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Hi canadagirl and welcome! I am originally from Ontario (the GTA) myself and I have been living in the tri-state area for almost 8 years. The area you are looking at in Mahwah is beautiful. In my opinion, that area (Upper Saddle River, Mahwah) is one of the nicest places around.
The taxes are high, and you are correct in that they reflect the "quality" of the school districts. Which schools your children attend is much more important here than in Canada. People actually move to different areas for a few years just so their children can attend certain highschools and then move out of the area once their children are finished highschool. In that area, however, you should be fine in terms of the schools.
With respect to the healthcare, it is difficult to say. I have not had any problems with the system here, and in fact, I have been very pleased with the fact that wait times are less, there are many more specialists, and you can get care quickly. I have not had any serious medical issues, so I cannot comment on how the system would work for you. You can, however, get treated much more quickly than in Canada just due to the sheer volume of physicians and technology.
There are a lot of benefits of living in the US and it really isn't that different than at home. I would agree with the others who suggest coming and visiting, maybe renting first to find out where you want to be more long-term.
The OP is looking in Bergen county... It is going to depend on the town, but around here, I would not count on anything less than 6k. Up to 13k and above 13k, totally possible but you cannot compare a 400k to 600k house.
The OP is looking in Bergen county... It is going to depend on the town, but around here, I would not count on anything less than 6k. Up to 13k and above 13k, totally possible but you cannot compare a 400k to 600k house.
I agree that would make a difference in taxes. I would think 6k in Bergan would have to be a very old small house. I know you can find that easily in South Jersey.
You don't get much for $400,000 in Bergen County.
and i beg to differ. op needs to look at tax rates per town. my house is much newer, worth more than what you sold in manalapan (and probably bigger), and i don't pay anywhere near $12K.
i suspect tax wise OP will be better off here than in Canada.
If the op's medical is not covered here do to preexisting conditions they would not be better off. Medical can run in the $100,000 and more.
I sold my house in 06. in 05 I would have gotten, $100,000 more. I also had over an acre of land with a L-shaped in ground pool, deck and Gazebo.
I live below what I can afford, unlike my buyers who now have that tax bill and a $450,000 mtg. My mortgage was almost paid off and I lived in the house 13 years. I had a fixed mtg, not the type of Mtgs people take today, and find that they can't sell the house for what they paid. Here, I have only a small mortgage here to get some kind of tax writeoff.
I have one in college and she won't have to worry about loans when she graduates, we pay it other than what she received for a scholarship that the state gives for grades.
My friends in Bergen County pay over $20,000 in taxes and I believe that is where the op was looking. They have a house about the same size I had in Manalapan.
My house btw in Manalapan was 2800 sq feet. This one is much larger.
If the op's medical is not covered here do to preexisting conditions they would not be better off. Medical can run in the $100,000 and more.
I sold my house in 06. in 05 I would have gotten, $100,000 more. I also had over an acre of land with a L-shaped in ground pool, deck and Gazebo.
I live below what I can afford, unlike my buyers who now have that tax bill and a $450,000 mtg. My mortgage was almost paid off and I lived in the house 13 years. I had a fixed mtg, not the type of Mtgs people take today, and find that they can't sell the house for what they paid. Here, I have only a small mortgage here to get some kind of tax writeoff.
I have one in college and she won't have to worry about loans when she graduates, we pay it other than what she received for a scholarship that the state gives for grades.
My friends in Bergen County pay over $20,000 in taxes and I believe that is where the op was looking. They have a house about the same size I had in Manalapan.
My house btw in Manalapan was 2800 sq feet. This one is much larger.
Diane G
If the OPs medical isn't covered..it's not like canada is a million miles away... worse case scenario - they can fly to canada or drive there to get the medical attention they need that wouldn't be covered here. You''l love NJ OP. Just leave the geese at home please : )))
Wiley,
Just an FYI, if the OP gives up her residence in Canada, she gives up her Canadian medical coverage (OHIP), so her husband's coverage (for her and her child) will become crucial. It doesn't matter if she keeps her Canadian status, if she doesn't live there (in Canada) she can't avail herself of that coverage.
And those pesky geese.....they are here to stay in Jersey, better weather
Wiley,
Just an FYI, if the OP gives up her residence in Canada, she gives up her Canadian medical coverage (OHIP), so her husband's coverage (for her and her child) will become crucial. It doesn't matter if she keeps her Canadian status, if she doesn't live there (in Canada) she can't avail herself of that coverage.
And those pesky geese.....they are here to stay in Jersey, better weather
Are you sure about that???? My partner still has all her benfits in Scotland - she hasn't lived there in over 9 yrs.
Aside from all the issues like taxes that other people have dealt with, there's also a big difference in lifestyle in NJ compared to Canada, heck there's a big difference between lifestyle in NJ and most of the US. This is a pretty fast paced area, we walk fast, we talk fast and we drive fast, we can be impatient and we expect everyone to move as fast as us. It's strange when I go to another area on vacation and the pace is so much slower. Most people are pretty nice though, but not sure if it would be easy coming from a much slower lifestyle to ours. Good Luck on what you decide.
Just an FYI about health insurance in NJ. NJ law states that health insurers in NJ have to cover pre-existing conditions as long as proof of prior health insurance exists. Although I don't know how that would apply to people coming from Canada.
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