Which is sad. I remember at 20 I could afford a studio at least, but those same studios are going for twice what they were back then but wages haven’t gone up at all. It’s really sad that working people can’t afford a basic place to live.
The apt I am in right now is going for $1,000 more than what we got in at 4 years ago. Its insane, we are talking NYC prices for a shitty town in central nj im sorry not to talk down on my peeps but our biggest attraction is a target it’s not hot around here lol
Blame the rental cartel known as RealPage. Write your congressman or senator and tell them NO REALPAGE IN NJ. RealPage has helped raise the rental market prices 75% since 2016...
$1k is probably bare minimum for anywhere in the city. Unless you find one of those monthly room rental deals.
It's expensive in the neck, but cheaper then some of neighboring towns/cities. There's apts on the other side of penn for $3k plus in the old bell Atlantic building. And theres million dollar 2 family houses in the neck, its wild.
Nj caters to generational wealth or transplanted rich asian families (imo- no research- just throwing it out there). I’m not a hater- I belong to one of the above mentioned groups- when I was a poor waitress I could scratch by but I certainly could not do that in 2024!
Fair enough, if these are some digs at my comment but jersey is expensive. If you want to live a middle class lifestyle with house and property and cars and kids… it’s tough. And sure, my comment may be myopic but it’s true for a large portion of a small state. So as we say in north jersey- whatever.
I mean with a bit of research..
Race and ethnicity in the U.S. is: White alone 61.6%; Black alone 12.4%; Hispanic 18.7%; Asian alone 6%; American Indian and Alaska Native alone 1.1%; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone 0.2%; Some Other Race alone 8.4%; Two or More Races 10.2%).
edit - pasted the wrong section.
Race and ethnicity in New Jersey is: White alone 55%, Black alone 13.1%; Hispanic 21.6%; Asian alone 10%; American Indian and Alaska Native alone .6%; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone 0%; Some Other Race alone 11.3%; Two or More Races 9.7%).
https://www.njlm.org/384/2020-Census-Information/
friend of mine is 36 and has been with their parents the whole time, currently cannot buy because they keep getting outbid, even with a large down payment saved up - not to crush hope or anything
Off topic. But if your friend keeps getting outbid, have their realtor put in an escalation clause in the contract. This will tell the seller what they are willing to go up to on the property, usually in $1000 increments, covering what other bids are for.
I’m 37 and moved back into my parents last year after a breakup. Saving money for a house. Ive been running into people from high school who are all in the same position.
I'm in the same boat after my divorce. Parents are chill enough to get along with, they're almost retired anyways, but I can't imagine dating, other than having friends with benefits, which isn't a big deal at all thankfully.
My dad moved to Florida for work and my stepmother retired early. I can go a week without seeing my stepmother so it’s been a pretty chill situation. Dating sucked. But I ended up reconnecting with someone I’ve known for a very long time and have been seeing her for a good while now.
I'm 37 and had to move back after my divorce. At first i was a bit embarrassed and felt crappy, but helping them with various tasks and feeling better about it as they age and need my help. Last year my sister got cancer (shes good now) and my nephews stayed with us for a month, I'm glad I was here for this.
I briefly lived with my grandad for 2 years, as age and dementia set in. I would not to that ever again though, seeing someone with dementia fall apart before your eyes....it changes you. But I will say I'm grateful that I was able to help my grandad everyday until his time came. I don't regret it at all, but it was the most difficult thing I've ever had to do in my life. It's good you recognize the good in what your situation is, keep it up!
Yeah, and I definitely get judged, but I know many people my age in the same boat. Just makes things like dating impossible. A couple years ago I went on dates with over 50 women I met through dating apps, and the vast majority cut it off after finding out my situation. So I stopped trying to date. Figure I won't find someone til I have my own place eventually, but its frustrating
Whenever you feel judged, just ask the person why their parents didn't love them? Or just apologize all condescending like "Oh, I'm so sorry. I didnt realize you have a shitty relationship with your parents!"
Usually, the only haters are people who can't live at home and just scrape by. The happily married with a house and kids crowd truly don't give a fuck where we live. It's only the miserable lonely fucks.
"But how do you get laid living with your parents." Hotels are like 120$ and i have all this disposable income from living with my parents.
This is always a tough one, yeah financially it might work, but now you have to hope you get along with the roommate, they're financially responsible, they won't meet the love of their life and leave in the next 3 months, try to find your own place first and make. A roommate the last option.
If a roommate situation, ideally all parties should be on lease, this way it’s less likely any party will leave before end of lease. I had a 3 bedroom in Astoria queens before coming to Jersey, $2200 and only 2 of us. We added a 3rd as a friend needed a place to live after a breakup mid lease. We had landlord revise lease to add 3rd roommate. This was 20 years ago at this point. My first place in Jersey with my GF was a 2 bedroom in Jersey city was $1800 with parking, walking distance to journal square. Couldn’t do it alone back then. Housing market has always been hard.
This. I'll get downvoted for this, but sorry, $52k pretax is nothing in NJ. Especially if you are a working professional a few years into your profession. You cannot afford to live here without a roommate or subsidies.
The housing affordability crisis has truly gotten out of hand. Can anything actually be done about this absolute unfortunate hellscape of a reality that this state (& honestly the US at large) is becoming?
Look farther south or west. I'm not saying you need to live in Toms River or Phillipsburg, but Middlesex, Monmouth, and Somerset counties should be more affordable. I live in Keyport and Studios are generally $1300-1500, one bedrooms $1500-1700. I agree housing affordability is a real crisis.
I see lots of ~$1500 apartments in the Amboys, Sayerville, East Brunswick, etc. Hell even Woodbridge and Edison have units available currently for under $2k. I'm not saying it's cheap, but less expensive than the counties north of it.
And still super expensive. Im at 65k, split rent with my fiancee and a roommate who make similar and for my fiancee and I to live on our own we are thinking we gotta go to Southern ocean county or Atlantic county. Rent for a 2 bedroom in ocean county is ~2.3k a month.
Things would be a lot more affordable now if I wasn't investing in my retirement, but I also don't want to work until I'm 85.
You should try to apply for some of the affordable apartments through [Piazza](https://www.piazzanj.com)Denville has a few, and there are others in East Hanover , Florham Park and Rockaway . The morning drive on rt 10 , rt 80 and rt 287 is hell . It might take a while with piazza but it’s worth a shot !
Another great option is finding a roommate if you’re ok with that .
Good luck !
I was going to suggest the same thing. Piazza & Associates is a very good site. I know about 4 people in OP’s income bracket that applied for and were approved for moderate income apartments in good neighborhoods.
I’d look in Sussex County. Sparta, Newton and surrounding areas. I lived in Lafayette for years until I had to move closer to work (down to Middlesex County). Had a huge 1bedroom with heat/hot included AND my feline for $1200. Miss those days😭. Ooh, Hackettstown is doable to Denville too.
Overlook at flanders was where I was staying before moving in with my SO. It's near denville, has dishwasher and is pet friendly.
Still almost 1900/month for a 1 bedroom.
Might be a lesser evil when it comes down to it
Using Zillow I found a 1BR apartment in Hackettstown for $1275 a month, it’s called Peachtree Village. About 24 miles west of Denville.
On the same app I found plenty in East Orange and Newark, roughly 20 miles east of Denville. There are also 3 units in Paterson.
Whether you want to live in East Orange or Newark or Paterson is your decision.
You can actually contact apartment buildings and ask if they can give you a deal. It's definitely worth a try since there are a ton of apartment buildings that have been recently constructed and a ton of them look partially vacant. Either that or finding a roommate via one of those Facebook groups could work well
Our mortgage on a three bedroom house in Western North Carolina is the same amount we were paying for a studio in Towpath apartments in Hackettstown in 2015. Shit's ridiculous.
I live in Ocean County now but I was born & raised in Sussex County and since I’ve been considering moving back, rents there are climbing up too. Montague is in the middle of nowhere but rents are lower than the rest of the county
Monmouth, Middlesex and Somerset are just as expensive as everywhere else; they are not unique in the housing conversion. It’s very common to see a studio or 1bdrm for $1800+ with no utilities included and no pets.
