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I had a rather frustrating experience this morning with the customer services of United and Marriott Bonvoy. A week ago I had transferred 60k points to miles, they were deducted from my Bonvoy account immediately, but were not showing up in United. I chatted first with United reps, singularly unhelpful, they told me it takes 6-8 weeks (which I know is untrue, it takes days), referred me to the wrong Bonvoy rules, etc. Fine, I called Bonvoy next. Turns out the transfer took place but went to the wrong United account, a totally unfamiliar number. They said they will work out a refund in 3-5 days and then I need to try the transfer again. Frustrating it may be, the transaction glitch is not my main concern, and luckily I have a bit more time b...

Every airline is different in how they handle this. On United I've had a simple change done in minutes (I do have status on United so may have helped). When I made similar one with my son's name on Emirates, it took 2 very long calls to fix it since customer service had to cancel it as part of our travelling group, and reissue a standalone, but he as minor can't fly alone, so she had to do some internal linkage to our ticket. Rules are all different, and I would keep bugging the airline customer support.

We will be in Scotland in late August for ~5 days. We were thinking of spending a couple of days in Edinburgh, and taking a 2-3 day guided tour into the highlands. I perused the old threads here, but still have a few questions. As context, we are more into architecture/ history/ atmosphere than into art museums or hiking/ nature walks. Local interesting food is also important. Any favorite places in Edinburgh for dining or sightseeing? Beyond the Castle and the Royal Mile Is there a decent distillery near Edinburgh for a tour, or alternatively what is a good shop to visit? I pitched the “Scotch Whisky experience” to my husband but he thinks it’s too basic and is not interested. Looking at Scottish tours (I think I found them from an older t...

water2357 wrote: ↑Tue Jan 10, 2023 7:43 pm My question has more to do with whether or not Vanguard completed the form appropriately. If anyone else has seen their Vanguard Brokerage 1099-R with a Roth Conversion, can you tell me if Vanguard is doing this for all Roth conversions whether or not state tax was withheld? Thanks.

I just downloaded mine, but it has the State distribution empty. Both Box 15 and 16 are empty.
Also my first year after the transfer to the brokerage platform (not impressed thus far).

I just discovered that Amazon has not charged me for the Prime renewal last month. The membership shows as active, billed annually (now at $139) on a specific December date. However, the card was not charged in December. Digital orders do not show a charge either. Otherwise, the January Amazon Music charge was processed normally.

Am I supposed to contact them or just wait for them to remember? Or is there any promotion or something I may have missed? Hoping somebody has had such an experience and can suggest an explanation.

Thanks!

We are considering for next summer their 12 day sailing programs in the Caribbean (https://www.gobroadreach.com/). Our kids are both sailing small boats and we have been sailing together as a family on chartered boats, but they are excited about sailing in a small group of kids. The programs are pricey but for what they include not bad (comparing with chartering costs for example).

Does anybody have experience with those programs? I got positive feedback from a colleague but from quite a few years ago.

Thanks!

One practical point - you said you are in reasonable shape, do you have any back pains? I hadn't been on a horse for 15-20 years (and was not that great a rider even in youth, some basic English riding skills, jumping). Last summer we went on a horseback riding ranch for a week. The leg muscles were sore for a couple of days, no big deal, but I had some serious back pains from the loping/cantering in particular. Admittedly, I was not used to Western saddle and even though I did my best to lift with the horse gait, I was probably still hitting the saddle. Anyway, the back pain surprised me and if I had some issues there to being with, would have been quite bad. Otherwise, sounds like a great skill to learn at any age, especially with a purpo...

We have an Ove Saga smart (bidet) toilet that we bought from Costco end of 2019 (i.e. now is out of warranty). Full unit, not just a seat, self-flushing. It's worked great for close to 3 years, we couldn't be happier. Until now that is, when it started dripping a bit of water into the bowl on regular basis (not always but often). The problem is even not so much the drip itself, but the fact that the unit tops up the tank every 7-8 minutes (probably some sensor monitors the water level), and the noise is highly annoying especially at night. My husband is handy and has installed and/or fixed variety of regular toilets and plumbing issues, but this one gives him pause. We are worried that trying to detach and lift the top may interfere with al...

We are going in Sept staying 15 min walking from the Acropolis. I am really interested in the who's and what's of your street food tour. We have done this in Napolis and it was the best way to get a feel for the city, food, and people. David We are just back, the tour was very good. We used Athens Food on Foot, the family tour. It's 3.5 hours, you start at the Acropolis museum entrance and end up near Monastiraki square. It's a lot of things to taste plus some sightseeing and history. The guide, Anna, is very good and adapts to your interests and situation. We are actually from a neighboring country and familiar with most foods, and the kids are walking encyclopedias on Greek mythology, so she talked about different things than she usually...

