Standards

Every time my husband and I decide go somewhere in New Jersey, it is a problem. This state is so densely populated that something as simple as going to the store is a hassle. Many times, shopping feels like standing in line at a soup kitchen in order to get free food. Many of the sore items are picked over, stepped on and strewn about the floor.

In my last post, I mentioned that I was going to Vegas (and California). I had so much fun when I went there because things functioned as they should. The streets were wide and had adequate space for the cars on the road. The stores were not super crowded, dirty, and mismanaged. The homes (in most areas) were neat, clean, well-maintained and beautiful. the streets were not super dirty (not even on the Las Vegas strip).

When I lived in Georgia it was similar to Vegas in terms of standards. I miss professionally-managed properties as opposed to some fly-by-night landlord who buys or inherits a property, throws tenants into an apartment, locks them into a lease for a year, and demands rent or else. Many of them never fix anything and still expect timely payments (for landlord/tenant disputes, check out my new site: www.rentersnet.blogspot.com).

Every time I go on vacation and leave the metro NY area, I am reminded of how bad this place is. I know that I am supposed to be grateful to have a place to stay and everything. I should also be glad that I have all of my basic needs met. While I am grateful for these things, this is no longer an excuse. I do not like this state and I do not plan on being here much longer. When I move, I will definitely keep you posted. In the meantime, check out my Vegas pics on my travel site: www.pique1.blogspot.com.

And the saga continues..

This past Saturday, I went down to the basement to wash clothes. I figured everything was fine because my husband replaced the hose. He tested it out and everything was fine. However, after already putting the clothes in the washer, my husband realized that the dryer had been tampered with. Okay, at first we were being cordial and giving this guy the benefit of the doubt (although he is the only one with access to the basement besides us). The hose was one thing, but this is another!

Now he is messing with the landlord's property so we had to call and get her up here. She was shocked that this happened and as clueless as we were because normally, the guy is so super nice! However, he must be bipolar or something. The landlord made arrangements with the people on the other side of the building until either she gets the dryer fixed or buys a used one. We didn't want to pester her because we know that she is strapped for cash. At another one of her rental properties in New Jersey, all of her copper pipes were stolen, causing thousands in damage (quite typical  NJ).

This place is absolutely Hell and we need to find a better place to be! Some people move to this area because of a job relocation. If you value your life, don't do it! If it is imperative that you come here, go to the suburbs and make sure that you get a house that is not right on top of another..but I honestly,  believe that New Jersey can be a death sentence. it slowly sucks the life out of you until there is nothing left. Well, that is enough of my ramblings and I promise you that I will get back to a more positive tone as soon as possible.

Old houses of NJ

Ok, so im trying not to complain but this is ridiculous! The apartment we moved into had some issues (overlooked because the neighborhood is decent) and we got home late last night only to realize that there was no heat! Something is wrong with the furnace and we went to bed freezing (the temp dropped to mid-winter temps yesterday.
We did not call the landlord because apparently she turns her phone off at night. Besides, she lives over an hour and a half away. Now its the morning and we have the oven on (an old Magic Chef oven..the kind that you have to light manually)!
We overlooked many things, like the washer leaking pools of water onto the basement floor, dated decor, bright purple carpet (newly installed in the bedroom), yellow, light green, and blue paint throughout the apartment (which when I asked to change, they refused), green toilet green bathroom sink, green tub, and wallpaper everywhere. I will not
Mention the other little things but you get the point.
That's the problem with New Jersey! People buy these 100+ year old houses (about 75 percent of the houses in New Jersey) and ride them until the wheels fall off! They don't want to upgrade or maintain anything! They wait until it breaks over and over again and scotch tape won't do and they are either legally forced or are otherwise backed into a corner. On average you will pay about 1100 plus per month for this.  Funny thing is, they think there is nothing wrong with it!
I am not just venting. People need to be fully aware that if you move here, this is often what you will get. You shouldn't even travel here. Let Jet Blue, Continental Airlines and Delta fly over this place to a nicer state with less issues!
I am trying to remain positive and start on my spiritual path, but NJ Transit keeps running me off the road! I am learning to meditate. However, that is hard because as soon as I sit down to clear my mind, something else breaks!
I will let you all know how it goes. Until next time!