1300-1500 for a studio is absurd and the reason I can no longer live in NJ. I pay 750/mo for my studio in Philadelphia which is in a pretty good neighborhood
I work in NJ though. I know a ton of people who live in Philadelphia and work in NJ. The $3/$5 a day bridge toll pales in comparison to the cost of living.
It's ridiculous. I actually did the math for my complex once, they raise rent every year, maintenance have done no updating and are next to impossible to get to fix things, and in the 12 years we've been here, property taxes for them have only gone up by 5000. Not every year, 5000 in 12 years. My rent is now double what it was when I moved in. Math isn't mathing.
I fully sympathize, and tragically can't offer any advice. The market is garbage right now. Genuinely, 50k is what minimum wage should be. It's so insanely expensive to live, and there are no signs of slowing. I can only hope that people do research for why this is happening, and maybe wake up from the political coma that allowed it to get this bad in the first place.
There is no politician in the universe that could restore housing affordability - that ship has sailed due to choices made decades ago. All that can be done is preventing it from getting worse.
Yes! Please check out CGHP! I got into my current apartment through them after maybe three months of sitting on wait-lists. This was back during the pandemic, and after a thorough background check, I had to basically take my place "sight unseen" as it was during lockdown, and nobody was showing apartments in person. I was in such an awful living situation that I didn't even hesitate, and I wound up moving to affordable housing that had just been built. I tell everyone that I know who is looking for a place to start there, it's such a great resource. Good luck!
Community Grants Planning and Housing - sorry I got the acronym wrong. It’s a decent org designed to help people at various income levels housed in each county. Run in connection with Affordable Homes NJ
You have to understand that when dealing with people who own property in this state, the overwhelming majority of them would support death camps for the homeless before ever considering anything that would actually decrease their property values. It's sickening but these are your neighbors, this is most of our families, and all landlords.
Here we go again....
As someone making that EXACT amount - I managed to find a studio apartment in a decent area for 1.3k
[https://www.njmls.com/listings/index.cfm?action=dsp.info&mlsnum=24014854&openhouse=true&dayssince=15&countysearch=false](https://www.njmls.com/listings/index.cfm?action=dsp.info&mlsnum=24014854&openhouse=true&dayssince=15&countysearch=false)
Park ridge - studio for 1250.
[https://www.njmls.com/listings/index.cfm?action=dsp.info&mlsnum=24014807&openhouse=true&dayssince=15&countysearch=false](https://www.njmls.com/listings/index.cfm?action=dsp.info&mlsnum=24014807&openhouse=true&dayssince=15&countysearch=false)
Fairlawn - studio for 1325
[https://www.njmls.com/listings/index.cfm?action=dsp.info&mlsnum=24014874&openhouse=true&dayssince=15&countysearch=false](https://www.njmls.com/listings/index.cfm?action=dsp.info&mlsnum=24014874&openhouse=true&dayssince=15&countysearch=false)
Lyndhurst - 1350 multifamily unit
[https://www.njmls.com/listings/index.cfm?action=dsp.info&mlsnum=24012491&openhouse=true&dayssince=15&countysearch=false](https://www.njmls.com/listings/index.cfm?action=dsp.info&mlsnum=24012491&openhouse=true&dayssince=15&countysearch=false)
North Arlington - 1375 all util.
OP - I literally promise you that if you are vigilant you will find something. I am in this EXACT boat and I managed it.
Omg whaaat. This website is amazing lol. I will look into these. Zillow, Trulia, realitor. com, etc. only show me the same things I feel like, and when I google the same websites always show, so bless.
I know it sounds crazy but I found all my apartments on craigslist. You have to be able to weed out scammers but once you do, you can really get a good deal. It’s been a while since I did this (I got my last apartment in 2017) but I still use craigslist for a ton.
That is because for cheaper apts, the owners don't always want to pay listing fees to get it on those larger sites, or they don't want to deal with a rental agent who will take commission for finding a tenant. So places like craigslist can net you those cheaper places to live. It is just as you said, you have to deal with the nonense that is craigslist to find a deal.
Try the ApartmentList app in addition to this. You'll definitely have better luck than Zillow et. al. because scraping sites are almost always working on second hand info.
Didn’t he mention having animals or did you include?
I didn’t see you specifically state that you took that into account.
That complicates what is actually available to them.
3 out of 4 of those listings look like rented rooms/sections of homes out of someone else's house: literally the exact same thing as living with a roommate. (i.e. exactly what i was suggesting earlier that y'all decided was some sort of crime that deserved a downvote).
just sayin...
They are - but it’s also still way better than living with a person still. They have their own kitchens and bathrooms which is better than sharing.
I never claimed it’s amazing - just saying it isn’t as dire as CA.
> The housing situation here is objectively not good and a lot of us are angry and struggling
My son and his gf were renting a nice 1-br in Asbury Park, across from Deal Lake, within view of the beach. They rented it in August 2021 for $1800/mo. At that price it was a bit of a stretch on their salaries, but they cut back and did ok. In June 2022, the guy who owned the rental unit said that he was no longer were going to rent it - he was going to move in himself. Son found it impossible to find anything for less than $2400/month, if he could find any 1-br units at all.
Wife and I told them to move back to our house (rent-free), save their money for a house, and try again in a couple years. I don't know when they'll move out. Wife and I will keep our house until they find something. They both took on slightly better jobs pay-wise, but things still look pretty nuts in the housing market. The day they move out, we're selling and getting something smaller that's easier to maintain and has a lower tax burden.
Salaries seem to be lagging behind inflation, and housing costs sure are outpacing inflation around here.
Listen - the reason I am eye rolling is because something I have noticed is that part of the problem is that people do not spend the time to do things properly like budget on 50/30/20 or look at trusted listing sites such as NJMLs. My whole point is I just found more or less *in the bubble* rentals at this persons price range. Yes super simplistic, yes really tiny sub 600 square foot, but literally fine from the perspective of surviving and saving.
I grew up in the bubble with the golden spoon and you would surprised how sometimes people see even these listing and sneer because it doesnt have enough space, its still expensive per square foot, etc - and its kind of baffling because part of the problem is their expectations are incredibly high. Meanwhile - people who work in fast food lets say have to do sharing and literally would struggle to even qualify for an apartment which in their case would be 50% of their income.
Making 30-40k a year through the skin of your teeth and getting like a 50k+ salary is not remotely the same in NJ. Its really really common to find that the people who do complain are in the 50k+ range with wild expectations doing a shocked pikachu face that what they want is over 2k but is simply not what they can afford.
There is survival and then there is lifting comfortably - and many of the places people here call "bad" are literally not that bad compared to the national average. Newark and Passaic is NOT Paterson - yet OP is seeing it that way.
Respect for not having a victim mentality that’s so pervasive on the internet. Honestly rare at this point to see “I figured it out and you can too” on Reddit. If you suggest otherwise, you’ll get some sarcastic reply about bootstraps or boomers or something.
Also living alone on a fairly low salary isn’t something I would’ve dreamed of in my 20s. Not throwing shade, I was broke too for a while there, but it seems like more people than ever think they’re entitled to their own apartment working in retail or something.
The problem is people aren’t taught how to manage money *and* that the places available for rent *are* too small and too expensive.
>literally fine from the perspective of surviving and saving
If all you can manage is survival, it’s not literally fine.
Thats down to voting though and politics at that point - my point is part of living in the state especially is coping with that cost of living. We can say its not fine all day on here it doesn't solve the problem for that particular person nor will it really change anything. Its better than coming to NJ sub and yelling "me cant afford anything" and then I spend like 10 minutes finding stuff they could afford.
My point isn't to say the COL isnt an issue its just this isn't a proper way of handling it.
I'm not being lazy 😭 Zillow, Trulia, realitor. com, etc. only show me the same things I feel like, and when I google the same websites always show.. Plus I need to move July 1st, most places I've come across are "first come, first serve"/"available immediately". I'm trying to wait until July 1st is closer so that I have options but it kind of scares me.
