Shopping

Now I am a self confessed shopaholic, I love everything about high street shopping, and yes of course I love designer (but only to look at I'm afraid!!), so of course when we moved to New Jersey I relished the opportunity to tackle New York shopping.  From spending the day shopping at an 8 floor store - the world largest dept store - yes you guessed Macy's, to finding  real bargains in the outlet malls, I quickly got over my sadness at missing River Island....
There is definitely something for everyone here.. even my Husband who has to be the worst shopper I have ever met, can even manage to spend a couple of hours in the Mall without getting into bad form.. and has even managed to shop by himself... My 4 year daughter's wardrobe had dramatically increased.!!
The best and by far the easiest place to shop for a bargain are the the discount dept. stores -Marshall and TJ Maxx (yes this is TK Maxx), you can get anything from Gucci Shoes (yes i did!!) to Levi Jeans and everything in between, heavily discounted...
Here is New Jersey/New York you have Century 21 which would be the most popular Discount store in New York, the flag ship store is located at 22 Cortlandt St, New York.  This is a fantastic store (in my opinion), but beware this stores gets very very busy...
It not just Clothing that is cheap.. you can get a real bargain on Furniture and home furnishing, now don't get me wrong there are very high end luxurious stores but, you can if you are prepared find a real bargain. 
Even after a year here I still feel like a kid in a candy store when I get to go into New York Shopping..

I am at the moment getting ready for the Winter, and so I bought myself a new winter coat last week.  This is a Michael Kors Puffa Coat 3/4 length, original priced was $385.00 I got it for $70.00, I was chuffed with myself and, I will definitly be warm standing on the sideline and the sunday soccer game.




 

Working

When we left Ireland last November, the plan was not to work for a while.My major concern was to settle our two teenagers in school. I had been telling everyone that I was going to enjoy being a lady of leisure, and after working full time as a secondary school teacher, I really meant it! My two teenagers started school on December 6th and my heart was in my mouth for them. Both are extroverts, but you wouldn't have thought it that morning......both were green to the gills with nerves! I needn't have worried.....when I collected them both later that day, both were happy and have not looked back since that day. I decided in January that I would apply for work authorisation. Under my husband's visa, I am entitled to work but the work authorisation process is not immediate. You have to apply, by post or online, by filling out a I-765 Form and pay 380 dollars. You then receive a letter about 10 days later. The letter confirms your application. I had to then attend a biometrics appointment (not always required). It basically meant that I had to turn up at Citizen and Immigration Services where I was photographed (again!) and fingerprinted (yet again!). The whole process takes about 3 months and ends when you receive a letter and an ID card, both of which you show to an employer. I received mine in early April, by which time I was crawling the walls!! There is only so much cleaning and walking the dog that one can do! Plus, while my husband and kids were well settled and meeting people, I was finding it harder. I had already decided that I would take a break from teaching...as much as I loved it, I did not want to have to go through certification here and I wanted to try something new. I applied for a Real Estate Course (40 hours long and can be done in two weekends or over weeks or months). Then, you do two exams in one session....a General exam and a Massachusetts Law exam. I was licensed at the end of August and am now working for Coldwell Banker in Newton. I am in the training phase at the moment, which is really fantastic. I am now meeting so many people, having a great time going to open houses and able to schedule being home most of the time when the kids come home from school. If anyone is relocating anywhere in the U.S., whether to buy or rent, contact me by email at noreen.boyce@nemoves.com and I will refer you to a Coldwell Banker realtor anywhere in the country..

Noreen xx

Settling the Kids...

So we arrived safely in JFK, and before we were off the plane, my first thought went to the Kids.  How will they settle, will they be homesick, living in an apartment for a month and them moving again will this upset them more, I am telling you all the emotions that I went through was unbelievable.   If I am being honest I also said to myself if Dylon (he is my eldest and was nine when we moved) didn’t settle and he hated it then we would be packing up and going home!!, but it was incredible how they coped.  Everyone all says to you, that Kids adapt quicker and they cope better especially when they are young.. and I can say that it is so true..

We actually left Ireland the day before my daughter’s 3^rd birthday, so we agreed that after we arrived we would have a big day out in New York for her.  Now you have to keep in mind that we were jet lagged,  it was over 10 years since I was in New York last, and we have only a suitcase of clothes for 1 month (for me this is not nearly enough.. I am a shopaholic!!), but we kept our word, and we spend the day in New York – going to Toy r Us in Times Square, having hotdogs from the vendors on the street and riding the subway – which by the way was her favorite thing of the day!!!   I think the key thing for me to ensure that Kids felt settled and for them to feel comfortable that this was their home was to make sure that for the month we were in the temp accommodation we kept busy.  Every day we did something, walked to the Hudson, went into the city, even just going to the farmers market, it made them feel  normal, and by doing this New Jersey felt more like home than just a holiday.

I was aware that we would them have the chaos of moving again when all our furniture arrived, but I have to say because we became familiar with our surrounding as quickly as we could the kids had  no issues when we moved to the house, which was a huge relief to us. I suppose a good sign that your kids have settled is that your still unpacking the van, and Dylon is out playing football (sorry Soccer) with his new best friends ….

Jenny xx