@Herman SantosWay overpriced & lost its TX conservative roots.

The root of the question- friend with husband who owns business that is still closed for COVID, collecting unemployment.

I'm proud of you for choosing a passion to follow and rooting for you!

My guess is the root cause this time around is a weird interlinked syndrome of ETF inflation and zombie corporations, both further inflated by covid emergency facilities, and the unfortunate reality is that the QE spigot is likely to remain open. 1990s Japan looks like America’s fate to me lately. 

Not only will a MFH offset the high NJ prices but also give you some time to figure out where in the area you might want to lay more permanent roots down the line. 

@Kyle Root if there is one thing I would do differently in my life, it would be to skip paying of the $40,000 in loans my wife and I had when we were first married.

On the flip side, 10 good reasons to rent .... 1) No property taxes 2) No association fees 3) No maintenance expenses 4) No roots 5) Free utilities 6) Lower utilities 7) Free perks 8) Less risk 9) Lower insurance rates 10) Opportunities for investments Link

That's the root. 

The root cause of your problem seems to be the PM.

Good thing was I also convinced 3 more people to jump in with me so we can collectively celebrate the success some day, and just root for it together.