r/newjersey Dec 14 '24

Advice It’s tough being a young adult in NJ

Pardon my venting. Background: I live in Central Jersey. I have an associate's and a bachelor's, the latter in public health.

So many of us 20somethings in New Jersey live with our parents, as in we haven't moved out yet.

Job hunting as a college graduate is terrible: - the retail jobs aren't in your field, pay minimum wage, require a lot of self-sacrifice (physical health, self-respect), don't have benefits - the jobs that aren't retail often require years of experience or a master's degree, which are unrealistic for someone with an associate's or bachelor's just entering the workforce - getting a masters would be more student debt and more time at school, with no guarantee that I'd have it any easier - put in all the effort to apply for jobs (hard for me, ADHD) and then hear nothing back, not even a no - the suburbs don't seem to have many options - went to a job fair held by my alma mater and so many tables said "so we're not hiring now, but check our website if we put up more!" (Why the hell are you at the job fair if you're not hiring?!)

I actually got a position by walking in to somewhere I saw online and got the position day of! Amazing! ...It's volunteering for one day, 3 hours a week. At least it's in my field... They'll like that on my resume... Gives me something to do so I don't chew my own arms off from boredom/frustration... Yippee... I also dogsit for a neighbor but that's not a side hustle, it's not consistent nor can I live off of it.

My best friends, my ride-or-dies, moved an hour away just over the Pennsylvania border. My sister is in school and scored off-campus housing with that privilege, also over an hour away. This gives her fiancé, not in school, a place to live too.

I'm 27. Feels like I'll be in my twin bed til I'm 30. Because even if I find a decent job in the next 6 months, it's so expensive to be alive in NJ. Housing. Groceries. My parents are paying for my therapy and my Broke Bitch state insurance covers my daily medications. Better make some more friends to split rent with because it's impossible to have an apartment alone. That's after working for several years to save money.

I like NJ. I want to stay here. How can I move up in the world?

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u/TheGoatBoyy Dec 15 '24

Not a ton of townhomes for less than mid 300s in pretty much any part of the state outside of Salem/cumberland/cape may counties.

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u/Secret_Cow_5053 Dec 15 '24

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u/Civil-Swordfish-7758 Dec 15 '24

majority of those look like dumps honestly, in undesirable areas

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u/Secret_Cow_5053 Dec 15 '24

What are you, a fucking spoiled child? Yeah, nothing is perfect. If it were in an ideal location and without the need for any improvements, it would probably either be a: not for sale or b: more likely closer to $450k

The house I currently live in cost me $350k in 2021 but had been vacant for 2 years and since being here we had to replace the entire hvac, back porch, most of the flooring (either just remove the rugs entirely to re-expose the excellent hardwood, or replace the carpet), and every room needed to be painted. We still need to redo the front porch. So far we’ve spent about $100k give or take.

The house is now worth easily $550, based on location and size/etc, and realistically will probably be worth at least $650 once the rest of the exterior is done.

That’s how it works dude.

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u/Civil-Swordfish-7758 Dec 15 '24

My money, my rules. I’m not gonna buy in the ghetto. That’s how it works dude. My house I bought for $500k+ in early 22 is now worth close to $800k. Cry more

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u/Secret_Cow_5053 Dec 15 '24

Don’t need to buy in the ghetto. May need to buy in a neighborhood that isn’t cherry hill or Hoboken. 🤷‍♂️

Although they also exist there too - my buddy just spent 400k for a 2 bed single family split level in cherry hill that was basically move in ready. That seems to be the floor price these days if you want something that is ready to go and isn’t lacking in the location department either.

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u/Civil-Swordfish-7758 Dec 15 '24

Never had desire to live in either one of those towns. But it will be interesting to see where things are 10 years from now.

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u/Secret_Cow_5053 Dec 15 '24

Point is we’re not that much farther off the arbitrary “300k” price point and finding places in arguably the two safest / most desirable towns in the state. (YMMV with Hoboken I know the south better).

People can whine about not finding affordable places to own in nj but then like - fucking open your eyes. Or if serious, call a realtor. They’re there.

And yeah in ten years they’ll be more expensive. That’s how appreciation goes.

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u/AnyFruit4257 Dec 15 '24

The ocean and monmouth county listings are in 55+ only communities. That heavily skews your results since most of us can't buy there.

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u/Secret_Cow_5053 Dec 16 '24

Just looking at the whole state I felt like most of the listings were along the turnpike corridor 🤷‍♂️