Moving to SO - range of questions

Hello!

 My husband, toddler daughter and I will be moving to SO (close to South Mountain Elementary) from the Upper West Side later this summer. We will both be commuting into the city for work and our daughter will be going to daycare at Village Babies. We are first-time homeowners as well as new to the area, so I have a ton of questions I’m hoping you kind folks can help out with:

 1)      Parking options – I took a look at the SO Township page for parking info but it’s hard to make sense of.  We definitely want to apply for a parking permit for the commuter lots (though I’m aware there is a 5 year waitlist!), but what kind of permit do we need if we want to park on the street for the day in the vicinity of the train station or our daycare?

2)    2)   Internet providers – we don’t need cable TV but we do need a good Internet connection.  What Internet providers service the area?

3)      3) Jitney – does anyone ever take kids on the Jitney? Or is it not done?

4)      4) Painters – anyone have a (good value) recommendation for someone to paint the interior of our house? We won’t be moving in for a few weeks after we close, so they could do it any day of the week while the house is vacant

5)    5)  Driving school – I need to get my license asap (embarrassing...) Does anyone have any recommendations for local driving schools or any specific instructors that are good for nervous adult drivers?

6)      6) Admin - I’m trying to compile a checklist of admin/township-type stuff we’ll need to do when we first move – e.g. the parking permits,  Jitney pass, recreation ID badges, library cards, sign up for garbage disposal service…. What am I missing?

 Thanks in advance for any input on the above! Any general advice or stuff I should bear in mind would be welcomed too. I’m sure I’ll have more questions over the next couple of months.

Welcome! I'll try to answer the questions I know best.

1. Parking: As soon as you close and have something with the SO address on it, get on the parking waiting list. There are two: one for SO and one for the NJT lot. They each take at least five years. There's a new parking garage going up in the center of town that may or may not alleviate some of the wait list but the parking authority (at least the last time I asked) didn't have a sense of how many spots would be for commuters.

2. Internet: Most people have FIOS or Cablevision. We've only had FIOS since we moved here so I can't comment on other services. I think they're both ok. There may be a small minority of people who use DirectTV. It's also in the neighborhood.

3. Admin: Your real estate agent should be able to give you a list of all utilities that you need. I'll try to recall which ones require you to do something. I think once you are the owner your name is added to the Sewer bill but I'm not sure. You have to call PSEG for electric and gas, EOWC for water, SO Disposal for garbage. You go to the Baird Center for the rec/pool pass (discount ends by May 15 I think). You may want to get a lawn service unless you plan to do the mowing yourself. If you search MOL you will find plenty of threads that discuss who's good, bad, indifferent.

I honestly forgot how I registered to vote but I believe the League of Women Voters website has forms or at least directions on how to register.

Since you're both commuting to the City, download the app for CleverCommute (clever commute.com). It's a free user-based system that tells you about delays on the train. Download the NJT app for tickets. I still use paper tickets but it's good to have the app for the times you forget to buy a ticket and don't have time to stop at the ticket machine but don't want to pay the $5 surcharge. Join the Facebook Swap/Meet SOMa group. It has a few sister pages (stuff for kids, recommendations for local businesses, and another spot to ask questions). And read the Village Green (it's a hyper-local news service- villagegreennj.com) and join the Nextdoor group for your neighborhood. Feel free to msg me if you have questions. I'm supposed to be working but this is what happens when you go on MOL...

Good luck with the move!

*Eta: updated internet service provider. 

Welcome.

There are no permits to park on the streets near the station.  Best option is the jitney or walking.  If you get to the station early (before 7 am) there are daily spots in the NJ transit lot.  Once you get to know some fellow commuters who live in your area you might find someone to give you a ride home.  There are some local businesses and homeowners near the station that rent out spaces as well.  Just have to walk around the area near the station.  

Fios, Cablevision and Direct TV all have internet options. 

People usually don't take kids on the jitney but I imagine it can be done.

