I know, I know, not something that someone should celebrate, but money trumps location.  My former business is to about half strength and growing in NJ and PA.  2nd job interview tomorrow with a high end fitness equipment store.  Between both, I will be correcting the mistake of moving to Texas.  I will miss the weather, highways, and appearance of Texas, but nothing else.  If anyone is thinking of moving there, I'll be glad to tell you what it's really like.

Welcome back.

What are some things you missed about NJ?

I'm sorry.

Once I'm out of this state, I'm out. I won't be coming back.

Yep.  I left in April after being back for 2 years.  Never coming back

1. Income
2. People who are honest
3. Real, legitimate pizza

Understood, if you can leave, certainly do so.

I think that sums it up well.  2nd interview went well, one more to go.  I've accomplished more in a week than 3 years in Texas.

WELCOME BACK!!!

RW3

Thank you Ray!

Just curious as to what you didn't like about Texas... I've never been there but for some damn reason, I think if I could talk the wife into moving, it would be to Texas.

I will tell you, although much of it applies specifically to my business/profession:
1.  Impossible to make a living as a personal trainer.  In NJ/PA, I get $80 - $90 an hour.  In Texas, I had to fight hard to get $20 - $30.  A huge pay cut, and clients with short attention spans - would quit after a week.  Not all of them, just 80% of them. By comparison, my clients here averaged 10 - 15 years.  Focused and committed.
2.  The Texas business owner will not pay you what your worth, steal from you, purposely put you in harm's way, and not pay you at all sometimes.  I worked at a high end shooting club as a handgun instructor, and received heavy lead poisoning from the owner not putting in range air filters, and switching out D Lead soap with a cheap Palmolive look alike. As a result, I no longer have feeling in my pinky finger of my left hand. I took Chemet, an anti cancer drug to reduce my blood lead level.  It tasted like sewage, but it kept the loss of feeling to spreading to the rest of my hand. I tried to sue, called OSHA, notified the Texas Workers Comp division, and was called "anti gun".  No, just anti-lead.  Just anti-losing my health for $12/hr.
3.  Shady business practices.  My last boss committed insurance fraud, telling the health insurance companies that his personal trainers were physical therapists.  He was billing the insurance companies $300 - $900 PER SESSION!  I'm good, but not that good.  He owes me $2,600 for my last check, and won't pay me, or the 39 other trainers who worked for him.  It is nearly impossible to get that money from him.  Another boss at a gun store pushed through a straw purchase for a Taurus pistol.  He risked his business for a $20 profit. Oh, and he made my 19 yr old co-worker sign the 4473.
4.  Vicious people who look to make you fail.  I offered my services to charities for auctions, and was told that what I had to offer was worthless.  Similar experiences with apartment complexes, HOAs, etc. Some people will take great pleasure in telling you "no".
5. Phony, Christian bullshit.  From the Born Again gun club owner, to the gym owners who held Bible studies on the premises, and cocaine orgies off the premises, they were the worst.  In Texas, when someone says to you "God Bless!", it means "FUCK YOU!!!".  Yes, that was confirmed by multiple people.

Those are the highlights, there is much, much more to tell.  Maybe sometime I will tell you about GTT, Ghetto Thug Trainer who was allowed to threaten co-workers, steal from the gym, and deal drugs out of the gym.  That boss refused to fire him.  Another story for another day.

Anyway, you get the idea of why I'm glad to be back.

Wow! Well it must have been a shit show to be happy to be back here. I hear you on the cash... it's the only thing keeping me here too.

Jersey still stinks.

Welcome back.

Thanks, much appreciated.  One more irony:  When I lived here before, I was always in fear of losing my extensive gun collection to NJ.  TX took care of that, I had to sell 75% of my collection to pay rent, eat, etc.  Bravo Texas, bravo.  I know it sounds weird, but I am very happy to be back.

Welcome back!

At least in NJ we tell it like it is like it or not!

Money is the only reason I'm still here. No way I could make what I make in another State.

Very true, if you like liars, Texas is the place.  As for your third sentence, could you travel back in time to 2013 and tell me that?  And don't put up with any of my optimistic bull shit.

You never know unless you take the chance. Your plan was solid but things out of your control didn't work out.

If I had to do it all over again I should of joined the Military back in 73 when I graduated high school. Could of got out in 93 with a nice pension. The World was pretty peaceful in that 20 year period. Vietnam just ended and we didn't really get involved in the Mid-East till 94.

You never know.

I know, sometimes you have to try.  I am grateful to have something to come back to as well.  It was a very costly, in more ways than one, mistake.  Thanks for the wise words.