From UK to NY,NY or NJ?
 

Hi there,

Me and my wife are going to be moving to the US in the autumn. My wife is American but has been out of the country for 8 years. I have (or will have when I get through customs) a US green card.

We would love to be part of the NY cultural scene and as such would love to live in Manhattan. We do see however that it is very expensive to do this and we are both worried we would spend most of our time working to try and afford to live there, without being able to enjoy the benefits.

We are considering moving to New Jersey to somewhere easily commutable to Manhattan. We are in our late 20s but are not really party animals so moving somewhere quieter is fine (if preferable) to us. We do want to be part of the music and art culture so don't want to be somewhere with awkward access to Manhattan.

I wondered if anyone could recommend anywhere in NJ or NY for that matter that would serve our needs? I have looked online and lots of places claim this to be the case but I would love a personal opinion from someone un-biased.

Thanks for reading,

Jamie

Re: From UK to NY,NY or NJ?
 

Welcome to BE.

Have a search for posts by Englishmum as she has posted loads of info in various threads answering just what you are asking for...

Re: From UK to NY,NY or NJ?
 

Yuppers, Englishmum is the user name you want to look for. Excellent advice with lots of info on NJ. For myself, I don't care for NJ, but would tell you to look into renting in Queens or Brooklyn. Both offer excellent access to Manhattan with the added plus of easy access to the pleasures of Long Island, i.e. Coney Island, Jones Beach ... beach and theater ... Montauk, the Hamptons, Fire Island, vineyards, etc.

Re: From UK to NY,NY or NJ?
 

heh, I was just going to say, my very hip cousin has worked in Manhattan and always lived in Queens or Brooklyn. :)
(Rete, he just posted the coolest pics of the Mermaid Parade, how fun is that?!)

Re: From UK to NY,NY or NJ?
 

Got a mate that wants to move to Brooklyn after going to a gig there...had his car broken into...

Turned out to be a bonus, after a week of trying to figure out what was stolen, yes his car is that much of a tip, turned out to only have been his broken GPS unit :D

The bonus was, when the insurance bloke came to replace the door window, he also replaced the windscreen which has had a crack growing across the bottom for ages :D

Re: From UK to NY,NY or NJ?
 

Too busy to write much right now (packing my suitcases - eeek!)

However....strongly suggest that you check out Hoboken, NJ just across the Hudson River. The 24 hour PATH subway trains and the NY Waterway buses cross the river into Manhatten and public buses go to the Port Authority at Times Square.

Hoboken is hip (a new W Hotel has just opened there) and has a lively arts scene of its own with frequent street festivals and arts festivals and reminds me a bit of a London village suburb (Notting Hill, Camden). Many British bands - and big names performing igcognito - perform at Maxwells. The Charlatans are performing there in September. Many young people and expats live in Hoboken as it is such an easy commute into Manhatten. I'm going there this evening to dine at a lovely little Cuban restaurant with friends and there are plenty of restaurants to choose from.

Most people don't bother with a car, but you can get parking permits. Many people hire them at weekends for getaways or use the 'zipcars' (rental by time-blocks). It's a very short trip to Newark international airport. There is also a light railway.

http://www.hobokenchamber.com/indexie.htm

http://www.maxwellsnj.com/

http://www.laislarestaurant.com

http://wikitravel.org/en/Hoboken

If it's not to your taste, it's even cheaper to live on the other side of the railway tracks in Jersey City (like a smaller version of the Canary Wharf area of London) and quieter than Hoboken. The Hamilton Square Park vicinity is sought after with lots of brownstones/apartments and within walking distance of the PATH stations.

http://www.cityofjerseycity.com/

You can get an idea of rental prices on Craiglist.org (New Jersey Metro section) but there are many real estate agencies handling rentals in Hoboken and JC, for example:

http://www.delfornorealestate.com

Transportation:

http://www.panynj.com/CommutingTravel/path/html/ (PATH trains)

http://www.panynj.com/CommutingTravel/ferry/html/ (ferries)

http://www.njtransit.com (suburban commuter trains and buses) (I live on the Morris & Essex train line)



On the other hand, you might want to live a little further out where rentals become cheaper or more space for your money. You might like to check out South Orange in NJ or possibly its twin town of Maplewood....both are diverse towns with many people working in the media and large gay community raising their families. My very good friend lived on her own in an apartment near the South Orange train station and commuted to the Financial district in Manhatten every day as the commute was only about 20-25 mins; if you live in a town on the MidTown Direct train service (as I do, just a couple of stops further on) then you have the choice of trains into Penn Station NYC (underneath Madison Square Garden) or Downtown via Hoboken and the PATH.

You don't want Newark, its suburbs or any of the Oranges with the exception of South Orange.

Re: From UK to NY,NY or NJ?
 

Wow, thank you all very much for your advice! I have used this site a fair amount getting my green card and it has been a valuable resource of real world information! I shall take you all out for a drink when we get over there!

Many thanks,

Jamie

Re: From UK to NY,NY or NJ?
 

Move wherever both of you are most likely to find employment. Can't enjoy your social life without funds to pay for it.

Re: From UK to NY,NY or NJ?
 

I am not that bothered about living near where I am going to work, (some of my work will be based from home anyway), although transport will cost I would prefer to commute and live somewhere nice.

I am seriously looking at Hoboken, sounds a bit like Brighton from all accounts. We love Brighton!

Jamie

Re: From UK to NY,NY or NJ?
 

There are many options for moving to the area and being able to enjoy the city. I would definitely look around and see what is affordable and what you would like to live in. I would also suggest long island, but that can be pretty expensive too. Definitely don't limit yourselves and take jobs and commutability into account when making a decision.

Re: From UK to NY,NY or NJ?
 

Brighton?

I would say more Battersea....

Re: From UK to NY,NY or NJ?
 

Or Pimlico.

;)