New Jersey native of 50 years here. I love DC, having recently moved here. But let's be real -- there really are no good pizza or bagel places around here. NJ has a lock on this. However, I love most of the other ethnic choices in DMV alot. I will return to NJ for my bagels and pizza though.

I grew up in Middletown, NJ, and live in Virginia now. Did you mention where you are moving from? That might play into the decision making. Middletown has good public schools, close to the shore, decent access to NYC via commuter rail and ferries. Northern Virginia, at least where I live in Alexandria, is far less suburban, more walkable, more diverse, more interesting to me. But I do love NJ and the far superior pizza and Italian food, and I really miss the beach.

Anonymous wrote:20:11 - Sorry for offending you, I should not have said only chain restaurants. The DC area has many great restaurants, but it is so difficult to get to them due to city traffic, no parking, crowds. I would love to dine in DC every weekend but way too much of a hassle for my family in NoVa. As for pizza, bagels, diner food and a great Italian or fresh seafood meal, NJ will win every time - it is not even close. (I will refrain from reciprocating with profanity and insults-not the way I was raised in NJ.)

Blah, blah, blah. Typical NY/NJ bull about "no good pizza and bagels" in this area. We have plenty of other non-chains in DC, MD and VA that are much better than their equivalents in NJ.

Go clean up your beach wreckage and stop talking nonsense about this area. Capiche?

20:11 - Sorry for offending you, I should not have said only chain restaurants. The DC area has many great restaurants, but it is so difficult to get to them due to city traffic, no parking, crowds. I would love to dine in DC every weekend but way too much of a hassle for my family in NoVa. As for pizza, bagels, diner food and a great Italian or fresh seafood meal, NJ will win every time - it is not even close. (I will refrain from reciprocating with profanity and insults-not the way I was raised in NJ.)

Anonymous wrote:As a native of the Jersey Shore (Monmouth Cty, nothing like the TV show with Snookie) who has lived in DC area many years since college, I would move back in a heartbeat if I could. Offers great food, individual restaurants and stores, not just chains like Nova. Many beautiful small towns with excellent schools etc. On the other hand, taxes and govt waste and duplication as a result of home rule law that calls for all towns to be individual entities. That though, is what makes some of the small towns so great to live in, think of not having to deal with bureaucracy of FCPS system.

WTF? NoVa is far from "just chains." You're a moron who doesn't know shit if that's what you think.

As a native of the Jersey Shore (Monmouth Cty, nothing like the TV show with Snookie) who has lived in DC area many years since college, I would move back in a heartbeat if I could. Offers great food, individual restaurants and stores, not just chains like Nova. Many beautiful small towns with excellent schools etc. On the other hand, taxes and govt waste and duplication as a result of home rule law that calls for all towns to be individual entities. That though, is what makes some of the small towns so great to live in, think of not having to deal with bureaucracy of FCPS system.

You have to think about commute. If in NJ your DH works in Edison, then you must look around Edison, and from what I've observed, it's a cheaper place to live than some of these charming NJ towns people have mentioned and will be more convenient for you to commute although it definitely won't be as charming. If you move to DC area, DH has to work downtown, but living near his work will be more difficult, it's less affordable here to live in a safe area with good schools near downtown, than it is to live in Edison near your DH job in NJ. With your budget you will need to look for further out suburbs on metro line to avoid driving. Living in Edison and working there might be easier for you, than trying hard to afford something in DC area with your budget with easy commute downtown.

Anonymous wrote:It really depends on the part of NJ. I love towns like Montclair, Millburn, Maplewood, and Chatham. They have older downtown walkable areas and great commutes. Taxes are extremely high though.

