u/Davyislazy

I am only a recent fan of the band sadly, but I would one day love to meet Deryck if especially after reading his book. Sadly, he has to come to the east coast NYC area but maybe one day he will make the trip again. For those who have met him what was your experience like? Was your experience positive or negative?

I imagine the answers will vary depending on when and where you met him. For example, I would think 2011 Deryck personality is different than 2026 Deryck.

As the title says I will be going to Peru this holiday season to spend 3 weeks with my wife's family. She grew up in Comas and all her family live there. I will be honest I am pretty nervous she has told me it is not a safe area, and I need to be aware of my surroundings and stick to her and her family when we walk around. She told me some parts are worse or nicer than others and her street is "okay" but still need to be aware.

We won't be there the whole-time plan on spending time in tourist districts as well Miraflores, San Isidro etc. I would say my Spanish levels are somewhat okay. I can hold a conversation (sort of) have a hard time understanding if the person speaks fast or uses slang. I speak with her parents on the phone like a child learning to talk for the first time, but we manage. It's easier for me to understand them then talk. I am white and grew up in a small town in the USA so it will be different for sure. We have been to some Latino cities in the U.S my wife said it will feel similar expect less homeless and drug use (no Fentanyl floppers in Peru thankfully!).

Anyway, what are your thoughts? Any suggestions?

EDIT: We will be in some of the nicer districts during the trip it won't all be in Comas, but we do plan on being there for Christmas and other days to be at her house with family.

For context I work remote and my wife works remote as well. We are in the process of looking for a house and are sadly priced out of Essex County and honestly most of NJ. I grew up in Cedar Grove, but my wife is from Peru. We are renting in Bloomfield currently. We were curious about Jefferson as we saw some decent homes for a good price. We want to stay in New Jersey to be close to my family and because we generally enjoy it here.

Unfortunately, I haven't heard the best things from most people. Majority of people have told me it's very white and MAGA and that certain homes especially by the lake can have septic and other structural issues. It doesn't help that the one teacher I had in high school from Jefferson was a proud MAGA supporter even so much as sometimes arguing with me on Facebook post-graduation. When we drove through the town the other day, we saw a big sign for Joe Hathway and little to no diversity which we expected. I have also heard the schools are not great and have dealt with issues with racism, drugs and other problems among students and even staff. While we can handle being around mostly white people, we are concerned for schools especially likely having a mixed child. While it was the 2010s when I was in high school the racism and hate I saw from students at Cedar Grove along with the parents was awful. We are generally concerned for the same behavior in Jefferson.

Budget is $600k. What are your thoughts? Am I overreacting or are these legit concerns?

Personally, I find it one of their more unique songs specifically the screaming vocals from Dave and Stevo. I would have liked to see more of this in their songs especially the screaming vocals from Dave and Stevo but looks like it never took place.

What are your thoughts? Would you have liked to see more songs like this?

Wife and I are considering buying a home in Bethlehem we really like the walkability, diversity and location. I grew up in small town suburbia, and my wife is from Peru and grew up in a working-class part of Lima.

From what I have read people have warned me parking can be awful if you don't get a driveway/garage, traffic along with safety and dealing with drugs and a homeless could be an issue. Personally, I did not feel unsafe in most of the city both at day and night my wife felt fine as well. I didn't really see any homeless either especially compared to other cities. Granted we were mostly around southside historic district and eastern market street so I can't speak for the whole city. People have said a-lot of the homes are older stock and could have structural issues. This last warning one seems a bit out there of a complainant, but people have said there is a risk of college students renting next to you which can lead to noise issues and other issues. I think this issue can be applied to any neighbor given how dense housing would be and not knowing who you can be next too, but I guess college students are easy to blame. I have no idea if any of these are valid concerns other than the parking and traffic one and the structural concern too.

Our budget is 550k. A-lot of the homes I see listed go as low as 250k-300k which I find too good to be true for a home price even if it's in a city. Granted the homes in this price range tend to need work, don't have a driveway or any A/C. We pay extra for something up to date if possible and with a garage or driveway although I know houses in those categories sell fast and may be over our budget. One relator suggested we could look outside into more of the suburbs of the city given our budget which we may be open to as well. Not sure if it's a valid take or not, I know some relators can be full of it.

What are the negatives to look out for? Areas to look at or avoid?

Thanks so much any insight would be really helpful!

