For Sand-question about Essex Fells NJ
#352002 - 11/11/09 11:46 AM
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kim123
Reged: 07/18/06
Posts: 543
Loc: Florida
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Sand-
I see you live close to the area of Essex Fells. What can you tell me, if anything, about it? Is it a good place to live? What are high schools like in that area? Possibly planning a move sometime next year.
Thanks for your input.
Kim
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If Essex Fells is the town I'm thinking about it's very pretty but I'm not sure how much real town is there. What I've seen of it is mostly very nice, very expensive homes. Let me talk to my husband - he's lived around here his whole life - and see what he has to say. Then I'll post more.
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[Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate. - Sandra Boynton]
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Thank you. I appreciate any information you can give me. We are actually able to secure a house to rent at a moderately low cost, for now anyway.
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I spoke with my husband and he confirmed my memory. There isn't really any "town" in Essex Fells - it's homes and the golf course. And the homes are really lovely.
He's pretty sure high school students from Essex Fells go to a West Essex Regional High School and that's also what Wikipedia says. (Wikipedia has a detailed entry on Essex Fells.) I don't have kids so I don't know much about any of the area high schools. An acquaintance told me that West Essex Regional has a wide range of students from very well off to very not well off but she didn't say anything about how good a school it is.
The thing to be very, very careful about anywhere in Essex County (anywhere in New Jersey, really, but especially Essex) are taxes. Property taxes are brutal here. That won't be a problem if you're renting but if you want to buy down the road it will be. So you might see if you can find out what the property taxes would be if you owned the house you plan to rent. Also your user page says you live in Florida now. See if you can find out what the utility bills look like for the house you're going to rent. Look particularly at what it's going to cost to heat the house during the winter. And figure you're going to have to make serious investments in winter clothes - coats, hats, gloves, scarves, boots - for everyone in the family. (You laugh but I almost fainted when I first moved here from Texas and realized how much extra clothing I was going to have to buy to survive.)
New Jersey has a personal income tax - I'm not sure Florida does. If you're going to have to buy your own health insurance, that's pretty pricey here too.
On a happier note, Essex Fells is a gorgeous part of the State. There are some very nice reservations (undeveloped big parks) nearby. There's also Brookdale Park in Montclair where every summer there are outdoor concerts on Friday nights in August. There's nothing in the world more wonderful than a Jersey summer night. You have very easy access to Manhattan via bus, train, or car. If you've lived your entire life in the South as I had before I moved here I can pretty much guarantee that your first Spring here will be a thrill. And your first Fall here will probably make you weep with joy.
There are even a couple of Whole Foods nearby and a vegan restaurant or two.
I hope this helps.
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[Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate. - Sandra Boynton]
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Sand-
Thank you so much for taking time to reply. You have a wonderful way with words! 
Actually, we will be renting a hosue (we plan to go see it in a few weeks before my husband makes the move ahead of us) that his work is providing at a VERY reasonable cost. Health insurance is not an issue, as his work is providing good coverage at a better cost than what we pay here.
We are originally from Canada (east coast) and had lived in Colorado and Michigan before moving here, but that was 8 years ago. I hope I can take the cold weather again! I actually miss the snow and changing of the seasons, which obviously we don't get in FL.
I'll at least have a chance to get used to the idea, as my 2 daughters and I won't be moving until next summer so they can finish the school year here. I'm a teacher so I'm hoping to get a job there, too. At least teachers make more money there than here.
Thanks again. You were sweet to respond.
Kim
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I'm glad I could help. Please let me know if I can point you toward anything once you're here: grocery stores, doctors, restaurants, etc. My email is in my profile. I don't check it every day but I will respond eventually.
New Jersey's winters aren't usually anything like Colorado's or Michigan's (although I remember that winter of 95-96...). Of course, they're nothing like Florida's winters either. 
Take care.
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[Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate. - Sandra Boynton]
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