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Potential Move to North NJ from UK…lots to consider

Potential Move to North NJ from UK…lots to consider

Old Oct 1st 2017, 2:45 pm
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Question Potential Move to North NJ from UK…lots to consider

Hi all,

Apologies for the long post, but each time I didn't include a lot of info, I ended up lengthening posts anyway

We are a small family of 3 who has a job offer opportunity (for me) to move to NJ from the UK.

You may have read my initial posts over the last few weeks where I was looking for advice into potential areas to live near good schools, in family-friendly neighbourhoods, ideally within easy train station access for a commute to Hoboken. (I have an assumption this would be a possible option and perhaps better than the long car journeys I do in the UK now. if you answered that, thank you, plenty of people did.

The purpose of that initial post was to try in our mind look into whether the financials stacked up, i..e the salary offered and the cost of rentals etc. that's been hard to work out...

This move is not something we've planned or dreamed of before the offer came rather out of the blue. I've traveled to the US and Canada a lot in my current job but as a family, we had no desire to move there. Hence there is no "rose tint" to any of our enquiries.
We have thought long and hard about it and the deciding factors like most things are coming down to how financially viable the move would be, what standard of lifestyle could we maintain, and of course how well we could integrate our 8-year-old son to a new school system.

I guess at this point I'm looking for opinions on the offer versus the enormity of the move and the life we could potentially have.

So here goes...

the Job

Hoboken
$200k salary
Unlimited PTO (arranged with manager - I understand this may be less than the UK in reality).
Company Healthcare packages

The numbers look good, but I'm pessimistic given the cost of housing etc

Visa
The company are bringing me over on an o1 visa and they have checked suitability in advance so are confident this will work out quickly (I understand the other pitfalls of some visa applications taking a year +)

Family
Me, the wife, our eight-year-old son

Expectations/assumptions - hopefully not too much "ass of u & me"

- Although a permanent job offer, we'll treat the move like a project with a long-term intention of returning to the UK - timing is key on that to not really disrupt our son too much, this move is big enough to consider as it is.
- We will be able to live in a suburban house, with a garden etc
- we'll find a neighborhood that will be maybe like a busy UK estate rather than city living
- we will be able to use public transport for commuting (noted train station in hobokken
- we will be able to afford to save money to be able to plan for the future better
- My wife (who is a nervous driver) will be able to get by without driving (hope)
-we will be able to live close to a school so have the option not to have to drive our son to school every day
- we will be able to take trips back to the UK for family visits
- we will be able to have family come visit us easily (as easy as flight costs allow)

Last edited by Telic; Oct 1st 2017 at 3:00 pm.
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Old Oct 1st 2017, 3:35 pm
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Default Re: Potential Move to North NJ from UK…lots to consider

Hi,
I know the rentals are high but remember they include the property taxes which form a significant part of the taxes over here (don't get me wrong there are lots of others too). It is one of the reasons rentals are so high in NJ as l think our landlords pay about 25 -30% of the rent in property tax.
I think you would be comfortable with that salary in this area (obviously depends how much you spend in rent) although l would find out if there is any expat assistance such as temp accommodation, moving costs etc as these costs add up. Also get specifics on the medical cover.
If your wife doesn't want to drive l would give serious consideration as to whether America (outside of city living) is right for you, as driving will offer so much more freedom. Don't get me wrong the towns that you have been told about are on the train line and most have lovely walkable towns, schools and stations but l would still feel lost without my car That said some of the NJ roads and driving is enough to turn the most confident driver nervous!!! I am quite nervous and started by just doing some short simple routes and that has really helped me.
It is a great spot here, beaches, NYC and mountains and whilst we are new here, we are happy and enjoying the life experience this is offering but it is a big move.
Good luck with it all.
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Old Oct 1st 2017, 3:50 pm
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Default Re: Potential Move to North NJ from UK…lots to consider

Thanks for the quick reply, really helps.
I've tried to pull together a breakdown of monthly expenses - please forgive my ignorance of what things cost there... am I anywhere near correct?

