r/MovingtoNewJersey

​I am in the process of moving from the east coast of Canada to NYC. I work in finance and my work approved the transfer. I was thinking of living in New jersey to save on costs and avoid a bit of the hectic city.

​I think this would be a great opportunity since NYC would be amazing for my career in finance but I am worried of being able to afford a comfortable/comparable lifestyle in NYC.

​For reference I will be making 200k USD and my partner would not be able to work for couple months.

​Is 200k enough for a not super old 2 bedroom somewhere close in new jersey ( 45 min commute to manhattan) ?

​If so which areas would be good to move into.

​Any help is appreciated !

Is it possible for me to live in the cherry hill area comfortably? Preferably would live in a studio apartment without roommates and would probably have car payments. No student debt.

Looking to see if anyone has done the commute into NYC from High Bridge or Clinton, NJ? Obviously not the greatest commute, but wondering if it’s doable if your schedule is only 3x/week at most?

My commute right now is ~1hr30/1hr45 each way, so anything in that range I consider doable, albeit, less than ideal. I’d definitely be willing to drive to a closer train/PATH/ferry/etc to cut down on the commute time, and I usually get into NYC pretty early (~730AM), so I’m just trying to gauge if other people are doing this and what their experience has been. Thanks in advance for the help!

I'm looking for a house in either of these regions as they kind of fit my budget.

I'm just using the towns as reference but looking around 5-10 mile radius of both.

I want a good elementary school system, no oil tanks, high diversity and low taxes. What would you recommend?

My partner and I are looking to move somewhere in North/Central Jersey with our two young kids, and I feel like I’ve read just about everything there is to read online at this point. Our budget is around $1.5M, and right now Bridgewater, Scotch Plains, and Westfield are probably the three we’re taking most seriously. We’ve also looked a lot at Montclair and SOMA since they come up so often when you’re looking for LGBTQ-friendly places to raise a family in NJ. Commute and proximity to NYC aren’t huge priorities for us, but we’re not interested in the greater Princeton area.

I’ve already gone pretty deep on school rankings, taxes, housing, etc., so what I’m really trying to get a feel for now is what these places are actually like day to day. What are the parents like? Is it easy to make friends and build a community? Are the schools really intense or competitive? Do people generally seem pretty down-to-earth? How diverse does the area actually feel once you live there?

Even though we’re LGBTQ, we don’t necessarily need to live somewhere with a huge LGBTQ scene, but I’d like our kids to grow up somewhere where having two parents of the same sex is basically a non-event and where there are at least some other families like ours around. I’m especially curious how these towns compare to somewhere like SOMA or Montclair in that respect. I guess the bigger question is whether we’d actually be giving something up by choosing one of these towns, or if we should just hold out for the right house in SOMA because the community fit would be worth it. And are there any towns we’re overlooking entirely that you think we should have on our list?

Wife and I make $240k/year combined, have student loan and car payment debt totaling $800/month, and willing to put 80k-90k towards down payment and closing costs. Looking for towns within a 1.5 hour commute by train to Manhattan with good schools and safe and family-friendly communities. We plan to have kids. Given our incomes, what home price ranges and towns should I be looking at? Thanks!

Update: I appreciate all the advice everyone shared. It gave me a lot of good direction! All the best to all the first-time homebuyers.

Hi,

We are looking for a home in NJ. I work in Jersey City- Newport ( next to PATH station).

Two kids in middle schools. Looking good schools.

Is Princeton area (princeton junction, west windsor) a good choice? I see some homes near princeton junction station itself at walkable distance. ( i tried Livingston but could not find anything we like)

Only prefer train commute. 1.2M budget.

Can someone have similar experience and guide please 🙏

Hello NJ Reddit friends,
I have been living in Ocean County for 3 years, and as beautiful as the pine barrens and beaches are, it’s just not for me anymore. Prior to living here, I lived in Montgomery County, PA and also Bucks County, PA for 5 years. I am debating moving back to PA, but can anyone recommend towns in Burlington County, NJ that I may like? I don’t want to be deep in the woods anymore. Stores, restaurants, access to downtowns and still an hour to the beach. Don’t care about schools, would be looking at a small townhouse or condo.

Hello! I was looking for feedback from anyone who has/had a child at the Learning Experience in Summit, NJ. Looking to start my daughter there in September, from what I’ve learned it’s linked to the YMCA and would love to know peoples experiences!

We currently live in downtown Hoboken and enjoy the access to the city. The few things we would like to have (in no particular order of importance):

1. Outdoor space (backyard, rooftop or balcony)
2. Recently renovated (< 10 years) or new construction
3. Parking spot (this one seems quite hard to get)
4. Walkable (15 mins) to PATH or light rail or a bus that goes into the city

So far most condos are in the Heights. Seems like there is a lot of inventory there. Ogden, New york ave seem decent, but the school districts are not great. We are not sure if we will be in this home for more than 7-8 years so school districts are not prioritized right now

Is heights a good place to be? Any other recs on neighborhoods we should look at?

Hi all.

I recently got a job offer (6 month contract) for a company in Summit, NJ at BMS! The only issue is that I am unable to drive due to disability. I was wondering if anyone could offer any advice on housing. I'd like to look for the cheapest (studio) and within a 10-20min walking distance to the site.

Appreciate any thoughts and advice on this! Since this'll be my first time moving, I'm not experienced in these areas.

Friend has a salary of $125,000 a year. Wife doesn’t work and they have 2 kids. They recently bought a house for $590,000 in northern NJ. I’m trying to figure out how they can manage life financially. I know the salary and house cost is correct, I looked it up. I make more than that and am barely surviving. I’m curious what people think, I couldn’t manage unless I wasn’t paying some of my bills.

