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We are a family of four moving from NC to NJ. I'm considering taking an offer with a company on 32nd street NYC.We are not familiar with NJ as well as NYC. I"m assuming NJ is where people typically live and commute from.
a) We are currently renting a 3 bedroom 1200sq ft apartment for $1200. With the job in manhattan, what places in NJ should we consider to rent an apartment? What is the approximate rent. Looking to be in good neighborhood, good schools, safe, family oriented, typical nearby activities/classes for kids (karate, dance, etc.)
b) what would be the best way to commute to work in nyc from your above recommended neighborhoods. what is the door to door time?
c) what are good school districts. My eldest will be in kindergarten next fall
d) We have two cars now. If most of my commute is to nyc, do we need two cars in family. Should I dispose off one?
e) We are a single earner family. My wife is a full time stay at home mom. What is a decent salary for a family of four in your above recommended areas in NJ?
f) How is the cost of living in general? Any sticker shocker I should be aware off (car insurance, expenses, etc)
g) Anything else you would like to comment or advice that I may have missed asking here
h) I may go out there initially for a month or two and then relocate my family. Company is not paying for relocation. Any advice on logistics- i)should I look for an apartment right away and sign a lease? ii)Any other short term cheaper accomodations iii) any other creative ideas?. Another thing to note is that I'll not have my car till I relocate.
32nd and what cross street?
I doubt you'll find a 3br for $1200.
Salary depends on your expenses. Do you have a car loan? credit card debt?
Many people work in NY and commute from other parts of NY, not just NJ.
Car insurance is high as are property taxes.
well firstly all that surrounds Manhattan is commutable really. which includes the other 4 boroughs and NJ. but a lot come to NJ suburbs because it is more oriented for families. being from both queens and NJ i can see why. but honestly you can find safe neighborhoods in NYC that are probably better than some NJ towns.
a) We are currently renting a 3 bedroom 1200sq ft apartment for $1200. With the job in manhattan, what places in NJ should we consider to rent an apartment? What is the approximate rent. Looking to be in good neighborhood, good schools, safe, family oriented, typical nearby activities/classes for kids (karate, dance, etc.)
bergen county is the closest but the most expensive area. typically in the not so bad towns in bergen you will need to pay somewhere in the 1600-2500 range for a 3 bedroom. there are so many different towns you will really need to look into it. also if you go more south to the new brunswick/edison area where i used to live rent is a bit cheaper. i lived in edison in a condo called blueberry village (surrounded by other condo villages) in a 3bedroom over 1500sq ft for 1850 a month. the train station was a 10 min walk from that house and the commute was a little over a hour each way.
b) what would be the best way to commute to work in nyc from your above recommended neighborhoods. what is the door to door time?
most do not drive into the city with the crazy rush hour traffic and NYC is well known for its impossible parking and extremely expensive garage parking. whether NJ or the other boroughs you will need to seek out public transportation. all public transportation in NJ usually leads to NYC.
c) what are good school districts. My eldest will be in kindergarten next fall
refer to question A. most of the time more expensive area means better school district
d) We have two cars now. If most of my commute is to nyc, do we need two cars in family. Should I dispose off one?
its always convenient to have two cars. if not aware NJ insurance is very expensive. if youre gonna pay for one car i dont think insuring the second will cost too much more.
e) We are a single earner family. My wife is a full time stay at home mom. What is a decent salary for a family of four in your above recommended areas in NJ?
$70,000+ to live decently comfortable.
f) How is the cost of living in general? Any sticker shocker I should be aware off (car insurance, expenses, etc)
insurance is ridiculous. esurance and progressive are two cheaper ones i found for NJ.
I'm just going to throw out a town that I like Mahwah. It's in northern Bergen County, has great schools and there is a train station nearby (Ramsey Route 17 station). It's about an hour train ride, with one connection. It's also a very pretty town, kind of hilly, lots of parks, good services and as I said, great schools.
