r2i forum

Hi all,
We are moving from Singapore to NJ on internal company transfer and planning stick around in the US as long as possible.
We have 2 teenagers starting 11th grade and Uni first year in fall 2019; they are now studying in a British school system.
My office is in Jersey City (I would have prefered CA, we don't have a branch there).

I am looking rent a 3-bed house or flat in a NJ area ..

1) Good high school (11[SUP]th[/SUP] and 12[SUP]th[/SUP] grade) catchment
2) Closer to decent public/private universities
3) Reasonable commute to office by train
4) Safe(r), Clean(er) neighborhood
5) Not in very dense Indian population area but not too far away either
6) Decent medical care
7) The objective is to buy a house in the same area in a year time (so, no need to uproot again)
8) The long-term objective is to get the children to finish their university and get a job in NYC (both of them showing interest in IT)

+ Cost of living is not a huge concern; my wife and I would prefer a better quality of life than squeeze-up for “the future”.
+ Driving is not an issue (all of us will be able to drive except the 11th grader)

Thanks for your advice and guidance

In and around JC has become super expensive for the past decade. You are looking at spending 1MM + in JCity in good areas.. Little farther away you will need at least 800K for good school district with reasonable commute. Expect taxes above 17K per year. Also without scholarship college will cost you 50K per year minimum for a good one.

How about Edison, NJ? or towns in Union, Middlesex, and Somerset?

Another question.. why do people (Indians) working in JC, NYC are living in the southern parts of NJ.. why not northern counties such as Essex, Sussex, Morris, Bergen etc.. they look much closer to the city.. :-(
Is it expensive or unsafe or unsuitable for families?

Thanks for your guidance.

DefoldGo;683816How about Edison, NJ? or towns in Union, Middlesex, and Somerset?

Another question.. why do people (Indians) working in JC, NYC are living in the southern parts of NJ.. why not northern counties such as Essex, Sussex, Morris, Bergen etc.. they look much closer to the city.. :-(
Is it expensive or unsafe or unsuitable for families?
Thanks for your guidance.

You guessed it right. It's expensive. If money is not an issue, and if you are thinking of Bergen county, then I suggest, you should consider Rockland county-NY, which is next to Begen County-NJ. Hudson valley is beautiful !!

DefoldGo;683816How about Edison, NJ? or towns in Union, Middlesex, and Somerset?

Another question.. why do people (Indians) working in JC, NYC are living in the southern parts of NJ.. why not northern counties such as Essex, Sussex, Morris, Bergen etc.. they look much closer to the city.. :-(
Is it expensive or unsafe or unsuitable for families?

Thanks for your guidance.

Most desis are obsessed with School district. They wake up at 4AM to commute to JC and manhattan from south jersey and come back home at 8-9PM. They are so tired at the end of Friday they cant keep their eyes open. Monday morning blues start as they wake up sunday.. They also believe abundance in retirement is worth sacrificing their youth..
This is not everybody.. But a lot of them.

To my knowledge most desis who spend more than 2.5 hours commuting to work in NYC from NJ are not that good in their trade, hence they cant demand top dollars to compensate for the cost of living of NYC.

If one is desperate and the market for skill is not that much what can you do, got to take what comes your way and live life like a donkey, spending 3 hours in commuting and 60 hours for work.

At the same time I used to know few people who used to make enough dough to rent right in Manhattan. People making a little less than that but still significantly more than a average IT guy used to rent in Jersey City on the banks of river across Manhattan, rents back in early 2000s used to be 3.5k-5k.

Same is true of average desis in bay area, I knew family of 4 living in one bed apartment.

Unfortunately about 50% of folks fall in the average range so maybe thats why we think that is the norm.

Thankfully I am not in east coast or west coast because not sure I could have managed that kind of stressful rat race life with my average skills :)

deccanchargers;683825Most desis are obsessed with School district. They wake up at 4AM to commute to JC and manhattan from south jersey and come back home at 8-9PM. They are so tired at the end of Friday they cant keep their eyes open. Monday morning blues start as they wake up sunday.. They also believe abundance in retirement is worth sacrificing their youth..
This is not everybody.. But a lot of them.

techynt;683829To my knowledge most desis who spend more than 2.5 hours commuting to work in NYC from NJ are not that good in their trade, hence they cant demand top dollars to compensate for the cost of living of NYC.

There are many desis earning 250K+ total comp who work in NYC/JC, but live South in Princeton/Plainsboro area mainly because of excellence schools and houses. You cannot get 3000 Sq Ft houses or condos for a million$!
Desis who came before 90s all lived in Jackson Heights. ITs a downtrodden desi ghetto imo. Post 90s H1 desis all came to NJ for jobs and slowly moved to jobs in Financials for better pay. Many of them lived in Edison and the successful ones bought houses in Princeton school district

I thought you need at least 2 bedroom apartment for family of 4. Maybe Bay Area has more relaxed rules looking at property values.

techynt;683829To my knowledge most desis who spend more than 2.5 hours commuting to work in NYC from NJ are not that good in their trade, hence they cant demand top dollars to compensate for the cost of living of NYC.

If one is desperate and the market for skill is not that much what can you do, got to take what comes your way and live life like a donkey, spending 3 hours in commuting and 60 hours for work.

At the same time I used to know few people who used to make enough dough to rent right in Manhattan. People making a little less than that but still significantly more than a average IT guy used to rent in Jersey City on the banks of river across Manhattan, rents back in early 2000s used to be 3.5k-5k.

Same is true of average desis in bay area, I knew family of 4 living in one bed apartment.

Unfortunately about 50% of folks fall in the average range so maybe thats why we think that is the norm.

Thankfully I am not in east coast or west coast because not sure I could have managed that kind of stressful rat race life with my average skills :)

maybe they dont mind the 3 hours commute since 2 hours is in train and maybe they are able to do some reading or email work......or maybe catch up on sleep

I am sometimes surprised at the life style we voluntarily choose.......I cant sleep in bus/train hence it used to be a torture to get up at 4am and back home at 8pm when I was in NYC for a brief period back in 2000.

VS007;683830There are many desis earning 250K+ total comp who work in NYC/JC, but live South in Princeton/Plainsboro area mainly because of excellence schools and houses. You cannot get 3000 Sq Ft houses or condos for a million$!
Desis who came before 90s all lived in Jackson Heights. ITs a downtrodden desi ghetto imo. Post 90s H1 desis all came to NJ for jobs and slowly moved to jobs in Financials for better pay. Many of them lived in Edison and the successful ones bought houses in Princeton school district

I am not sure how they manage these....everywhere in south that I have lived its a strict rule, only two people allowed in a one bed apartment.

Dicky_Bird;683838I thought you need at least 2 bedroom apartment for family of 4. Maybe Bay Area has more relaxed rules looking at property values.