newjerseynewsroom.com

BY JILLIAN RISBERG

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

We've all heard the taunts, "Oh, you're from New Jersey — you mean the armpit of America." The Garden State often seems to get a bad rap but do the locals themselves have recurring thoughts of moving? It's far from an isolated notion since a supposed new "report" has them leaving in droves.

According to the Star-Ledger, New Jersey ranks 5th in the nation (behind New York, California, Illinois and Michigan) for most out-of-state migration. The loss of nearly 304,000 residents over an eight-year span from 2000 to 2008 meant their combined annual incomes of $12.3 billion went with them to other states such as Florida, Pennsylvania and the Carolinas.

The Ledger attributes this data to the Tax Foundation and the non-partisan Washington, D.C.-based think tank took to their blog to call the article's headline sadly misleading.

The group has a new interactive migration data tool but did not write or publish a report on New Jersey or migration data. They say that taxes and what people get for those taxes is just one of several reasons that drives people to leave any state.

Posters on the N.J. city-data.com forum and elsewhere on the Internet cite absurd property taxes as their top motivation for relocating, along with congestion, traffic, the highest auto insurance rates in the U.S., some of the most costly health insurance and unaffordable housing.

Higher crime is not frequently cited as a factor, as N.J. is generally considered a safe state, barring areas such as Paterson and Camden, which has earned the dubious distinction of the most dangerous city in America in CQ Press's annual crime rankings for 2010.

When all is said and done, whether it's taxes, the weather or bleak job prospects, saying goodbye to N.J. is a very personal decision.

And even though some may hesitate to admit it, they actually enjoy living here and are willing and able to stick it out through these desperate times.