Relocating to NJ from CA (Atlantic City, Brigantine: rental, how much, house)

[beansandink]

I know what you're thinking... oh no, not another "hi I am moving to NJ" thread.. and from a west coaster. OH NOES! Sorry

My husband recently acquired a job in Atlantic City and we will be making a very beefy but welcome move to the East Coast. Neither of us have lived on that side but are very excited for a new chapter in our lives.

Now, we already know and were told that we don't want to live in AC. So I am scouring for advice on areas where we could look to live. Having to do this from across the country has been challenging and any input from locals is greatly appreciated.

So here is our criteria....

Job will be in Atlantic City - open to commuting, preferably no more than 40 min each way.

We are both in our 30's, have a 4 yr old and absolutely need an area that has a good school district since we would like to start her in K in the Fall. One of the issues we have is her 5th birthday is mid-October and we were told that certain districts have different cut offs for the kindergarten age requirements. How strict are they on the "must be 5" rules?

For the time being we are looking to rent, preferably a house - 3+ bedrooms and has at the very least a small yard. Budget no more than the $2500 p/month range. Obviously the lower the better but that is all contingent on the neighborhood, amenities, accessibility to things we like, etc.

As far as the neighborhood, we would prefer quiet, safe, family oriented, with easy access to the expressway... but we also love urban lifestyle living... we already foresee a lot of trips to Philadelphia and NYC.

We are open to more inland or coastal, that really is not an issue for us... it seems the commute and school district are the most important for us at the moment.

So any input on areas ? Also, are there any other local resources for rental listings besides craigslist?

Thanks so much in advance!

-i.

[fred44]

Yeah, you don't want to live in Atlantic City, especially if you have kids. Check out this report from NJ Monthly regarding schools. It's a very accurate assessment of school districts. Atlantic City is in Atlantic County, you can sort the list by county (http://njmonthly.com/articles/towns_...ools-2010.html)

I have a friend that lives in Brigantine, it's right across the river from AC, very nice area. Other than that I have no further advice. Good luck to you. Also, if you're going to work at the casinos, they are not doing well since the economy went down the tubes, plus the recently opened casinos in Pennsylvania are taking business away from AC casinos. So not sure how much stability there is working down there.