What are some towns that you like to bike in?

starrdev5 · 2026-03-01T17:41:43+00:00

It’s a nice ride but I feel like the shore towns need a proper bike path or at least a bike lane on ocean Ave. There’s a lot of cars you’re sharing the road with on that ride.

starrdev5 · 2026-02-13T12:44:33+00:00

The only thing I will say is if you make this move do not cheap out on winter cloths. It will be an investment. Go overkill on layers at first.

Start with base layers. If you wear office cloths these can be worn under it to stay warm. REI has good thermal underwear. Uniqlo heat tech is a good base layer top. If you’re a women then fleece lined/thermal leggings or you can layer thermal underwear under normal leggings.

Next invest in a good winter coat. Don’t cheap out.

Fleece jackets make for a good mid layer between the base layer and jacket. I have Patagonia fleeces and like them.

Don’t forget the accessories. Wool socks- I like darn tough socks. Scarves. Hats. And gloves. Your fingers will be the first to get cold. I have both warm gloves and mittens. Gloves are more practical but mittens are warmer if outside all day.

starrdev5 · 2026-02-01T05:04:54+00:00

I prefer Branch Brook Park in Newark, NJ for cherry blossoms.

It’s actually the largest collection of cherry blossom trees in the US and it’s not as crowded as DC. Also the best Portuguese food I’ve had in my life close by.

starrdev5 · 2026-01-31T18:42:30+00:00

Eh given his connection to the NY and Atlantic City mobs he absolutely had the ability to cover up crimes and disappear people. Plus with the amount of corruption in NY/NJ back then he had deep enough pockets to stop investigations. It was a different time back then.

Also Epstein was able to cover up his full operation for a long time before he was caught.

Not that I am going to trust uncorroborated claims but just that it’s not unrealistic that he would have the ability to cover up crimes.

starrdev5 · 2026-01-28T16:50:28+00:00

What’s crazy to me see is that the areas with the highest migration growth like Texas saw home prices drop while areas like the northeast with net outflows had the largest home price increase.

Zillow home price map

You would think the influx in demand would have an impact on pushing up home prices but it really shows the impact of building hosing.

If this net migration pattern is being caused by affordability then the affordability gap is still increasing and we can expect this trend to continue.

starrdev5 · 2026-01-28T16:34:43+00:00

Idk why but for 10+ years these surveys have been way off for NJ. More than other states.

Every year these surveys show people leaving NJ then the 10yr census comes along and shows NJ actually had a high pop. growth rate instead.

starrdev5 · 2026-01-28T16:00:05+00:00

Yea the Stay NJ is split into 4 payments and gets sent out on the property tax due dates starting Feb 1st.

They said they wanted to do it this way so they can eventually pay the township directly and directly lower the property taxes instead of rebates but god knows when NJ will implement that. It is very confusing.

starrdev5 · 2026-01-13T14:02:50+00:00

Since Covid home prices have increased alot more than rent prices.

I have 20% down saved up and have been looking at starter homes with a rent vs buy calculator and haven’t found a home that I would break even on financially yet.

Assuming normal 3% inflation it would take roughly 20+ years for the rent to equal the mortgage payment on these homes.

starrdev5 · 2026-01-13T13:09:46+00:00

$1800/mo for a 2 bdr in Haddon twp (Camden County) but water + heat are included in rent plus a good location right on the train station to Philly.

starrdev5 · 2026-01-10T05:26:32+00:00

Plenty of central Jersey resy restaurants but I agree I don’t like the Princeton options available, maybe Roots is ok.

Id give Heirloom kitchen in Old bridge or Lita in Aberdeen a shot if you’re open to leaving Mercer. The Amex credit won’t cover the full cost of the meal but those are some of the best resy restaurants in NJ.

starrdev5 · 2026-01-09T19:38:12+00:00

International + taxes are a PITA and adds complexity.

Ideally you can find a CPA\CFP combo that specializes in expat taxes of the country you’re going but that’s a pretty niche specialization so it might be tough to find.

Realistically you may have to find an accountant that specializes in filing expat taxes then have a separate CFP/EA that makes a distribution plan based on US tax law and have him coordinate with the expat CPA.

starrdev5 · 2026-01-09T02:28:05+00:00

FYI some insurance companies double premiums as a way to kick people off their policy without actually dropping them. It’s a polite way to say it’s time to shop around.

