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I'm discussing a move to NJ with my employer, role will be based in Parsippany.
I am moving with my wife and 2 young children (5 & 8).
They have done international moves previously, so we have some experience here.
I'm most interested in where best to live and the schools..unsurprisingly
The role is fairly senior and the salary will be good, so we are looking for a safe, expat friendly, child friendly area. We prefer countryside to cities, so somewhere on the quieter side, good sense of community, close to nature etc? We would look to purchase something, rather than rent.
The other big concern is the school system. The kids have always been in English Private education, both in UK and abroad. As we will be moving for probably 3-5 years, and will come back to UK after the US, we would like them to stay in the English curriculum (if possible?)
Do good private/public English curriculum schools exist around Parsippany area?
And where are the nicest areas to live, based on the above.
If there was a picture in the dictionary of American suburbia, the area you are moving to is it.
Sufficient to say, the schools are good.
There's good hiking nearby, and depending on how much rural you want, and how much $$$ you have, there's lots of towns that have a rural 'feel' to it despite having two huge shopping malls 10 minutes away.
If there was a picture in the dictionary of American suburbia, the area you are moving to is it.
Sufficient to say, the schools are good.
There's good hiking nearby, and depending on how much rural you want, and how much $$$ you have, there's lots of towns that have a rural 'feel' to it despite having two huge shopping malls 10 minutes away.
Welcome to NJ...
hi, thx for the reply. My role is in Parsippany, but looking for areas around there which are nicest, not necessarily in Parsippany.
Also, specifically the best schools with English curriculum.
Maybe I'm dense, but what do you mean by "English curriculum"?
The curriculum taught in British schools, or if there are British private prep schools. As opposed to the US curriculum/IB, which may mean they will have to go into an International school when we return to uk (which are super expensive)
When they come back to UK, in 3-5 years, I'd like them to be able to fit straight back into the UK school system, as my eldest will be 13/14 at that time, so in middle of exams etc.
I'm sure others more familiar with the suburbs out there will chime in, but for the "nicest" semi-rural towns I may look toward a place like Mendham. On Google Maps it doesn't look too far, but not sure what actual commute is like during rush hour (it says 26 minutes right now, Friday at 9:00 am). It shouldn't be too difficult to find the type of town that you're looking for out there - you're advantage is that you don't have to commute to NYC, which opens up a lot of possibilities (i.e. not needing to be on a train line, etc.)
I'll leave comments on private schools to someone else because I have no idea - public schools out there are considered quite good, but understand the desire to continue with the curriculum of your native country, particularly if you will someday be moving back there.
The curriculum taught in British schools, or if there are British private prep schools. As opposed to the US curriculum/IB, which may mean they will have to go into an International school when we return to uk (which are super expensive)
When they come back to UK, in 3-5 years, I'd like them to be able to fit straight back into the UK school system, as my eldest will be 13/14 at that time, so in middle of exams etc.
Hope makes sense.
OK, no, lol, I really don't know what any of this means except that apparently you are saying that the curriculum in the two countries are so different that your kids could be on a different page when you get back to the UK.
There are some private prep schools, of course, but I don't know if they would be considered "English".
I was curious enough that I Googled a bit (looked under "British prep schools in New Jersey" after realizing that using "English" is just going to bring up every site discussing the language subject ).
There's a Brit expats site. These posts are from 2009 and concern the public schools in New Jersey, but if you poke around the site or ask questions there, maybe it will help.
For what it's worth, I've never heard of any schools offering an 'English Curriculum'. It's very likely that the only place that would have something like that anywhere near would be New York City, which is a while different can of worms. (And could you reverse commute to Parsippany from there - it's definitely a theoretical possibility, but it would be time consuming and expensive.
Also, while you say the salary is 'good', costs around here can get 'bad' real quick and even a 'good' salary can have limitations. (Of course, it all depends on how 'good' that 'good' is, but unless you're up to 'great' you will probably still have to keep an eye on things. Both my wife and I have 'decent' salaries that probably add up to what would be a single wage earner's 'good' and while we're doing fine, we're not living any sort of dream lifestyle or anything.)
The Blair Academy is a boarding school but supposed to be good. Peddie School is a prep school but i dont know much about it. Wardlaw and Hartridge is a very very good private school. And the British International school in NYC is a UK curriculum school. However really good private school in this area, because of the affluence, are very expensive. You would be spending beween 18k and 50k USD per student per year for a top ranked private school. Dont know how "good" your salary is though. Some of the towns in the vicinity have really good public schools though. And i shouldnt think UK schools and US schools are so different that your children would be at a disadvantage if they attend public school
The Blair Academy is a boarding school but supposed to be good. Peddie School is a prep school but i dont know much about it. Wardlaw and Hartridge is a very very good private school. And the British International school in NYC is a UK curriculum school. However really good private school in this area, because of the affluence, are very expensive. You would be spending beween 18k and 50k USD per student per year for a top ranked private school. Dont know how "good" your salary is though. Some of the towns in the vicinity have really good public schools though. And i shouldnt think UK schools and US schools are so different that your children would be at a disadvantage if they attend public school
Sorry but you would be wrong. UK schools (and EU schools) are far superior to anything we have here. The difference even between really good public schools between US east and west coasts (I have experience with both) are different. Just look at their summer reading lists.
Private schools are expensive, but I would definitely check them out and then stay in touch with any of the schools in the UK you think they may be attending when they go back, to make sure they're not too far behind.
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