West Long Branch NJ, New Jersey residents’ views of the quality of life in their home state have tumbled to an all-time low. Currently, just half the public gives positive marks to the Garden State as a place to live. At the same time, the Monmouth University Poll also finds that residents’ opinions of their own local communities remain positive and have not changed much at all over the past year.
Just half of New Jersey residents say the state is either an excellent (11%) or good (39%) place to call home, while 32% say it is only fair and 17% rate it as poor. The current positive rating of 50% has dropped from the 54% result in last year’s Monmouth poll, marking an all-time low for this metric in New Jersey opinion polls going back to 1980. Over the past decade, this rating has generally been in the mid-60s. Prior to that, positive rating of the state was frequently in the 70s, even reaching as high as 84% in 1987.
“Trenton Democrats continually waste OUR TAX DOLLARS on this kind of garbage! Always playing dirty politics instead of working to lower our taxes, cut spending and implement the services they are suppose to be doing for the citizens of NJ!! How about using Our Tax Dollars on actually maintaining our roads, bridges & seeing to it that our Governor, Mayors etc are “ upholding the rule of law..” such as immigration laws. They should be cutting funding given to illegals living in sanctuary cities in NJ at tax payers expense!! Overturning Gov’s Free Community college forcillegsls causing s greater burden on many families that can’t afford to send their own children to those same colleges!! No instead Trenton Democrats choose to waste time & OUR money making a political blunder that will cost We the Taxpayers legal fees, court cases and frankly more embarassment then they all do already!!! “
Trenton NJ, Statement from Governor Murphy on Honeywell:
“As part of Honeywell’s global restructuring, the company has committed to keeping the vast majority of its existing New Jersey workforce in state. Though we’re never happy when any jobs leave our state, we appreciate their continued commitment and confidence in New Jersey. By maintaining such a strong foothold here, Honeywell is reaffirming their commitment to being a part of New Jersey’s future. That speaks volumes to our state’s strength, resilience, and value proposition.
“I put forward a strong economic plan that will put us ahead of the curve as present and future corporate decisions are planned, and I look forward to working with all stakeholders to see it implemented.”
Trenton NJ, West Nile Virus cases in New Jersey are reaching record highs with a total of 31 human cases reported statewide so far this year — two of which were deaths associated with the virus among Bergen County residents.
New Jersey State Assembly and Senate has been controlled by the Democrats for decades. Never mind who is the Governor, there lies the root of all of the state’s problems. All of the political payback to supporters has left New Jersey in this condition. So clean your own house Congressman Pascrell.
Ridgewood NJ, Syrian refugees recently placed in New Jersey Democrat run strongholds , are now fleeing the state because of high cost of living, low quality housing, high taxes and safety concerns, NorthJersey.com reports.
At Ktuf is a Syrian refugee who arrived in the United States in the summer of 2016, and planning on leaving New Jersey for Michigan next month. Ktuf told NorthJersey.com the reason she is leaving New Jersey for Michigan: “Over there, you can dream of buying a house, but here you can’t. Costs are so high, and taxes are so high.”
Ktuf’s brother in law moved to Dearborn last month, and was able to find a home with four bedrooms, a backyard and a garage for $1,200 a month.
Mohammad Hial is one of seven Syrian refugees telling the paper they are leaving or planning on leaving New Jersey this summer. Hial left New Jersey for Michigan last week. “This state (New Jersey) is very expensive,” Hial stated
The sanctuary state of New Jersey also presents other disadvantages .Sikander Khan, who head’s Global Emergency Response and Assistance said in addition to economic reasons, “Syrians are leaving Patterson because of safety concerns.”
Nour, a Syrian refugee who left the country after civil war broke out, was interviewed by The Bergen Record, but asked to only be identified by his first name for “safety concerns.” Last month Nour was hit over the head with a metal pipe and robbed of $2,800. Nour told caseworkers, he was “considering moving to Turkey because of crime.” Nour added his two daughters, 14 and 16, “no longer want to leave the apartment.”
Of the seven families interviewed, five are headed to Michigan. As refugees, where many Syrians are eligible for rent assistance for up to 24 months. It looks like after the rent assistance runs out, many Syrians are not happy with Democratic stronghold New Jersey, and fleeing to other states with better opportunities.
