Moving from London Independent to USA (NY,NJ,CT) public school

[AMG2009]

We are planning a move with children aged 8 and 3 (currently attending a UK Independent school) to USA. We haven’t quite decided where but looking for commuter towns from New York City, with good public schools.

1. Can others who’ve done a similar move share their experience please? Was it a smooth transition for the kids? The day prep my DSs attend have a very broad curriculum, with equal focus on academics and sports. From the research I’ve done, I can’t seem to find US elementary/middle schools that match up to what we have at the moment - I could be completely wrong, so happy to be corrected.

1. What would be good areas for relocation in CT ,NY or NJ. Looking for areas with families, excellent schools, lots of green spaces and good activities/clubs for kids.

Thanks in advance.

@AMG2009 Where we live I’ve seen 1 September and 1st of October for cut offs in two different states. With a summer born you might not want to push for moving up a year either but it’s a very personal choice. If you’re moving for good it doesn’t really matter so much in the end! They are also quite good at stretching the top 10% of the class in ‘gifted’ programmes, for example in maths. This might be good for your DS. My DS moved when in Y4 and started 3rd grade- the difference in math curriculum was very big and he got put into ‘gifted’ because of that. And yes- grades are one year behind U.K. ‘years’.

If you look on Zillow- which is basically Rightmove you can have a look at houses and filter for schools zones and then look at schools. On their websites it should be clear what public school county there are in and what their rules and regulations are.

Also- I know you are not currently considering independent schooling over here but be aware that it can be a different beast than in the U.K. ours are now in private but getting a place is a different procedure here… Interviews, test, prep days, waitlists, contacts. We found it much more competitive than a ‘standard’ U.K. independent school. (Not talking about top London preps which might be tricky…) Main point; should you want to do this start preparing and researching early on.

We did this years ago. We lived in Chatham NJ, fantastic public schools and lovely small town feel and relatively easy commute into Penn. Also consider Summit, Madison, really lovely area, with great schools

Our cut off is the end of December. Not sure if this is the same for all NY. My youngest was born January 2013 so has just started 3rd grade. A lot of kids born Oct-dec are held back. At one point we had 9 and 7 year olds in class together.

Re the vaccinations, I remember we paid a few hundred £ to get them done in the UK before we came here but actually they're free here so I regretted that! Though might depend on health insurance I guess...

If you're staying through middle school and changing systems completely I wouldn't worry about difference in curriculum as it gets a lot tougher in middle school apparently. We're looking into tuition to 'bridge the gap' before returning to the British system.

Westchester is very suburban, lots of space and great walks but as a pp said, it's not a good commute to Hudson Yards.

@AMG2009 BlackRock will not shut up about their fancy new office in Hudson Yards . I was actually waking my dogs over there at lunch today and loads of new stuff has opened in that area in the past month. Plans for an extension to the Highline were also announced, so lots of exciting things happening on the West Side.

Might be worth having a chat with some people in the office about where they live/commute from. You'd probably gain some great insight about the realities of the commute and the most popular suburbs.

Another rec for NJ: Montclair. One of my friends was agonizing between there and Tenafly forever. She eventually went with Tenafly because she could afford more space but liked the town of Montclair a lot better. Bobbi Brown, Steven Colbert and a bunch of other artsy/media types live there.

Wildcard suggestion: if you want a lot of bang for your buck and can get free parking from work, take a look at Nyack. The houses are stunning, good schools and a gorgeous, artsy small town.

Downside is it's not on a train line, so you have to drive or get the bus. Might be ok if you don't have to go in every day.

just wanted to add that in terms of sports, it is usually done on a town basis. So there isn't sport in elementary schools (unless private) but you sign your child up for soccer, softball, baseball, ice hockey, whatever in the town and they are put on a team (no trying out). Basketball seems to be done through the catholic school gyms at the weekend - still open to all and everyone on a team - but that may just be a Massachusetts thing.

Also, the school is a huge part of being part of a community here. if your children are in the local public school then there will be a lot of social stuff around that - ways for you to meet people etc. Private schools are similar (just with a big price tag if they are worth it - catholic schools are the best bargain but not for everyone).

The school day is shorter and sports are done after school through clubs/town. There's a lot more schleping kids around.

You won't get the same facilities as a British prep. But you will get the same size classes abs fabulous teaching for free! But the reason the schools are so good is you will pay a ton in property taxes (council tax). For a reasonable family house you could pay £15k per year easily. American schools are funded on average at 4x the funding of British state schools (at least the last time I looked).

We've had lots of experience of both systems. I'd say British preps in general are better than elementary schools but American high school education is far better than the narrow exam based secondary education offered here.

Whatever you save in fees you'll need to be saving for uni and then some. Americans start saving when children are born. It's a HUGE cost and needs to be carefully planned for. Your kids won't be able to come back for uni in the U.K. as they will need 3 years residency to get U.K. rates for fees. You really need a financial planner to help you ASAP with budgeting for the cost. It would have been FAR cheaper to put our 4 through the British private system than have them go state until 18 in the US followed by US uni.

We left NY where four DC went through the public school system from the age of 3 to 12 (when we left a few years ago).
No matter where you live you will pay for school - either through high property tax or high rent. Or cheaper rent/house purchase and private school. Really play with those numbers specifically as the US is much more expensive than you think, and as soon as the words "children, education and after school activities" are mentioned you just watch your bank a/c empty!
We wanted what you wanted but ended up (by default, by mistake, and in tears) in Manhattan. It turned into living beside a beautiful park near the East river with an excellent choice of elementary and middle schools.
Our public school was amazing. Great teaching staff, a principal who has a knack of hiring very good people and then letting them get on with it, and a superb parent body. There was a real mix of local New Yorkers, UN kids, international and American families. There was a big socio economic mix as well.
That whole area is heaving with schools - Brearly and Chapin are two blocks over at $50,000 per year, a few private Catholic schools at $10/15,000 per year, and some of the best public schools in the city.
We feel that we psyced the test in a way. Rolled into our rent was heat, trash disposal, and school fees! .
High schools are a very different ball game as places are limited so the competition is New York fierce, not for the feint of heart! We never intended for the DCs to do high school there so we left!
We feel that our children left NY and the public school system well rounded with a good education behind them.
Never in a million years would I have wanted to live in Manhattan but I left very much enriched by it. We all did.

PM me if you want more info.
Good luck on your adventure!

PS - someone mentioned Sea Cliff? It is beautiful and an easy enough commute. However, be really careful as the (excellent) school boundry is tiny.

*psyched

@heinztomatosoup

We did this years ago. We lived in Chatham NJ, fantastic public schools and lovely small town feel and relatively easy commute into Penn. Also consider Summit, Madison, really lovely area, with great schools

Love Madison!