We are headed to Europe in a couple of days, and among other things will spend 3 days (2 full + 2 halves) in Athens. We have booked this time just a food tour, usually best to have a light agenda and just stroll around. The kids really want to see the Acropolis though, big fans of Greek myths and history.

While one can buy skip-the-line tickers, they are just for adults since kids get in for free - but to get their free tickets they have to wait the line at the site and show a passport to verify their age. So for a family with kids there is no point of getting skip-the-line for the adults only. Either we pay for the kids as for adults, or we wait.

Does anybody have experience - are the lines very long, is there any option I am missing?

Thank you for all replies so far - Tiller and Monarch sound most suitable so far, I also googled a bit their reviews. Free trial will probably determine which one, but I generally prefer spreadsheets and laptop to mobile apps.

One thing I forgot to ask - when you switch, do you lose all your transaction history? I've been on Mint since 2012 and do check on occasion old trends. How much of a back history can the software pull for a new user?

I have used Mint for many years, but am reaching the end of my patience. I posted some months ago that I've noticed that it doesn't catch all transactions, random ones go missing (and I am not even doing reconciliations, I just notice occasionally bigger ones). They fixed it that time - took them a couple of weeks, escalations to some technical team and multiple chats, but is now happening again. Plus, they changed recently the format of the site and now everything is less convenient and takes more time. So, I am looking to switch. What I need is only: - automated pull in of credit card and bank transactions (i.e. not manual entry) - decent transactions classification (and ability to set your own categories will be ideal, currently Mint all...

For one thing, I think it is $10k per person, but I'm not sure about that, or if so, is it just for adults. Does that bring it under $10k pp? And as mentioned, what are the requirments about taking cash *out* of wherever they are? ... Is their reticence about depositing in a bank where they are and then having it wired (or??) after they've arrived due to fear of loss, or is there some other concern? It's $10k per family, I've double checked, otherwise it wouldn't be a problem since would have been under 10k per person. And yes, EU countries also require declaring more than 10k Euro, so they'll have to deal with that on that end as well. I haven't asked if they had issues or declared it coming out of Ukraine - they just emptied their bank a...

Is anybody familiar with the process of bringing more than $10k in cash when arriving in US? I understand the form FinCen 105 needs to be completed to declare the money, but I can't find clear information if it has to be done in advance, or can it be declared on arrival at the US airport via paper copy (and do you ask Customs or Immigration for such a copy, recently paperwork on arrival has been minimal)? Does anybody have experience? Context: we are sponsoring a Ukrainian refugee family, they are temporarily in an European country, waiting for visas, and have their savings in cash. They would prefer to bring it in cash and open an account here vs. opening an account in that country and transferring it here later, even though I tried to con...

Our teen is at a sleepaway camp this summer and they will have a trip to a city. We've been instructed that since many places are not accepting cash any more, we have to give her a debit or credit card for purchases. - We could just buy her a Visa gift card and pre-load the recommended amount. That may be most straightforward - Or get her a credit card to one of our existing accounts? We had planned to do it eventually, maybe at 16 or so, to start getting some credit history. We could even add the card to her phone wallet, many places seem to accept Apple Pay. But would they actually allow us to get a card for a 14-year old, isn't there a minimum age? Is there a simple option I am missing? And at what age did you get your kids cards off you...

I was looking into any specific items to add to emergency kits and prep that are specifically related to a nuclear disaster. We are not big on prepping (basic go-bags in place), but this is really getting to us as we are following news closely from all sources (our family is in Ukraine). So practical question - if you have already basic emergency kits and plans, what are the specific points to ADD for nuclear (assuming one survives the blast and needs to stay put for several days). Here is what I have so far, relying on FEMA and ready.gov and some info from Germany where they have more plans in place: - water - 1 gallon per person per day - for washing off and drinking - dry shampoo/ wipes - similar to above for washing - garbage bags and s...

So I had a car accident yesterday, and hoping all will go well with coverage and repair. My car was hit while parked on the street, the guy didn't even notice (he was driving a tractor-trailer). As luck would have it, I was walking towards the car and literally witnessed the hit, dropped my bags and took pictures, then tracked him into the parking lot. No problem on his side once he realized what happened. I also called the police who made a report, and in the evening I reported to my insurance, they told me to wait and submit the police report once I have it. What I am wondering: - Is it a good idea to get the other driver insurance details regardless of police report? I didn't, assuming it will be all in the report. - This morning the guy...

Does anybody have experience with the AP classes offered by CTY John Hopkins? Are they well designed with good preparation for the AP exam, or are they more of a complement to self-study (e.g. ability to clarify questions, etc). Do they do prep tests, etc? Specifically interested in world history and psychology, but even general impression of other AP classes would be useful. My kids have taken quite a few middle school classes in a variety of formats - session-based, individually-paced, more recently live and problem-based ones. Some work well, some formats not so much, at least for my kids. Now my daughter is interested in taking 1-2 AP classes next year, which are not offered by her HS. In CTY the format seems to include a regular class ...