ITA, these towns are really cute and have nice main streets, that make VA suburbs look like complete strip mall dumps that they are, even Arlington. Architecture in NJ towns is much nicer than around DC, even when it comes to older homes. With that said, all these towns PP mentioned, which I am also familiar with would be out of OP's price range anyway if she were to move to NJ. Comparing Edison to more affordable parts of NOVA and MD, I'd go for NOVA or MD. Overall, DC area is less congested and crowded than NYC area, even though the traffic is bad, it is not nearly as difficult to get to the center of the city to cultural amenities from DC burbs than it would be to go from NJ burbs to Manhattan. I've lived in both and find DC area more livable, just because it's less people overall and there are no tolls!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NJ native now living in DC. This is so subjective so I think the value of others' opinions is limited. But I agree that property taxes in NJ are EXTREMELY high by comparison to DC, and I would guess by comparison to VA and MD too. I also think the DC area is wonderful for kids, with all the museums and kid-friendly activities. And if commute is not an issue for you, you've already eliminated the main drag about this area.

And if you actually live in DC, the commuting is pretty easy (from AU Park/CCDC, etc.).

She is not going to get anything in this price range in these areas, she'd have to double her budget.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Native Washingtonian here, so maybe I am biased, but everyplace I've been in New Jersey just seemed dingy and lower class, and all anybody did for fun was go to NYC. It's like there is nothing else to do. To get a coffee, I had to go to some nasty A&P. Ugh. No way.

You have obviously never been to one of the many charming towns in NJ.

OP, remember the TV show Ed, about a guy moving back to an idyllic, quirky Midwest town, high on charm. All the filming of the town scenes were NJ towns. Much of the intro was filmed in Westfield, but there were other towns too. I never knew there were such charming towns until I married into family that lived up there. I have never seen a charming town around here come close. There are other things I like about DC, but it is not true that it is all "dingy and lower class".

Charming towns in NJ?!?!?!? Let me guess, you still believe in Santa Claus?

let me guess... you're an ignorant fool who doesn't know too much about NJ... I left there 25+ yrs ago and don't want to move back but the fact is, there are a lot of nice small towns ... in fact, that's part of what makes it so expensive, there is redundant and wasteful local govt. spending all over, too many municipalities and no economies of scale ...but there are some nice towns, which an ignoramus like the post I quote must not have seen.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I like the people way better in New Jersey. Not to mention the pizza.

Because you're a sub-human savage.

okay...

And Thanks for proving my point!

Anonymous wrote:I like the people way better in New Jersey. Not to mention the pizza.

Because you're a sub-human savage.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Native Washingtonian here, so maybe I am biased, but everyplace I've been in New Jersey just seemed dingy and lower class, and all anybody did for fun was go to NYC. It's like there is nothing else to do. To get a coffee, I had to go to some nasty A&P. Ugh. No way.

You have obviously never been to one of the many charming towns in NJ.

OP, remember the TV show Ed, about a guy moving back to an idyllic, quirky Midwest town, high on charm. All the filming of the town scenes were NJ towns. Much of the intro was filmed in Westfield, but there were other towns too. I never knew there were such charming towns until I married into family that lived up there. I have never seen a charming town around here come close. There are other things I like about DC, but it is not true that it is all "dingy and lower class".

I have family in the Far Hills area. There are beautiful areas filled with horse farms, and some nice small quaint little older "villages", but unless you can live in the areas that are the equivalent of Middleburg here, anything like a town is a little dingy, even in the "nice" areas. I always say that there's nothing wrong with New Jersey that a nice coat of paint wouldn't fix. I don't know if it's the harsher winters, or what, but the building stock is older (not "charming" older, just "old") and there just doesn't seem to be the pressure up there to make things look well kept. )

As mentioned by a pp, the tax situation is exacerbated by the fact that the townships are crazy tiny, and each supports it's own city government. You can drive five miles and drive through three "townships." I think Gov. Christie tried to push to consolidate some of them, but there was strong opposition by all the entrenched interests that love having their own little fiefdoms.

i wouldn't hate living there, but I've spent a lot of time in some of the most beautiful parts of New Jersey, and I've never felt a desire to live there.

New Jersey is one of those places with pockets of charm and a lot of dingy dreck in between. Where we live in MoCo is more homogenous -- not as much charm and character but a lot less gritty run-down stuff too. It's bland, but bland isn't all bad. NJ is like hot peppers, onions and chili peppers. Sometimes you want that while other times a nice cheese sandwich is more satisfying (metaphorically speaking of course).

I like the people way better in New Jersey. Not to mention the pizza.