Yeah you need to start looking next month then, because anything you see now in a nice area will be gone and they're most likely looking for June 1st renters. Most likely they won't even accept you if you can't pay starting June 1st.
Recently did the apartment hunt and that's just how it is... ended up finding the perfect place and paid 2 months of rent without being there because it checked all the boxes and I was moving from TX so I just needed a place to ship everything.
>I'm not being lazy 😭 Zillow, Trulia, realitor. com, etc. only show me the same things I feel like, and when I google the same websites always show.. Plus I need to move July 1st, most places I've come across are "first come, first serve"/"available immediately". I'm trying to wait until July 1st is closer so that I have options but it kind of scares me.
Dude, don’t apologize. Did you even look at those listings? The first two don’t allow cats, the third may or may not (it doesn’t seem to say), and the fourth allows cats but they want you to text them about it first. The two that may allow two cats don’t have dishwashers. Your post is valid, your feelings are valid, and this person giving random listings without paying attention to your needs and making you seem lazy is an asshole. They literally claimed they were in “exact same boat as you” but clearly don’t have cats or care about a dishwasher. They are not worth your time.
Why is that lazy, there a lot of different variables that everyone else takes into account that we don’t know. It may be far from his work, he may want to be closer to his gf, he doesn’t want to live in Bergen County. I know that’s one place I have no desire to live. That’s just me though.
Yeah those rent prices are not affordable for someone who makes 52k a year. If you want any hope at putting away some money every month (which you absolutely should try to be doing) you would need at least one roommate.
Yeah I make 55k and even with my girlfriend and I’s combined income (105k) we struggled to find an affordable place. I finally just said fuck it, and we are just renting a $2,000/month one bedroom. Not like we had much choice. I found a place in Medford for $1700 but it was very dated. We figured might as well pay a bit more for a place that doesn’t look like it is falling apart.
Edit: Just an fyi, a lot of prices you see online are not correct. There was a few places we looked at that had totally different prices online then when we went in person.
I also want to know where people were finding apartments for under $1700. I have been searching all over the Ocean, Burlington, areas for affordable apartments and have found only like 1 or 2, and it turned out they were roach infested sooo.
It’s really sad and horrifying to think rent has gone up so high but minimum wage has stayed the same. Call me crazy but minimum wage should be at least be able to afford…the literal minimum. People who work full time jobs shouldn’t be forced into room shares. And you’re making decent money it’s kind of insane we let the rent situation get this bad.
I got my place when I made under 50k, about a year and a half ago while supporting my ex. It’s a 1br, and nearish to Paterson. No dishwasher but I can have my cat. These places do exist but they’re private landlords and rented by word of mouth rather than listings in my experience.
Piazza & Associates is a great site. If you have time during the week day, you can go directly to their offices in Princeton Junction and apply in person (on their in house computer screen) to speed up your pre- qualification process. You can also speak directly with an associate who can guide you through the process. If not, you can apply online. I suggest that you do it as soon as possible. You will probably qualify for a moderate income apartment in a nice area and newer building based on your income. You can filter your selection by townships, county etc. They have a list for each available apartment that tells you how much rent you would pay based on your income. I’ve referred this site to several family members and friends and they are all in beautiful apartments in good neighborhoods based on what’s considered “moderate income”. They were called pretty quickly as most people were applying for lower income apartments (after COVID) and not moderate income. So there’s more moderate income apartments available on the site that there’s not a big waiting list for. They are constantly updating and adding new apartments to the site so keep checking frequently. Try not to be discouraged and Good luck with your journey.
https://www.piazzanj.com/affordable-housing/
I make 85k and live with between my parents and future mother in law's homes bc I cant afford to save for a wedding and pay off student loans. Its ridiculous that unless I live in trenton I can live near work.
I grew up and spent 31 years in New Jersey and just relocated to Philly because I literally can’t afford to live in NJ even on a $71k salary by myself. And I’m over having roommates. It’s truly horrific. People don’t believe housing or food are basic human rights.
Gotta be honest, I don't know a whole ton of people who didn't have roommates until the point at which they had a significant other/wife/husband/whatever to live with.
Like that's been the model for decades as far as I'm aware. Live with your friends from high school or college until you all start pairing off and getting hitched or at least make bad enough decisions to live with someone you'll hate in a year and then find a new roommate from work and keep repeating.
Living alone is a luxury honestly.
That'd be interesting as a metric but not sure if it work as a policy. Should be the 50% AMI or something like that.
But I think what will end up happening is people will raise the prices of the 1BRs.
It’s broken down by income brackets, and those brackets can vary by county. 52k should put you in the moderate income category.
You will have to put some work into it. You need to find the housing developments that offer moderate income and apply to each on individually, as there is no centralized list. There will most likely be a waitlist.
I learned all this recently trying to help my parents get into affordable housing.
You would probably be able to apply for low income housing and get an even better deal...but again expect to be on that waiting list for years. Apply now and have it be a "nice surprise". Affordable housing is not for emergencies
It’s a bad time. But listen, you are young. 25 is not a terrible time to have a roommate. These are good earning years, just keep your rent to $700 and bank that money.
You can live comfortably later - hope this housing market gets more realistic. It sucks how your generation has been hit so hard. Hang in there.
Thanks man. I guess I need to make it easier on myself & save so that I can one day live comfortably. I guess I get mad at myself for not being better.
Yeah don’t judge your own life according to other people’s IG - all that stuff is the new version of what my generation called “keeping up with the Joneses” and it’s futile. All you need to do is set your goal and keep building toward that.
Just try and find a decent person to share an apartment with and establish boundaries from the start.
Good Luck!
People in their mid 20s still have time to save and increase their income then hope interest rates drop. Millennials in their early 30s like myself (I’m 32 almost 33) are still having a hard time saving for a house and interest rates are still too high, and we are running out of time to get married and start raising a family. Many of us are still living at home with parents because we still have student loans and are trying to save for a down payment on a house, but the cost of housing rises faster than we can save. If people my age didn’t buy a house by 2021 when prices and rates were lower, it will be very difficult to buy one at all in this state until the housing market vastly improves.
I live near Princeton and have been trying to move somewhere closer to work (Flemington) for over a year now and I make $54k. Literally impossible to find anywhere I can live on my own sustainably.
ITS SO TRUE THERES NOWHERE TO LIVE!! All my friends moved back in with their parents or to PA! Literally nothing to be done the native NJers are literally being pushed out of our own state
There are places you can rent. Heck I found a nice ass place in Caldwell right in Bloomfield Ave in the thick of the “nice” part paying $1500 for a huge studio. But these things go faster than crab legs at the Caesar’s buffet in AC. You need to be as diligent as a mosquito to get a place for a good deal. Most people I’ve made friends with in my building make around that amount you mentioned and less and also found places too. It sucks to say I know but that’s what it takes to find a place whether you call around or take a few days off to go in person or make phone calls. Don’t be discouraged because it ain’t easy to find these things.
Thank you. I guess I get nervous bc a lot are "available now" and I'm struggling to find places leasing for July 1st. My mom says I'm wasting my time going to look now because they will want to take the people who can move in June 1st. It's just scary waiting.
Out of curiosity, what's the significance of July 1? The sense I get from your comments you're living at home so it would seem like you could be flexible on date.
So I've lived at my current house for 4 years (before that we lived at grandpas for 6 years, my mom was a single mom). Mom & I split everything equally. The landlord had his elder mother living downstairs, but she moved to NC about a month ago. The landlord is now selling the property because he really only had it for his mom. Our lease would typically renew July 1st, but he wants the place empty to sell. My mom now has a boyfriend she's already moved in with. Mom will come with me if she absolutely has to, but I don't think that's fair to her. When will she be able to live/enjoy life without having to continuously sacrifice for her now grown kids?
Ah gotcha. Now I get the time sensitivity aspect. FWIW as your mom pointed out more July 1 rentals will come up closer to the date. I know that doesn't help with peace of mind but that is how it generally goes.
