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I am planning to relocate to NJ. I appreciate your advise on housing based on the below answers to the sticky questions about relocation.
Where are you coming from?
Dallas
Why are you moving?
New Job
Where will you be working ?
NYC
If NYC, what part of NYC?
Downtown
Will you buy or rent?
Rent
What is your budget ?
2000-3200
What kind of place are you looking for ?
3 bed + 2 bath townhome 1400+ sqft
Will anyone (spouse, children, pets) be moving with you ?
Wife & 2 kids
Do you need/want good public schools?
Kids are 3 yr old and 6 month. Not immediately but will need it in 3 years time
Briefly describe the kind of neighborhood you'd like to live in
Safe, families with young children, less commute time to work
List three things that are important to you in order of importance.
safety, proximity to work and rent within price range
You'll need to decide if you want a good school district now which means a longer commute for you, or rent something with an easy commute to your work & be ready to move to a good school district before your child turns five & begins Kindergarten.
I am planning to relocate to NJ. I appreciate your advise on housing based on the below answers to the sticky questions about relocation.
Welcome to NJ, and thank you for taking the time to read the sticky post and include in your post your responses to the questions the sticky asks.
As daliowa mentioned, you will have to make a choice of commute time vs good schools. School districts near the city are not good, and a lot are down right horrible, many are even dangerous. It's sad, but it is what it is. As you are new to the area, it would be a good idea for you to take the time and read this sticky post to give you an idea of the reality of what it is like to live and commute in NJ, especially since you will be one of the roughly quarter of a million people in the metro area who make the commute into Manhattan daily. I think we need a new sticky.... ;)
Since you are coming from Texas, I want to add that commuting here is so much different from what you are used to. I lived in Austin for a while whilst doing post grad studies, and I go back to visit friends and family in the Austin/SA area frequently. All the talk you hear about the horrible traffic that Austin has (and I know it is bad by TX standards) has NOTHING on what it is like here in Northern NJ. I know you are well familiar with the high taxes and housing costs in the good school districts in the DFW metro area. Sadly, the housing costs and taxes are even higher in NJ, especially if you want to live in towns with top notch schools. You may want to take a stiff drink before looking into those facts, you'll need it. New Jerseyians are hard core commuters, and it is not unusual for people to have 1.5 to 2 hour commute each way to work. (although they only live roughly 30 miles from Manhattan)
One thing I do have to ask what are you looking for in a new hometown? Please be as specific as possible on what you are looking for in a new hometown community. Do you want an urban area?, maybe something suburban, but with a smallish walkable downtown area?, or a more rural/bucolic area? Do you want to be near a a specific type of store? such as Whole Foods or similar, or are you more of a super Walmart shopper? Do you want to be near a specific type of religious house of worship? (Mosque, Hindu Temple, Synagogue, AmE, etc) Do you enjoy a more urban environment where you can walk to everything, or are you more of a outdoors lover who wants green acres around and room to breathe? Are you willing to move again in a couple of years before your older child enters school, or do you want to find a community and plant roots? The trade off on this is off course, you can find a nice town with a shorter commute to NYC, but the schools will stink, so later you will have to move to find good schools for your child and then endure a longer work commute. We understand you need to commute to NYC, are looking for a TH and what your rental budget is.
I am confident that when we forum members have that information, we will be very forthcoming with good suggestions and ideas to suit your circumstances, wants/needs etc.
I am more of an urban person but I live in a suburban area with a small walkable downtown area to make the wife happy .
Will you be able to give me neighborhoods for both scenarios(I.e.
Scenario 1
Nice & safe town with shorter commute to NYC but with bad schools. This option gives me about 2 -2.5 years to familiarize myself with the area and relocate to a suburban area before my kid starts school
Scenario 2
Suburban area with longer commute but good k-6th grade public schools
In terms of the other questions around grocery stores, religious worship place, I am ok even if they are not close since it is going to be a once week activity.
If you want a reasonable commute than look at places near a PATH station. PATH is Port Authority Trans Hudson trains. PATH stops are in Hoboken, Jersey City, Harrison & Newark.
Hoboken & downtown Jersey City (i.e. Newport area of JC) have pricey apartments (mostly highrises rather than townhomes.) And, lots of families with little kids. They all move to the suburbs before start of Kindergarten.
Besides paying rent, if you live in Hoboken or downtown JC than you'll end up paying for a parking spot (not cheap !) But, you won't be paying the exorbitant NJ Transit fares that you'll have once you move to the suburbs, and your commute may be 1/2 hour to 45 minutes door-to-door instead of and hour and 1/2 or longer.
Another option could be Edgewater or Weehawken. From that area you could take the ferry to the City (not cheap) or a bus to the City, or take the light rail down to Hoboken for the PATH.
I *think* some of the rental developments in Edgewater may have townhomes.
Can anyone else think of townhomes with easy access to PATH?
These sites may be helpful to orientate yourself about commuting:
Note that NJ Transit has 2 stations with similar names (this confuses newcomers.) There's NY Penn Station (in the City at 7th ave. & 33rd sts.) & Newark Penn Station, which is in Newark, NJ.