Just call South Orange disposal about your garbage pick-ups, stop in at the library for your card and the Baird center is where you get your rec id badge (see the village website for what ID is required).  

I am sure by the end of the summer you will have it all figured out...

Welcome to town. Different streets have different parking restrictions, so the rules depend on where you're looking to park. 

Here are some helpful forms: http://southorange.org/formsnapps.asp

South Orange recreation badges - http://southorange.org/TheBaird/badges.asp

Garbage - http://www.southorangedisposal.com/

Jitney (you can take kids on it but there won't be car seats)  http://southorange.org/forms/sopa/Jitney_Application.pdf

Painters - Rutgers is a longtime favorite of mine www.rutgerspainting.com

Internet- We left Cablevision for Verizon Fios and have been very happy. http://www.verizon.com/local/new-jersey-fios/

Haven't used a driving school in a long time. 

Stop in and say hi at the South Orange library when you apply for a card. Our reference department can provide answers to most of your questions. But MOL does it online!!!!

Ex-UWSider

NanC

Last I knew, comcast does not serve South Orange, but Cablevision does.

Cablevision is correct!

Painters, while the firms suggested do a good job, Bernie the Post Man here in SO also does a good job.   eMail me at store6091@theupsstore.com and I will send you his contact data.

Later,

Da

The UPS Store

George

Welcome!

I just moved here in Feb, so I'll give my take on answers to your questions.  And I'd say everything posted so far looks like good info.

First-time homeowner - We are in the midst of going through this.  Can't just call the co-op board when you're in trouble.  Get ready for learning about things the hard way.  We had a bit of 'fun' the week we moved in with a boiler that was shutting itself off (even getting it back on the first time was an adventure).  One plus is if you have people in the house doing work they can be great resource for minor advice and many will happily add on to what their doing.  For instance, we had a sump pump that got disconnected from the outside, and someone working on our kitchen was able to replace the piping and actually improve on the installation with only a minor additional cost.

Parking - I've heard it's a nightmare.  We've fortunately found the jitney to be reliable (and we're close enough that we can walk in a pinch as well).  I think there's an independent lot over near at Village Babies, so you may want to inquire with them if they know anything about the costs.

Jitney - The jitney is a lot more loosely run than I was expecting.  The drivers tend to stop in between the official stops, and I've seen people say that they'll pay 'next time' many times, so I'd just ask the driver if you need to pay for an infant.  Safety would be the biggest concern as you wouldn't have a car seat and the jitney doesn't necessarily always 'Drive Like Your Kids Live Here'.

Painters - We had Olger Falas paint our house shortly after they moved in, and this included skim-coating our walls to remove some old texture that was not in great shape.  We were so happy with their work that we had them paint our fence, which now looks great.  We had a problem with another contractor that did work on our kitchen and did a very poor job, Olger came in and redid some of the work, and gave it all a proper finishing touch and now it looks great.  We lost a little money in the process (tile was involved) but we now have a very good relationship with a contractor.

Trash - You'll need to sign up with South Orange Disposal for regular trash pickup.  For recycling that's done through the township and you'll need a recycling container, which the house probably already has.  They also do leaf pickup in April/June and there are special days (electronics recycling and bulk disposal days) at the DPW.  The town has a calendar for that.

Water - You didn't ask any questions, but once you'll get here you'll notice that the water is horrible and you'll wonder if it's just you.  It isn't.  Get a Brita.  Maybe get a water softener as well.  Expect dishes and sinks to be covered in white spots

Welcome!

We live near the S. Mt Elementary school and my husband walks to the train station.  I don't think the jitney is even an option.

Internet: both Cablevision and Verizon have good Internet. Both wiill try to lure you in with the promise of low costs for cable service added on--really, it's not much at all--but that doesn't last and it doesn't count equipment. I received an offer from FiOS to "upgrade my network" (I went back to Cablevision since they made me an offer I couldn't refuse) for the ridiculous price of $39 for phone and Internet or $29 for just Internet (plus $10 router fee--not sure if you could use your own). Price is good for two years. 

