Where to move ?

[qrysdonnell]

I'm in the process of moving from Washington Heights in Manhattan to South Orange, NJ and as a result we've looked just about everywhere vaguely nearby.

For the most part, people's advice on salary is pretty accurate, $135K for a family isn't going to get you anything crazy - especially in Jersey City. You'll find that the places with better public schools cost more. If you get into buying property you'll be in for quite a ride. I'd have to say that we've not found the NJ real estate market any more forgiving than Manhattan. This pretty much means if you're trying to purchase in a desirable area and you need a mortgage you go to the bottom of the pile.

Needless to say, the demand for a 2+ bedroom in a desirable neighborhood with good schools can be pretty significant. Jersey City isn't really comparable to East Amherst. JC is urban living, especially in the parts that you'd likely end up in. There are plenty of communities in NJ a tad further afield that are more suburban in nature.

Edgewater had good schools and great views of the city and you should be able to find something you can afford there. The commute isn't great. There's a ferry, but it's a little pricey and if you're not right next to it you have to take a bus. Weehawken has some affordable stuff in the areas not right by the water (those are probably out of your budget) and has good schools, but isn't too quaint.

From what I've seen, I'd think Hoboken and the Jersey City (the parts you'd want to be in) are probably out of your price range for what I suspect you'd want your 'quality of life' to be.

You may want to look into some of the 'train' cities that are a tad further afield. I'd recommend looking at Maplewood, South Orange and Montclair. In either of those towns you should be able to probably get a 3 bedroom house. The schools are good and the commute is very sensible. Maplewood is currently the hot buzzword community for people 'from Brooklyn' to move to when they have kids and realize they can't afford to live in the city. South Orange is ostensibly the same place, they share a school district and several major arteries. As far as town centers, Maplewood is a tad more 'quaint' (no chains allowed) and South Orange is a tad more practical (has a Starbucks).

And with that said, expect everyone in NJ to try to convince you that their town is the place to be. And there's SO MANY small municipalities that you'll never hear the end of it!


Hope that helps some.

[new traveller pm]

qrysdonnell ... this is amazing information. Great insight. I need to decide by tomorrow between working in Buffalo & NYC. Once I tell them where i plan to live then they will come back with final comp number.

[jobaba]

You don't just choose between Buffalo and NYC based on cost of living. Yea, Buffalo is only sub-freezing cold there and nothing to do unless you want to cross the border, not to mention that there's much less diversity. And NYC just happens to be the cultural and diversity hub of the world. You need to have an idea of what environment you want to raise your family and kid in. The two places couldn't be any more different, and I would myself avoid living in Buffalo at all costs.

But that's just me.

125K is plenty in NYC area. This being the NJ forum, there's lots of places.

Plus, if you have a kid, you're not going to be wanting to live in the Jersey City area anyway.

Lots of affordable suburbs.