Jerseygirl

we waited 2 years until we got our GCs. When we first moved we did look at properties. I am glad we didn’t buy because it gave us time to find a much nicer house, in a much nicer area than we had originally been looking. Also as we all know, selling property in the US is very expensive, unlike the UK.

steveq

...Don't rush she says.....

Jerseygirl

retzie

Doesn't "that" university on the UWS have staff housing? If so, I would definitely try for that for your initial year or two. Starting a tenure-track job in a new country involves all kinds of stresses and adjustments; I would NOT recommend a commute PLUS spouse stuck in relative isolation. It will be easier for all of you if you have an opportunity to find your feet with as many creature comforts as possible. Once you have settled in, you can look at moving further out. This will also have the benefit of avoiding the issue of buying a house or needing a car for your initial period.

Also, I know enough academics who have moved for a "dream" position in NYC and then run for the hills after a single year. It doesn't have the challenges of an isolated college town, but there are plenty of other reasons that living here is not for everyone. I love it, but would never presume that others would.

steveq

Penn State for the win.....

Pulaski

The gas (petrol) figure looks low. Gas is cheap, but you will drive more than you ever imagined.

My rule of thumb is that you will spend as much on gas in the US as you did in the UK, but drive so much more that the cheapness of US gas is entirely absorbed by the extra distance you drive. We used to drive around 6,000 miles a year in the UK (we lived in London and commuted by train), but in NC were doing about 30,000 miles a year before our daughter started school (when we commuted together) and are now doing around 40,000 miles a year, even though I work from home!

retzie

If this is indeed OP's location, I don't see any way the walk could be less than 30 mins. And, no, I would not advise it (with or without shortcuts). Bank on taking the M60 bus, which will add Metrocard fees to the budget ($127 for monthly unlimited, or $2.75 per ride).

How are you guys getting on? I will concede that State College has surprisingly good Chinese food, but I can't say I get so excited about my visits there...

steveq

Where we live is very safe and quiet, yet only three miles from the school. I'm not an academic, but all our neighbours are. A typical commute is probably no more than 10 minutes. The local schools are great (though our youngest left 18 months ago to go to NMT)
Plenty to do - OK, but not like a big city - and great Chinese food courtesy of the huge diaspora round here - and one Chinese restaurant that actually moved from Manhattan !

We like it here. Now the boys have left, we bought some land around 10 minutes from here that we will build on soon. We're two hours or so from Pittsburgh, 3.5 from NYC. It works well for us.

scrubbedexpat099

And you do not have to wait for table at a Chinese Restaurant any more.

Jerseygirl

I have moved the off topic posts into a new thread in the TP forum

Conversation re Airplane Build

retzie

I'm glad you like it! I was cursed with 3 years in a college town with one totally crap Chinese restaurant and ZERO INDIAN RESTAURANTS, despite having large numbers of students and faculty from both places. I can't tell you how sad they all looked, all the time ("At my visa interview, the officer asked if I knew where Oklahoma was. I said no and he laughed." Poor dears.)

I think there's a lot to be said for the time and period of your life when your arrive in your destination. On BE, we often tell people to talk to their future colleagues to ask about places to live. The thing is, in academic departments you get a very broad mix of ages/nationalities/preferences, so I would say this oftentimes results in poor information. One person's peaceful, safe hamlet is someone else's Stepford Wives hell.

OP: if Fairfield was recommended to you by someone in your future department, I would strongly encourage you to collect some more opinions. Especially if you have never lived in the US. Other foreigners, especially those who have non-working spouses, should be able to paint you a much fuller picture.