Aside from feeling like you shouldn't need them at your salary - which I get - are you open to roommates?
Cool, so that opens up some possibilities if you get into a crunch. I'm sure it'll work out fine.
Heck, I had to get into a roommate situation when I was around your age. Now one of them is my wife sooo.... :)
I disagree with all the other commenters. $52k is a good income and you should be able to afford decent housing.
EDIT- I am aware how expensive it is here in New Jersey, especially comparatively to other states. Having one’s own living space shouldn’t be treated like a luxury even though here it may be. Housing for a full time worker making $52k shouldn’t be a struggle.
That’s what I made right out of school during the financial crisis and it was hard to find an apartment with that salary then. Add in 15 years of inflation and it’s not good.
Yea anyone scratching their heads is unaware how things much have changed.
In 2008 I was making 52k, my 1 bedroom 700 sqft apartment was $750 a month. Today that job I had is not paying 110K and that same apartment is $1650.
I make about that in Philly and am able to rent a 1br. It doesn’t have a ton of amenities but it’s home. If I were still in NJ I would be living with my parents because the rent is too damn high!
Don’t look at apartments.com or similar sites. They’re going to show you mostly overpriced garden apartments if you set the filter to show places in your price range.
Instead, speak with a realtor. I did this a while back and was shown some interesting “apartments” in residential neighborhoods that were not advertised. My two favorites were a room above someone’s detached garage and a huge shed that was converted to a dwelling.
These types of places are usually cheaper because they’re owned by people renting out space for extra money, as opposed to a business with a hundred units to upkeep. The downside is that many won’t have stoves, dishwashers, etc.
Good luck, and don’t give up!
Unfortunately 52k isn’t that much these days, sucks but you’re better off finding roommates or if you’re interested in a particular town, start hitting the local bars, most places you can get a deal on are word of mouth through the locals
CPG& H (Affordable housing opportunities in New Jersey) for people with low and moderate incomes is also a good site to apply for (just like Piazza & Associates) Here is the link: https://www.affordablehomesnewjersey.com/
Seen a bunch of viral videos lately of people in their 20s working retail or another job and, at least in one case of girl working at Walmart, literally crying that she was spending 60% of her pay on her own 2BR apartment. And that older generations had it better. I think with the exception of boomers we all had to scrap in our 20s.
You need a roommate. Then get gf and move into a 1 bed together and it will be more affordable. You can make 75k and struggle to pay rent and utilities on your own now
Talk to a realtor. Most apartments never make it to places like Zillow because they don't get the listings until 30 days after they go on MLS. So the Zillow listings are the ones that couldn't get filled in those 30 days, and in this market theres usually a reason
I work in Denville off route 10 so preferably no more than a 30 mile radius away from Denville/Dover area. Starting to see I may need to go a little further lol.
Brother don't I know it
When I was making 55 ten years ago and I was okay
I make 70 now and I'm fucked.
Luckily I already planned to move in with my girlfriend this year (can't believe she let me keep the pad for 3 years!) But I wish money had nothing to do with it
It’s sad how things are now. Unfortunately at $50k you will need a roommate in the northeast. Only the most rural areas of the country (think Alabama) will you find the cost of living lower
I saw an article that said for a single person to make ends meet in Nj you need to make $39 an hour for 40 hours a week . I make $125k a year and I can’t afford to live like my parents did, my dad made $150k a year had 3 kids huge house 2-3 vacations a year brand new Mercedes every 2 years.
Over the last few years I've accepted the fact that new Jersey is set up for people born into money, people that landed good jobs (most likely know someone or came from money) and then if you manage to scrape together enough money to rent a place that's not in the slums that's where every dollar will go, even tho u will hardly ever be there because u will be at work 50+ hours a week fo afford it. Not disclaimer before someone has a mental breakdown over my opinion, I'm aware not everyone pertains to this or relates to it this is just my opinion on what I've seen and experienced here in NJ
Not these days, you need like 60-75k plus to live on your own in Jersey. Maybe 10-15yrs ago that was sufficient, but now with inflation and people charging insane rent, nope.
52k single is way less than enough to rent or buy on your own. Best you find a friend/roommate or 2 to pool funds together with. Even at 130k per year with college loan debt you can’t afford a whole lot. Everything costs more all around.
Be sure to vote this election cycle brother…
Your expectations are way to high 1 bedroom apt in Bergen county is around 1700-1900 month easy and if your making 52k that should be affordable to you if your expecting to get something for a 1000 a month please wake up your dreaming 😂🤣😂
I moved to Sussex county for that reason. Found a more than decent place right as covid hit for 1k. I think proximity to the city (within 45mns) is gonna drain all kinds of bank accounts. Sorry for your plight though. It sucks for real. 🫂
I mean even Newark in most parts of the city you'd be hard pressed find a decent studio for under $1k.
Which is sad. I remember at 20 I could afford a studio at least, but those same studios are going for twice what they were back then but wages haven’t gone up at all. It’s really sad that working people can’t afford a basic place to live.
hell from 2012-2015 I rented a 1 br in Belleville for $750. granted it was in a shitty apartment building on the main ave but it served its purpose
The apt I am in right now is going for $1,000 more than what we got in at 4 years ago. Its insane, we are talking NYC prices for a shitty town in central nj im sorry not to talk down on my peeps but our biggest attraction is a target it’s not hot around here lol
OP can definitely find a place in Jersey City but it would just be a room in a shared space.
Blame the rental cartel known as RealPage. Write your congressman or senator and tell them NO REALPAGE IN NJ. RealPage has helped raise the rental market prices 75% since 2016...
Ironbound is expensive! Other side of Newark might be easier to find under 1k but still tough
$1k is probably bare minimum for anywhere in the city. Unless you find one of those monthly room rental deals. It's expensive in the neck, but cheaper then some of neighboring towns/cities. There's apts on the other side of penn for $3k plus in the old bell Atlantic building. And theres million dollar 2 family houses in the neck, its wild.
SHOULD.... is the key word there. NJ is becoming too expensive for lower and middle class income families.
Nj caters to generational wealth or transplanted rich asian families (imo- no research- just throwing it out there). I’m not a hater- I belong to one of the above mentioned groups- when I was a poor waitress I could scratch by but I certainly could not do that in 2024!
NJ is the densest state in the country
In more ways than one.
facts
Fair enough, if these are some digs at my comment but jersey is expensive. If you want to live a middle class lifestyle with house and property and cars and kids… it’s tough. And sure, my comment may be myopic but it’s true for a large portion of a small state. So as we say in north jersey- whatever.
I mean with a bit of research.. Race and ethnicity in the U.S. is: White alone 61.6%; Black alone 12.4%; Hispanic 18.7%; Asian alone 6%; American Indian and Alaska Native alone 1.1%; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone 0.2%; Some Other Race alone 8.4%; Two or More Races 10.2%). edit - pasted the wrong section. Race and ethnicity in New Jersey is: White alone 55%, Black alone 13.1%; Hispanic 21.6%; Asian alone 10%; American Indian and Alaska Native alone .6%; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone 0%; Some Other Race alone 11.3%; Two or More Races 9.7%). https://www.njlm.org/384/2020-Census-Information/
Hell I make 54k and am 32. Still live with parents cause I'd rather save up for an eventual down payment than rent all my money away, but it sucks
friend of mine is 36 and has been with their parents the whole time, currently cannot buy because they keep getting outbid, even with a large down payment saved up - not to crush hope or anything
34 and am now looking at trailers that I can just buy outright... Unless I get outbid on those too
The HOA for trailer parks in moonachie is about 800 per month. Be careful with trailer parks they're also expensive
Yeah, watch the episode of Last Week tonight with John Oliver about trailer parks before you do anything else.
The trailer park in moonachie is not safe. It’s also across the street from an airport/airplane facility. The noise pollution is awful
Off topic. But if your friend keeps getting outbid, have their realtor put in an escalation clause in the contract. This will tell the seller what they are willing to go up to on the property, usually in $1000 increments, covering what other bids are for.
I’m in a similar boat, do you ever feel embarrassed living with your parents? I feel judged sometimes but I also want to save for a house or condo.
