House types
New houses are also classified like above, but with the 'contemporary' addition. New houses are often built in 'development projects' with several dozen stand-alone houses and a larger number of townhouses on empty lots. The absence of trees gives these areas somewhat of a bare and desolate appearance. Fences or other forms of separation between houses is also not common. Most of the houses have a front and back entrance. The front entrance often leads straight into the family room, without a hall, and is therefore seldom used. Everybody will use the back entrance, usually opening into the kitchen.
Except for the city areas, NJ does not have the multi-concrete, birdcage-type, more-of-the-same, housing projects funded by insurance and pension fund companies that you see in Europe. This gives NJ the nice residential appearance, with every house being different in form and style from its neighbour.
Where to Live?
This is completely up to your and your familys preference and needs. Being "city" persons but with a job that was located outside New York City, we aimed at and found a location that gave us the best of both worlds: inbetween the City and the Office, each about 20 minutes away. This allowed us to spend time in the City whenever we felt like, with the trip by car not being unacceptable long for a quick dinner on a weekday. It also allowed us to enjoy the pleasant countryside facilities that exist within New Jersey. Assuming that most people would prefer such arrangement we initially spent time showing new expatriates around in our areas, almost in an effort to convince them of the benefits of our personal decision. It didn't take much time to realize that even good friends have different needs and, for example, preferred to move to a remote area of NJ where we wouldn't even want to be buried. In view of this you will not find a description in this guide of New Jersey of New York's best spots, just like you will not find descriptions of entertainment and nightlife. There are other websites devoted to this issue. Of course we have our opinions and prejudices, and feel free to test your ideas via e-mail with us. There are a few key aspects that are worth mentioning here:
Some areas are "good" and some areas are
"bad". As a newcomer it is often difficult to identify one from the
other. Nicely shaped villages might be primarily populated by senior citizens
that may not tolerate your children, or well-shaped victorian houses in a nice
setting may be populated by people of completely different culture that keep
you awake every weekend by their parties. These might be exactly the aspects
that you've been looking for, so make sure you properly address your needs when
you discuss housing with your realtor. This all is not substantially different
from what you will find in your home country, except for the fact that you may
have months or years in your home country to decide on the perfect location,
whilst you need to make that decision in a few weeks in your expat country.
A key aspect to realize is that many local facilities (pools, tennis courts,
schools) are funded through local property taxes. This may deviate substantially
from your home country, where schools are likely funded through governmental
organizations and relatively independent from the local situation. Check the
section on education further down in this guide.
While making deveral drive tours in our target area we noticed a pretty town with stately vicorian houses in a nice setting. We asked our realtor to check on housing availability in that area and were surprised when we were discouraged me to view houses in that area. This all happened in a subtle and roundabout way. We we pushed for a more clear answer, the realtor pointed at a posted sign indicating that all realtor activities were required to be provided independent from any culture, color, race, or sex. Any violation of this diversity requirement was punishable by law. We under stood the hint and did not push for further clarification. A closer look at the area some days later, at a different time of day, showed an environment that was significantly different from our preferred type, so we concluded that the realtor had saved us from making an unwise decision.
If you do not work with realtors it will be hard to retrieve background information on the areas that you target. Local stores, hotels, or a sportsclub might help you further. Another alternative is to check the 'quality' indications for the local schools provided at their websites as well as the state websites. It may still be a good idea to check with one or more realtors first. This may cost you a small registration fee, but you need to make sure that you do not commit yourself uniquely to their services.