I am planning to relocate to NJ. I appreciate your advise on housing based on the below answers to the sticky questions about relocation.
Where are you coming from?
Dallas
Why are you moving?
New Job
Where will you be working ?
NYC
If NYC, what part of NYC?
Downtown
Will you buy or rent?
Rent
What is your budget ?
2000-3200
What kind of place are you looking for ?
3 bed + 2 bath townhome 1400+ sqft
Will anyone (spouse, children, pets) be moving with you ?
Wife & 2 kids
Do you need/want good public schools?
Kids are 3 yr old and 6 month. Not immediately but will need it in 3 years time
Briefly describe the kind of neighborhood you'd like to live in
Safe, families with young children, less commute time to work
List three things that are important to you in order of importance.
safety, proximity to work and rent within price range
If you don't need access to public schools with in 3 years, you can move to a temporary location and then in 3 years time figure out what and where. Probably buy real estate in good school district.
I am planning to relocate to NJ. I appreciate your advise on housing based on the below answers to the sticky questions about relocation.
Where are you coming from?
Dallas
Why are you moving?
New Job
Where will you be working ?
NYC
If NYC, what part of NYC?
Downtown
Will you buy or rent?
Rent
What is your budget ?
2000-3200
What kind of place are you looking for ?
3 bed + 2 bath townhome 1400+ sqft
Will anyone (spouse, children, pets) be moving with you ?
Wife & 2 kids
Do you need/want good public schools?
Kids are 3 yr old and 6 month. Not immediately but will need it in 3 years time
Briefly describe the kind of neighborhood you'd like to live in
Safe, families with young children, less commute time to work
List three things that are important to you in order of importance.
safety, proximity to work and rent within price range
Sorry, but my advice is don't. I lived in NJ until 3 Years ago, and was so glad to leave (moved to South Dakota). Too cowded, too much traffic, rude people. I lived in North Bergen, Wayne, and other towns of NJ. Had enough. Hit the Midwest...much better. If u MUST move to that area, go to upstate NY. The Metro North train goes to Harriman, Port Jervis, etc, NY...nicer towns than NJ, IMO, and can take the train to NYC.
If you want a reasonable commute than look at places near a PATH station. PATH is Port Authority Trans Hudson trains. PATH stops are in Hoboken, Jersey City, Harrison & Newark.
Hoboken & downtown Jersey City (i.e. Newport area of JC) have pricey apartments (mostly highrises rather than townhomes.) And, lots of families with little kids. They all move to the suburbs before start of Kindergarten.
Besides paying rent, if you live in Hoboken or downtown JC than you'll end up paying for a parking spot (not cheap !) But, you won't be paying the exorbitant NJ Transit fares that you'll have once you move to the suburbs, and your commute may be 1/2 hour to 45 minutes door-to-door instead of and hour and 1/2 or longer.
Another option could be Edgewater or Weehawken. From that area you could take the ferry to the City (not cheap) or a bus to the City, or take the light rail down to Hoboken for the PATH.
I *think* some of the rental developments in Edgewater may have townhomes.
Can anyone else think of townhomes with easy access to PATH?
These sites may be helpful to orientate yourself about commuting:
Note that NJ Transit has 2 stations with similar names (this confuses newcomers.) There's NY Penn Station (in the City at 7th ave. & 33rd sts.) & Newark Penn Station, which is in Newark, NJ.
Daliowa has given you some great advice and information here. I'd add that a good spot to look for townhomes (or even large duplexes) would be Weehawken. From Weehawken you can easily take a bus or the ferry to NYC, or hop on the light rail for the short ride (<5 min) to the PATH in Hoboken. The Light Rail pass is $64/month, and IIRC the monthly PATH fare (40 trip ticket) is $84. I do not know if you can ride the light rail for free using your PATH Ticket or not, I know you can take the Light Rail for free with a monthly NJ Transit ticket. I am sure you can ask at NJTransit about that.
If you don't need good schools for two or three years, I highly recommend renting and figuring out what kind of commute you're comfortable with once you understand the locations better. We moved to NJ when ours was about a year old to try things out and spent three years in a decent apartment that gave us the flexibility of low prices and parking for the car to check out other towns.
NJ is very county-driven, and people will recommend you check out various counties for various reasons and they are incredibly different in a way I haven't seen in a lot of other states, so getting out and being able to see for yourself and ask others in your office will give you a great idea of what's going to be ideal. Absolutely concur on any of the locations that have been mentioned for NJ.
The NY locations I'm not as impressed by because you're working in lower Manhattan, which means you take the train from any of those locations for an hour, then change to MTA and it's a 90 minute commute one way, which is very tough on both you and the kids. You're better off staying near PATH to the WTC station if you can, even connecting to PATH at Newark Penn Station, to keep it under an hour door to door. I'm lucky enough to live in a town with both a direct bus to New York and a train, but the train requires a transfer in Newark, so anyplace you find there will likely be a compromise, the trick is to find out what matters more and giving yours family a year or two to work it out will be stressful for moving but better in the long run.
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