Moving from U.K. to New Jersey

[Sorbs]

Hi I currently live in the U.K. with my two daughters (9&5) and husband. My husband may potentially be offered a position in Mahwah NJ USA. I would really appreciate advice on where best to live whilst in the USA (3 years approx). I have done quite a lot of research and understand the school system in and around northern NJ is very good. We are looking for an area that has a family friendly vibe with lots to get involved in and a good downtown area (preferably in walking distance). I have looked at Allendale/Ramsey and surrounding areas. Husband will be driving to Mahwah so we don't need direct access to NYC. Company will be paying accommodation approx $4K pcm. Advice, tips etc. about the process and where to live would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance.

Ridgewood. Hands down the best walkable downtown in the area with lots of shops, restaurants, bars, great schools, very family friendly community with lots going on. The town pool is very popular with families in the summer and there are outdoor concerts, a farmers market, a Whole Foods, a fantastic 4th July fireworks display, good train & bus links into NYC and close to Paramus for your big box stores and mall shopping (no Sunday shopping in Bergen County though due to the blue laws). It's just a really vibrant family focused town. You should be able to get a single family house for $4k a month. Look at www.njmls.com for rentals.

Also look at Glen Rock, it's not such a good town centre (but right next to Ridgewood) but again great schools and a good community. Wyckoff, Allendale and Ramsey are also solid options for housing and schools but they lack the walkable downtown. You can't go wrong with any of the Bergen County towns really and they all merge into one another so even if you choose to live in one (for schooling say) it's easy to get to all of them and traffic between the towns isn't too bad. PM me if you want more specific details, I know that area very well!

Thanks so much for your advice it's really appreciated

A colleague suggested riverdale also as we would get more for our money (so to speak) does anyone have any experience with this area?

I don't know Riverdale itself (probably have been through it at some point) but I know places like Oakland, Wayne, Ringwood and I used to meet clients in a Starbucks in Pompton Lakes quite often! You're starting to get a little bit more out in the country with that area, lots of forest areas and trees and it feels quite different to the suburban sprawl of the Bergen County towns (maybe not so much with Wayne, it's pretty built up). You likely will get more house for your money but personally I think that would be at the expense of the lifestyle that comes with the Bergen County towns. At the end of the day, your choice of town depends on what sort of lifestyle you want to live while you're here. Do you prefer access to good shopping, restaurants, bars, trips into New York or does something a bit more rural, outdoorsy, low key appeal more? Goes without saying, if you get further down the road, a trip over to check out the different areas is a must.

Oh, will it be like Real Housewives where do they all live. Im very jealous of your opportunity i bet its fab for children all those holidays lije Halloween.

Franklin Lakes if you want to spot some Real Housewives!....oh check my username.....

I'm really hoping the move comes off will be such a great opportunity fingers and toes crossed!!
We want to make the most of the experience so I'm really leaning towards the Bergen county towns which appear to have a great community feel - this would be fab for our DD's. We are a very active family, our DD's attend swimming clubs, gymnastics clubs and cheerleading clubs and both my husband and I love crossfit type classes. We haven't been to NYC yet and I soooo want to go!!

P.s. I won't have a visa to work so I'll join the housewife club \o/ whooo!!!

So you're not going to be working...are you planning on having a car or will you rely on being able to walk around town? That will make a big difference to what you can do during the day. What type of visa is your husband getting?

My forefathers settled Bergan County :)
My grandmother lived at Lions Head Lake, near Wayne. Fond memories.

We will get 2 cars as part of the package, I'm not sure on his type of visa but he will still be working with the same company just over in the USA. I'm currently a teacher in the UK but don't intend to apply for a working visa (I won't need to work)

OK so he's getting an L1 visa which means you (and the kids) will get L2 visas. Technically that is a working visa for you if you wanted to work but it's a moot point if you've no intention of working! Good news that you'll have a car during the day. Even if you do end up somewhere walkable, having a car will make life so much easier for getting the kids to activities round town etc. Good luck with everything! Just being nosy now but does you DH happen to work for a big internet retailer? There's only one company that I can think of that might be transferring someone from UK to Mahwah. (Might be totally off base there though!).

Nosey away he works for a big international car company! Thanks so much for your help you have been awesome! Xxx

Ah ok, not who I was thinking of. (Net-a-Porter have their US distribution center in Mahwah.)

Two things to know before you move over:

1. Bergen county has many wonderful towns but they have crazy rules on shops being closed on Sundays and strange rules on the sale of alcohol.

1. Always get the visa that allows you to work. You then have a choice. Without that visa you have no choice. Also as a resident of north jersey I love it here. There is a good chance you love it too and decide to stay.

Just so you are aware, $4k a month for a rental home isn't that much. If I were you I'd be willing to pay a bit more to get into a town with better programs.

Sounds more than London prices!

Sorbs I grew up in NJ so I think your kids will love it! Second the recommendation for Ridgewood.

I'm guessing your husband is a fan of jungle cats

EachandEveryone the rental sounds high but the house you'll get for that money will be much bigger than the equivalent in London. Northern NJ is firmly suburban America so if you've seen any TV shows you'll know that's much larger than the average British house size!

Well if you think about it NYC is just a big a city as London. Go out 20mins by train and house prices are about the same.

In Ridgewood the elementary school I preferred is Willard. All schools in the town are good but that is the one I thought would fit my DC best.

Thanks so much for all your tips and more would be greatly appreciated

To clarify the Sunday shopping rules in case you're wondering how that works in Bergen County. Supermarkets are open on a Sunday like any other day so don't worry you can go and do any food shopping you need. Shopping malls are closed but any restaurants attached to the malls are open. Retail park type stores e.g. Home Depot (B&Q), IKEA etc. are all closed. Restaurants, bars, delis, bakeries, coffee shops, Starbucks etc. are all open. But if you really want to go shopping on a Sunday it's a quick jump over a county line to get to another mall, it's workable.

Also, you don't normally buy your alcohol in the supermarket where you're doing your food shopping. There are a few exceptions but generally speaking you'll go to a wine / liquor store to buy your booze. There are some amazing large wine stores (Total Wine, Bottle King to name a couple) as well as lots of smaller independent ones. The wine choice is FAR superior to anything you're getting in a supermarket back in the UK. If you're a wine drinker you might appreciate the vast selection of Californian wine and if you're beer drinkers you'll enjoy the vast selection of craft beers. Happy days!

Also as mentioned before, Ridgewood has a thriving restaurant scene and a unique quirk is that many of the restaurants are BYOB. So before you head to the restaurant, you pop into one of the local wine shops, pick up a nice bottle of pre chilled wine and take it to the restaurant where they happily serve it to you, no corkage fee or anything. You can even take beers and I've also seen some people take bottles of spirits & mixers with them! You don't even need to finish the bottle, just pick it up and take it home with you. It's great being able to enjoy a nice wine with dinner at retail pricing not restaurant markup pricing!

Just know that when you attempt to buy or return shoes on a Sunday morning stride rite outlet will be shut.

As a parent I just can not deal with shops that are not open on a Sunday. I buy online but return to the store.... along with every other person on a Saturday morning because the shop isn't open on a Sunday.

Also brilliant post realhousewife! I love that where I live I can have alcohol delivered to my door or restaurant. It's harder to do that in the burbs.

Can definitely buy alcohol on Sunday in Morris and Essex Counties! How odd.

You can buy alcohol in Bergen County on Sundays.

DH told me it's because I tried to buy before 10am or whatever the time is! It's put me off Bergen country for years.