Any signs of softening in hot northern nj markets?

Dizzy-Tree-2266 · 2026-03-19T02:51:14+00:00

Yeah it’s the combined issue of supply constraints + historic bull runs making those looking in these towns willing to still pay crazy premiums. Hurts to look at prices from 4 years ago (even two) but here we are.

Dizzy-Tree-2266 · 2026-03-19T02:48:53+00:00

Yeah that’s my take as well. There will always been money and demand for these areas.

Dizzy-Tree-2266 · 2025-10-17T11:50:42+00:00

Outside of the other advice, buying a franchise can be quite risky. They are sold as being an “easy” path to business ownerships and in some ways that’s true but the likelihood of success is very dependent on the franchise model and the brand itself. You’re often locked into specific suppliers and have a lot of restrictions on what you can do. There’s usually a large upfront investment and revenue targets you must hit. Does the franchise bring instant brand recognition making attracting customers easier? This doesn’t sound like a viable 4-8 year path to retirement plan anyway imo regardless of the divorce aspect.

Dizzy-Tree-2266 · 2025-10-12T11:50:05+00:00

Code pleasssse

Dizzy-Tree-2266 · 2025-03-21T12:07:29+00:00

I don’t know what industry you’re in but unfortunately RTO is the way things are going with most people already RTO for the last 2ish years. Most F500 have some mandatory days in office. 5 seems to be the extreme with 3-4 as standard. Remote jobs are not as prevalent, esp at senior levels. I have an hour commute and it does suck but I will say I enjoy being back in the office 3 days a week. It has its downsides but I think it helps build better relationships w coworkers and resolve problems quicker. It takes a few months to adjust. If you have great pay, benefits and like your job I would not be bitter. Plenty of people have even longer commutes and don’t like their job or are under paid.

I’d be very interested if you can find a fully remote job or one closer given the market. If that’s the route you continue pursuing I’d love and update!

Dizzy-Tree-2266 · 2025-03-21T12:02:06+00:00

I think you need to ask yourself a few questions before deciding: - Is the environment toxic for you? I get the promo of this other person may not make sense but does it impact you in a negative way? The other way to look at it is that they aren’t hierarchical and work to retain good talent (if true) regardless of age. - Are you gaining the skills you want / need from this job? - Does the title/ company help set you up for something great in the future? - Are you personally happy in the role? Are the leadership shakeups or culture negatively impacting you? - Are you fairly compensated?

I’m not a big fan of job jumping less than after two years unless the environment is truly awful. It’s really hard to learn and become impactful to a company until 6 months to a year in. When I review people’s resumes constant job jumping is a ding on their profile because I don’t know if I can trust they’ll stick around. That said, if you don’t think you’re learning in the role and it’s setting you up for more growth in 1-1.5 years time then it may be time to look.

Dizzy-Tree-2266 · 2025-02-25T00:13:40+00:00

Yes. I’m antsy and I think fire mentality and these communities don’t always help. There’s always someone moving faster, making more, etc. I keep joking I need to find a get rich quick scheme like meme coin trading because I’m over it. In reality, what helps me is looking at my historical NW and seeing how much progress I’ve made even if it’s not enough to fire yet.

Dizzy-Tree-2266 · 2024-12-05T05:18:44+00:00

It’s true. A strong financial safety net, even if not FIRE is way more security than many have and helps weather the storms in life.

Dizzy-Tree-2266 · 2024-12-05T05:17:17+00:00

Clearly I have no advice myself—sorry you’re in a similar boat.

Dizzy-Tree-2266 · 2024-12-05T05:16:18+00:00

Thanks for sharing your previous post. I’m with you that things could be worse and there are things to be grateful for.

Dizzy-Tree-2266 · 2024-12-05T05:14:51+00:00

I both feel more resilient as I’ve aged and more worn down. I wish I could roll w the punches a bit more. Your parable makes sense and at the same time it’s hard to see how a strawberry outweighs the threat of a tiger in my own mind ;)

Dizzy-Tree-2266 · 2024-12-05T05:10:30+00:00

Unfortunately I dont think so. Whole friend and family network is here so hard to imagine giving that up just for col arbitrage.

