masonvross

Hi there, new user here!

Through a business opportunity I could be looking to leave England and move my family to New Jersey.

What is the general opinion of NJ? Nice place to live, place to avoid, what towns would you particularly recommend? Decent schools?

I would love to read experiences from anyone who has lived there, whether good or bad.

Thank you.

anotherlimey

I wouldn't go that far...

gardnma

Murder capital of the North East?

There's a poster here who is away at the mo. Talk to her.

Jerseygirl. She's very practical.

TruBrit

hiya and welcome to BE...quite a few posters live that way i think, englishmum being one of them and she should be around today.

you can check this out for peeps in the area......

http://www.frappr.com/beusa

spuggy

We lived in Central NJ, Clinton for nearly 4 years. It was very pretty, not far from Frenchtown, New Hope and Lambertville. New Hope is a very quaint place and full of art galleries, cafes etc. Lambertville has one of the best flea markets I have seen around the United States.
The schools in Hunterdown county are excellent, but the taxes are very high and it is a horrid commute if you work towards Newark. House prices are very high.
Buses leave every hour for New York city and it takes about an hour. Not much to do in Clinton and people are not friendly in general. I despised the police in new jersey (yes there were some nice ones) but compared to all the other states I have lived in they stood out as being the meanest and most present. I don't know what it was but they seemed jaded and lord help you if you are driving in their jurisdiction and make one tiny traffic violation, brutal. AND the driving test in jersey is the worst ever with the most stupid questions. I had been driving 25 years when we moved there (excellent driving record), failed their test twice due to failing several non driving related questions. I would avoid Newark and Trenton AVOID like plague. Dealing with services was like pulling teeth, and there wasn't a week went by we didn't lose power due to a minor storm somewhere. Oh and watch out for those long distance calls they conveniently don't mention when you move in because they think everyone already knows about this: they are called intra-long distance and called the next county can cost you an arm or a leg.

Even though it was very pretty where we lived, and I enjoyed some aspects of living there ( going to some of the surrounding areas) I would not choose to live there again. MY fave place to live was Annapolis Md.

just my humble opinion

Rete

Quite a few Brits living in New Jersey who are still active on the board. I've family in Manmmouth County NJ who transplanted themselves from NY nearly 30 years ago. They love it and loved the school system for their children who both were in honor classes and went on to top ranking colleges and one went further to become a DC attorney.

Outside of the major eastern seaboard cities where crime is high and real estate is over the top, you can find lovely homes ranging from older victorians to macmansions all for reasonable prices in comparison to NY area prices. You want a horse farm, go to Colts Neck, NJ. You want a potato farm try Old Bridge, NJ. You want to enjoy easy access to NYC and its entertainment factor then try Hoboken or Jersey City. If you want to smell something other than the offensive odors along the New Jersey Turnpike corridor, i.e. smells remind me of "underarm sweat", "dirty crotch", "bad foot odor", then look west of the seaboard.

It's a big state and lots of different living enviroments in that one state. You can pick and choose which is right for you and your family.

Bodshal

Southern NJ is really quite nice - especially if you get away from the Camden/Philly area. I'm maybe a half hour from there, it's semi-rural (most of the farms selling up), lots of space, and nice and quiet.

Downside being it's a hike to go anywhere, like to buy food, but I don't think I'd trade it.

Chris.

gruffbrown

Crowded, high taxes and they drive like complete dickheads, apart from that there are some nice parts, but few and far between IMO.

Why am I being nice? I hate the place, it sucks.

gruffbrown

Of the US, that would be Camden 2 years running.

BigDavyG

You seem to have an affinity for these spots having previously lived not that far from Gary, In.
Have you moved back to Moss Side ??

gruffbrown

LOL we lived 5 miles from Camden, in Cherry Hill, talk about chalk and cheese, you were lucky to see a DUI in the paper.

I'm looking at places in Toxteth, they say it's quite cheap.

BigDavyG

Speak to Robbie Fowler - he should be able to sort you out

penguinsix

Everyone I know who lived in New Jersey has good things and bad things to say. It can go from quite urbanized and dangerous, to very rural and sedate. Suburbia inbetween. Cheaper than NY, horrible traffic, safe, unsafe--it really depends on where you live.

Outside of NJ, most people in other states make fun of people from New Jersey. Some of the comments you've seen here are pretty representative of most people's views of NJ.

Englishmum

I live in northern New Jersey, approx 18 miles west of Manhatten (spouse commutes to work in NYC). We live in a nice town and very safe. Most crime in NJ seems to be 'black on black' crimes in the 'hoods' like Newark, Irvington and Camden. It's not very diverse where we live (in fact a bit too homogenous) but considered a great place to raise a family .

Like everyone else, my initial mental image of NJ was chemical factories etc. just like in the opening location shots of 'The Sopranos' tv series (the NJ Turnpike area which is the I-95 going from Maine to Florida). It's nothing like that in suburbia where we live - trees everywhere and a very large reservation. The school district is one of the best in the US - but this means that houses and property taxes are expensive, just as they would be in the UK in a desirable school district. (Few Americans send their children to private schools compared to the UK; most private schools tend to be Catholic or Jewish).

Which part of NJ would your business venture be located in? It's hard to recommend towns if we don't know if you need to be nearer to say, Philadelphia or New York City or a rural area!

spuggy

I didn't really have a stereotyped view of New Jersey before we moved there, and don't now . Newark and Trenton are like a lot of urban areas in a lot of states. There are some really beautiful parts, and some really ugly parts, there are some minus' and plus' but like others said, it depends where in New Jersey and where you plan to commute.