Help me choose where to live (PA and NJ moms)

[edurnemk]

DH has been interviewing for a few positions, one of them was supposedly based in Germany but they just called him today to tell him they've reconsidered and think it will work better with him based in the US offices (he would travel frequently but mostly US and Latin America). They want us to decide if we'd rather live in Pittsburgh or in NJ as they have offices in both places. It's not a done deal yet, he hasn't had an offer (they want to talk about his salary expectations on friday) and he's interviewing with 2 other companies, but DH wants me to start researching so we can decide what we'd prefer, look at COL, etc.

So, please help me! Pros and Cons of each location? Where can I get more information about each place. As background I've lived in Indianapolis, LA, Chicago and Houston (and a few International locations). My favorite city was Chicago. Oh and I've never been to either Pittsburgh or NJ (BTW the company's NJ office is in Morristown).

[brittone2]

NJ taxes are notoriously high, so just make sure you look at those if you are looking at housing prices and what you can afford. Would the salary be the same in NJ as Pittsburgh?

[scrooks]

We visited Pittsburg for the first time last winter and we were really impressed with the city ( we live in a similar city 2 hours away). I think the cost of living in Pittsburg is probably way better than NJ. It really seemed to be a very family friendly city.

[Philly Mom]

They are so different and depends on what is important to you. Pittsburgh is MUCH more affordable, but I would still choose NJ. I grew up near Morristown and the schools around there are great. You are close to NYC and my parents took us there at least once a month if not more. There is also great outdoor space near Morristown and historical sites. Personally, I am not a fan of the city of Pittsburgh. I was there for work two years ago and did not like it. However, my personal feelings aside, people say that Pittsbugh is a great place to raise a family and everyone I know who grew up there, LOVES IT, and would like to go back to raise their families.

[Kindra178]

They are so different and depends on what is important to you. Pittsburgh is MUCH more affordable, but I would still choose NJ. I grew up near Morristown and the schools around there are great. You are close to NYC and my parents took us there at least once a month if not more. There is also great outdoor space near Morristown and historical sites. Personally, I am not a fan of the city of Pittsburgh. I was there for work two years ago and did not like it. However, my personal feelings aside, people say that Pittsbugh is a great place to raise a family and everyone I know who grew up there, LOVES IT, and would like to go back to raise their families.

This exactly. Morristown is a great location because you could choose to live in the "country" in say Califon or Long Valley (or Mendham but property taxes are higher) where there are excellent schools, slightly lower property taxes and huge houses and lots. Or you could go closer to NYC in Summit, Madison, Chatham, Short Hills or even Florham Park (more affordable). I love cities and more urban areas so I would prefer Summit. Somewhat diverse, GREAT urban feeling downtown, easy train to commute to Manhattan for dinners or theater and excellent, excellent schools.

Pm if you want more information about that area.

ETA:

I would suspect that for international travel, Newark is a better home airport than Pittsburgh in terms of nonstop flights to foreign cities. Summit is about 20 minutes from the airport.

[StantonHyde]

I was born in Pittsburgh and lived in the area till I was 11. BillK lives there now--send him a PM. I would take Pittsburgh over NJ because it less crowded, more access to nature and being outside. It isn't near other major cities--like NJ. But it has some awesome museums and great cultural opportunities. The area is very rich in history and I enjoyed visiting all the historical sites in the surrounding area. And I am sure the COL would be much more realistic!!

[sidmand]

My dad lives in Morristown and I grew up in Randolph...I don't know anything about Pittsburgh but the area we were in had many people who had been transferred for business so it was pretty welcoming to new people. And like people said, pretty close to NYC if you want to go into the city for museums, theater, etc.

[AnnieW625]

I would probably pick Pittsburgh due to cost of living. We have relatives in Harrisburg, and the Philadelphia burbs as well and they really like living there. If he doesn't have to commute to the office a lot I would check out the Philly area, but they are about 90 minutes from NJ, but as a whole I think if given the option I would chose Pittsburgh, but I really think you need to visit both and see which one you like better.

If you are in the mid atlantic I think most international flights go out of Newark, Philadelphia, and one of the two NYC area airports so you are probably going to have layovers or stop overs in one of those cities from Pittsburgh, but I have heard lots of horror stories about flying domestically out of Newark as well because it is in the top 10 or top 5 of international airports as far as being busy goes. My cousins prefer to fly out of BWI (Baltimore) or Philadelphia and still actually prefer driving the hour to get to BWI because it is smaller.

[scriptkitten]

new jersey. hands down.

[lizzywednesday]

Newark's not so bad if you time your flight right. You can also skip airport parking if you're on a rail line by taking NJ Transit to the EWR Airport Monorail (AirTrain) which is a fairly easy connection.

I've not flown internationally in about 20 years, though, so I'm not the best judge. (I flew from EWR to Heathrow one year and the following year from EWR to Toronto. We typically fly domestic.)

Philly's a good airport, too, but I can't comment on its international flights.

I would NOT plan to fly out of JFK or LGA, especially if you live in the NJ 'burbs, because getting there is a nightmare. Two bridges and some very highly traveled roads are enough to give us pause for domestic flights! (Add that to the recent toll increase for said bridges and any money we'd save by flying out of either would be spent on tolls!)

We are in Mercer County, near Princeton. There are some nice parks in the area, but I don't like how densely populated it is here.

I grew up in Passaic County, near almost nothing. Honestly, I feel the need to "defend" my part of the state from someone who commented about NJ without ever having lived here - please, don't think that every part of the state is wall-to-wall people. My hometown is great for outdoorsy things - it's home to two state parks, four lake communities and lots of hiking, hunting & fishing.

Friends of mine with kids in the school system feel the schools are pretty good and serve their kids well.

If I had a choice, and COL was not a huge factor, I'd like to move to the Morristown area because I think it could be a decent compromise with DH needing to have street lights (don't ask.)

While I like the idea of living in Chatham, I would be OK with Randolph or Millburn in Morris County. There are a lot of really nice communities in the area that are near rail lines that will take you to Manhattan, if that interests you.

I am also partial to Bergen County, but the taxes can be high and if you live in some areas, you're kind of inundated by traffic around the shopping malls. It's do-able to Morristown, but it might end up being a lot of traffic on 208.

If you want PA-like conditions, you can also try Sussex County, but it'll be less convenient to Newark Airport than other counties.