pickledpossum

Hi there, can anybody direct me to good web site with properties to let in the New Jersey area and a rough guide as to what we would be paying on a 4 bed family home? I have just received my H1B visa and shall be moving my family over there in September, to start work in NY on 1st Oct. New Jersey seems a family friendly kind of place and easily commutable to the City. A heads up on areas would be good as well as some info on schools, we have two children, 7 and 8. Also, could somebody advise as to term dates for schools in NJ.

Thanks in advance,
Pickled Possum

Englishmum

Look for towns which have the Midtown Direct trains into 'Midtown' of NYC for a quick and easy commute.

We live in the Short Hills section of Millburn township (in Essex county) and we chose to live here as the Millburn school district is regarded as one of the best in the States. Newark airport is only 15-20 mins away and the trains take 30-40 mins into NY Penn Station. When we did our research on where to live when my husband transferred to NYC our priorities were to be in a good school district, easy commute and accessibility to an international airport. We basically looked at NJ Transit train routes and researched the towns served. I'm not up to date on rental prices but you're looking at $3 to $4k and up (I think). An expat friend had problems finding a rental home with the well-known realtors but Del Forno found her a nice home and another Brit family are now renting it.

Perhaps you might like to check out some of these places (I don't have time to post links to all of them but here's a few to investigate):

Towns: Maplewood and 'sister' town South Orange (very diverse 'liberal' community) Millburn & Short Hills (2 train stations), Summit, Chatham, Madison (all within 1 hour commute), and different NJ train lines to Montclair, Westfield, Cranford. The trains on our line also go to Hoboken and then you can take the PATH subway train or the NY Waterways ferries to lower Manhatten for the financial district. (There are websites for the PATH and NY Waterways).

The further away from the city you live obviously you get more space and it's cheaper....but it could be a hellish commute and you will want to have the odd night out in NYC too with your spouse or/and family to make it worthwhile coming to live over here!

http://www.njtransit.com

Realtors (they should all offer rentals - )

http://www.delfornorealestate.com

http://www.burgdorff.com

http://www.weichert.com

http://www.coldwellbanker.com

http://www.prudentialnj.com/

Local towns & schools:

http://www.millburn.org

http://www.twp.millburn.nj.us/

http://www.twp.maplewood.nj.us/

http://www.maplewoodonline.com

Hope this helps!
PS: All the local school districts tend to have their own vacation dates eg. Spring Break often falls at different times from the neighbouring town, but of course they all have the same public holidays.

Hey Possum....are you an Aussie? Plenty of them in my 'neck of the woods'...

elfman

also look here for rental property:

http://new.gsmls.com/public/selectaCounty.jsp

Bob

Welcome to BE

checkout craigslist too, as well as searching for previous threads on NJ, of which there are quite a lot, EM has posted loads of info previously too...some of which might have been put in the wiki.

pickledpossum

Thanks for all the replies. Shall check out the rental sites to get an idea of whats around. My firm is putting us up in a serviced apt for the first couple of weeks but as we need to get the kids enrolled in school as soon as we arrive it would perhaps be better to find a permanent place asap. I assume we need to be actually living in the catchment area of the school of choice?

Englishmum: Not quite Aussies, although we have been living here in Sydney for the last 2 years, and in the past you have provided my wife with some great advice when we were all set to leave last year. So be prepared to have your ear bent again!!

loopylorns

Yes you need to be living in the area with proof of residency to get then into school, also check out shots they will need prior to comming as they need alot compared to the UK!

Having done it last year I recommend trying to get them done in the UK.

Englishmum

Ha ha....my best friend here is an Aussie and is returning to Sydney later this year, and other Aussie friends are returning to Canberra....actually I'm meeting them both for lunch soon...

Yes I vaguely remember posting some info but I guess your wife posted under another name?

Are you able to come over for a 'look-see' visit before the actual move to the States to scout out towns? We weren't able to do this, which is why I spent hours and hours online trying to work out the most suitable place to live!

We lucked out to be honest as it is so convenient from where we live to get to Manhatten, upstate NY and Pennsylvania.

One thing I forgot to mention; I understand that the trains from Montclair to New York on the MidTown Direct only run Monday to Friday, so it's not so convenient if you or your visitors want to go into the city at the weekend......when we get visitors they never rent a car......

David Richardson

[QUOTE=Englishmum;4759520]Look for towns which have the Midtown Direct trains into 'Midtown' of NYC for a quick and easy commute.



Realtors (they should all offer rentals - )



They are capable of it but there is little money in it. Commission is generally only 10% of the first months rent. You're more likely to find the rookies at a brokerage willing to do it. I have done it with the hope that the renters will be buyers in the future. Just completed one with new arrivals in Atlanta. Probably spent a total of 3 days ( part of Sat and Sun, some evenings) to make $220........

Englishmum

[QUOTE=David Richardson;4767747]
Another place to look for rentals is:

http://www.craigslist.org (New Jersey section)

My friend rents out an apartment in Jersey City and found her tenants by putting a post on Craigslist.

Also the Classified ads in the "Star Ledger" newspaper....their online version is here and it has the classifieds:

http://www.nj.com

David Richardson

[QUOTE=Englishmum;4768843][QUOTE=David Richardson;4767747]


Another place to look for rentals is:

http://www.craigslist.org (New Jersey section)

My friend rents out an apartment in Jersey City and found her tenants by putting a post on Craigslist.

Be warned however, that you still need to conduct a background and credit check on prospective tenants. I have posted listings etc on CL myself but still follow through with the checks. There's a reason it's free........be diligent.

Bob

blimey, I know we're getting stiffed in this state then, as the rate is between 5-10% of the lease, which is usually split between both parties...which is why I avoided realtors for finding a gaff around here.