Friday, May 21, 2010

Where in the World is the Johnson Family?

NEW JERSEY!
This has been a long time coming and the road was anything but straight.
Ever since Jason came home from Grenada in Dec we have been preparing for this move in one way or another. Jas spent several months studying for the USMLE and after that was done we started getting everything else done before we moved.
We had our preliminary placement and that gave us a good idea of where we would be going but SGU reserves the right to change your placement. So we were told to not make any decisions or move until we had received our final placement. So we prepared in other ways and got everything in order.
Our original plan was for my mom and dad to take the kids for us while Jason and I loaded a Penske truck with our stuff and drove out the NJ. We were going to tow our Sentra and stay with friends and family across the way. Then we would stay with some super awesome friends until we could secure an apartment. We would then move in and have my parents fly the kids out. We thought this was a great plan. It saved us money and we got a little mini vacation. (and with 3 kids we could use a small vacation. haha)
We ran into a few problems with our plan in March. Not all of the bumps we encountered were bad and in fact the first one is (in my opinion) a great one. In the beginning of April we found out that we are expecting our 4th baby. We are super excited about this but it did mean that we needed to sell our 5 seater Sentra and get a minivan. We looked and looked and after a month of car shopping (which in my opinion is the worst thing EVER) we found a great car for a great price. Problem 1 solved.
Problem 2 came when we found out that our new van was too heavy to to be towed. GRR. This was not great news because that meant we either had to each drive separate cars (jas in the truck and me in the van) spend money on gas for both vehicles and still fly the kids out, or we had to drive both cars out with the kids in the van.
We opted to save the money on airfare and drive the kids out. My parents are super gems and were willing to drive the truck so that I didn't have to drive the kids in the van by myself. I also started encountering my regularly scheduled morning sickness so I didn't know how much driving I could really do.
So we had a new plan for getting us across the country and everything was looking good. Jason got his scores from the test back and they were great. We got the rest of his paperwork in and we were ready to go.... except SGU.
After all our stuff was turned in we had to wait for nearly a month before we got our placement. We would have just moved but we knew if we did they would have changed our hospital and that would be one expensive reroute. So we waited, and waited and waited. We actually did finally decide that we were most likely going to NJ and that we had to get going or we would run out of time to get everything in order. We decided we were going to leave that Friday the 7th of May. Two days later we got our placement, and it was to the original hospital. SGU tends to make things harder than they need to be.
Anyway, we drove out, we stayed in hotels (I couldn't impose on our friends when the number of people jumped from 2 to 7. And there was a death in the family that caused the people we were going to stay with you be in UT instead of in their homes, so we didn't stay there either) and began our search for an apartment as soon as we got here.
We did just about everything we could think of to find a place besides sign with a realtor. We knew we couldn't afford the fees with having stayed in hotels the whole trip. So we signed up with a referral service (flat rate), looked on Craigslist, and even drove around calling on "For Rent" properties. We found some really awful ones that were not an option and some really awesome ones that weren't available until either June 1st or later. So those were not options either. We looked everywhere and we were coming up empty handed at every turn and we were running out of time.
We finally decided that it was in our best interest to sign with a realtor. We needed to get out of hotels asap and that was the only thing left we could think of. My dad had to leave for home on the 14th and that same day we had an appointment to see some places with a realtor. We saw one single family home that was cute, but on the river. With no fence to keep the kids away and Rori's lack of fear when it comes to water we knew we couldn't take it. (plus it is right on the flood plane) Then we saw one that was so horribly dirty I can't even describe it. Let's just say it was a big NO. And the third one we saw was the one we are in now. We were really happy to find out that the landlord was willing to pay half the realtor fee too! So that was a big plus.
It is a 3 bedroom with hardwood on the main floor, updated kitchen (the bathroom needs work though) the upstairs has carpet in both the bedrooms. The small bedroom will be used as the baby's room and all 3 kids are in the big room. It's really a cute space. It has lots of nooks and crannies for the kids to play. The house is older and has tons of charm. It's not new and modern but it has an old world feel to it and I find it very charming. The walls in the living room are an ugly brown and at some point I may ask if I can't repaint but it will work fine for now.
We are so happy to have found a place. It was a really stressful thing to do with the kids but we are really pleased with where we are.
We are still unpacking and have been waiting for our fridge so life has been a little crazy and disorganized. When I get it all together I will post pictures. Just be aware that almost all of our furniture was donated and so nothing matches. haha.
My impression of NJ has not been a good one and I'm hoping that during the summer it starts to feel more like home. Everyone I know loves it here and maybe I will too one day.
In the mean time if anyone who has or is having a baby here and has any recommendations on a good OB/GYN that info would be appreciated.

4 comments:

Justin & Ashlee said...

Congratulations!! I hope you start feeling better and your experiences get better too :) I am glad you all made it safely. Can't wait to see pics. It sounds like a cute little home.

Jen said...

Congratulations on the baby! That is so exciting... and yet I'm sure very stressful with your huge move. I hope everything starts falling into place and you can feel at home soon.

Shauna said...

We certainly love our New Jersey and hope you will too! I really liked my OB but she would seriously be out of the way for you. (like 45 min, but let me know if you still want her info,) I would recommend Jason asking around the hospital for a good one.

Alisha said...

Yay, another baby! That's exciting, and it's exciting that you found a house. I'm excited to see pictures!