Shasta,
Where abouts in NJ are you from? I lived in Toms River growing up, then in Laurence Harbor when I met my husband. We now live here in western PA.
My mother, no matter what I saw, will always hope that we move back to NJ. NEVER HAPPEN! My mother in law who lives in Laurence Harbor has I think a little under one acre, not sure. She has a total of 5 lots put together. Her property taxes alone are $5,000 a year. Food prices, even before now, were outrageous. When we started looking to move 5 years ago, no realtor would look at me because I was only making $8 an hour. I needed to make double that to even get them to talk to me.
I went out to visit my family back in March, and man, within the year an a half since I went out there, the population growth has gotten worse. Its like taking a private defensive driving course!
I wish you good luck on your move. We are looking to move also, not sure where though. We have also looked at Missouri since my husband has a cousin out there, but we are also looking at South Dakota, still need to look into that. But good luck in your move, trust me, you wont regret leaving NJ
JessicaCat