Young Homeschooling family move to NY or NJ? (East Brunswick, Old Bridge: apartments, to rent)

[Mumof2]

Originally Posted by ottomobeale

1st take a deep breath. Been there done that.

Your situation is STARTLINGLY similar to mine. I got laid off March 15 of this year. I was put in touch with a recruiter who knew of my current position. He asked if I was interested in a job in New Jersey. I am like. “Yea right”. Yet here I am. An Ohio boy by way of Florida now in New Jersey. My current employer ate 4/5 of the relo though so that helped me.

Random notes:

1) If you can hold off till fall, Penske trucks and regular movers generally charge less. Consider not selling EVERYTHING. De bulk for sure though and don’t move crap.
2) Moving companies are cheaper mid month than beginning and end.
3) Believe it or not. I like New Jersey. No, I am not insane. Part of the reason I like it is I avoided the parts I strongly dislike. I didn’t like Newark 10 years ago when I lived in Ohio and had been there several times. I like it even less now that I have to deal with Newark Airport, which is better than the 2 airports in NYC. Thusly I didn’t move to any place that looked remotely like Newark. .NJ has LOTS of parks. Some thousands of acres big with lots of trails.
4) NYC metro is pretty much a direct trade of commute time for money. Further out is generally cheaper. See my recent post history describing some specific cities and how you trade distance for house price. Forget 20 minute commutes unless you are stupid rich. 90K is very doable but you are going to have to think smaller in the house department. 200K house in Dallas is nice. 200K house in NJ means your neighbor’s house is on fire and/or owned by a felon.
5) The drivers here are aggressive as heck. If you let it bother you, you will have a stroke in a month. Deal with it.
6) Morris County. Much is nice, safe and has some areas that are “affordable” in the NJ sense of the word at the Western End past I287.
7) The people are less open than other parts of the country. The closer to NYC the more true this is.
8) I don’t find NJ income tax to be all that high on my similar but somewhat lower than you income. NJ does have a special punish the rich rate. I hope to have that problem some day. I paid more income taxes in OH.
9) Property taxes are high. Figure absolute minimum of $3600 and a more likely rate of $5000 for a 300K house.
10) Part time jobs in Eastern 2/3 of NJ pay much more than I am accustomed to seeing. The do nothing temp was making like $11.00 an hour. It costs more here… You GET PAID MORE HERE.
11) I looked for a house and found some areas I really liked. One neighborhood had a great feel to it is in Rockaway called White Meadow Lakes. Another was in Denville Called Mt. Uh… somethingoranother. If you need a realtor I found one I like. I am not him. I get nothing for the recommendation. Just an honest hard working guy who was the first to not BS me hardcore / hardsell me when I went through open houses. In the end I ended up renting for a year due to cash flow.
12) Groceries cost much more: Shop Rite is your friend. I don’t have stock in nor work do I for them. Just a recommendation. Their produce sucks tho.

Thanks for your input, delighfully funny and startlingly similar, agreed. Lots of good info. I would like the realtors number please. Email at pramukh00@yahoo.com

[Mumof2]

Originally Posted by Dolfan

Mumof2:

You will be much better off homeschooling and living in New Jersey. The homeschooling laws here are much better (among the best in the nation) and there are organizations you can be involved in that will connect you with other homeschoolers.

Here is a link to NJ court decisions

New Jersey Department of Education

Here is the Legal Defense Association website

Homeschooling in New Jersey

Here is a list of homeschool organizations

Homeschool World: New Jersey Homeschool Organizations and Support Groups

I am planning on homeschooling my daughter as well. I think you are doing a wonderful thing homeschooling your children and hope you have much success with it. I live in Sussex County, which is a great place to live, but would be a long commute to Manhattan. There are some closer towns that are nice. Morris County is a beautiful area, but expensive. You can also try Bergen, Passaic or Essex counties, but stay away from the larger cities as there are some bad areas. NJ transit operates many trains and buses into New York so the commute will not be so bad.

Here is an idea of housing costs, the multiple listing service web site

NJ - Garden State MLS, New Jersey - Garden State MLS

Also check out the NJ tourism web site

New Jersey Tourism

Finally, here are some fun things you can do with your kids.

New Jersey Index -- Are We There Yet?

Good luck with your move and I hope everything turns out fine.

