Poll: Many New Jerseyans want to leave state
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 10/17/07
BY JASON METHOD
STAFF WRITER
Frederick J. Huffenus wants to leave his heart in New Jersey and move to South
Carolina.
Huffenus, 63, a New Jersey native, is awaiting a heart transplant. When he gets
it, the
retired Toms River police officer and his wife plan to move south to save money
in
retirement.
"I love New Jersey," Huffenus said. "New Jersey has everything I want. . . .
But I want that
(financial) peace of mind. You're penalized for living here all your life, you
work hard and
save all your life, and then you're taxed."
Huffenus is among the half of state residents who would like to move out of
state, a new
Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey newspapers poll shows.
The poll comes on the heels of a Rutgers University report last week that
confirmed a
sharp increase in the number of people leaving the state. That report said the
state lost
$680 million in tax revenue last year as a result.
Huffenus said his son Daniel moved to North Carolina in 1998. He has two other
grown
children living in New Jersey, and he hopes they move south eventually.
"Our concerns are more for our grandchildren, as they try to grow up in this
state,"
Huffenus said. "What kind of jobs would they have to have to afford a house?"
Huffenus said he and his wife believe they can get a larger three- or
four-bedroom house
with $800 in taxes. That compares with their small two-bedroom house in Toms
River
with $2,200 in taxes.
"I can go down there and live comfortably, have my grandchildren visit, and not
have to
worry about the money," Huffenus said. "Every year you stay here, it gets a
little tougher."
In the Monmouth/Gannett poll, nearly 60 percent of those who said they wanted
to leave
New Jersey cited financial issues: property taxes, high cost-of-living, state
taxes or
housing costs.
More than half of adults under the age of 50 and nearly 60 percent of residents
earning
between $50,000 and $100,000 expressed a desire to leave New Jersey.
Of those who want to leave, a little more than half said they were "very
likely" to make
good on the wish, and more than half said they planned to go before retirement.
Top destination choices were Florida (15 percent) and North Carolina (14
percent), while
another 21 percent cited other southern or Mid-Atlantic states.
Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute, said the
results show
that many residents have been actively thinking of moving.
"All it takes is a good job offer, a little money set aside, and a lot of
people would leave
this state," Murray said. "All that holds them is family ties. Those will be
strong, but (if) not
for that, many people would be voting with their feet."
Lawrence J. Cella, 72, of Middletown, a retired bank vice president and former
Middletown
Township clerk, said he may decide to move if a recent revaluation of
properties sends his
taxes higher.
"If my taxes go up substantially, I may have no choice but to leave the state,"
Cella said.
"Where do all the funds go from all the other taxable sources the casino, the
lottery, the
tolls?" Cella asked. "Nobody seems to know, and yet we have a Legislature
that's talking
about raising taxes all the time."
The latest Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey Poll was conducted by
telephone with
801 New Jersey adults from Sept. 27 to 30. This sample has a margin of error of
plus or
minus 3.5 percentage points.
The Monmouth University Polling Institute conducted the poll. Gannett New
Jersey
Newspapers are the Asbury Park Press, the Courier-Post, the Home News Tribune,
the
Courier News, the Daily Record, the Daily Journal and the Ocean County Observer.
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