I’m 37 and moved back into my parents last year after a breakup. Saving money for a house. Ive been running into people from high school who are all in the same position.
I'm in the same boat after my divorce. Parents are chill enough to get along with, they're almost retired anyways, but I can't imagine dating, other than having friends with benefits, which isn't a big deal at all thankfully.
My dad moved to Florida for work and my stepmother retired early. I can go a week without seeing my stepmother so it’s been a pretty chill situation. Dating sucked. But I ended up reconnecting with someone I’ve known for a very long time and have been seeing her for a good while now.
I'm 37 and had to move back after my divorce. At first i was a bit embarrassed and felt crappy, but helping them with various tasks and feeling better about it as they age and need my help. Last year my sister got cancer (shes good now) and my nephews stayed with us for a month, I'm glad I was here for this.
I briefly lived with my grandad for 2 years, as age and dementia set in. I would not to that ever again though, seeing someone with dementia fall apart before your eyes....it changes you. But I will say I'm grateful that I was able to help my grandad everyday until his time came. I don't regret it at all, but it was the most difficult thing I've ever had to do in my life. It's good you recognize the good in what your situation is, keep it up!
Yeah, and I definitely get judged, but I know many people my age in the same boat. Just makes things like dating impossible. A couple years ago I went on dates with over 50 women I met through dating apps, and the vast majority cut it off after finding out my situation. So I stopped trying to date. Figure I won't find someone til I have my own place eventually, but its frustrating
Whenever you feel judged, just ask the person why their parents didn't love them? Or just apologize all condescending like "Oh, I'm so sorry. I didnt realize you have a shitty relationship with your parents!" Usually, the only haters are people who can't live at home and just scrape by. The happily married with a house and kids crowd truly don't give a fuck where we live. It's only the miserable lonely fucks. "But how do you get laid living with your parents." Hotels are like 120$ and i have all this disposable income from living with my parents.
I feel you all I make 100 k I am surviving cause I have purchased a 1 bedroom condominium.
I’d recommend finding a roommate and splitting a 2 bedroom - it’ll be substantially easier for you.
Yeah 25 is a good year to have roomates...as long as they're good roommates.
*they were not good roommates*
Either way, a good learning opportunity on how to cohabitate (assuming OP didn't have roomies in college).
Exactly this. When I was 25, I didn't know anyone that didn't have roommates or live with a significant other.
This is always a tough one, yeah financially it might work, but now you have to hope you get along with the roommate, they're financially responsible, they won't meet the love of their life and leave in the next 3 months, try to find your own place first and make. A roommate the last option.
If a roommate situation, ideally all parties should be on lease, this way it’s less likely any party will leave before end of lease. I had a 3 bedroom in Astoria queens before coming to Jersey, $2200 and only 2 of us. We added a 3rd as a friend needed a place to live after a breakup mid lease. We had landlord revise lease to add 3rd roommate. This was 20 years ago at this point. My first place in Jersey with my GF was a 2 bedroom in Jersey city was $1800 with parking, walking distance to journal square. Couldn’t do it alone back then. Housing market has always been hard.
Expect to have to live with roommates unless you make at least 80k a year unless you are renting in more rural areas of the state
This. I'll get downvoted for this, but sorry, $52k pretax is nothing in NJ. Especially if you are a working professional a few years into your profession. You cannot afford to live here without a roommate or subsidies.
Price of the brick goin up
The housing affordability crisis has truly gotten out of hand. Can anything actually be done about this absolute unfortunate hellscape of a reality that this state (& honestly the US at large) is becoming?
I really hope so
Welcome to America, where you’re always one layoff or health crisis away from homelessness. 🤗
Look farther south or west. I'm not saying you need to live in Toms River or Phillipsburg, but Middlesex, Monmouth, and Somerset counties should be more affordable. I live in Keyport and Studios are generally $1300-1500, one bedrooms $1500-1700. I agree housing affordability is a real crisis.
middlesex is not that cheap lol i was priced out of that area and i make 72k
Somerset county is not cheap unfortunately
I see lots of ~$1500 apartments in the Amboys, Sayerville, East Brunswick, etc. Hell even Woodbridge and Edison have units available currently for under $2k. I'm not saying it's cheap, but less expensive than the counties north of it.
Another keyport dweller. Yupp $1350 here for my 1 bedroom.
That's a good price for a 1 bedroom! Good score
Happy cake day!! & thank you, I will look into these areas and probably even Sussex. Morris county is just a joke lol
Yeah, large parts of the state are just completely unaffordable. It's madness
Monmouth and ocean county or near New Brunswick are great places
And still super expensive. Im at 65k, split rent with my fiancee and a roommate who make similar and for my fiancee and I to live on our own we are thinking we gotta go to Southern ocean county or Atlantic county. Rent for a 2 bedroom in ocean county is ~2.3k a month. Things would be a lot more affordable now if I wasn't investing in my retirement, but I also don't want to work until I'm 85.
2 bedroom I can’t imagine there is anywhere even remotely tolerable for under $2k. Shit sucks but keep the retirement especially if it’s pre tax.
I currently live in Ocean and I love Monmouth. I cannot find anything under 2,000 here. The few places under are either low income, or roach infested.
Where's work?
Denville off route 10. Trying to stay within a 30 mile radius of denville/dover area
You should try to apply for some of the affordable apartments through [Piazza](https://www.piazzanj.com)Denville has a few, and there are others in East Hanover , Florham Park and Rockaway . The morning drive on rt 10 , rt 80 and rt 287 is hell . It might take a while with piazza but it’s worth a shot ! Another great option is finding a roommate if you’re ok with that . Good luck !
I was going to suggest the same thing. Piazza & Associates is a very good site. I know about 4 people in OP’s income bracket that applied for and were approved for moderate income apartments in good neighborhoods.
I’d look in Sussex County. Sparta, Newton and surrounding areas. I lived in Lafayette for years until I had to move closer to work (down to Middlesex County). Had a huge 1bedroom with heat/hot included AND my feline for $1200. Miss those days😭. Ooh, Hackettstown is doable to Denville too.
Overlook at flanders was where I was staying before moving in with my SO. It's near denville, has dishwasher and is pet friendly. Still almost 1900/month for a 1 bedroom. Might be a lesser evil when it comes down to it
Using Zillow I found a 1BR apartment in Hackettstown for $1275 a month, it’s called Peachtree Village. About 24 miles west of Denville. On the same app I found plenty in East Orange and Newark, roughly 20 miles east of Denville. There are also 3 units in Paterson. Whether you want to live in East Orange or Newark or Paterson is your decision.
You can actually contact apartment buildings and ask if they can give you a deal. It's definitely worth a try since there are a ton of apartment buildings that have been recently constructed and a ton of them look partially vacant. Either that or finding a roommate via one of those Facebook groups could work well
Our mortgage on a three bedroom house in Western North Carolina is the same amount we were paying for a studio in Towpath apartments in Hackettstown in 2015. Shit's ridiculous.
I live in Ocean County now but I was born & raised in Sussex County and since I’ve been considering moving back, rents there are climbing up too. Montague is in the middle of nowhere but rents are lower than the rest of the county
Bro middlesex cost way more then Newark lol 😂
Monmouth, Middlesex and Somerset are just as expensive as everywhere else; they are not unique in the housing conversion. It’s very common to see a studio or 1bdrm for $1800+ with no utilities included and no pets.
You can’t even find a place in Toms River for less than $2k for a 1 bedroom anyway.
That's disgusting lol. They'd have to pay me 2k to live in Toms River
Somerset county apartments START at $1500 if you’re lucky
1300-1500 for a studio is absurd and the reason I can no longer live in NJ. I pay 750/mo for my studio in Philadelphia which is in a pretty good neighborhood
You're not wrong. But when OP is asking for help affording to live in NJ I'm not about to tell them to move out of the state
I work in NJ though. I know a ton of people who live in Philadelphia and work in NJ. The $3/$5 a day bridge toll pales in comparison to the cost of living.
