Moving our family from CA to NJ (Jersey City, Hoboken: rental market, low crime)

[GByeCA4]

We're looking to move from Southern CA to NJ. My husband will likely transfer in the next 18 months (most likely at the beginning of 2011), but we'd like to start looking into things now. He will most likely work in the NYC area, so we want to live within a decent commute but not in the city.

We have 2 young children, one in elementary school and one that won't be in school for another 4 years, so we do want a community that has good schools. Our plan is to rent for a while at first, until we know exactly what area we want to stay in.

I'd appreciate any and all info. Thanks

[GByeCA4]

Bumping this up.. anyone??

[Ninasimonejr]

I'm afraid of sounding like a broken record about Hoboken and Weehawken. Look at the thread about the person moving to Jersey City - Job in Jersey City Where Do You Live?

Also, here's another recent thread that covered the kind of issues you seem to have.
Moving to Jersey City...Maybe...

You're right about renting first!!!

[GByeCA4]

Originally Posted by Ninasimonejr

I'm afraid of sounding like a broken record about Hoboken and Weehawken. Look at the thread about the person moving to Jersey City - Job in Jersey City Where Do You Live?

Also, here's another recent thread that covered the kind of issues you seem to have.
Moving to Jersey City...Maybe...

You're right about renting first!!!

Thanks.. The first thread gave me some great suggestions of towns to look in. I know that we don't want to be in JC for sure. The second thread didn't help much.. we can't afford $1.2 mil, yet! haha

Would it be crazy to commute from the Princeton or Monmouth Beach areas? We have friends in both towns. The husband from Princeton commutes to NYC every day and doesn't mind the commute...

[Ninasimonejr]

Originally Posted by GByeCA4

Thanks.. The first thread gave me some great suggestions of towns to look in. I know that we don't want to be in JC for sure. The second thread didn't help much.. we can't afford $1.2 mil, yet! haha

Would it be crazy to commute from the Princeton or Monmouth Beach areas? We have friends in both towns. The husband from Princeton commutes to NYC every day and doesn't mind the commute...

That's very individual. We're kind of trapped in Weehawken because my husband is so spoiled by the 12-min. bus ride to Manhattan. Nothing can match it!

[GByeCA4]

Originally Posted by Ninasimonejr

That's very individual. We're kind of trapped in Weehawken because my husband is so spoiled by the 12-min. bus ride to Manhattan. Nothing can match it!

I think that my husband is prepared for an hour+ commute if necessary, which I know is very likely. Once we've lived there and are ready to buy he'll be making more money as well, so we'll be able to afford to live closer to the city if we choose to do so.

Any idea what kind of commute he'd be looking at from Princeton or Monmouth Beach areas?

[luckyshoes]

Where will your husband be working? (the city?)

What's your price range?

[GByeCA4]

Originally Posted by luckyshoes

Where will your husband be working? (the city?)

What's your price range?

Yes.. in NYC, though I'm not sure exactly where yet.

We'd like to stay around the $2000 mark if at all possible.

[Appias]

I too will risk sounding like a broken record. My suggestion: Maplewood or South Orange. The commute to NYC from both is on a direct train (meaning no transfers necessary) and is about 35-40 min depending on train. You can rent a one family house for around $2,000. Both towns have low crime, good schools, shops, restaurants, grocery stores and walkable downtown areas. If you you to Maplewood Online you can see upcoming events and check out the classified ads to get an idea of the rental stock.

[TorontoMom]

We're just in the process of relocating to NJ. We've opted to rent for a year to allow us the time to explore and really figure out where we want to eventually purchase a home. We chose our interim location by looking at towns that are serviced by the NJ Transit trains that go to the PATH (husband will be working in Financial District) and that would provide a total commute time of around 1 1/2 hours give or take. Because I am a stay-at-home mom, a good community was also a factor (our daugther is still too young for school so that wasn't as big a factor in our decision). We then came to NJ and drove through all these towns in one day, then returned a month later to see specific homes in the towns we short-listed.

Here is a list of the towns we liked, but be warned that the rental market is not great overall. If you don't have a pet, your options may be greater as many landlords do not want pets.

- Cranford
- Westfield
- New Providence
- Chatham
- Madison
- Summit
- Short Hills
- Millburn
- Maplewood
- Rutherford

$2000 may not get you very much - you might want to consider increasing your budget to $3000.

I know there are probably dozens of other towns we could have considered, but we just didn't have the time to look at all of them. That's what the next year will be for!

I recommend you get a realtor working with you, preferably one that understands the issues surrounding a major relocation such as yours. If your husband's company does not have a relocation program you can avail yourself of, I can put you into contact with the realtor we are working with - she's extremely patient, responsive and on-the-ball. She may not be making the big bucks with this particular transaction, but you can be sure she'll be the one we'll call when we're ready to purchase!