Monmouth Poll – NEW JERSEY: State Rating Hits 38 Year Low as Quality of Life Views Ebb May 29, 2018 NEW JERSEY: STATE RATING HITS 38 YEAR LOW AS QUALITY OF LIFE VIEWS EBB Property taxes persist as public’s top concern
Ridgewood NJ, it seems while New Jersey residents major concern is high property taxes, yet they still voted for a candidate that promised to raise taxes. Residents are also happy with where they live yet feel that state wide the quality of life leaves much to be desired .
New Jerseyans’ views of their home state quality of life have dropped, due in part by a record low rating for the state as a place to live according to polling going back to 1980. The Monmouth University Poll finds that opinion of local communities has not dropped by as much, which has kept the Garden State Quality of Life Index score from completely tanking. The state issue that aggravates New Jerseyans the most is the highest-in-the-nation property tax burden, which has been at the top of the list of public grievances for the better part of a decade.
Currently, just over half of New Jersey residents say their state is either an excellent (15%) or good (39%) place to call home, while 29% rate it as only fair and 17% as poor. This 54% positive rating is statistically similar to the July 2015 result of 55% and the August 2011 result of 57%. However, it does mark a numerical low point for this metric in state opinion polls going back to 1980.
The top state concern mentioned by New Jerseyans is property taxes. Just under half (45%) name this issue as one of the most important facing the state right now. Those mentioning other taxes amount to 25% combined. Fewer residents mention education (16%), jobs (14%), the economy and cost of living in general (14%), transportation infrastructure (14%), or crime, guns, and drugs (12%) as being among the most pressing concerns facing New Jersey today. Property taxes have been the most common top-of-mind response to this question for at least ten years, with the only exception coming during the economic downturn when this concern shared the top spot with jobs in 2012 and was actually displaced by jobs as the number one issue in 2013.
“Unless you’ve had your head in the sand for the past ten years, you know that New Jersey’s onerous property tax burden is the single most cited reason for what ails the state. Trenton lawmakers have avoided tackling this problem for too long and we now see it eroding satisfaction with life in the Garden State as a whole. Given these results, it’s no surprise that more and more New Jerseyans are choosing to vote with their feet by simply moving out of the state,” said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute.
Monmouth’s exclusive Garden State Quality of Life Index score now stands at +18, which is down from +25 in July 2017 and matches prior lows of +18 in July 2015 and September 2014. Over the past eight years, this index has ranged from the current low of +18 to a high of +31 (April 2012). Half of the index score comes from residents’ overall rating of the state as a place to live and the remaining half comes from four questions that ask residents to evaluate the quality of life in their local communities.
The quality of life index score took its biggest hit in the central part of the state, going from +35 last year to +18 currently in the Northern Shore (Monmouth, Ocean) and from +34 last year to +18 currently in the Route 1 Corridor (Mercer, Middlesex, Union). The affluent Central Hills area (Hunterdon, Morris, Somerset) retains the highest score at +34 (basically unchanged from +33 last year), while the Urban Core (Essex, Hudson) has the lowest at +8 (down from +18 last year).
“Even though New Jerseyans are starting to sour on the state as whole, views of their local communities remain more positive. This sentiment may help to keep people here for the time being but it doesn’t overcome the more fundamental statewide problems,” said Murray.
Just over 7-in-10 New Jerseyans rate their own town or city as an excellent (30%) or good (41%) place to live, with 20% rating it as only fair and 9% as poor. The current 71% positive rating is down from the numerical high of 77% recorded last year, but it is still in the mid-range of results for this question going back to polling since 1977. The percentage of Garden State residents who currently say they feel very safe in their own neighborhoods at night (65%) is also down from last year’s numerical high of 71%, but remains well above the all-time low of 42% recorded back in 1993.
The current poll registers relatively high ratings for local environmental quality at 73% positive – 29% excellent and 44% good, which is just slightly off last year’s mark of 76%. Ratings for the job local schools are doing stands at 60% positive – 24% excellent and 36% good – which is down from 65% in 2017, but is still within the normal range for this question’s results over the past decade.
The Garden State Quality of Life Index was created by the Monmouth University Polling Institute to serve as a resident-based indicator of the quality of life offered by the state of New Jersey. The index is based on five separate poll questions: overall opinion of the state as a place to live – which contributes half the index score – and ratings of one’s hometown, the performance of local schools, the quality of the local environment, and feelings of safety in one’s own neighborhood. The index can potentially range from -100 to +100.
