Possibly move to New York... and very scared!!
#16
Re: Possibly move to New York... and very scared!!
All this bickering. Britishmum, must be wishing she had not bothered to ask for advice. Think we need to get back on the "thread"
Reg. Frank R.
Reg. Frank R.
#17
Account Closed
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 22,220
Re: Possibly move to New York... and very scared!!
Originally Posted by Pimpbot
It amazes me that someone can post on every thread, yet contribute nothing. This board is filling up with post whores who'd rather argue or stir the pot. What a shame.
#18
Notts - CT
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 197
Re: Possibly move to New York... and very scared!!
I am in CT very close the the NEw YOrk border house prices in a decent neighbourhood are hidiously priced in the 500-550 to multi millions I came here with my 3 year old 5 years ago. Kids don't goto school until they are 5 and nursery pre school are mega $$$ I live in Stamford and the school district in this area isn't 100% unfortunatley because it has a high minority population being a city.
If you find a area www.Greatschools.net is a good source to find info on each schools you can search by address.
Unless you earn millions these area's in CT are overly priced
Greenwich, Old Greenwich, Riverside, Darien, New Cannan, these are all close to the New York line and have commuter lines that run into Manhatten.
If you find a area www.Greatschools.net is a good source to find info on each schools you can search by address.
Unless you earn millions these area's in CT are overly priced
Greenwich, Old Greenwich, Riverside, Darien, New Cannan, these are all close to the New York line and have commuter lines that run into Manhatten.
#19
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Re: Possibly move to New York... and very scared!!
Originally Posted by neil
$400,000 seems a bit optimistic. I'm out in NJ and looking at buying a house 10 minutes walk from a station that takes 50 minutes to get into Manhattan. In a good area for schools out here you are looking at about 450,000 for a 3 bedroom, maybe a 4 bedroom if you're very lucky.
#20
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Re: Possibly move to New York... and very scared!!
Originally Posted by ladylisa
I really wouldn't worry of all the places to be posted New York has got to be one of the best. I hear wonderful things also about Connecticut. Can you elaborate on where your husband will be working?
The best person to advise you is Englishmum, she lives in New York and is a wealth of information....good luck
The best person to advise you is Englishmum, she lives in New York and is a wealth of information....good luck
As far as I know he will be based in Manhattan. He's out there this weekend having a look around etc - just to see where places are. Thanks for advice I will chat to Englishmum.
#21
Unknown quantity
Joined: Feb 2005
Location: Manhattan
Posts: 59
Re: Possibly move to New York... and very scared!!
Originally Posted by Britishmum
As far as I know he will be based in Manhattan. He's out there this weekend having a look around etc - just to see where places are. Thanks for advice I will chat to Englishmum.
#22
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 6,848
Re: Possibly move to New York... and very scared!!
Originally Posted by Britishmum
As far as I know he will be based in Manhattan. He's out there this weekend having a look around etc - just to see where places are. Thanks for advice I will chat to Englishmum.
1) Take the trains to Hoboken (which is on the banks of the River Hudson). He can then take the high-speed NY Waterways ferry directly from the train station to the financial district - he has a choice of stops.
2). Take the train to Hoboken then go downstairs to the PATH subway trains; this goes to various destinations in lower Manhatten.
3) Take the train to NY Penn Station then take the express subway train to lower Manhatten inc. financial district.
If your husband will be working in midtown eg. from approx 30th Streets up to approx 60th where Central Park begins then he would be using Penn Station or Grand Central. My husband walks just a few (short) blocks from Penn to his office in Times Sq, other colleagues coming in from Connecticut go to Grand Central and take the underground shuttle to Times Square or walk.
Our priorities on choosing where to live were:
1. Good School District
2. A safe/low crime community
3. Easy commute to Manhatten (certainly under 1 hour door-to-door) by train.
4. Easy and quick access to a major international & domestic airport.
We had a company called the "Relocation Group" who were supposed to assist with our move...one woman phoned me up in Singapore and said "Well, whaddya wanna know?" and all she knew about was Manhatten... so I did my own research. One thing you will discover is that all realtors (estate agents) who will be showing you properties to rent or buy will tell you what a 'wonderful school district' the property is located in. You will need to take some of their comments with a pinch of salt LOL!
I spent hours on the internet and looked up the schedules for the New Jersey Transit trains. After poring at the map of NYC and airports we decided to focus on NJ.....my husband has colleagues in Connecticut and in New York State and it takes them an age (1 to 2 hours) to get to JFK if they have to fly off for overseas business trips...husband's boss had relocated to Fairfield, CT and immediately regretted it due to constant airport runs but it was too expensive to move again! We also took the view that we would be getting visitors from the UK and of course they expect you to 'meet and greet' them at the airport LOL!
I focussed my research on the towns which NJ Transit serves with journeys under one hour; the MidTown Direct service - (we are on the Morris and Essex lines where the trains terminate at Dover), but also which had highly rated school districts. I purchased a book ('What's Wrong and Right about Public Schools in America' by Jay Matthews) which listed the schools which offered most 'challenging' courses and it helped us in making our decision - we live in a suburb of Millburn township in Essex county and it is just 15 minutes from Newark airport (UK-US non-stop flights served by British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Continental Airlines).
