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My wife and I live in Dallas, TX and we are planning to move to NJ in May of 2015. We have a 4 year old son.
We lived in Dallas many years and really do not like the suburban life style where you don't know your neighbor's name after 10 years. We like more of a European lifestyle with many people and close neighbors where people are more educated and open minded.
I will be working in Midtown Manhattan.
We are planning in on renting a 2 bedroom apartment. Our monthly budget for the housing (not including utilities) is 3000. We are interested in a place with doorman, gym, etc. security is a must. I don't want a stranger to be able to walk in to the building freely. I travel for work and I don't want to worry about my family when I am not home.
We have done research and we liked Fort Lee but a realtor recommended Hoboken area because of commute to NYC. Other than that we have no idea what parts of NJ would be suitable for us. Ideally Manhattan would be a good place to live for us but we cannot find a preschool/ apartment combination that is in our price range. We currently pay 1000/month for school. We have seen some apartments on the internet by Artisan and they look nice.
We love to go out to eat, movies, parks with our son, and other activities. It is important to have access to such things.
We have two cars. We don't know if we will need both cars.
As you can tell we have no idea what areas to look at. We are coming to NJ this weekend for a 3 day weekend just to drive around, talk to some preschools and visit some apartments...
What is your combined rent/preschool budget? Will you be looking for full or part time pre-school?
My husband and I are from Dallas and now live in Hoboken with our daughter (and another on the way!) and love it, and we used to live in the waterfront area of Jersey City and also loved it, but you should be aware that in both areas, the preschool/daycare centers range from $1900-2400/month per child if they are full time. Some of the other pre-k programs are cheaper, but they have fewer hours in the school day. Programs might just be half day or 9-2 pm, leaving you to find a nanny or some other daycare for your child before/after school.
HOWEVER, Hoboken and Jersey City are both Abbott districts, which means they have FREE pre-k programs, and then you just need before and after school care, which is significantly cheaper. Jersey city has a lottery system for the better pre-schools, so it would be too late to get in this year. Hoboken is supposed to serve all residents who want it, so you may find space, although pre-k fills up fast here, too.
As far as your budget and your cars: $3000 is the low end of the budget for 2 bedrooms, especially with the amenities you want. We found it cheaper to buy a 2 bedroom condo than to rent. Parking on the street is very difficult in both Hoboken and JC, and you will only have 1 space if you rent an apartment with parking (and usually parking is an additional monthly charge of $150-$200).
Having said all of the above--Hoboken and the waterfront area of JC are a haven for young families--tons of events that are family friendly, most restaurants are family friendly, it's definitely more of a walking culture. That's why we love it here.
My husband also works in Midtown and has a 28-30 minute door-to-door commute on the 126 bus to Port Authority (we live uptown).
West New York waterfront, Weehawkin waterfront, North Bergen waterfront, and Edgewater are all also good places to search---not *quite* as walkable, but still walkable and easier to own 2 cars there. I would probably just become a one car family though, because car insurance is much more expensive in NJ compared to Texas.
With that big Edgewater Avalon Apt Fire, I would not want to live in one of them huge Apt made of wood. There are several apt complex that are much better built so look deep and hard before you send them a deposit. Those folks in Avalon paid between 2500-3500/month for a good water front view but cheap material apt complex.
We are thinking somewhere around $4,500 for both preschool and rent. Since I saw your post, we have looked at buying and looks like that is a better option. Thanks for the advice.
Most probably we will sell one of the cars and become a 1 car family.
Again, thanks for the advice We are very excited. We will be there this weekend and see what we are up to. Wish us luck
We are thinking somewhere around $4,500 for both preschool and rent. Since I saw your post, we have looked at buying and looks like that is a better option. Thanks for the advice.
Most probably we will sell one of the cars and become a 1 car family.
Again, thanks for the advice We are very excited. We will be there this weekend and see what we are up against. Wish us luck
With that big Edgewater Avalon Apt Fire, I would not want to live in one of them huge Apt made of wood. There are several apt complex that are much better built so look deep and hard before you send them a deposit. Those folks in Avalon paid between 2500-3500/month for a good water front view but cheap material apt complex.
There's an Avalon complex in West Long Branch that they put up about three or four years ago in about a week. That's an exaggeration, but it was constructed very quickly and I suspect the people who live there are concerned right about now.
There's another Avalon complex on the waterfront in Jersey City, too.
We are thinking somewhere around $4,500 for both preschool and rent. Since I saw your post, we have looked at buying and looks like that is a better option. Thanks for the advice.
Most probably we will sell one of the cars and become a 1 car family.
Again, thanks for the advice We are very excited. We will be there this weekend and see what we are up against. Wish us luck
There's an Avalon complex in West Long Branch that they put up about three or four years ago in about a week. That's an exaggeration, but it was constructed very quickly and I suspect the people who live there are concerned right about now.
There's another Avalon complex on the waterfront in Jersey City, too.
They're not the only ones, I've seen several apt complex jobs in many parts of NJ and they are trying to quickly finish up. They're nothing but all wood construction and no concrete partitions as fire barriers. If it goes up in flames they don't care. They got your money and you better have insurance.
My problem is lately they just keep building these giant warehouse type apts and not separate standalones.
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Dallas to New Jersey