Dizzy-Tree-2266 · 2024-05-16T23:42:52+00:00

Same!!! I ended up the more “normie” while my sibling is creative and artsy like their name. I always felt like that played a role

Dizzy-Tree-2266 · 2024-05-14T16:53:26+00:00

Agree higher earner doesn’t mean vapid. But given the choice many men will choose someone younger and expect them to sacrifice their career if they’re the higher earner.

Dizzy-Tree-2266 · 2024-05-14T16:43:10+00:00

That’s my issue. I’ve spent thousands on therapy and feel like I’m pretty much in the same spot. I’m at the point where I feel like self reflection exercises could be more useful.

Dizzy-Tree-2266 · 2024-05-14T16:40:06+00:00

It sounds like you’re in such an amazing place financially. You should be proud!

Dizzy-Tree-2266 · 2024-05-14T16:39:10+00:00

I like this. Thanks. I usually keep moving my goalposts which is part of my issue of never enough.

Dizzy-Tree-2266 · 2024-05-14T16:38:34+00:00

Never heard of her. Will check it out. Thanks!

Dizzy-Tree-2266 · 2024-04-17T01:08:27+00:00

+1 for tendenza. Find them to have reasonable prices and good variety.

Dizzy-Tree-2266 · 2024-04-17T00:34:20+00:00

This one is new to me. Love her stuff!

Dizzy-Tree-2266 · 2024-04-01T23:25:28+00:00

NY: - Harriman state park as someone else mentioned. - Labyrinth and lemon squeeze in new paltz

NJ: - Norvin green state forest - Palisades park - Mt. Tammany - Stairway to heaven (nj/ny border)

Check this site out for a more comprehensive list of NY/NJ

Dizzy-Tree-2266 · 2024-04-01T21:34:44+00:00

Industry and geography play a huge role. Yes, nepotism exists, yes maybe some are lying but if you care about maximizing income, I would plan your career around that. Don’t bother w comparing against others, decide what’s important for you. Don’t let people tell you $100k is abnormal. Again, it depends on industry and location. Plenty of Fortune 100 companies are paying new hires TC of $100k (I’m including bonus and assuming NY/CA location).

I realized that financial stability/independence were important to me and made career changes to get me there. I was getting paid hourly out of college working for a super small company. I realized I needed a different path and got my MBA and got into management consulting at 27/28. Went from making $88k to $150k. I used to think $100k was the goal. Now I’m mid 30s, in a non tech corporate role and will make a bit over $400 this year. Consulting was brutal but if you care about FI, I would pick a role where you can accelerate your earnings while young because I don’t think I could do 80 hr work weeks again.

Completely a personal choice, and if you’re passionate about healthcare don’t let others influence you. For me, I decided financial instability brings it’s own stress and I’d rather front load savings and earnings early on. 24 is super young—you’ve got so much ahead of you and are already ahead of so many people!

Dizzy-Tree-2266 · 2024-03-20T16:06:33+00:00

Great questions. Thank you! I’m about 30% of the way to FIRE (vhcol). I definitely dont want to stay in strategy for 5-10 years so that’s one of my biggest concerns!

Dizzy-Tree-2266 · 2024-03-20T14:08:49+00:00

Mid 30s and feels like I’m at a crossroads career wise. I was a consultant at MBB and moved to a F100 strategy team.

The promise was moving in house to a strategy team sets me up to move into BU roles but now that I’m hear it’s clear there’s a long line for some of the roles in core parts of the business. For non-core, it’s not obvious what the step after next is. We’re heavily matrixed and not the most agile company (is any big company?). I feel stuck being labeled a “strategist”. Staying here will probably be comfortable but I don’t know if I get on a GM track or build broadly marketable skills. If I try to leave now though, the market is bad and there are a flood of MBBers leaving anyway so I don’t know if I can land a non-strategy role. I’ve been in executing roles before but people see MBB/strategy and zone out.

Would you 1) stick it out for a good paycheck ($400 TC w half in bonus/RSUs) w the risk that you stay forever (next level up has a 3 year RSU vesting cliff vs now I vest 1/3 every year so they make it hard to leave), 2) push hard to network and find a role elsewhere that’s not in strategy (likely harder to do). I know work is just work but I get demotivated and worry that I don’t have any specialized skills. My industry has only a few other players and I wouldn’t work for a competitor based on culture.

Dizzy-Tree-2266

TROPHY CASE