We are a family of four moving from NC to NJ. I'm considering taking an offer with a company on 32nd street NYC.We are not familiar with NJ as well as NYC. I"m assuming NJ is where people typically live and commute from.
NJ, Westchester County, and Long Island.
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a) We are currently renting a 3 bedroom 1200sq ft apartment for $1200. With the job in manhattan, what places in NJ should we consider to rent an apartment?
Somewhere on the njtransit train line. Look for something with a reasonably short commute time (40 minute or so train ride) to NY Penn station.
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What is the approximate rent. Looking to be in good neighborhood, good schools, safe, family oriented, typical nearby activities/classes for kids (karate, dance, etc.)
pass on this ... (varies greatly, check craigslist)
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b) what would be the best way to commute to work in nyc from your above recommended neighborhoods. what is the door to door time?
njtransit train. From some towns (e.g. near Rt 3 or Lincoln Tunnel), you can also take a bus to Port Authority.
Look for a 40 minute train or bus ride, for a ~75 minute door to door commute.
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c) what are good school districts. My eldest will be in kindergarten next fall
Good school districts are in higher income areas. If you're renting, you don't need to be in a town with a good high school. So either a desirable town, or a desirable neighborhood in an average town should serve you well.
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d) We have two cars now. If most of my commute is to nyc, do we need two cars in family. Should I dispose off one?
If your commute doesn't require driving, get rid of one. Biggest problem will be finding somewhere to park the second car. If you want a house with a 2 car garage, that's not going to come cheap.
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e) We are a single earner family. My wife is a full time stay at home mom. What is a decent salary for a family of four in your above recommended areas in NJ?
If you're renting, maybe 80k or so.
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f) How is the cost of living in general? Any sticker shocker I should be aware off (car insurance, expenses, etc)
Housing.
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i)should I look for an apartment right away and sign a lease?
I'm just going to throw out a town that I like Mahwah. It's in northern Bergen County, has great schools and there is a train station nearby (Ramsey Route 17 station). It's about an hour train ride, with one connection. It's also a very pretty town, kind of hilly, lots of parks, good services and as I said, great schools.
Housing is the real driver of the high cost of living around here. Car insurance will probably cost 150 a month.
To live comfortably renting, I'd say you would want to make 100 for a family of four, but you could get by on 75K.
The part I bolded struck me as funny, since there IS a MAHWAH train station. But the Ramsey Rt. 17 is closer for some areas.
Mahwah is a nice town. It used to be very rural and has had nonstop building going on, especially condo complexes, over the past 20 years or so, but it isn't completely devastated yet like most other Bergen County towns, and there are parks that won't ever be built over. Everything you need is close by, too.
Consider Nutley, Lyndhurst, and North Arlington. Rent for a 3Bdrm house would run around $2000 - $2500 per month. The median income for a family is around 75K.
Nutley is the nicest of the three, with a great series of parks and hilly terrain. But Lyndhurst and North Arlington are both good as well, just not as picturesque.
The part I bolded struck me as funny, since there IS a MAHWAH train station. But the Ramsey Rt. 17 is closer for some areas.
Mahwah is a nice town. It used to be very rural and has had nonstop building going on, especially condo complexes, over the past 20 years or so, but it isn't completely devastated yet like most other Bergen County towns, and there are parks that won't ever be built over. Everything you need is close by, too.
Yes, and they just built that huge park and ride at Route 17 which is closer to a lot of parts of Mahwah than the Mahwah station is. Which has very little parking.
Consider Nutley, Lyndhurst, and North Arlington. Rent for a 3Bdrm house would run around $2000 - $2500 per month. The median income for a family is around 75K.
Nutley is the nicest of the three, with a great series of parks and hilly terrain. But Lyndhurst and North Arlington are both good as well, just not as picturesque.
Of the three towns, the schools are better in Nutley.
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Mahwah. It's in northern Bergen County, has great schools and there is a train station nearby (Ramsey Route 17 station). It's about an hour train ride, with one connection. It's also a very pretty town, kind of hilly, lots of parks, good services and as I said, great schools.