Rent $4,000
Heating and electic $500.00
water $100.00
Mobile phones $200.00
Internet/cable $100.00
Food/household consumables $600.00
Car $500.00 (rental)
car insurance $250
car - fuel $300.00
clothing $500.00
meals out (family 2 per week)) $900.00

Total - $7950 per month?
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Old Oct 1st 2017, 4:05 pm
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Default Re: Potential Move to North NJ from UK…lots to consider

Originally Posted by Telic
Thanks for the quick reply, really helps.
I've tried to pull together a breakdown of monthly expenses - please forgive my ignorance of what things cost there... am I anywhere near correct?

Rent $4,000
Heating and electic $500.00
water $100.00
Mobile phones $200.00
Internet/cable $100.00
Food/household consumables $600.00
Car $500.00 (rental)
car insurance $250
car - fuel $300.00
clothing $500.00
meals out (family 2 per week)) $900.00

Total - $7950 per month?
We are still new so lots of these costs we are not 100% on as only been in the house 2 months.
I would up your food budget to $750
Water $200 (although l am suspicious we have a leak somewhere so ours might be high)
For one car you should be fine with that.
Mobiles a bit less, l pay $85 for tons of data and unlimited calls and texts home.
Cable is about $170 but that has a huge channel choice.
You may find you don't spend anywhere near that on clothes and possibly petrol if the car isn't used for a commute.
You need to budget for health care costs and rentors insurance.
I can't comment on the rent as not sure what you want but that won't go terribly far in places like Summit or Millburn but that isn't to say that you can't find something. Lots of lovely towns around here.
I would look into health care costs a little as well if l were you.
But you seem to have a very sensible budget and obviously a budget is just that and you can more or less depending on individual preference.
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Old Oct 1st 2017, 4:16 pm
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Default Re: Potential Move to North NJ from UK…lots to consider

Hey thanks again
Healthcare as I understand it is via a PPO plan which I factored into the bi-weekly net pay (there are plenty of calculators online and I asked for a tax illustration from the new employer which seems to tie up), they provided a lot of info on the plan and expected deductions from pay.
Originally I was expecting a rental cost of 4-8k but given the other costs, I don;t think that's affordable.
We were also hoping to be able to keep our UK home and for the short term not rent it out, so things look tight on the offer right now, to be honest.

Last edited by Telic; Oct 1st 2017 at 4:17 pm. Reason: typo!
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Old Oct 1st 2017, 4:19 pm
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Default Re: Potential Move to North NJ from UK…lots to consider

I think your figures look pretty close - although I don't know about the rent - the rest looks ok. As mentioned above, find out what the health insurance deal is.

This net salary calculator would be good to fill in.
https://smartasset.com/taxes/new-jer...tor#sxtdUHi7Qv
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Old Oct 1st 2017, 4:33 pm
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Default Re: Potential Move to North NJ from UK…lots to consider

OP re healthcare (I admit I don't know what PPO means) there are likely some out of pocket costs additional to your monthly salary deduction. E.g. Co-pays for office visits, prescription charges and depending on your plan, a deductible (excess) that you have to pay. Worth factoring in.

Where I live, the kerb-side waste collection and fire department precept are not included in property tax. I presume it must be different for where you're looking though since NJ people haven't mentioned it.

We certainly burn through a fortune every month and we're not doing anything flashy. I did dream of having a weekly house cleaning service initially... I guess dreams are free at least!
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Old Oct 1st 2017, 4:37 pm
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Default Re: Potential Move to North NJ from UK…lots to consider

Our cable/home phone/internet with Verizon was just under $200 per month. We had a pretty good TV package but didn't include all channels.
Water $40/$50 pm
Electricity/Gas very much depends on the size of the house and how cold/warm you like it. We had a 5/6 bedroomed house...with pool...$1K pm.
As already mentioned a huge part of the rental cost in NJ is for property taxes...our tax was approx $2K pm
Garbage collection was neglible...a few dollars per week.
You will need contents insurance.
Can't remember whether I have mentioned before...NJ Manufacturers for all your insurances...if you are lucky enough to be able to use them.