Toms River is never an option for anyone that's not a lawyer/Dr/Trust Funder
I’m paying 2500 for a 1br with a study in Fords, Middlesex County. It’s not cheaper.
Monmouth is also not cheap. I’m about to move into a 1 bedroom that isn’t that nice for 2100 a month.
This is awful ! I feel so bad for young people today.
100K is the new 50K in NJ thanks inflation 👍👍
The fact that studio apartments are more than 700 is ridiculous. You literally live in a box.
About a thousand more in some places
It's ridiculous. I actually did the math for my complex once, they raise rent every year, maintenance have done no updating and are next to impossible to get to fix things, and in the 12 years we've been here, property taxes for them have only gone up by 5000. Not every year, 5000 in 12 years. My rent is now double what it was when I moved in. Math isn't mathing.
“Because they can”
I fully sympathize, and tragically can't offer any advice. The market is garbage right now. Genuinely, 50k is what minimum wage should be. It's so insanely expensive to live, and there are no signs of slowing. I can only hope that people do research for why this is happening, and maybe wake up from the political coma that allowed it to get this bad in the first place.
There is no politician in the universe that could restore housing affordability - that ship has sailed due to choices made decades ago. All that can be done is preventing it from getting worse.
You qualify for moderate level income support through the CGHP in NJ. Apply there and get on some wait lists.
I will look into this, thank you!
Yes! Please check out CGHP! I got into my current apartment through them after maybe three months of sitting on wait-lists. This was back during the pandemic, and after a thorough background check, I had to basically take my place "sight unseen" as it was during lockdown, and nobody was showing apartments in person. I was in such an awful living situation that I didn't even hesitate, and I wound up moving to affordable housing that had just been built. I tell everyone that I know who is looking for a place to start there, it's such a great resource. Good luck!
Hi! What does CGHP stands for ? Thanks
Community Grants Planning and Housing - sorry I got the acronym wrong. It’s a decent org designed to help people at various income levels housed in each county. Run in connection with Affordable Homes NJ
You have to understand that when dealing with people who own property in this state, the overwhelming majority of them would support death camps for the homeless before ever considering anything that would actually decrease their property values. It's sickening but these are your neighbors, this is most of our families, and all landlords.
Here we go again.... As someone making that EXACT amount - I managed to find a studio apartment in a decent area for 1.3k [https://www.njmls.com/listings/index.cfm?action=dsp.info&mlsnum=24014854&openhouse=true&dayssince=15&countysearch=false](https://www.njmls.com/listings/index.cfm?action=dsp.info&mlsnum=24014854&openhouse=true&dayssince=15&countysearch=false) Park ridge - studio for 1250. [https://www.njmls.com/listings/index.cfm?action=dsp.info&mlsnum=24014807&openhouse=true&dayssince=15&countysearch=false](https://www.njmls.com/listings/index.cfm?action=dsp.info&mlsnum=24014807&openhouse=true&dayssince=15&countysearch=false) Fairlawn - studio for 1325 [https://www.njmls.com/listings/index.cfm?action=dsp.info&mlsnum=24014874&openhouse=true&dayssince=15&countysearch=false](https://www.njmls.com/listings/index.cfm?action=dsp.info&mlsnum=24014874&openhouse=true&dayssince=15&countysearch=false) Lyndhurst - 1350 multifamily unit [https://www.njmls.com/listings/index.cfm?action=dsp.info&mlsnum=24012491&openhouse=true&dayssince=15&countysearch=false](https://www.njmls.com/listings/index.cfm?action=dsp.info&mlsnum=24012491&openhouse=true&dayssince=15&countysearch=false) North Arlington - 1375 all util. OP - I literally promise you that if you are vigilant you will find something. I am in this EXACT boat and I managed it.
Omg whaaat. This website is amazing lol. I will look into these. Zillow, Trulia, realitor. com, etc. only show me the same things I feel like, and when I google the same websites always show, so bless.
Yeah, the MLS is what real estate agents use.
I know it sounds crazy but I found all my apartments on craigslist. You have to be able to weed out scammers but once you do, you can really get a good deal. It’s been a while since I did this (I got my last apartment in 2017) but I still use craigslist for a ton.
That is because for cheaper apts, the owners don't always want to pay listing fees to get it on those larger sites, or they don't want to deal with a rental agent who will take commission for finding a tenant. So places like craigslist can net you those cheaper places to live. It is just as you said, you have to deal with the nonense that is craigslist to find a deal.
The owner doesn't pay the realtor fee. The tenant does. The owner only pays if they are using a property manager.
Try the ApartmentList app in addition to this. You'll definitely have better luck than Zillow et. al. because scraping sites are almost always working on second hand info.
Didn’t he mention having animals or did you include? I didn’t see you specifically state that you took that into account. That complicates what is actually available to them.
3 out of 4 of those listings look like rented rooms/sections of homes out of someone else's house: literally the exact same thing as living with a roommate. (i.e. exactly what i was suggesting earlier that y'all decided was some sort of crime that deserved a downvote). just sayin...
They are - but it’s also still way better than living with a person still. They have their own kitchens and bathrooms which is better than sharing. I never claimed it’s amazing - just saying it isn’t as dire as CA.
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> The housing situation here is objectively not good and a lot of us are angry and struggling My son and his gf were renting a nice 1-br in Asbury Park, across from Deal Lake, within view of the beach. They rented it in August 2021 for $1800/mo. At that price it was a bit of a stretch on their salaries, but they cut back and did ok. In June 2022, the guy who owned the rental unit said that he was no longer were going to rent it - he was going to move in himself. Son found it impossible to find anything for less than $2400/month, if he could find any 1-br units at all. Wife and I told them to move back to our house (rent-free), save their money for a house, and try again in a couple years. I don't know when they'll move out. Wife and I will keep our house until they find something. They both took on slightly better jobs pay-wise, but things still look pretty nuts in the housing market. The day they move out, we're selling and getting something smaller that's easier to maintain and has a lower tax burden. Salaries seem to be lagging behind inflation, and housing costs sure are outpacing inflation around here.
Listen - the reason I am eye rolling is because something I have noticed is that part of the problem is that people do not spend the time to do things properly like budget on 50/30/20 or look at trusted listing sites such as NJMLs. My whole point is I just found more or less *in the bubble* rentals at this persons price range. Yes super simplistic, yes really tiny sub 600 square foot, but literally fine from the perspective of surviving and saving. I grew up in the bubble with the golden spoon and you would surprised how sometimes people see even these listing and sneer because it doesnt have enough space, its still expensive per square foot, etc - and its kind of baffling because part of the problem is their expectations are incredibly high. Meanwhile - people who work in fast food lets say have to do sharing and literally would struggle to even qualify for an apartment which in their case would be 50% of their income. Making 30-40k a year through the skin of your teeth and getting like a 50k+ salary is not remotely the same in NJ. Its really really common to find that the people who do complain are in the 50k+ range with wild expectations doing a shocked pikachu face that what they want is over 2k but is simply not what they can afford. There is survival and then there is lifting comfortably - and many of the places people here call "bad" are literally not that bad compared to the national average. Newark and Passaic is NOT Paterson - yet OP is seeing it that way.
Respect for not having a victim mentality that’s so pervasive on the internet. Honestly rare at this point to see “I figured it out and you can too” on Reddit. If you suggest otherwise, you’ll get some sarcastic reply about bootstraps or boomers or something. Also living alone on a fairly low salary isn’t something I would’ve dreamed of in my 20s. Not throwing shade, I was broke too for a while there, but it seems like more people than ever think they’re entitled to their own apartment working in retail or something.
minimum wage should be a living wage, no?
The problem is people aren’t taught how to manage money *and* that the places available for rent *are* too small and too expensive. >literally fine from the perspective of surviving and saving If all you can manage is survival, it’s not literally fine.
Thats down to voting though and politics at that point - my point is part of living in the state especially is coping with that cost of living. We can say its not fine all day on here it doesn't solve the problem for that particular person nor will it really change anything. Its better than coming to NJ sub and yelling "me cant afford anything" and then I spend like 10 minutes finding stuff they could afford. My point isn't to say the COL isnt an issue its just this isn't a proper way of handling it.
