out much... same for areas of Texas...)

I wish you luck in looking, and if it was not for my own family connections, I think I would be looking in some of the more populated areas of GA or the Carolinas......

SHHHHH! We keep the good parts of NJ a secret!

 

[chin311]

What do you not like about it?

SOOOOOO many old people and minorities that you become the minority.

driving is a pain in the ass where i live, people just casually going 5-10 under the speed limit while in the fast lane, they'll pull out in front of you and drag ass. I drive a lot so it gets old quick.

I must say I do enjoy Florida weather in the winters, when I want snow I'll go visit it lol.

Summers = brutal. Might as well be 2 feet of snow out to me. It's so muggy and swamp-like that you get a sweat by walking from the car to the entrance of a store lol.

BUGS, wtf. why so many? it's like you are man vs wild sometimes.

I do enjoy the beaches, that's about the main highlight of living in Florida I guess. As someone else before said, the taxes are quite good here, 6-7% sales tax is about it. No state income tax etc. I don't own, just rent so can't comment on the property aspect.

Well that's some of it anyway, basically Florida is great for retired folk who don't mind the heat because they probably think its a reasonable temperature at their age & will be sitting inside watching Fox News anyway. Most complain when it gets below 60 degrees.