Move to Princeton
#16
Forum Regular
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 197
Re: Move to Princeton
No property tax here in NJ on cars. On top of my rent I paid utilities but garbage was included. I was also responsible for landscaping and snow removal. Landlord may have a contract with a company and it’s not cheap in Princeton if it snows and you have a lot of sidewalk to clear. It’s a legal requirement in NJ. It’s a good way to meet the neighbours if not.
#17
Just Joined
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Joined: Nov 2020
Posts: 15
Re: Move to Princeton
I might be able to help. I’m living in Plainsboro at the moment and did live in Hopewell. No kids, but my boss has a few young ones and a healthy bank balance to pay any fees. He moved to Princeton from Cranbury just for the schools. I can ask him which ones are the most sought .
problem with relying on a public school (it seems), despite the fact they are good and free, is that you have to live within a tight boundary nearby- but given the lack of available rentals, it seems like finding a needle in a haystack to select a good school and then also find a rental house in that area all at the same time..!
Other nearby areas that we have been recommended are Montgomery, Skillman, Hopewell, Pennington and West Windsor and Plainsborough.....
#18
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Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 197
Re: Move to Princeton
Checked with my boss, he sends his kids to Princeton Day School, but at $32k per year its not cheap ! He also mentions that Chapin is a good private school. I think you have hit the nail on the head with the public schools and catchment issues. Bit like grammar schools in England.
A lot of the places you mention are very spread out, yes this is the USA. Montgomery and Skillman to me are pretty much the same place. Used to drive through both on the way home everyday to Hopewell. Never feels like there is a centre to them. Hopewell is closer to what you would consider a large village with a nice centre and a few places to eat. You can also see a couple of Union Jacks around the place so i think a few expats have made it home. There is also Rocky Hill, but that to me also merges into Montgomery. Pennington is that bit bigger but again there doesnt seem to be a defined centre, but i may just of missed it. Plainboro does have a centre but its just good for fast food and an Indian. Unless you live off Asian food (three Asian supermarkets here) then you have to leave Plainsboro to go to the likes of Wegman's, Whole Foods or Trader Joes which are all on the 1. They all make Waitrose look cheap. Plainsboro and West Windsor are very good for access to Princeton and all the grocery stores, cinema and restaurants just off the 1. If you have to travel in to NYC then you also have Princeton Junction close by.
A lot of the places you mention are very spread out, yes this is the USA. Montgomery and Skillman to me are pretty much the same place. Used to drive through both on the way home everyday to Hopewell. Never feels like there is a centre to them. Hopewell is closer to what you would consider a large village with a nice centre and a few places to eat. You can also see a couple of Union Jacks around the place so i think a few expats have made it home. There is also Rocky Hill, but that to me also merges into Montgomery. Pennington is that bit bigger but again there doesnt seem to be a defined centre, but i may just of missed it. Plainboro does have a centre but its just good for fast food and an Indian. Unless you live off Asian food (three Asian supermarkets here) then you have to leave Plainsboro to go to the likes of Wegman's, Whole Foods or Trader Joes which are all on the 1. They all make Waitrose look cheap. Plainsboro and West Windsor are very good for access to Princeton and all the grocery stores, cinema and restaurants just off the 1. If you have to travel in to NYC then you also have Princeton Junction close by.
#19
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Joined: Nov 2020
Posts: 15
Re: Move to Princeton
Thanks Chins and all - yes I think we may have to accept whatever we can get accommodation wise and then work backwards from there in term of local school or the private one - heard lots about Princeton Day School, not cheap but may not have a huge amount of choice...
Also acclimatising to the fact that most of these places don't seem to have a central hub, like we would have here...e.g. local town/village high street in walking distance....2 cars will be essential, idle meandering buggy walks for a coffee with mums doesn't sound like the done thing...!
Add to this some tax advice we were given today saying that if we rent out our current residential house when we relocate, US will tax any currency effects on the capital part of the mortgage repayment as if you have made a gain, when in reality there is none, and it makes the whole relocation offer seem more daunting and less exciting that it first was when I got the job offer!! But I am sure it will feel a bit more positive again once we have a better idea on where we will end up and get a deeper understanding of the school options!
Also acclimatising to the fact that most of these places don't seem to have a central hub, like we would have here...e.g. local town/village high street in walking distance....2 cars will be essential, idle meandering buggy walks for a coffee with mums doesn't sound like the done thing...!
Add to this some tax advice we were given today saying that if we rent out our current residential house when we relocate, US will tax any currency effects on the capital part of the mortgage repayment as if you have made a gain, when in reality there is none, and it makes the whole relocation offer seem more daunting and less exciting that it first was when I got the job offer!! But I am sure it will feel a bit more positive again once we have a better idea on where we will end up and get a deeper understanding of the school options!