EDIT: We do plan on having children so any areas you suggest for a family be helpful as well. I have heard mixed reviews about schools and our child be bi-racial, so diversity is an important factor for us.

I am interested in applying for context it's a salaried remote position 77k-88k salaried is determined by performance in interview.

It's a large clinic that focuses mostly on Trauma expected to see 25 a week with 32 open slots for clients for 53 min sessions. 10 hours evenings or weekends for the first two years.

Does anyone have any insight on the company?

I have had bad experiences at salaried places overworking you, lack of therapist autonomy, etc so I am hesitant but I like to hear others thoughts first.

My wife and I have had found some affordable homes there we like. The town seems nice main concern is schools and diversity.

My wife is a Latina immigrant from Peru. I am white and grew up in Cedar Grove now we are renting in Bloomfield. I always get the sense the Pompton Lakes is basically the clone of Cedar Grove mostly white pretty MAGAish/ Republican etc but idk this was just my gut feeling.

We are considering Clifton more so as it's way more diverse, but I have heard schools aren't as great and housing stock isn't as nice. Clifton does seem to have more homes on the market though often as obviously it's a way bigger town.

Also, we wanted our potential future child to be around diversity and places where they could speak Spanish which tbh I don't think PL would give us that so that will be the job for us at home at least the Spanish speaking part.

EDIT: Work commute not an issue our jobs wouldn't be far from the town tbh were still unsure

My wife and I are trying to figure out where we realistically see ourselves long term. I’m a therapist and my wife will be one soon as well. Financially, we’re probably looking at maybe 100k for me someday if things go well, and maybe around 80k for her once she finishes school and hopefully more as time goes on. We’ve saved some money for a down payment, but keeping up with housing costs in NJ feels intimidating and almost impossible as everyone else has been feeling.

We currently rent in Bloomfield and love it. Walkability, diversity, parks, great food, and proximity to other diverse hubs in NJ. But buying in Essex County, or Passaic County, feels almost impossible given what we could potentially make and how homes will only get more expensive as years go on. Maybe we could make it work in these counties but feels kind of hopeless long term which really sucks to admit.

People always tell us, “If your jobs can be remote/needed in any state, why not just leave NJ?” we genuinely love it here and would love to make staying here work if possible.

Extra factors to consider, my wife is Peruvian, and diversity is important to us, or at least being near diverse hubs and communities. We don’t need luxury, just somewhere safe, somewhat affordable, welcoming etc.

I know I’m not really adding a strict price range because this is more hypothetical and long-term, but for the sake of argument let’s say around 600k. Even that feels way too unrealistic given what we be making and how homes will only be more expensive, but I guess we can go with it for the sake of argument. My more question I just want to hear people’s experiences and thoughts on different towns so we can maybe begin to go check some out or hear people's takes.

So, if you were in our situation, where in NJ would you look?

EDIT: up the budget to 600k 500k just doesn't feel doable at all even 600k is cutting it with what we could potentially could be making. I am hoping we can make more than what I am expecting.

My wife and I are currently renting in Bloomfield, and lately I’ve been feeling a lot of pressure from people around me saying things like “buy now or you’ll be priced out forever.” It’s starting to get in my head a bit, even though part of me feels like rushing into a purchase right now doesn’t make much sense for us. For example, two friends of ours bought as they felt "prices will only get higher need to buy now!"

I’m a therapist in NJ and still early in my career, so my income isn’t that high yet, and my wife is about to start her MSW, which means our household income will likely be tighter for the next couple of years. We’ve managed to save a-lot of money so far but it's not enough for a home in this area more so as my income isn't high enough or my wife's income. One of the biggest things keeping me grounded is that our rent is stable for where we live and do not increase by a-lot yearly.

Ideally, we’d want to stay somewhere in Essex County, Passaic County, or Bergen County, (far reach for Bergen County) regardless of when we look at home prices in those areas, it honestly feels like a stretch right now and I am concerned it will only be worse 5 years from now for example.

At the same time, seeing other people jump into the market and “lock something in” makes me feel like we might be falling behind. I guess this is how most people feel right now in the US and New Jersey who can't buy right now and are just trying to save or keep up.

Honesty coming full circle there is nothing we could afford now just with my income and without depleting our savings so it's a pointless to stress or even think about this lol

Regardless what is your thoughts?