Moving from NYC to NJ: tips & tricks

When moving from NYC to NJ you might find yourself thinking: "What is there to prepare for?". You are, after all, not moving far. Well if you thought that, you were wrong. Dead wrong. Although there are some cultural similarities, the difference in NYC and NJ lifestyle are big are know to everyone who has lived in both sides. There are also things to prepare in order to make your move as easy and efficient as possible.

Differences between New York and New Jersey

First things first. You need to get yourself informed on where you are moving to. You don't want to go into the unknown and get caught with your trousers down. There are significant differences between NYC and NJ that you should be aware of if you are keen on making this transition.

Lifestyle

When you move to NJ you are going to have to slow down. NYC is a huge melting pot. Everyone is always in a rush and always late. In NJ, much less so. You will take your time and start using buses more often. As we are sure you know the best way to go around NYC is by subway. In NJ you will soon find yourself hopping on a bus to go to and from your daily destinations. The slower pace of life suits a lot of people, and you will soon find that there is a considerable number of NJ residents that commute to NYC to work. NJ is also much more child-friendly. NYC is a huge beehive where you can make your professional dreams come true, but NJ is where you move to if you want to start a family. It is generally less industrious and better covered with parks.

Many Americans are moving from NYC to NJ in order to start a family.

Cost of living

A big reason people move to NJ is the difference in cost of living. While in NYC a single persons monthly cost will be around $1,252, in NJ you can expect them to be $1,048. Both of these are without rent. For a four-person family, you are looking at $4,624 for NYC and $3,867 for NJ. So while you are only saving around $200 on single living expenses, for a family you can save up to $800 by relocating to NJ. These are not small differences. Rents in New York are from $1933 if you are outside of city center to $3,168 if you are in the city center. In NJ you will find housing for $1,400 out of the city center up to $2,438 in the city center. Financial gain of moving from NYC to NJ is considerable.

• NYC - a single person with rent: $3,185 - $4,420.
• NJ - a single person with rent: $2,448 - $3,486.

This difference is even more noticeable if you are thinking of buying property when you move to NJ. A square meter in NYC can be between $6,454 - $13,782. For NJ it is $2,535 - $7,149. So you are saving a fortune if you decide on buying an apartment of a house in NJ instead of NYC.

Living in NJ can be significantly cheaper

Advice for moving from NYC to NJ

There are a few steps you should take if you want to make sure that your relocation from NYC to NJ is as smooth as possible. With some research and planning, you can avoid a lot of pitfalls and unnecessary headaches.

Finding proper neighborhood in NJ

There are many neighborhoods in NJ for you to choose from, and which one you pick will drastically change how you experience it. Sure, it is not as wildly diverse as NYC, but differences between neighborhood as big enough to have an impact. From Newark to Vineland, there are places for you to explore and to figure out which one is best suited for your NJ lifestyle.

There are plenty of gorgeous neighborhoods for you to choose from once you move to NJ.

Packing

When you find out where you want to move, you should start planning your packing. Notice that we didn't say to start packing, just to start planning packing. Sort your things and get enough packing materials. This includes boxes, ducktape, loading gear etc. If you have some fragile items you should rent plastic moving boxes in order to no risk damage. For regular boxes, you can ask at local supermarkets and bookstores to give you theirs. They will probably help you out, just give them enough time to save some.When you have your moving date, start packing a week in advance. If you start packing too early you will just stress yourself out needlessly by making your home a warehouse. Place everything in it's designated box. Wrap thick clothing around anything fragile. And remember to label every box for its content. You should also mark if any box contains anything heavy and/or fragile.

Moving

When it comes to moving from NYC to NJ itself, there are some things that can be done by amateurs. That is to say you and your friends. But some things, like the transport of items, should be done by professionals. Luckily for you, there are plenty of good moving companies you can choose from. Whether you hire New Jersey movers or New York movers, won't make that much of a difference, except that New Jersey movers tend to be a bit cheaper. Always look locally so you can ask around about company's reputation. Movers will send a representative to give you an estimate. You should get at least three companies to give you estimates in order to have an idea of how much is fair to pay.Avoid fraud! You want reliable movers, not cheap movers. If an estimate is too cheap, it's most likely a scam. There are plenty of scams that NYC movers try to pull on their clients. One of the oldest ones is to give you a low estimate so you would hire them, and then change the price once they take away your stuff. Don't like the new price? Tough luck! We have taken your stuff hostage! If this happens you can, and should notify authorities, but ideally, you want to avoid this scenario completely. When you are moving from NYC to NJ you want it to be as organized and stress-free as possible.