
New study says this is the worst city in NJ to live in
If you live in a place long enough, you’re gonna find some things about it to hate and also to love.
So we who have lived in New Jersey for a long time have gone out of our way to see the bright side. The bounty of fruits and vegetables, the beautiful landscapes, the mountains that are a short drive away and the stunning sparkling shoreline that lines our coast.
What’s not to love?
Well, that depends on where you live. Some places in New Jersey have bad crime high poverty levels, poor job prospects and a terrible work-life balance. Moneyinc.com listed the 20 worst places to live in New Jersey. At first glance, I disagreed with so many of their choices.
For instance, Jersey City. I always thought that it was a paradise for millennials, yet Money listed that as one of the 20 worst. Buena? The tidy little South Jersey town? What did Buena ever do to anybody?
And Laurel Lake? I never even heard of Laurel Lake, but boy doesn’t it sound quaint? Look a little further, and you’ll discover why these made it to the list of the worst places in New Jersey.
Well, it turns out unemployment is high in the number 20 on the list, Buena, and the median income is some of the lowest in the state, so there goes Buena.
Jersey City, at number 17, for all of its improvement in recent years has the third lowest work-life balance in the country. People spend so much time commuting to work that their lives really suffer.
And as far as Laurel Lake? Low home values and income, high poverty and unemployment add up to a pretty poor quality of life in this little Cumberland County hamlet, which ranks at number 15 of the 20 worst places to live in NJ.
But the worst of all?
At number one, and probably no surprise to anyone, is Newark. With an unemployment rate, that’s almost double the country's average and an income of over 20,000 less than the US average, not to mention everything we know about automobile theft and other crimes, Newark is a must to avoid in New Jersey.
Small towns in New Jersey you didn't know existed
Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Judi Franco only.
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