Introduction

The East coast of the United States hosts a vast amount of business companies, both US-domestic and international. Many overseas employees of these companies move from their home country to New Jersey for 2 to 3 year periods for training, management, or career assignments. Independent from their country of origin, there are a couple of things they have to do when they arrive in the USA: They need a social security number, housing, a bank, insurance, and one or more cars. Many guide books and web sites are available for Americans living abroad. Very few are available for people planning to move to the USA. To my knowledge, a guidebook for people moving to the US East Coast has never been written (or has never been distributed). In the pages below I will put down a couple of aspects that I learnt when I moved with my wife Karin and nine months old son Xander from the Netherlands to the USA for a "3 year" assignment starting May 1994 and ending May 1999. A basic version of this book was created in 1994 and distributed by several consulates and multinational companies. This web version is an extended version, with enhancements planned at a later point in time.

This document is not meant as a complete guideline to living in the USA, and it will not provide complete and definitive answers to all questions: It merely is a compilation of multiple remarks and personal experiences, a Survival Kit. There may be some things in here that will help you if you're planning a move to New Jersey (or USA). Having an analytical background caused me to consider many aspects of the New Jersey society in detail, trying to find at least my own reason for their existence. Although some experiences described below may sound frustrated, I actually enjoyed going through most of them: A modern form of pioneering, often going much deeper than needed to get behind the 'real' truth. It made me realize, that similar experiences are encountered by thousands of people that enter the USA annually, many from poor areas in the world in search for a heaven on earth. I was just one of the privileged that came in the country with a job and a supporting company. Many people have to do without either of them, and my 'inconveniences' are major problems, taking years to overcome, for less lucky foreigners.

For those readers not planning to move: This kit may give you a view of New Jersey and some parts of the American society through the eyes of a new expat. Keep in mind, that not only expatriates with temporary assignments have to go through this process, but all new citizens of the USA.

I have indicated prices in some sections. Please note that these are for guidance only, so expect them to vary with a substantial percentage. Please also note, that this guide is not commercially sponsored and that any references in it are only included because of my positive, or negative, experiences. This 6th release contains editorial changes and has been further generalized and expanded. All info is copyrighted. You are allowed to use the info for your own (expat) purposes. If you want to include some of this information into other documents you will need my approval: Send a mail to the address at the Conclusion page with details. Again, this guide has no commercial purposes, that's why I do not hesitate to give my opinionated perspective where I feel this is necessary, useful, irnonical, or just comical. Sometime you will only realize it at hindsight, but it is fun to move to another part of the world and learn about another society.

If you read this text while still wondering if you really want to move: Realize that you have two options: A) You stay where you are, B) You move. Now try to think five years into the future. What will you remember: A) No major change, just life moving on unnoticed. No substantial changes between year one and year five besides the usual promotions and family things, or B) A period where you did something completely different, with good and less good times, creating an experience that will stay with you until the end of your life. What would you do? Right!

This NJESK has a very limited purpose. In addition to the experiences about moving to and from the US there have been many other positive, and negative, experiences that fall outside the boundaries of this guide but might be of help to you. I have extensively traveled the US, both for business and with the family, in those 5 years and gained a wealth of travel and other information. Together with my family I also ventured into other regions, such as South America. I wouldn't have traveled that easily from Europe to Machu Picchu, Peru, with an 18 months young child . From the US it's only one night on a plane and it was terrific. Should you have any questions that bother you on expatriation or the US: Feel free to drop me an e-mail or add to the message board.

The New Jersey Expat Survival Kit is composed of two main parts: the Move section and the Return section. The Return Guide is in preparation for web publication. Tis statement has been on this web site for quite some time: The "return" notes are still waiting to be turned into readible text. Eventually I'll get to them. You will find more background data on this document and future enhancements at the Conclusion section of this part.

You can browse through this document either by following the 'turn page' arrows at the bottom of each page, or use the chapter indication on the left for fast jumps. The self-explanatory frame on the left side will also allow you to add comments in the message board and send e-mail.