Move to NJ

[yipeeitstheholidays]

We have just been told that DH will probably be relocated to NJ. We have known about the possibility for a couple of months but I had not taken much interest until now when it seems more likely. His company have arranged flights for us this week to go and have a look and get a feel for different areas/schools etc.

We have to go now as I teach so dont want to leave it til Oct half term to go and look as it will be too late to resign for Jan.

So where do we look, ideally we would like to be 30-40 mins from Linden which is where he will be working. DS is 3 what are the preschools like, private or public?

Any Info would be great lots to look at and not much time.

TIA

Hello - We have ended up somewhat close to Linden. There are lots of areas available to you to choose from but I would avoid commuting north on the garden state parkway as the traffic is awful in the morning. My first choice of town would be Westfield. Cranford has good schools but they have a flooding issue so I wouldn't live there. Other areas to consider are Clark, Watchung, New Providence, Millburn and Summit.

The only area that I know of that offers preschool for free is Hoboken which is an option for you. It is city living so might not be what you want. Preschool runs from $3-4K a year to $30K depending on the program/school/daycare facility you use. Westfield has a good YMCA which has a preschool program. I am not sure of the cost but out local YMCA is about $15K a year for full time preschool.

If you are planning to work in NJ be aware that teachers are getting hammered at the moment in politics. There are very few option positions and teachers are still getting laid off in some districts.

Thanks thats really useful will have a look at those areas before we travel and then get the relocation agent to show us round. Do you know anything about somerville, East Brunswick or Piscataway? DH's colleagues have mentioned them as possible places to live? Are there any areas to definately avoid?

I wasn't planning on working as only work part time atm and DH is on a fixed term contract so dont think many schools would employ me anyway!

Have just been looking at car insurance and appears that we will be classed as new drivers as we have no US driving experience and so it will be very costly. Do you know if this is the case? Compared to the UK are utilities and insurance more/less/same?

Sorry for all the questions, its all happening very quickly!

If you bump into Bruce Springsteen, tell him I love him!

Sounds like a really exciting adventure for you both - I'm really jealous.

Car insurance is expensive and yes you will be classed as new drivers. The DMV is hell and they take joy in making life difficult for anyone who walks through their doors.

I would avoid East Brunswick because you will end up driving north on the parkway to get to work. It is bumper to bumper from 7-10am and returning home the parkway is solid from 3-7pm. In addition, you want to avoid tolls which quickly add up. If you are in East Brunswick you will have a toll if you take the turnpike.

Somerville and Piscataway are not 30-40 min commute but more like an hour plus during the morning commute. Traffic in these parts is slow. Google maps will give you estimates but always increase them by 15% if in the metro area.

For areas to avoid - Wayne, Cranford and Little Falls are always flooding so they are best avoided. Montclair is very mixed so if it seems too good to be true then it is and avoid it. I would avoid areas such as Roselle, Rahway, East Orange, Orange, Elizabeth, Newark, Hillside, Union, Springfield (too mixed for my liking) and most of Jersey City (parts by the waterfront are lovely).

I am in South Orange which is ok and the town next to me, Maplewood, is also ok but you need to be in the part of town further away from Newark. Since Newark laid off policemen there has been an increase in the spill over of crime into our town and Maplewood.

The advantage of Westfield, South Orange, Millburn and Maplewood is that you don't need two cars. All have good transportations links, supermarkets, pharmacies and doctors (including paediatricians, obns etc) within walking distance. Millburn and Westfield have very nice town centers with coffee shops, a good library and little cutsie shops to wonder around.

FWIW I paid $2500 a year in car insurance when I first moved here. It is a heck of a lot to pay but it is now $900 a year. NJ is expensive for car insurance. When you get here you should see if your DH's employer qualify for NJ Manufactures Insurance Company. They have some of the most competitive rates.