You might want to go to google and check out websites for info about these towns all going due west of Manhatten and Newark airport: Maplewood & its sister town of South Orange, Millburn & Short Hills....and going a little further out so the commute will be approx 1 hour +, Summit (Union county), Florham Park, Chatham and Madison (Morris county). Going due north of Newark airport is Montclair (Essex county - I think) which has an expat population too and Westfield (Union county), SW of the airport is nice too.
http://www.njtransit.com
http://www.nywaterway.com/commuter.html
http://www.panynj.com (Port Authority of New York & New Jersey website for all NY area airports, PATH trains and ferries)
http://www.twp.millburn.nj.us/index.cfm
http://www.millburnchamber.com/area.cfm
http://www.ststephensmillburn.org/preschool/index.htm (the nice Director, Sheelagh Clark is English and her info is listed under 'staff').
http://www.maplewoodonline.com
Just some of the Realtors (Estate Agents) operating in NJ - they should all offer rentals, there are also ReMax and Century 21:
http://www.burgdorff.com
http://www.weichert.com
http://www.prunewjersey.com/
http://www.coldwellbanker.com/
http://www.delfornorealestate.com
Wow....this has turned out to be an overly long thread...got carried away a bit there LOL!
Hope it's of some help. I'm going to have a nice cold beer now...
Last edited by Englishmum; Nov 3rd 2005 at 11:10 pm.
#23
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Joined: Nov 2005
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Re: Possibly move to New York... and very scared!!
Thanks sooooooo much Englishmum - what a huge help you are
My husband is having his final i/v today and meeting the team also. I will find out more about our "future" over the weekend.
Thanks once again - I will certainly use your information.
Take care
My husband is having his final i/v today and meeting the team also. I will find out more about our "future" over the weekend.
Thanks once again - I will certainly use your information.
Take care
#24
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 6,848
Re: Possibly move to New York... and very scared!!
Originally Posted by Britishmum
Thanks sooooooo much Englishmum - what a huge help you are
My husband is having his final i/v today and meeting the team also. I will find out more about our "future" over the weekend.
Thanks once again - I will certainly use your information.
Take care
My husband is having his final i/v today and meeting the team also. I will find out more about our "future" over the weekend.
Thanks once again - I will certainly use your information.
Take care
Good Luck to him at his interview!
Remember that you don't need to view it as emigrating.....thousands of people just do a 'one-time' expat posting for say, three years then return home again, so if you're nervous about leaving England just think of it as a temporary move. On the other hand you may enjoy it immensely and decide to make it a permanent move. I wouldn't recommend selling your property in the UK - rent it out until you know what your long-term future will be.
It's definitely worth going for it (if he is offered a posting) just for the life experience and for his future career prospects...an international posting will look good on his CV!
Keep us posted on how it goes!
#25
Re: Possibly move to New York... and very scared!!
Originally Posted by Englishmum
You might want to go to google and check out websites for info about these towns all going due west of Manhatten and Newark airport: Maplewood & its sister town of South Orange, Millburn & Short Hills....and going a little further out so the commute will be approx 1 hour +, Summit (Union county), Florham Park, Chatham and Madison (Morris county). Going due north of Newark airport is Montclair (Essex county - I think) which has an expat population too and Westfield (Union county), SW of the airport is nice too.
Highland Park
Metuchen
Edison
#26
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 6,848
Re: Possibly move to New York... and very scared!!
Originally Posted by neil
Good school areas S/SW of the airport that are on or near a direct train line to the airport, and into Manhattan (NJ Transit NE Corridor Line) are Metuchen, Edison, Highland Park (that's where we're buying - nearest station is New Brunswick, and is within walking distance, but that's not a great school area).
Highland Park
Metuchen
Edison
Highland Park
Metuchen
Edison
#27
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 5
Re: Possibly move to New York... and very scared!!
Also forgot to mention that my mum and sister plus brother, sister in law and both their kids all live in California. Not close I know.... but closer and cheaper than London. Also hoping that if Jon gets this job - maybe in a few years we can move on to LA.
THanks again for your help - will keep you posted.
THanks again for your help - will keep you posted.
#28
Re: Possibly move to New York... and very scared!!
Originally Posted by Englishmum
(I like going to Oak Tree Road in Iselin, Edison as it's where all the Indian expats live...great for curries....it's a bit like being in Southall near Heathrow LOL!)
#29
Just Joined
Joined: Nov 2005
Location: Norwalk, CT
Posts: 2
Re: Possibly move to New York... and very scared!!
I live in Southern Connecticut (Norwalk) and my girlfriend commutes into midtown (rockafella center area) everyday. Our area is safe, spaced out, and has a good school system. I suggest you look closely at the Connecticut (Fairfield County) area.
I'll be happy to provide any information you require.
Graham
I'll be happy to provide any information you require.
Graham
#30
Re: Possibly move to New York... and very scared!!
Originally Posted by madas
Our area is safe, spaced out,