Healthcare costs are a minefield. For example...one night my husband had chest pains. Took him to the ER. Checked him out...all was good. The doctor asked if we would meet with his attending before we left. No problem...until we got a bill...the attending wasn't in network. Dental costs can be another minefield...especially with a child. There are also co-pays, prescription, optical costs...depending how good your insurance is.
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Old Oct 1st 2017, 4:58 pm
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Default Re: Potential Move to North NJ from UK…lots to consider

Forgot waste, we pay $27 a month and have the biggest wheelie bin which is collected twice a week along with 3 bags of garden waste and a piece of furniture!!! It is unbelievable, it almost my most favorite thing about living here!! (Maybe l need to get out more!) Recycling is included in property tax.
OP 200k is a good salary, it is doable.
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Old Oct 1st 2017, 5:13 pm
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Default Re: Potential Move to North NJ from UK…lots to consider

Originally Posted by Ecto17
.... You may find you don't spend anywhere near that on clothes ....
I think you will (pay that much) if you have school-age children - two adults would only need a pair of shoes each per year and a couple of $50 garments each per month to use half that budget - you'd be lucky to get a basic polo shirt or pair of shorts that doesn't fall apart after six months, for less than $25 each, and you'd pay $35-$40 for decent quality from say Landsend, and could easily pay more. But paying for clothes, and especially shoes, for two growing children could easily take up most of $500/mth. ..... So the $500/mth I don't think is unrealistic, .... in other words, you might get by with less per month, but not much less.

Last edited by Pulaski; Oct 1st 2017 at 5:15 pm.
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Old Oct 1st 2017, 5:15 pm
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Default Re: Potential Move to North NJ from UK…lots to consider

Originally Posted by Pulaski
I think you will (pay that much) if you have school-age children - two adults would only need a pair of shoes each per year and a couple of $50 garments each per month to use half that budget - you'd be lucky to get a basic polo shirt or pair of shorts that doesn't fall apart after six months, for less than $25, and you'd pay $35-$40 for decent quality from say Landsend, and could easily pay more. But paying for clothes, and especially shoes, for two growing children could easily take up most of $500/mth.
1 pair of shoes per year? Glad I'm not married to you.
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Old Oct 1st 2017, 5:22 pm
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Default Re: Potential Move to North NJ from UK…lots to consider

Originally Posted by Jerseygirl
1 pair of shoes per year? ..... Glad I'm not married to you. ....
I was only trying to illustrate how low a $500/mth budget was.
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Old Oct 1st 2017, 5:51 pm
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Default Re: Potential Move to North NJ from UK…lots to consider

[QUOTE=Pulaski;12351083]I was only trying to illustrate how low a $500/mth budget was. :
I don't think $500 budget is low at all and totally stand by earlier comment, we have a family of 3 with a school age child and we spend less here then at home so hopefully that helps the OP out as depends on what their expectations are.
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Old Oct 1st 2017, 6:01 pm
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Default Re: Potential Move to North NJ from UK…lots to consider

Originally Posted by Ecto17
Originally Posted by Pulaski
I was only trying to illustrate how low a $500/mth budget was. ...
I don't think $500 budget is low at all ....
That is the exact opposite of what you said in the post I quoted.

Maybe you meant something different from the way I read it.
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Old Oct 1st 2017, 6:08 pm
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Default Re: Potential Move to North NJ from UK…lots to consider

The OP might want to check out the cost of any sports that their kid wants to do. For me, that was the biggest cost surprise. Stuff that cost next to nothing in France to do, here in the USA they all seem to be training future Olympians. I breathed a sigh of relief when my son started rowing and I only needed to budget $250 a month + rowing gear, littlest went from cheap horse-riding in France to $250 a month for 1 group lesson a week. No chance of any competitions which run to $1200 a day once you've added horse lease, groom fee, transportation for horse and rider and competition fees. Other child did martial arts which was a very cheap $100 a month.
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