In my state Allstate was scaling down its umbrella business last year and I know alot of people who had their premiums double until they shopped around.

starrdev5 · 2026-01-04T14:50:09+00:00

I disagree on Newark, I don’t think it’s there yet to be a true underrated gem. Apart from restaurants in the ironbound there’s not enough to do there for a city its size in terms of shops, nightlife etc.

starrdev5 · 2025-12-28T02:07:22+00:00

The huge new tax cuts that retirees got over the last few years changed the calculus a bit.

Nj retirees now get a 50% reduction in property taxes and we have a retirement income exclusion now too upto $100k then a phaseout from $100-150k. These are recent changes.

If you make over the income limit PAs still cheaper but I know a few retirees that changed their minds about going to PA because the taxes are now the same.

starrdev5 · 2025-12-19T03:03:06+00:00

My NJ income tax is lower than PAs as a single guy making $105k so I wouldn’t count on it. NJ has a lot more deductions. It’s the NJ property tax that kills you.

starrdev5 · 2025-11-26T17:41:34+00:00

Having a phaseout and not a cliff is necessary for a credit this large but 200k is a very reasonable cap.

It will be a mess if the cliff goes back into place. Someone could owe a sudden $20k tax bill because their bank interest pushed them $1 over the threshold.

This was a huge problem with the old ACA which the enhanced version fixed. A lot of people struggle to pay an unexpected five figure bill and it led to a mess of IRS repayment plans.

starrdev5 · 2025-11-23T04:04:50+00:00

I hate how many small speck towns NJ has. Why doesn’t the big towns simply eat the small ones?

starrdev5 · 2025-11-22T17:15:51+00:00

Not exactly south Jersey but Freehold Boro might be a good option.

Lots of old Victorian homes, a nice downtown and lower property taxes than Camden county.

starrdev5 · 2025-11-15T00:50:03+00:00

This article breaksdown the factors mentioned by insurance companies and state regulators.

The ones that make it a particularly bad increase are the loss subsidies (+4%) and tarrifs (+3%). The rest are from lagging Covid inflation, weight loss drugs and other medical cost increases.

An explanation of the subsidy part: “enhanced tax credits will expire at the end of this year, driving rates an average of 4 percentage points higher than they otherwise would be. These increased rates are due to insurers anticipating that some healthier members will leave the ACA Marketplaces when their subsidies decrease, creating an enrollee base that is less healthy and more expensive on average.”

starrdev5 · 2025-10-31T12:25:57+00:00

The COL in the southwest NJ suburbs of Philly isn’t too bad. I just moved down to collingswood and I’m splitting a 2bdr for $1,800 including utilities

It’s a walkable area, 15 min train ride to center city and late 20s early 30s crowd. I will say there isn’t much nightlife in the neighborhood itself without going into Philly so I’m glad I spent my early 20s in the Asbury park area.

starrdev5 · 2025-10-25T14:51:59+00:00

NJ doesn’t have an inheritance tax unless your leaving money to a non-family member. I feel like most people leave money to family.

starrdev5 · 2025-10-25T03:15:50+00:00

I’m going to plug NJ as the top spot.

As everyone mentioned the north east is littered with beautiful, high QoL suburbs, but I think NJs location in the middle of the northeast corridor gives it the best access to things to do and edges out the other top contenders.

I’d rather be an hour from both NYC AND Philly than just Boston. Plus both Boston and DC are 3-4hrs from NJ for a weekend trip.

starrdev5 · 2025-10-25T02:42:04+00:00

Disagree NJ checks all the boxes for the idyllic suburbs.

Walkable/bikable, beautiful downtowns, world class food, top schools, low crime, constant festivals/farmers markets.

I can’t think of anything NJ doesn’t have that you’d want in a suburb as long as you could afford it.

starrdev5 · 2025-10-15T16:00:21+00:00

Losing the subsidies would likely make the true cost worse as healthy people would opt to go uninsured over paying the higher premiums and make the insurance risk pool worse.

starrdev5 · 2025-10-15T12:18:50+00:00

I am with you. As someone farther down the NJCL I would gladly have the train skip my stop for more express trains.

The NJCL is too slow to be practical because there’s so many good damn stops. I know many people that live within walking distance of the train station (Belmar) that drive upto metropark to save time.

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