We've had very good experience with Wilber's for painting.  They can also do small or more involved carpentry jobs.  We had Rutgers paint our house a while ago and were not very happy with the crew.  

mcgoey -- I don't know why the jitney would not be an option for you, unless the walk is downhill both ways (wink,wink).  For Kate384 -- Go to the official S.O. website (southorange.org) to find maps of the routes as well as schedules.  You can click on any mapped stop on a route to get the scheduled times at that stop.

Welcome   Get on the Transit parking list now.  No need to wait for that one.  Once you close, get on the resident parking list  

You can park without permit on street near Mountain Station. If you want details where, two blocks away, please ask.  Best painter for interior is Mark Persaud from Maplewood.  Get the name of a good plumber before you move in as you never know when there will be a need.   Immediately learn to drive.  Good luck

Thank you all very much! Some great info here. I have taken the advice re. parking and had myself added to the list for parking at Mountain Station already - unfortunately the list for the NJ Transit lot in SO is frozen and they're not accepting any more requests for now. Once we close on the house later this month, I'll add us to the resident parking waitlist. 

Re. the Jitney - it's not super convenient for us in the mornings since we'll be living near the first stop on the Wyoming route - in most cases it would be quicker to walk to the station, but the Jitney may be an option in inclement weather etc. It will be much more convenient in the evenings since we'll be the first stop and avoid the uphill walk! 

I'm still trying to figure out the logistics of our commute and daycare pick-up and drop-off. My husband and I are going to try to each work from home one day a week, but that still leaves 3 days a week where we'll both be commuting. Google Maps has Village Babies as a 22 minute walk from our house - do-able, but not ideal when pushing a stroller (especially uphill on the way home, or in bad weather). I guess we could drop her off in the car, return home and drop off the car, then walk to the station? Seems clunky. Does anyone have any other ideas? 

Hi festus - yes, would love to know - thanks!

festus said:

You can park without permit on street near Mountain Station. If you want details where, two blocks away, please ask.  Best painter for interior is Mark Persaud from Maplewood.  Get the name of a good plumber before you move in as you never know when there will be a need.   Immediately learn to drive.  Good luck

@kate384, my house was closer to Village Babies so when I worked in the city I did indeed walk, and then walk on to the station. The latter part is very doable, and it seems like some parents may have found a spot on Valley St and then walked? I'm not certain about this, so if anyone knows the restrictions for parking all day on Valley please post. It just seemed like I noticed some parents getting into cars on Valley after the train. If you'll be leaving early enough in the morning to snag a spot that could work for you while you're waiting for a train station spot to open up.

Kate384 said:

I'm still trying to figure out the logistics of our commute and daycare pick-up and drop-off. My husband and I are going to try to each work from home one day a week, but that still leaves 3 days a week where we'll both be commuting. Google Maps has Village Babies as a 22 minute walk from our house - do-able, but not ideal when pushing a stroller (especially uphill on the way home, or in bad weather). I guess we could drop her off in the car, return home and drop off the car, then walk to the station? Seems clunky. Does anyone have any other ideas? 

 This is essentially what I do in the mornings.  I drop my son of at Totri (on Valley) then drive home and take the jitney (unless I'm running ahead of schedule then I walk).  It sounds bad on paper, but in practice it isn't bad as it's only a few minutes to drive there, so it's always less than 10 minutes round trip.

My wife does the reverse in the afternoon.

Kate384,

The secret is that in their infinite wisdom or lack thereof the Board of Trustees has put up new signs on Meadowbrook between West Montrose and Mountain House making it illegal to park there between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.  The illegible signs that were removed had placed a two hour limit on parking there but there was never any enforcement.  There are about 10 regulars who park there and walk about 8 minutes to Mountain Station.