Thankyou Dolfan for all the detailed info you have provided. Appreciate your efforts

[Mumof2]

Originally Posted by JerseyBrit

Suburban NJ is a good bet. Prepare to downsize, however.
My local La Leche League group had a homeschooling mum and I believe she is involved in a network of homeschooling mums through her church. The holistic Moms Network Holistic Moms Network would have good resources on homeschooling too. I don't think you'll have trouble in that department.

Nice commuting towns are Fanwood, Scotch Plains, Westfield, Summit, New Providence, Berkeley Heights, Chatham etc. Great areas, but not cheap- but doable with $90,000 and equity.

Most communities have family events throughout the year and it's a great way to meet people in your town as most the same people attend them.
People here are generally very nice

When will you be arriving in NJ?
Good Luck...

We will be there in four weeks. My man is already being grilled there.
I have a lot of furniture to sell. Wonder how I will lease this place out. Too much work to do by myself, no other choice.

[JerseyBrit]

Originally Posted by Mumof2

We will be there in four weeks. My man is already being grilled there.
I have a lot of furniture to sell. Wonder how I will lease this place out. Too much work to do by myself, no other choice.

I don't envy you but it will be well worth the effort It took me a while to warm up to NJ, but at last I LOVE IT here. It has the best of everything.
Close to the mountains
Close to the shore
Close to the city

I would love to home school, but my husband is a middle school teacher, so you can imagine how well that went down...

Good for you and good luck

[Diane Giam]

Originally Posted by bebitaperu

you will be much better in suburban NJ. you can live in Bergen county . There are plenty of nice towns and check NJtransit.com
good luck
BP

Bergan county on $90,000? Have you looked at real estate there lately. Bergan is one of the most high priced counties in NJ.I could not live there on more and I am not a huge spender.
I have a few friends that are realtors in NJ, including the one that sold my house to get me out, so I know the tax structure and pricing.

Diane G

[GJM]

Not all of Bergen Cty. is that bad. I lived in Saddle Brook, nice small town. We had an expanded Cape house all updated. Our taxes were about $5200 per year which isn't bad. And we made about $90,000 -

[Mumof2]

Everything needed for field trips. Any good museums? We use the public library extensively here. There are a lot of freebies here incl. Rosetta Stone language learning resources. Checked out (online) some apts. in Bergan county, the really expensive ones are sooo cute...sigh...

[Mumof2]

Can we survive in North Bergan? Any apts. for $1500 in a safe decent place and easy commute to Manhattan for my Mr.?He first thought of Princeton, maybe its too far. How much will the monthly pass to travel cost him? I am looking for a grocery store nearby, a park, public library, Pediatrician, and easy transportation choices. I have a car, so I should be OK.

[JerseyBrit]

Originally Posted by Mumof2

.....Any apts. for $1500 in a safe decent place and easy commute to Manhattan for my Mr.? ... I am looking for a grocery store nearby, a park, public library, Pediatrician, and easy transportation choices. I have a car, so I should be OK.

Berkeley Heights has all that Although a 3 bedroom apartment would cost more like 16-1700/mo

try apartmentguide.com or rent.com

[Mumof2]

My husband's not happy with his job. He is having second thoughts about it. I am in the middle of selling things here. I told everybody that I am leaving. I feel stupid now. Wonder what is going to happen. He wants to come back after getting a decent job here. He needs two weeks to decide if he really wants to stick there, and then he wants me to move...if he likes it...yikes..what do I do. The stress of strangers walking all over my home and putting a price on things is bothering me. Infact, someone is coming over tonight to check out the projector we have. Husband dear wants me to keep selling, he is not sure; come on---I've kids and tonnes of work on hand. How do I stay peaceful and where is life taking us? The house is messed up and everything is out of place. I am sick and feel that I should leave him to decide his stuff. I think I should be selfish and go on staying here no matter what he decides in a couple of weeks. I am hanging in there and completely stressed out. He has not seen even one apartment till now. He does not have the time. I told him to find a small room in Manhattan and complete his job for say two years to get the fabulous company on his resume and then head straight home. He needs me and the kids....two weeks is all ..he says. Should he not be sure about his job in the last two weeks he's been there? Or am I over reacting? I slept the whole day today and cancelled the ad's for moving sale. I am stressing about the people coming in tonight. It's too messy and I have completely ignored my children these last few days. Sorry about all the lamenting... I am too confused.