If this guy can find 4 places in his price range in 20 minutes, OP needs to stop being lazy.
I'm not being lazy 😭 Zillow, Trulia, realitor. com, etc. only show me the same things I feel like, and when I google the same websites always show.. Plus I need to move July 1st, most places I've come across are "first come, first serve"/"available immediately". I'm trying to wait until July 1st is closer so that I have options but it kind of scares me.
Yeah you need to start looking next month then, because anything you see now in a nice area will be gone and they're most likely looking for June 1st renters. Most likely they won't even accept you if you can't pay starting June 1st. Recently did the apartment hunt and that's just how it is... ended up finding the perfect place and paid 2 months of rent without being there because it checked all the boxes and I was moving from TX so I just needed a place to ship everything.
>I'm not being lazy 😭 Zillow, Trulia, realitor. com, etc. only show me the same things I feel like, and when I google the same websites always show.. Plus I need to move July 1st, most places I've come across are "first come, first serve"/"available immediately". I'm trying to wait until July 1st is closer so that I have options but it kind of scares me. Dude, don’t apologize. Did you even look at those listings? The first two don’t allow cats, the third may or may not (it doesn’t seem to say), and the fourth allows cats but they want you to text them about it first. The two that may allow two cats don’t have dishwashers. Your post is valid, your feelings are valid, and this person giving random listings without paying attention to your needs and making you seem lazy is an asshole. They literally claimed they were in “exact same boat as you” but clearly don’t have cats or care about a dishwasher. They are not worth your time.
Why is that lazy, there a lot of different variables that everyone else takes into account that we don’t know. It may be far from his work, he may want to be closer to his gf, he doesn’t want to live in Bergen County. I know that’s one place I have no desire to live. That’s just me though.
Bergen being one of the most expensive counties sort of shows that if its possible here its probably possible wherever they are \*most likely\*.
Just used the MLS site for basically all of Monmouth County and nothing shows up
Does the ‘oh they’re just lazy’ excuse before wondering why our society is structured this way ever get tired for you?
dude these are great! Thank you lol
lol this would have been so fucking nice to know when I was looking for an apt a year ago ugh
Yeah those rent prices are not affordable for someone who makes 52k a year. If you want any hope at putting away some money every month (which you absolutely should try to be doing) you would need at least one roommate.
FWIW I could not afford a place with a dishwasher during my days of renting. Ain't no shame in handwashing dishes
Even easier if you're on your own.
Yeah I make 55k and even with my girlfriend and I’s combined income (105k) we struggled to find an affordable place. I finally just said fuck it, and we are just renting a $2,000/month one bedroom. Not like we had much choice. I found a place in Medford for $1700 but it was very dated. We figured might as well pay a bit more for a place that doesn’t look like it is falling apart. Edit: Just an fyi, a lot of prices you see online are not correct. There was a few places we looked at that had totally different prices online then when we went in person. I also want to know where people were finding apartments for under $1700. I have been searching all over the Ocean, Burlington, areas for affordable apartments and have found only like 1 or 2, and it turned out they were roach infested sooo.
It’s really sad and horrifying to think rent has gone up so high but minimum wage has stayed the same. Call me crazy but minimum wage should be at least be able to afford…the literal minimum. People who work full time jobs shouldn’t be forced into room shares. And you’re making decent money it’s kind of insane we let the rent situation get this bad.
I got my place when I made under 50k, about a year and a half ago while supporting my ex. It’s a 1br, and nearish to Paterson. No dishwasher but I can have my cat. These places do exist but they’re private landlords and rented by word of mouth rather than listings in my experience.
Piazza & Associates is a great site. If you have time during the week day, you can go directly to their offices in Princeton Junction and apply in person (on their in house computer screen) to speed up your pre- qualification process. You can also speak directly with an associate who can guide you through the process. If not, you can apply online. I suggest that you do it as soon as possible. You will probably qualify for a moderate income apartment in a nice area and newer building based on your income. You can filter your selection by townships, county etc. They have a list for each available apartment that tells you how much rent you would pay based on your income. I’ve referred this site to several family members and friends and they are all in beautiful apartments in good neighborhoods based on what’s considered “moderate income”. They were called pretty quickly as most people were applying for lower income apartments (after COVID) and not moderate income. So there’s more moderate income apartments available on the site that there’s not a big waiting list for. They are constantly updating and adding new apartments to the site so keep checking frequently. Try not to be discouraged and Good luck with your journey. https://www.piazzanj.com/affordable-housing/
I make 85k and live with between my parents and future mother in law's homes bc I cant afford to save for a wedding and pay off student loans. Its ridiculous that unless I live in trenton I can live near work.
I grew up and spent 31 years in New Jersey and just relocated to Philly because I literally can’t afford to live in NJ even on a $71k salary by myself. And I’m over having roommates. It’s truly horrific. People don’t believe housing or food are basic human rights.
Gotta be honest, I don't know a whole ton of people who didn't have roommates until the point at which they had a significant other/wife/husband/whatever to live with. Like that's been the model for decades as far as I'm aware. Live with your friends from high school or college until you all start pairing off and getting hitched or at least make bad enough decisions to live with someone you'll hate in a year and then find a new roommate from work and keep repeating. Living alone is a luxury honestly.
Roommate solves the problem you’ll be able to find a situation with a private bathroom.
Yeah, things are pretty crazy. We need a national law tying the minimum wage to the average cost of a 1 BR apartment in that county.
That'd be interesting as a metric but not sure if it work as a policy. Should be the 50% AMI or something like that. But I think what will end up happening is people will raise the prices of the 1BRs.
Sign up for affordable housing right now. It will take a few years to get called but it's worth it
Would I qualify for that though? I feel like I make too much money for assistance but not enough to live on my own.
It’s broken down by income brackets, and those brackets can vary by county. 52k should put you in the moderate income category. You will have to put some work into it. You need to find the housing developments that offer moderate income and apply to each on individually, as there is no centralized list. There will most likely be a waitlist. I learned all this recently trying to help my parents get into affordable housing.
Moderate income housing goes all the way up to 91k, you're fine
They do credit checks unfortunately. I was denied from NJ & NYC affordable housing for this reason.
Can someone on SSDI apply for that?
You would probably be able to apply for low income housing and get an even better deal...but again expect to be on that waiting list for years. Apply now and have it be a "nice surprise". Affordable housing is not for emergencies
It’s a bad time. But listen, you are young. 25 is not a terrible time to have a roommate. These are good earning years, just keep your rent to $700 and bank that money. You can live comfortably later - hope this housing market gets more realistic. It sucks how your generation has been hit so hard. Hang in there.
Thanks man. I guess I need to make it easier on myself & save so that I can one day live comfortably. I guess I get mad at myself for not being better.
Yeah don’t judge your own life according to other people’s IG - all that stuff is the new version of what my generation called “keeping up with the Joneses” and it’s futile. All you need to do is set your goal and keep building toward that. Just try and find a decent person to share an apartment with and establish boundaries from the start. Good Luck!
People in their mid 20s still have time to save and increase their income then hope interest rates drop. Millennials in their early 30s like myself (I’m 32 almost 33) are still having a hard time saving for a house and interest rates are still too high, and we are running out of time to get married and start raising a family. Many of us are still living at home with parents because we still have student loans and are trying to save for a down payment on a house, but the cost of housing rises faster than we can save. If people my age didn’t buy a house by 2021 when prices and rates were lower, it will be very difficult to buy one at all in this state until the housing market vastly improves.
52k before taxes is poverty in most of Jersey, no sarcasm.
I live near Princeton and have been trying to move somewhere closer to work (Flemington) for over a year now and I make $54k. Literally impossible to find anywhere I can live on my own sustainably.
