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There are lots of posts requesting advice on moves to NJ with each one's own individual situations, but I couldn't find the answers to some of the questions I have.. Although this is my first post I have looked through this site for quite some time before signing up... anyway here it goes..
I'm originally from NY, moved about 3yrs ago to Philly with my now husband and 2 girls ages 7 & 4.. We all hate Philly and are looking to move asap.. My hubby and I are both odtaining our associates degrees in May 2008 and are thinking a move to Jersey would be best.. We are very home sick since all of our family still lives in NY so want to be closer to NY..
So I guess first would be location, where do you think would be a good place to move.. Things we are considering is location we want to be an 1hr to an 1 1/2 max from Brooklyn NY driving.. We currently rent a house and would like to move into a house rather than an apartment but it is negotiable since we are only going to continue renting for about a year since we are not familiar with Jersey and would have to purchase a house and end up regreting it due to the area or whatever..
Any way we are looking to spend between $1k-1.5k/month on rent..
A townhouse would be good if there are any nice communities in Good neighborhoods with Good school systems.. We currently have our kids in private school since philadelphia school system stinks but from what we understand NJ school system is great so we wouldn't mind public school.
We need an area that is within reasonable distance to a university since my husband and I both plan on continuing our education in the Fall.. speaking of which are there any schools you can recommend?.. I'm in school for Criminal Justice and my hubby for Business.. It seems the only school I am aware of is Rutgers, and of course Princeton and Seaton Hall, but I don't want to sell myself short I want to explore all of my options..
I do have one general education question about lower schools in NJ what is the cut off for date of birth (age) for admittance to kindergarten? I'm not sure I posed the question right so here's my example: In NY you have to be 5 by Jan 1 to be placed in kindergarten that year and in PA it's 5 by Sept 1..
Thanks in advance for your help, even if you can only respond to one please do!
Cutoff dates vary by town, but many are Oct 1. Not all schools in NJ are good. Taxes in NJ tend to be rather high. You may have trouble renting, especially a house, in that price range, although if you look hard enough, you may find something. The better the school system, the higher the rents tend to be (in general).
Have you considered NY state? what about John Jay College for criminal justice?
Sorry if I'm coming across negative, just trying to give you a realistic picture of things from my experience.
Don't worry I don't consider it negative, I want the real facts.. I don't want to be looking for something that's not there. We haven't really considered upstate NY although I guess that could be an option, I guess since NYC is so overpriced I just kind of assumed upstate was the same way.. but if it's not I would definately look into it, I do know that John Jay is a very good college but since I was mainly looking into Jersey I never really gave it much thought.. Now I must say that one of the reasons NJ was an option was although it is closer to NY than Philly it was not too close.. in other words we miss our family, but not That much.. if you catch my drift.
Brookdaleresident is correct. Cutoffs vary by town but most have cutoffs no later than sometime in October. I'm unaware of any as late as January. However, some districts have free pre-k. OK. This will be odd since I just answered another post saying that I wouldn't buy a house in Elizabeth and that I wouldn't send my kids to middle school or high school there, BUT and this is a big BUT, if you are looking for a reasonable rent for a couple of years then Elizabeth may be a good option. I'm an elementary school teacher there. They have free Pre-K and most (not all) of the elementary schools are very good. My class assistant just rented a 3 bedroom apartment that is only 5 years old in a 2 family house with a fireplace for $1050. However, you may find that Elizabeth is too urban like Philly, so you might want to consider the Freehold/Jackson area. Further away and more suburban. Decent schools and I believe you may find some reasonable rentals.
rents in Elizabeth varies depending on area.. Elizabeth is a LARGE city, you can rent a "NEW" LARGE (1200+sq/ft) 3BR APT for about 1400-1700.. or you can rent an smaller/older apt with 2-3 bedrooms anywhere from 1000-1400.. Elizabeth is a city so you'll have a city atmosphere, but still safe ... in regards to colleges/universities.. you have Kean University which is in Elizabeth/Union.. then you have Union County College, but since you already have your AS, i guess you want to look into Kean.. it's very convenient for people who work and go to college at nights.. I'm doing this too, graduating this May 08!! also Elizabeth is near Brooklyn.. i went to visit a friend in Brooklyn (bedmister, i think) and it only took me about 25 mins..
I'll speak for Mercer Co.
There is Princeton, of course, Rider Un., The College of New Jersey, Thomas Edison and Rutgers (in Middlesex) is 20 minutes up the road. There is also Mercer Co. Community College (good for 2 years of pre-university transferable classes- if that's where you are).
With kids in elementary school, you will have more rental options. The elementary schools in Lawrenceville, Ewing and Hamilton are fine and you will have several years to chose a high school.
Your rental budget will be a challenge. I would look in the above named school districts for rental options.
Best of luck!
i went to visit a friend in Brooklyn (bedmister, i think) and it only took me about 25 mins..
good luck!!
So did you go at 2am on a Sunday, or did you take a helicopter? 25 minutes to Brooklyn?- let's get real.....
And she also mentioned that she's got two kids- 4 and 7, and you're recommending that she look at Elizabeth. I hate to say it, but having worked on several of the new schools that the state so graciously paid for in Elizabeth, I wouldn't go around recommending them to anyone. While the buildings themselves are nice, the overall system still needs alot of help.
No one has mentioned Burlington County, so please allow me. I should be more specific and say northern Burlington County, because this is a very large county and some of it is further south than Philly. Specifically Mansfield, Columbus, North Hanover. I think it would still be within your 1-1/2 hour driving limit to Brooklyn, because it takes me maybe 1 hour 10 min to get to Newark airport. This area seems to be the last affordable area for us middle-income folks as you work your way closer to NYC (only my opinion). The schools are decent, people are nice, and in my particular area the community is determined to keep its rural character by preserving farms, keeping out sewers, etc. I have seen houses for rent in your price range. The same colleges that Jerseyj describes apply to this area as we are neighboring counties. I believe our school cutoff date is Oct. 1.
hey know it alll.. i went at around 10pm as we went out for dinner .. and i'm for real, i did not take a helicopter.. took the Goethals to the belt .. etc.. do you drive, maybe you should get a gps.. or at least use mapquest and plug in the address from elizabeth to brooklyn and you'll see the time and miles to get there..
so i guess it hurts you that the state graciously paid for schools in Elizabeth.. well too bad.. don't forget that the population is larger so more taxes the state collects from Elizabeth residents.. not to mention the property taxes..
Quote:
Originally Posted by BobKovacs
So did you go at 2am on a Sunday, or did you take a helicopter? 25 minutes to Brooklyn?- let's get real.....
And she also mentioned that she's got two kids- 4 and 7, and you're recommending that she look at Elizabeth. I hate to say it, but having worked on several of the new schools that the state so graciously paid for in Elizabeth, I wouldn't go around recommending them to anyone. While the buildings themselves are nice, the overall system still needs alot of help.
Bob
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and are looking to move asap.. My hubby and I are both odtaining our associates degrees in May 2008
and are thinking a move to Jersey would be best.. We are very home sick since all of our family still lives in NY so want to be closer to NY.. 
.. Things we are considering is location we want to be an 1hr to an 1 1/2 max from Brooklyn NY driving.. We currently rent a house and would like to move into a house rather than an apartment but it is negotiable since we are only going to continue renting for about a year since we are not familiar with Jersey and would have to purchase a house and end up regreting it due to the area or whatever.. 
Nj
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