#20
Forum Regular
Joined: Oct 2017
Posts: 36
Re: Move to Princeton
I was there for part of a former life. Definitely not for me anymore, but Princeton itself is lovely.
If you don't want to/can't afford to be in Princeton itself, you also have places like East Windsor, West Windsor, Hightstown, and Princeton Junction which are very close by but cheaper.
You are correct on the central hub thing. Unless you count strip malls I guess.
Also worth noting for travel stuff, that Princeton itself isn't on the NE NJ transit/Amtrak line... it's a little dinky train from princeton itself to princeton junction, which is where the mainline station is. From there you can go direct to Newark airport airtrain, NYC & Boston in one direction, and to Philadephia, Baltimore, and DC in the other.
You are also near the turnpike which is handy.
If you don't want to/can't afford to be in Princeton itself, you also have places like East Windsor, West Windsor, Hightstown, and Princeton Junction which are very close by but cheaper.
You are correct on the central hub thing. Unless you count strip malls I guess.
Also worth noting for travel stuff, that Princeton itself isn't on the NE NJ transit/Amtrak line... it's a little dinky train from princeton itself to princeton junction, which is where the mainline station is. From there you can go direct to Newark airport airtrain, NYC & Boston in one direction, and to Philadephia, Baltimore, and DC in the other.
You are also near the turnpike which is handy.
#21
DE-UK-NZ-IE-US... the TYP
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 2,848
Re: Move to Princeton
Thanks Chins and all - yes I think we may have to accept whatever we can get accommodation wise and then work backwards from there in term of local school or the private one - heard lots about Princeton Day School, not cheap but may not have a huge amount of choice...
Also acclimatising to the fact that most of these places don't seem to have a central hub, like we would have here...e.g. local town/village high street in walking distance....2 cars will be essential, idle meandering buggy walks for a coffee with mums doesn't sound like the done thing...!
Add to this some tax advice we were given today saying that if we rent out our current residential house when we relocate, US will tax any currency effects on the capital part of the mortgage repayment as if you have made a gain, when in reality there is none, and it makes the whole relocation offer seem more daunting and less exciting that it first was when I got the job offer!! But I am sure it will feel a bit more positive again once we have a better idea on where we will end up and get a deeper understanding of the school options!
Also acclimatising to the fact that most of these places don't seem to have a central hub, like we would have here...e.g. local town/village high street in walking distance....2 cars will be essential, idle meandering buggy walks for a coffee with mums doesn't sound like the done thing...!
Add to this some tax advice we were given today saying that if we rent out our current residential house when we relocate, US will tax any currency effects on the capital part of the mortgage repayment as if you have made a gain, when in reality there is none, and it makes the whole relocation offer seem more daunting and less exciting that it first was when I got the job offer!! But I am sure it will feel a bit more positive again once we have a better idea on where we will end up and get a deeper understanding of the school options!
If there is a chance you may stay for more than 2-3 year and become a PR and remain long term definitely understand the tax implications of things like owning a house, ISA’s pensions etc as you can optimize your situation before you become a “US person” from an IRS perspective, which is totally separate to immigration in almost all situations.
Last edited by tht; Nov 28th 2020 at 2:33 pm.
#22
Re: Move to Princeton
I moved as a single in my early 30’s and had the same issues in NYC, no local credit so I had issues getting the apt I wanted. Even with a letter from my employer guaranteeing the lease they wanted a personal guarantor or a years rent, plus security upfront. I ended up taking a short term rental (paid 3 months, plus a month security) and kept extending for another 18 months till I brought an apartment. If you plan to stay for at least a few years I would recommend researching some of the threads here to understand how to optimize your credit in the quickest time possible... I hand HSBC Premier and was able to to get a bank account, unsecured credit card and checkbook day 1 before I had my SSN. Other banks offer similar for expats, but worth seeing if your current bank can do it for you.
#23
DE-UK-NZ-IE-US... the TYP
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 2,848
Re: Move to Princeton
I was in 2010, it was also a smaller LLC, revenue was only in the $100’s of millions a year, I am sure larger listed companies may be looked at differently. Another option I found and would offer myself now (as a landlord) is this service: https://www.insurent.com
#24
Re: Move to Princeton
Add to this some tax advice we were given today saying that if we rent out our current residential house when we relocate, US will tax any currency effects on the capital part of the mortgage repayment as if you have made a gain, when in reality there is none, and it makes the whole relocation offer seem more daunting and less exciting that it first was when I got the job offer!!
