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Hi All,
I posted going back a few months and I was so stressed about our potential move I had to take off from researching our move lol!! Anyways I am back now and would greatly appreciate some advice. Our story is we have four kids 11,9,5 and almost 4. we are moving to the States the 21st of September. Initially we were looking at Yonkers but I was concerned about schools and my children will attend public schools. What we would be looking for is to be ideally close to Pearl River, NY as my two oldest are very into Irish Dancing and Gaelic Football. We would need min of a three bedroom house and if it had a bonus room this would be great. Our budget is a maximum of $2500. I know not alot but that is our absolute max for now! My husband will be commuting into NYC daily and the location will change from day to day. I am hoping to find a commute that wont kill him after the first 12 months lol. Good schools are vital for us. Can anyone advise me why some public school offer PK places and some don't? As our budget is very tight we would be delighted to find a school for our youngest where PK would be free.
Any suggestions would be great, as I am exhausted searching and so hard to know what each area is like. Also my other concern is the real estate fee when taking out a rental initially. Is it always the case the the tenant will pay a months real estate fee along with a deposit and a months rent up front (equivalent to three months rent)?
thanks again :=)
Bergen County is a stone's throw from Pearl River and for the most part is looked upon more favorably than that part of NY state. For the schools especially. I'd look at Ramsey, Mahwah, Montvale, Park Ridge and other towns in upper BC. If your husband is taking the train, go to njtransit.com and see which towns have train/bus service to NYC. The one issue is the buses generally go to Port Authority on 40th st and the trains go to Penn Station on 33rd.
If you use a RE broker there's a fee. Usually no fee if you go through classifieds or craigslist. Good luck.
Pearl River, New York - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
You can web search for rentals. Do you friends or family in the NYC area to scout locations for you?
September 21 is after the start of the school year, which may create placement problems for your children.
The traffic in this part of the country is terrible especially during rush hour, consider towns along transit lines. Nice towns with good education would be Summit, Westfield, Montclair, Cranford, Ridgewood,Fair Lawn, or Glenn Ridge. That budget should make a pretty comfortable living if that's only for rent. And yes, you almost always have to pay those fees, sometimes you are even required to pay the last months rent as well
I'm not too familiar with northern parts of the state, specifically Bergen County, which are close to Pearl River. However, Summit (although almost an hour from Pearl River) hits everything on your list. Great schools, rentals within your budget, nice commute into NYC, and, as far as I know, the pre-k is included under "public school." I'm not sure why some places are free and some aren't. My best guess is the ones where you would have to pay are most likely some sort of private schools.
Also, to clarify on the broker's fee as someone brought up (which I think is very important for someone relocating to understand) is that it isn't a black/white situation. Broker fees, and who pays them, are set up by the listing agent. Sometimes the landlord will pay, sometimes it will be split 50/50, and sometimes the tenant will have to pay. It's usually a month's rent or 1/10 of the yearly rent, though it can be any more. Also, not working with a realtor does not guarantee that you will not have to pay a fee, as many ads on craigslist or in the classifieds are actually listed by brokers, so you may still have to pay (it's not always the case -- there are definitely plenty of rentals you can find on those places without a fee).
Also, you generally have to pay a 1.5 month security deposit and sometimes a month or two of rent. Credit checks are usually required.
I just wanted to throw in that information because I don't want you to be shocked! However, if this is a company relocation, they may cover some fees.
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