OT- New Jersey Help

[beachwarmer]

I am just now resurfacing on the boards since the baby was born July 9....and saw the NJ meet post...and thought I would ask for some help from the Podcast board New Jersey experts...

We are possibly being relocated from Canada to New Jersey- NYC area. The thought of this with a month old baby is doing my head in. The meet post reminded me I do kind of "know" people in New Jersey. Can I get some help from you experts?

Schools- What do I need to look for? Do I need to find a private one for my DD6? Do I choose a town to live in based on the schools and go public?

Train - Do you have any suggestions on somewhere to live that is on the train line into NYC?

I am functioning on so little sleep I can not even think of any other questions right now....

Oh yah....where are the Disney stores...maybe I will just pick a place to live based on Disney Store locations

Thanks

 

[Plutes]

First of all, congratulations on your new addition!!

I can only speak for my own town, as I've lived in Secaucus for over 30 years and have no memories of where we lived prior. If you can overlook our corrupt mayor, it's a very nice place to live. lol Off-peak hours, it takes literally 5-10 minutes to get into the city - I think we're 5-7 miles away. There's a train station right in town, as well...

As for the schools, we don't have children, but when I graduated from Secaucus High (over 15 years ago! ), we were one of the best in the area. Secaucus was also voted #11 in some magazine poll for the best town to live in NJ.

Jersey has a bad rep, but in my experience, it's really a very nice place to live. No major complaints from me.

 

[mf1973]

Here is where I would start. The commuter train system in NJ is ran by NJ Transit. You can google them. THey have a map http://www.njtransit.com/pdf/rail/Rail_System_Map.pdf.

These are just my preferences not to take away from any other places....

Open the map and look at the following:
- Raritan Valley Line: Any place west of Somerville
- Princeton or south of there (but that is a haul to NYC)
- Gladstone branch: Shorthills or west of there
- Montclair/Boonton line: Towaco and west of there with the exception of Montclair area if you wanted a more urban area (but still nice)
- Bergen County Line: Glen Rock or North of there
- Pascack Valley Line: Riveredge or North of there

Towns on the train line you should definitely check out, in no particular order: Ridgewood, Montclair, Denville, Basking Ridge, Princeton, Wayne area.

 

[beachwarmer]

Thanks everyone..keep the advice coming.....The Sopranos and Housewives of New jersey is probably not the best source of information....

I have taken a look at the train lines but didn't know which one was best. I have had suggestions that the taxes in NJ are high. Is that true?

I now just have to figure out the 401K, TN1.....

 

[Tink rules]

Thanks everyone..keep the advice coming.....The Sopranos and Housewives of New jersey is probably not the best source of information....

I have taken a look at the train lines but didn't know which one was best. I have had suggestions that the taxes in NJ are high. Is that true?

I now just have to figure out the 401K, TN1.....

Ummmmmm.... no.....

If you want to know anything about north Jersey... Bergen county area... just PM me...

where you settle is going to depend on your budget... it's expensive in the NYC area...

I grew up in Park Ridge and lived in Mahwah for most of my life...

Let us know a bit more and I'm sure you'll get lots of help...

 

[beachwarmer]

Ummmmmm.... no.....

If you want to know anything about north Jersey... Bergen county area... just PM me...

where you settle is going to depend on your budget... it's expensive in the NYC area...

I grew up in Park Ridge and lived in Mahwah for most of my life...

Let us know a bit more and I'm sure you'll get lots of help...

Thanks...I will PM you once I get all the info from my husband. I know his office with the bank ovelooks the Statue of Liberty and is right on the water....all else I know is that the ferry to Manhatten leaves from the building to get to where the rest of the bank people are. We just need to be in comuting distance of that.

 

[Tink rules]

Sounds like he'll be in the Jersey City area... that's good because you have to take any of the NJ transit trains to that area and then the PATH trains take you into NY...

So you can go from anywhere from the shore area to western Jersey to northern... depending on your budget...

 

[*NikkiBell*]

I lived on what is known as the "Jersey Shore" my entire life (Monmouth County to be more specific). I am about a 45-60 minute bus or train ride to NYC. I also work up north in another county. I am not positive on how long of a ride it is from there, but I believe it is about a half hour or so.

The suburb areas of NJ tend to be quite nice, but yes taxes are very high here. The cost of living in NJ is exceptionally high when compared to other states. However, my experience has shown me that the salary rates are higher too.

I plan on messaging you the rest of my thoughts regarding specific towns, etc.

 

[dustyraye]

I grew up in Bergen County (north eastern NJ - near the George Washington Bridge, on the Pascack Valley line), and recently moved back there. I also lived in Maplewood (Essex County) for about 4 years. Maplewood is on the Montclair-Boonton line, with train service to Hoboken, Secaucus, and directly into Midtown Manhattan.

There is a lot of variety in NJ - it all depends what you are looking for in a community and your budget. If you can tell us a little bit more of what you are looking for, we can probably give you some ideas of towns to check out. If you decide on the Bergen County area, I can also recommend a great realtor. (I just closed on my new house in June.)

 

[JVL1018]

I live in Bergen County-2 nice little towns that I like with good schools on the train line are Oradell and River Edge.
If I was going to move to another town around here, we'd move to Oradell-my brother lives there, it's quiet, small, close to everything..we're a little more hard core where I live a couple of towns away-we live on the bus line rather than the train line into the city.

 

[wdwscout]

Congrats on the baby- and welcome back to the boards!

You can pretty much figure that the closer you are to NYC, the more expensive, and the more crowded, it will be to live there. New Jersey is a perfect example of location, location,location!

We all have preferences based on our own experiences- and in my opinion most (not all, but most) places in NJ are good places to live! And I think we are all proud of our towns!
NJ's got it all...You have beaches, mountains, cities and farms- all within about an hour from your house- pretty much wherever you choose to live! (sure we get picked on a lot- but I think it's because everyone else is jealous! )

If you are looking at the NJ Transit map, I prefer the towns along the North Jersey Coast Line, followed by the Northeast Corridor Line (that goes toward Trenton/Philadelphia). But that's from my experiences.

You have to consider what your upper limit for commuting time is and work from there. Most of us usually have about an hour travel time, I think- some more, some less. (My daily destinations vary so I travel from 20 minutes some days, up to 2.5 hours on others!)

The public schools in NJ are generally excellent! In the larger cities- like Newark, Camden, Trenton and others- that's not always true. But in the suburbs- you're generally OK.

NJ ranks #4 out of 51 (includes Wash, DC) in "most Educated" states in the US. That's pretty good!

I currently live in South Jersey, but was born in Bayonne (sounds like right near where your DH will be working), putting you on the PATH line into Lower Manhattan. I've also lived in Woodbridge, Matawan/Aberdeen and Long Branch. My parents moved to Red Bank. All of these towns are along the Jersey Coast Line- and all are great towns.
I worked in Summit for a while, which is also lovely, but a bit more pricey. (and not on that train line)

Have fun looking around- and ask lots of questions are you start reading about different towns.