Don't really have much to add as I am in central nj but I guess looking at things like building up credit rating, as your uk score is non-transferable, this can effect things like car leasing, which is what most people do over here .
If you are looking to buy a place to live, then really really focus on taxes, higher taxes USEALLY mean a better school district but there are exceptions.
We have found that the cost of living is higher over here but the standard of living is higher too.
And check what sort of medical insurance you would be getting.

frida makes a good point about school districts. Westfield and Millburn both have very good school systems. Hoboken also has a good pre-k program that is part of the Abbott program so is free. Other good school districts are Summit, New Providence and if your budget is very tight Cranford school district is well regarded (I just can't deal with the possibility of flooding).

If you have an american express card see if they are able to transfer your card over to the US. I did this and it gave me a better credit rating in the US.

Also look into Livingston. Good schools, but not sure about commute. Good luck!

Thanks all, we are going out on Tues hopefully now. We have given the areas to the relocation agent and she is going to book viewinsg for houses in the specified areas.

I am no a tiny bit excited but still overwhelmed by everything that needs to be done...

DH is an awe of what info is on MN so thanks again. No doubt I will have more questions when I return.

Good luck with your search. I was thinking of this thread last night and wanted to post that you should be careful with choosing a car that will work for snow. We didn't have much snow last year but was pretty bad the year before that. It is really nice to have AWD and don't consider rear wheel drive. I got a VW Golf which does the job but struggles on hills and is missed by those in bigger cars and trucks (no accidents but matter of time till I am in one). Knowing what I know now I wouldn't have gotten it. The $300 that was spent on the remote start for DH's car was money well spent. It isn't good to put a young child in a very cold or super hot car. It is around 80-90F here in the summer and very humid. NJ is very difficult to navigate around. You will need a GPS.

Commute from Livingston would most probably involve 280 through to the parkway going south. As soon as you get onto the GSP from 280 you have to go through the tolls. They often get very backed up in the morning and evening and the cost of the tolls is quite high. In addition, Livingston doesn't have as nice a downtown as Westfield, Millburn or Summit. It is however a good town to include in your search as prices are lower due to no direct link to Manhattan.

Hi yippee

How exciting about your move! We're also moving to northern NJ next month - we've got temporary accommodation in Manhattan for a month while we house hunt and we're looking at Millburn/Maplewood/South Orange (maybe with some Chatham & Summit too).

DH will be working in Jersey City. I'll be effectively a SAHM doing a bit of freelance work so we want to have one car (plus roof box!) in a town with a high walk score and great rail links into the city. We're moving from London, so don't want to be entirely car dependent (DH is from NJ, just across the Delaware from Philadelphia, a beautiful spot but you need to hop in the car for anything, even a bottle of milk - I don't want that lifestyle!).

Want2be is a font of v useful info, as are all the other US-based MNetters.

Good luck with scoping out areas - it's going to be interesting to read your impressions!

Hi Flip - great that you have temp housing in Manhattan. I was in Summit on Friday evening for dinner with friends. I forgot how nice their downtown is. They really have everything there. Word on the street is to avoid the area south, ie down the hill from the hospital.

Hello Flip will let you know what we think. I am a little bit excited but the quotes came through for the car lease and was at the price compared to what we have seen online.

Thanks for all the info Want2be will take it all in over the next 10 days!

Leases are not cheap when you don't have excellent credit - the interest rate will be something like 12-15%. You will probably be better off buying a car. Rte 22 and 46 have a lot of dealerships. The other good place to look is buying from a rental company. Enterprise and Hertz sell a lot of their cars and the prices are very good. You can pick up a good 2nd hand car for around $20K. I would not buy a used car from a private buyer unless you know them well. Most people here do not maintain their cars.

If you go ahead and buy a car it is worth financing part of the purchase as it will help your credit score. Even if you borrow the money and pay it all off 2 months later you will end up with a better score with not much cost in terms of interest and admin.

Hi Flip, I lived in NJ for 4 years before moving to the UK (I am French), so this thread is bringing back lots of memories!
We lived in Hoboken, as I was working in Manhattan and my husband was in Piscataway. We loved Hoboken! It has a very small town feel to it, you bump into friends from school all the time. You can walk everywhere and the connections to the city are very easy.
It is obviously not the cheapest option and very urban, but for Jersey city, it could not be easier.
I hope you all enjoy NJ...