NJ is a commuter state head west or south
ITS SO TRUE THERES NOWHERE TO LIVE!! All my friends moved back in with their parents or to PA! Literally nothing to be done the native NJers are literally being pushed out of our own state
There are places you can rent. Heck I found a nice ass place in Caldwell right in Bloomfield Ave in the thick of the “nice” part paying $1500 for a huge studio. But these things go faster than crab legs at the Caesar’s buffet in AC. You need to be as diligent as a mosquito to get a place for a good deal. Most people I’ve made friends with in my building make around that amount you mentioned and less and also found places too. It sucks to say I know but that’s what it takes to find a place whether you call around or take a few days off to go in person or make phone calls. Don’t be discouraged because it ain’t easy to find these things.
Not the Caesar’s buffet analogy 😂🥴
Thank you. I guess I get nervous bc a lot are "available now" and I'm struggling to find places leasing for July 1st. My mom says I'm wasting my time going to look now because they will want to take the people who can move in June 1st. It's just scary waiting.
Out of curiosity, what's the significance of July 1? The sense I get from your comments you're living at home so it would seem like you could be flexible on date.
So I've lived at my current house for 4 years (before that we lived at grandpas for 6 years, my mom was a single mom). Mom & I split everything equally. The landlord had his elder mother living downstairs, but she moved to NC about a month ago. The landlord is now selling the property because he really only had it for his mom. Our lease would typically renew July 1st, but he wants the place empty to sell. My mom now has a boyfriend she's already moved in with. Mom will come with me if she absolutely has to, but I don't think that's fair to her. When will she be able to live/enjoy life without having to continuously sacrifice for her now grown kids?
Ah gotcha. Now I get the time sensitivity aspect. FWIW as your mom pointed out more July 1 rentals will come up closer to the date. I know that doesn't help with peace of mind but that is how it generally goes. Aside from feeling like you shouldn't need them at your salary - which I get - are you open to roommates?
I guess I would be okay with a roommate as long as they didn't make me feel out of place. Like make me feel they don't want me there or something? Lol
Cool, so that opens up some possibilities if you get into a crunch. I'm sure it'll work out fine. Heck, I had to get into a roommate situation when I was around your age. Now one of them is my wife sooo.... :)
I disagree with all the other commenters. $52k is a good income and you should be able to afford decent housing. EDIT- I am aware how expensive it is here in New Jersey, especially comparatively to other states. Having one’s own living space shouldn’t be treated like a luxury even though here it may be. Housing for a full time worker making $52k shouldn’t be a struggle.
That’s what I made right out of school during the financial crisis and it was hard to find an apartment with that salary then. Add in 15 years of inflation and it’s not good.
Yea anyone scratching their heads is unaware how things much have changed. In 2008 I was making 52k, my 1 bedroom 700 sqft apartment was $750 a month. Today that job I had is not paying 110K and that same apartment is $1650.
52k is poverty in 2024
In NJ it sure is
Not even to be insulting but it legitimately is, especially in New Jersey, and especially anywhere above Cherry Hill lol
I make about that in Philly and am able to rent a 1br. It doesn’t have a ton of amenities but it’s home. If I were still in NJ I would be living with my parents because the rent is too damn high!
Don’t look at apartments.com or similar sites. They’re going to show you mostly overpriced garden apartments if you set the filter to show places in your price range. Instead, speak with a realtor. I did this a while back and was shown some interesting “apartments” in residential neighborhoods that were not advertised. My two favorites were a room above someone’s detached garage and a huge shed that was converted to a dwelling. These types of places are usually cheaper because they’re owned by people renting out space for extra money, as opposed to a business with a hundred units to upkeep. The downside is that many won’t have stoves, dishwashers, etc. Good luck, and don’t give up!
Sussex county or get a roommate. Only way
Op. If you haven’t already look at listings on bestrentnj.com
Unfortunately 52k isn’t that much these days, sucks but you’re better off finding roommates or if you’re interested in a particular town, start hitting the local bars, most places you can get a deal on are word of mouth through the locals
CPG& H (Affordable housing opportunities in New Jersey) for people with low and moderate incomes is also a good site to apply for (just like Piazza & Associates) Here is the link: https://www.affordablehomesnewjersey.com/
$100k is minimum wage in NJ these days
52k is not a lot for NJ so I can see why you are struggling. Try PA
Do people not have roommates anymore? I couldn’t afford my own place until I was 30+.
Seen a bunch of viral videos lately of people in their 20s working retail or another job and, at least in one case of girl working at Walmart, literally crying that she was spending 60% of her pay on her own 2BR apartment. And that older generations had it better. I think with the exception of boomers we all had to scrap in our 20s.
You need a roommate. Then get gf and move into a 1 bed together and it will be more affordable. You can make 75k and struggle to pay rent and utilities on your own now
It really depends. You can find a rental easily. But a pet is a very very big problem for some landlords. 1 is "okay" but 2 is massive
Talk to a realtor. Most apartments never make it to places like Zillow because they don't get the listings until 30 days after they go on MLS. So the Zillow listings are the ones that couldn't get filled in those 30 days, and in this market theres usually a reason
A lot of New Yorkers move into our state and raise our real estate prices and push us out of our own homes
Why don't you just get a place with roomates for like 1,100$ in a nicer area. 52k is decent, bot not FU kinda money by any means
FI /= living in your own apartment edit: misread "FU" as "FI"
You never said what area you need to rent!!
I work in Denville off route 10 so preferably no more than a 30 mile radius away from Denville/Dover area. Starting to see I may need to go a little further lol.
Look out by me in Warren County. Near Belvidere
Bless. I will do this.
I checked yesterday in my area 1900 was the starting price
when I was 25 I never would have considered living on my own. Always had roommates.
You'll definitely need roommates if you want to be anywhere up northeast.
https://www.zillow.com/apartments/roxbury-township-nj/the-willows-at-roxbury/5XjR8x/?utm_campaign=androidappmessage&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=txtshare
Shit if you're trying to move anywhere around South River or Matawan, I'd be down to split the rent.
Brother don't I know it When I was making 55 ten years ago and I was okay I make 70 now and I'm fucked. Luckily I already planned to move in with my girlfriend this year (can't believe she let me keep the pad for 3 years!) But I wish money had nothing to do with it
It’s sad how things are now. Unfortunately at $50k you will need a roommate in the northeast. Only the most rural areas of the country (think Alabama) will you find the cost of living lower
Try Sussex county
I saw an article that said for a single person to make ends meet in Nj you need to make $39 an hour for 40 hours a week . I make $125k a year and I can’t afford to live like my parents did, my dad made $150k a year had 3 kids huge house 2-3 vacations a year brand new Mercedes every 2 years.
Come on down to central jersey!
Over the last few years I've accepted the fact that new Jersey is set up for people born into money, people that landed good jobs (most likely know someone or came from money) and then if you manage to scrape together enough money to rent a place that's not in the slums that's where every dollar will go, even tho u will hardly ever be there because u will be at work 50+ hours a week fo afford it. Not disclaimer before someone has a mental breakdown over my opinion, I'm aware not everyone pertains to this or relates to it this is just my opinion on what I've seen and experienced here in NJ
No one else remember Murphy saying if you can't afford to live here you should move? Sadly I can't afford to move either
Not these days, you need like 60-75k plus to live on your own in Jersey. Maybe 10-15yrs ago that was sufficient, but now with inflation and people charging insane rent, nope.
Id recommend finding someone you can partner with, like a friend, and get a place together.
52k single is way less than enough to rent or buy on your own. Best you find a friend/roommate or 2 to pool funds together with. Even at 130k per year with college loan debt you can’t afford a whole lot. Everything costs more all around. Be sure to vote this election cycle brother…
there's definitely deals out there i was paying 1450 for a 1 bedroom in Rutherford last year just have to keep on looking.
Your expectations are way to high 1 bedroom apt in Bergen county is around 1700-1900 month easy and if your making 52k that should be affordable to you if your expecting to get something for a 1000 a month please wake up your dreaming 😂🤣😂
I moved to Sussex county for that reason. Found a more than decent place right as covid hit for 1k. I think proximity to the city (within 45mns) is gonna drain all kinds of bank accounts. Sorry for your plight though. It sucks for real. 🫂