Re: What costs do I need to include?
 

Thank you for the advise. Just having a look at Homeaway and it looks like a very viable option. How did you work around schooling? Did you keep your child/children off school for the 6 weeks?

We are not taking over any furniture just some personal belongings via Air Freight.

Re: What costs do I need to include?
 

That will depend on the school district. You'll have to ask them.

Where I am, you can ask to enrol if you can show intent to move within the area within 30 days of starting school, so a letter from a realtor showing you around the area as you are new here. If you have a place but it is being renovated or what have you, you can live out of the area for 90 days without having to leave the school.

Other areas might be far more strict.

Re: What costs do I need to include?
 

Yes, the kids were out of school during that time. We came from Switzerland, so they (ages 11 and 7) were transitioning from French-speaking schools to the US one. We did a bit of homeschooling, a couple of hours a day to plug some of the gaps (like my 11 yr old not having written a sentence in English at all since he was 8, and my 7 yr old being unable to read in the language :lol:). Barnes and Noble or similar bookstores have racks of grade-leveled workbooks, which is useful for getting kids accustomed to how the US approaches math word problems, reading comprehension passages, etc.

Your kid will probably be far ahead at her age, so it won't be a worry at all to simply skip 6 weeks until you're settled. As soon as you have a lease, she can be placed in school, even if you don't then actually move in for a week or two.

Other sites like Homeaway are VRBO, and Airbnb. I've used them all at various times.

Re: What costs do I need to include?
 

Hi IrishMammy. We moved to NJ in June 2013 on a 2 year contract and are due to return to the UK in May. I remember just how time consuming it was to research everything, so I hope that the following information helps you somewhat:

1. Rental

We had use of the company corporate apartment, so did not have to worry about accommodation on arrival. We had previously visited NJ a couple of months prior and had scoped out several areas to move to, so it was just a case of waiting for a suitable rental to become available.

As we knew we would not have any credit history, I had the following paperwork prepared to show to landlords/realtors:

Letter from OH company confirming job title, length of contract & salary
5 years worth of mortgage statements
1 years worth of bank statements showing utility payments

We paid 1 months rent in advance, deposit (1.5 times monthly rent) and realtor's fee of 1 months rent. Total outlay c $8000.

We also had to take out renter's insurance which is around $26 p/m.

2. Utilities

Gas & Electric - PSEG. No deposit required.
Broadband/landline/TV - Verizon. $250 deposit required, returned after 6m.
Water - included in our rent.
Trash/Lawn/Snow - included in our rent.

Gas/Electric - set up before we moved in.
Verizon - Set up once moved in.

3. School

We arrived in the US on 10th June and schools closed for the summer 2 weeks later so our daughter (then 12y) had 3 months off school!

All of the towns that we considered moving to had to accept our daughter for schooling as long as we were residents. We moved into our rental at the beginning of August and I registered her at the local Middle school without any issues.

4. Vaccinations

See here for NJ vaccination requirements: Immunization Requirements, New Jersey Division of Communicable Disease Service

Proof of vaccinations needed to be supplied to the school nurse and she would literally be on the phone the day following each of the HepB jabs chasing the paperwork. She did however, verbally accept that my daughter had chickenpox previously so we did not require the varicella jab.

After going to a great deal of effort to get copies of all of our UK medical records, I rather foolishly didn't check them until we arrived in the US only to find they had omitted my daughter's vaccination history :sneaky:


5. Car

Don't know what you plans are for a car, but we leased through VW's expat programme. This was very straightforward - their website gives all the details. Lots of threads on BE about buying/leasing and insurance.

Happy to answer any further questions. Good luck with your move :D

Re: What costs do I need to include?
 

I'm from White Plains, NY and am currently living with my British fiance in Westchester, NY. We are moving to the UK in a couple of months, so we've done a lot of analysis on the differences in cost.

Specific answers to your questions:

1/ Can you move over and into your rental straight away or did you have to go into a temp rental first?
-- you can rent straight away, and rentals usually require one months rent as a security deposit. Note that many rentals are not furnished.

2/ See above

3/ How does utilities, broadband and TV work? Can you get this set up for when you move in or do you have to move in first before setting it up in your name? Do you require a deposit for any of these services?
-- You get this set up once you find a place to live. You don't need a deposit, but will need a utility bill (eg electric) in your name.

4/ No Idea

5/ Is there anything you think you need to advise me on that I haven't asked that you think is relevant?
-- See below for cost comparisons from our experience. Note that some of these things are specific to our situation, and may not apply to you.

- Home costs/rent are high in Westchester, NY. This is mainly due to good public schools. For example, Dobbs Ferry high school (Facebook founder's alma mater) was rated #1 in the country a few year back. If you are looking to live in Westchester, my opinion is that Harrison has the best value for your money. Also, lots of British expats live in the Harrison/Rye area.
- Petrol is cheaper in the US. It's currently a bit less than $3/gallon in the Tri State Area. Interesting fact - all gas stations in NJ are full service. You cannot pump the gas yourself by law.
- Pubic transport (mainly the train) is cheaper in the US. I think this is because of the lower cost of petrol. If you'll be doing a lot of commuting for work, look into getting a WageWorks card. It allows you to use pre-tax income (up to a certain amount) to pay for public transport/parking.
- Clothing is cheaper in the US, mainly because the sales tax is lower. note the sales tax is NOT built into the price here, but is usually around 8%. Also, take advantage of many outlet stores to get even more deals. I generally never pay full price, as there is always a voucher you can find.
- Electronics are cheaper in the US as well. The best times to shop are when the stores have huge sales around the holidays.
- Cable TV and mobile phones are a bit more expensive in the US. In my case, my company only pays for my data plan in the US, but in the UK they pay for the full cost of the phone.
- Expect to pay more for health care in the US. This really depends on what benefits your firm provides, but even some of the best plans require you to pay what is called a "copay" for any visit. For me, this is usually $20-$30 per visit. The worst part about health care is it is hard to estimate the costs.
- We have way more tolls in the US (especially in the Tri State area - NY/NJ/CT). Bridge tolls can get pretty high (as much as $12 each way for some Hudson River crossings).
- Expect to pay for a tax accountant, as US taxes are not very straightforward. At the moment, I pay $250/year per return. As an expat, expect to pay more as your situation will be more complex.
- Groceries tend to be more expensive in the US. For example, Stop & Shop is more expensive than Tesco and doesn't have as good quality food. Fruit and vegetables cost more in the US. Interestingly enough, eating out is less expensive in the US, and is a big part of the culture in this area.

Hope this helps.