Hey all,
We’re looking at a NJ move and could really use some help please. We’ve been looking around this area to try and figure out a good option. We’ve read a number of different threads, but we haven’t read much of first hand experience. Have people grown up and stayed in the area?

Budget around $1.1-1.3mm
Looking for high kid population areas, kids riding in the streets on their bikes, playing on lawns type of vibe. We have 3 under 8
Good youth sports programs and schools
Family in Marlton
Commute to NYC 2 times a week, so looking mostly along the NEC line.

We’ve seen Robbinsville, Lawrenceville come up on various threads, so we were hoping to get any other suggestions or feedback on those

Appreciate it.

Hey everyone! I am originally Philly and currently living right on the city limits, but considering a move to Westville, NJ based solely on a house we found, can afford, and love. However, I know nothing about Westville.

My kids (3 and 1.5) like playgrounds, my husband and I like low-key restaurants. Overall, though, we are mostly homebodies! More than anything, we just want a safe, welcoming community with at least some essentials (groceries, etc) close enough.

Give me anything and everything ya know!

Currently in West New York with a 2 year old and the schools are not great. We love the area but schooling is always on the back of my mind. I also can't afford a single family home so I will most likely rent for the rest of my life. I prefer apartments anyways bc I don't have to do any maintenance and I can use the down payment money to invest in index funds, etc.

I just want a good education that isn't a pressure cooker like bergen county academy or millburn. I grew up in demarest 30 years ago when the academics weren't as intense. If push comes to shove I'd rather put my kids in a good school system like shorthills/millburn/livingston/ridgewood to make sure they don't slip through the cracks.

Any suggestions? Below is my current thought process.

Jersey City looks great with the cornelia f bradford school but JC middle schools are meh and high school is McNair which is great but it has a reputation of being a pressure cooker and you have to test into it. only 750 kids total in that school. And I've read reddit threads where parents suggest hiring a tutor in middle school for PSAT's. Paulus hook is nice but expensive but such is the price to pay.

Short Hills - I can't afford a house but short hills has the upton which has rentals that fit in my budget. Downside is the pressure cooker high school but like mentioned above I'd rather go this route than a bad school system. Upton is odd location but near the mall which i guess is good during winters for strolls, etc.

Livingston - pretty good school system and I think it is not as pressure cooker as millburn? They do have some apartment complexes with rentals but the complexes are in weird areas of town. Pretty solid imo. The odd apartment complex rental is something I can live with as a trade off.

Ridgewood - good school system and they have the dayton complex right next to whole foods but vacancies are hard to come by. This is probably my #1 if there's an opening.

Northern valley demarest/old tappan - can't afford the homes here and there aren't any rentals so this is out unfortunately

Englewood cliffs - they have the new sylvan apartment complex near the CNBC studios but location is odd. Not a bad backup I guess. I heard that high school students may be going to tenafly instead of englewood?

Tenafly - can't afford a home there and not many rentals

Anywhere else that I'm missing? Sorry I guess this is the first world version of too goldilocks. Thank you!!

Hi everyone! I'm originally from Central NJ (Monmouth county/jersey shore area) and recently moved back to Manhattan. Prior to that to that lived in NYC for 4 years, Brooklyn for a bit, and finally Atlantic Highlands before having to relocate briefly to STL for work. I'm 34F and now that I'm back in Manhattan realize its entirely too much for me at this point in my life. I have a large dog and a cat, I miss my car (its at my mom's in central NJ because parking in NYC is obviously a nightmare), and the lack of pace/amount of people/etc. has just been a general L on my mental health - so much so that i'm breaking my lease early, because why pay an absurd amount of rent if I don't even like living here.

I'm trying to decide between Hoboken and Central NJ. I've never considered Hoboken before and have only visited a few times and its cute, but I absolutely hated Brooklyn. Realistically I'm looking for more space and quiet as the pace of NYC isn't livable for me anymore, but rental options in Central NJ are limited and I'm worried about being too isolated. While i have flexibility to work remotely, I also need to be in Dumbo regularly (3-4x a week) because I compete as a boxer and my coaches work out of there. I've made the commute in from central NJ and while it's a pain in the ass, I don't mind it as the Seastreak is nice and I can work on it. Part of me thinks I should try Hoboken before going back to Central NJ, and I do like the people I've met in Hoboken much more than the people I met in Brooklyn. But I also don't really care for nightlife and my weekends are typically based on a workout, going to the farmers market, cooking, etc. and I miss having access to all the local farms and better quality food available in Central NJ. Realistically I just don't want to move to Hoboken and realize that I'm running into the same issues I'm running into by way of living in NYC. Any advice would be appreciated thank you!

I'm 25, born and raised in NJ. I just signed my first lease for a studio apartment. Somehow, I lucked out finding this listing on Facebook. I know a lot that are posted on Marketplace are scams. $1200 a month, fairly modern for it's price, and I get my own private deck! Cherry on top that it's also in Bergen County as well. Think I will stay here for a year or two until I've saved enough money to size up.

If you've ever found a bargain for rent in Northern NJ, how'd you come across it?

We are seriously considering a move to New Jersey from South Florida. My husband is from NJ and we have family there. While we have a large budget, the taxes are going to be hard to stomach, so I want to make sure we get what we want with this move. This will be a long term move, as our children are entering later elementary years. I recognize it probably matters where we will be living, and we are only considering central NJ, likely New Providence, Berkeley Heights, Long Hill, Bernardsville, Basking Ridge, Mendham, Chester (possibly as far as Tewksbury or Clinton for family but less likely). Are these areas in New Jersey transient or are people more settled here?

The main reason for considering the move is how transient S. Florida is. While we have made lots of friends, we have not been able to build a strong community here because people are constantly coming and going. We want more stability for our kids and better schools. Strong community is the main priority.

Does NJ sound like a good fit for us?