Promotion! And now I have to move!

[Edcculus]

Looks like my promotion is going to go through. We will be relocating from South Carolina to the NJ/ NYC metro area.


Right now, I'm really collecting ideas on where to hone in on living. The office is in Carlstadt NJ. Right now, we are focused on the Hoboken/Jersey City area, but are open to suggestions. Here are some things to consider:


-Im married
-we have an 11 month old
-my wife stays home with our kid
-we want to live/have easy access to NYC (and we understand it will mean less space)
-we will be renting
-I would "like" to not have to own a car (more on this later)


So with all that in mind I'd love to hear from anyone who lives in or has lived in the area.


As to the car. I would LOVE to not own a car. I've heard mixed opinions on this one. The biggest hurdle would probably be me getting to work. Some people who have lived in the area say no need to bring a car. Others say I will want at least 1. I really want to commit to walking/public transit. Thats kind of the appeal of living in a city to me. I've read a little about the Zip Cars as well, but don't know how readily available those are.


Finally, I'm not 100% sure of the timeline. They have to figure out my replacement at my current office, we have to put our house on the market etc. I will also end up going back and forth for a week at a time for maybe a month or 2, which will allow me to check out some areas before actually having to make the move.

 

[Wendy]

I cannot offer any information about the area, I just stopped in to say Congratulations on your promotion!

 

[echotron]

I'm like Wendy ... I just wanted to congratulate you on promotion.

Carry you some grits, RC and moonpies with you ... and other necessities of life!

 

[Haggises]

All I knows is there are some good chip shops in Kearny.
Other than that......congrats on the promotion!

You can check the public transport options on maps.google.com, From Centre of Hoboken to Carlstadt looks to take at least one hour.....

 

[wsteineker]

Congratulations on your good news! I'll say that it might be easier to help you figure out your options if we knew a couple of things, as the NY/NJ metro's size is a bit overwhelming if taken as one big real estate market. First, where exactly is your new office? Second, what kind of commute are you willing to tolerate? Third, what's your monthly housing budget? Fourth, are there any must-haves/non-negotiables when it comes to housing amenities? Answering those questions will make it a whole lot easier to give you a few ideas about where to look and what to expect.

 

[Obsessed]

The office is in Carlstadt NJ.
...
As to the car. I would LOVE to not own a car. I've heard mixed opinions on this one. The biggest hurdle would probably be me getting to work. Some people who have lived in the area say no need to bring a car. Others say I will want at least 1. I really want to commit to walking/public transit. Thats kind of the appeal of living in a city to me. I've read a little about the Zip Cars as well, but don't know how readily available those are.

The Jersey guys can chime in on this (I'm in NY), but I think you'll probably want to have a car if your office is in Bergen County.

Congrats and good luck with the move.

 

[jbradley]

Congrats on the promotion, my condolences on having to leave the south! LOL, seriously, congratulations!

 

[wsteineker]

Bergen County. Don't know how I missed that in the original post. Yeah, you're going to want a car.

 

[thebikingengineer]

I'm sort of familiar with the area (my grandparents live in Weehawken). Great area with lots to do, you'll probably want at least some access to a car unless your office is right off of a bus line. Regardless, it looks like you'll have to go into Port Authority to get a bus, which leaves a lot of variables for getting to work reliably.

It might make more sense to live closer to work, honestly. It's really easy to get in and out of NYC from Jersey, but everything revolves around the city so going from one city to another (independent of NYC) can be tricky. Moving inland a bit will do the following for you:

Drop the rent, probably by a substantial amount
Make your daily commute much less stressful
Make the trips into the city a bit longer (not too much longer, honestly, that's more about traffic)

It's up to you, but that's what I would do in your situation. The Carlstadt area seems to be a little more spaced out which is likely a good thing with a new family. If you decide after a bit of time to move closer to the city it's easy enough to do so, but the above approach would be the one I would take.