PA Guys need some insight..PA vs. NJ
 

Well while my girls still in school weve decided to stay in an apt. until she finishes. Current lease is almost up and were thinking about making the jump to PA (close to Jersey though).Now ive lived in jersey my whole life except for military time and frankly im sick of it (actually was years ago, but now I can do something about it). I work at Mcguire AFB and from the looks of it renting is alot cheaper there and I can still have a fairly decent commute to work. So can someone give me some reasons why PA's better? Emmsions, Car insur., things to do,etc.etc., whatever comes to mind. Thx

Depending where you live no emission inspection? I only have a safety inspection and a visual for the emissions

No front plate....

- Justin

Im liking what im hearing so far :)

Yeah I should have mentioned that, probably the largest perk. Hopefully NJ will have that gone soon... Then I can "move back" :rofl:

is it sad that's reason enough for me to move?

its also legal to tint your front windows.

Tint and the no front plate are definately perks

No it's not. It's just the law is worded very oddly so it's easy to get out of a ticket.

As far as the no emissions testing...that's only true FAR from Philly and those areas are dwindling.

Yes you can tint your front windows, as per the PA inspection code. I have read and re-read it. You have to be under a specific tint percentage, anything over that you need a note from a doctor stating you have sensitive eyes or an eye disorder that requires you to have tint on your windows.

It has nothing to do with Philly for the emission inspections, you would be surprised how poor PA is as far as these things are concerned. A lot of municipalities can not afford Radar and still use timing lights for speed traps. These areas are not far from Philly. I dont think the inspections will change all that quickly, there are areas I think would be emmision scrutinized but are not.

if i could make it make sense, i'd be outta here in half a heartbeat.

since you'll be renting, it really won't matter to you, but the tax base is lower the further from center city philly you are. it helps (at least to me) that there are a lot fewer "overdeveloped" areas in PA. the area is so much nicer with a few trees around.

Yea i need a change, any nicer areas right over the bridges from jersey?

Like I said about the tint law, it's oddly worded and easy to get out of. All of Philadelphia and surrounding counties require emissions testing. That's not to say it's enforced or not. I just didn't want the original poster thinking he can move around here and be emissions exempt.

Glazing material which is intentionally made so that only a portion of a single sheet has a luminous transmittance of not less than 70 percent shall be marked at the edge of the sheet to show the limits of the area that may be used at levels requisite for driving visibility. The marks A S1 or A S2 etc., shall be used with the arrow pointing to the portion of the sheet having a luminous transmittance of not less than 70 percent and the number indicating the item with which that portion of the sheet complies.

From here Top of the page is more in depth for the tint
70 percent is pretty light in shade, but as the code state it is actually supposed to be marked what the shade is so the officer doesnt have to guess. No marking=potential ticket. The law is pretty clear cut here

The Easton/Forks twp area is very nice and just over the bridge. It's not too far past Phillipsburg.

Yeah, Easton is getting nicer. A lot of affluent people from NJ are heading west to buy nicer homes.

Do you really need another reason other than "Its Not NJ" ?

The problem with areas of PA that border NJ is that they are rapidly becoming overpopulated and will need to build new schools just like NJ. That will jack up their taxes quickly as well so moving to PA may just be a temporary relief.

Yeah I know because my cousin just moved there and its very nice. He works in Parsippany but the money he saved in taxes out there bought a nice 3 BR home for a lot less money. plus the cheaper continual property tax...

Around the Philly/Trenton areas I think it's only slightly cheaper then NJ in that the various areas will have different cost of living, housing cost, taxes and such. But basically, the farther north and west you go the lower the cost of living. Likewise school districts vary from area to area.

But it sounds like you want to stay more central to NJ so PA may only be a bit cheaper then NJ , but you probably won’t see that much. I’m going to say for a moderate income, I’d guess the Levittown or N.E. Philly area are fair priced and will keep the commute reasonable, areas such as Yardley or Newtown are going to cost allot more to live in.

I live in Central PA (140 miles from Ewing), very country living, taxes are basically nothing, this is agricultural area, so no emissions testing at all, but in the near further they will at least be testing gas caps!

Throughout the state once you pass emissions, if you drive the car under 5,000 miles a year you are exempt from the sniffer, you just need a visual emissions inspection and you pay for just the sticker, no test. I think it's was around $40 for the test, and $10 for thicker, and $20 for safety inspection and $10 for the stick, so it's around $80 for the yearly inspection, 40 if your exempt. Because of where I live it's $22 for any car for inspection. I don't like tinited windows, so I have no clue about the laws?

I have 5 cars insurance thru NJM and pay just over $6,000 a year. I know I could get it cheaper, but I have full coverage and also the service I get with NJM is worth me paying a few extra dollars.

Great Info

You will be back. Everyone comes back.

havent left yet...and I dont think the girls to crazy about heading over to pa...