#25
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Joined: May 2019
Posts: 341
Re: Move to Princeton
+1 to HSBC if possible, I was introduced to them by my company and opened a UK current account with them 5 months before moving, and had a US Credit Card, Savings and Checking account 3 months before even flying to the US (before I even had a Visa). They only report to one of the credit agencies though in US, so if possible combine with AmEx as they report to the other one (I believe they also let you open a credit card based on a UK card's history if you have an existing account).
#26
DE-UK-NZ-IE-US... the TYP
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 2,848
Re: Move to Princeton
+1 to HSBC if possible, I was introduced to them by my company and opened a UK current account with them 5 months before moving, and had a US Credit Card, Savings and Checking account 3 months before even flying to the US (before I even had a Visa). They only report to one of the credit agencies though in US, so if possible combine with AmEx as they report to the other one (I believe they also let you open a credit card based on a UK card's history if you have an existing account).
#27
Just Joined
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Joined: Nov 2020
Posts: 15
Re: Move to Princeton
Thanks all for the tips on credit - the company relocation agent is advising that they will put us in touch with credit lenders familiar with working with expats with no credit rating and also refer to a company called 'jasper' to start building credit from day 1 of arrival - probably will involve opening accounts with HSBC etc as some of you have suggested....but you are dead right, just been on HSBC website and you can open an International Account in the USA before you arrive but need a UK Premier Account and that will need me to transfer from my current Nationwide account....
It is technically a permanent move on a local contract rather than a true expat temporary assignment, although at this stage we are not planning to stay longer than 2-3years but you never know once we get there we may end up staying for longer....so the tax equalisation thing is probably not their problem, I guess, because we are choosing to keep our property in the UK rented rather than selling....bit too late to negotiate it in now, because I accepted the offer and then just had the tax consult the other day - but will work out how big an impact there is, and if it is significant, will need to bring it back to the table....
Looking online, even when we expand our search to other adjacent areas like East Windsor, West Windsor and Princeton Junction, there is very limited housing stock - hopefully this will change in the new year, but I will be working in Princeton, so wondering whether there are any other nice areas in NJ or on border of Philadelphia suburbs that have top schools and within 30-40minute commute to Princeton, that we should be expanding our relocation search to? Currently we live in Gerrards Cross/Chalfonts area of Buckinghamshire, so if anyone knows this area, and knows places in NJ/Philly suburbs that are even slightly similar, it would be great to know....right now we are still completely in the dark about all these possible areas, despite looking up the internet left right and centre..!!
It is technically a permanent move on a local contract rather than a true expat temporary assignment, although at this stage we are not planning to stay longer than 2-3years but you never know once we get there we may end up staying for longer....so the tax equalisation thing is probably not their problem, I guess, because we are choosing to keep our property in the UK rented rather than selling....bit too late to negotiate it in now, because I accepted the offer and then just had the tax consult the other day - but will work out how big an impact there is, and if it is significant, will need to bring it back to the table....
Looking online, even when we expand our search to other adjacent areas like East Windsor, West Windsor and Princeton Junction, there is very limited housing stock - hopefully this will change in the new year, but I will be working in Princeton, so wondering whether there are any other nice areas in NJ or on border of Philadelphia suburbs that have top schools and within 30-40minute commute to Princeton, that we should be expanding our relocation search to? Currently we live in Gerrards Cross/Chalfonts area of Buckinghamshire, so if anyone knows this area, and knows places in NJ/Philly suburbs that are even slightly similar, it would be great to know....right now we are still completely in the dark about all these possible areas, despite looking up the internet left right and centre..!!
#28
Re: Move to Princeton
It is technically a permanent move on a local contract rather than a true expat temporary assignment, although at this stage we are not planning to stay longer than 2-3years but you never know once we get there we may end up staying for longer....so the tax equalisation thing is probably not their problem.!!
#29
Account Closed
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 2
Re: Move to Princeton
Sounds like an EB Immigrant Visa?
#30
Forum Regular
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 40
Re: Move to Princeton
Looking online, even when we expand our search to other adjacent areas like East Windsor, West Windsor and Princeton Junction, there is very limited housing stock - hopefully this will change in the new year, but I will be working in Princeton, so wondering whether there are any other nice areas in NJ or on border of Philadelphia suburbs that have top schools and within 30-40minute commute to Princeton, that we should be expanding our relocation search to? Currently we live in Gerrards Cross/Chalfonts area of Buckinghamshire, so if anyone knows this area, and knows places in NJ/Philly suburbs that are even slightly similar, it would be great to know....right now we are still completely in the dark about all these possible areas, despite looking up the internet left right and centre..!!