Do you fly United regularly? I have a United credit card, and one reason I keep this is that some frequent-flyer seats are available only to cardholders (and elite-level frequent flyers, which I don't get). Regardless, it makes sense to look at the average value of a mile, and compare cash prices accordingly. I value miles at 1 cent on American and 1.5 on United, because United miles are easier for me to use (both because of the card and because I live near a United hub). I am Global Services, so yes. I watched the site for a week, and one afternoon this week, one of the flights (only the 11pm one) returned to 30k and I snatched it. So I guess it's dynamic pricing, but still seems strange so far off the date. Now I am watching the returns ...

I would actually disagree that 5/7 hours is not enough, assuming relatively normal circumstances and no emergencies. Getting out is a matter of 30 min max, even if you are back of plane and last gate on C terminal. Getting back in through security should be max 1 hour (I have TSA so it's usually 10 min, but assuming the worst). That still leaves 3/5 hours for exploring. Liberty Science Center is what I would recommend with kids (and there is the park next to it if you want them to run around). It's just 15 min away, grab an Uber or a taxi. For my kids at least 2 hours at the center were plenty entertaining. As for staying at the airport, if you are flying out of C, the food setup is nice, with the tablescreens everywhere to order and play g...

I just had an unpleasant surprise. I'm organizing a July family trip that starts with a few days in London. Last weekend I checked the award travel for United from Newark to London, and they had 6 daily nonstop flights options at 30k miles each, which is a normal price for an international leg. I noted this happily and went on to sort out the rest of the trip and confirm final dates. Now, a week later, I went on the site to book and found that any nonstop options are now at 70k miles. And the 1-stop ones while still at 30k, are very inconvenient (long layovers). Real bummer, especially since meanwhile I booked the rest of the trip and now have no flexibility on date. :annoyed I spot checked a couple of other destinations/dates and also foun...

I don't want to interfere with the other long thread (which actually introduced me to the game), but how to you access the game, so that it keeps a record of your stats? I use it from the website - currently https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html But it doesn't retain properly stats. Yesterday it showed I've played 8 games (I've definitely done more but I thought the switch to NYT may have disrupted the tracking). This morning after getting the word, it showed 8 again - possibly yesterday's stat disappeared because both it and today's were 3/6 and that line didn't increase. I closed the site and reopened it and this time it showed just 7 games :annoyed I am subscribed to NYT and tried to access it off their website thinking it will...

I would say the Eiffel tower is worth it, for sure. But then I think just walking down random streets in Paris is amazing, especially first thing in the AM or at dusk .. :happy By the way, my husband and I saw this in a movie - with Harrison Ford, maybe? - many years ago. We checked it out when we were next in Paris and it's true - there is a small version of The Statue of Liberty in a park there -- https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/statue-of-liberty-pont-de-grenelle Yes, walking Paris is the best - maybe second place to the morning baguette :wink: I think they had this in "National Treasure: The Book of Secrets" - with Nicolas Cage. But actually there are several replicas in France in different places, after all, it was a pres...

Thanks to everybody who weighed in! We'll go for it. As I wrote, I personally prefer the views from Tour de Montparnasse - it's less crowded, cheaper, and you can put Tour de Eiffel in your pictures :sharebeer. But as a few of you put it, the kids will be hard pressed to explain to their friends why they didn't visit the best known landmark. You can't dispute that. Of course we'll get advance tickets, but I was surprised that I saw recommendation for "skip the line tours". The official website of the tower says clearly that: "there is no such thing as a “skip the line” ticket for the Eiffel Tower. The only way to avoid queuing at the ticket office is to get an Eiffel Tower e-ticket from our online box office. E-tickets save y...

I just booked a trip to Paris for spring break with my daughter. A friend decided to join me with her 2 kids - so we'll have 3 teens/tweens in tow. I've been in Paris a few times but adults only, and generally prefer walking the streets and trying restaurants to visiting the usual attractions. However, for the kids' first time it feels we have to take them to some of the sights - we've decided on the Louvre, a Seine boat , the Conciergerie/ St.Chappele (given Notre Dame still closed), and I guess we may add the Eiffel tower. We'll be there 4 days so this feels plenty on top of all the walking we'll do. For those of you who have visited Tour de Eiffel, did you like it? Is it better that Tour de Montparnasse (which is taller and less crowded,...

I have TSA pre-check and find it very valuable - when you are rushing to catch a flight you want to sail through as fast as possible and it does that. Especially at an airport (like EWR) where there is a separate pre-check line. Check how your airport is - without a separate line you just get a card and avoid taking your shoes off and laptop, but it's not as fast. I've never bothered to get Global Entry - if you arrive from international destinations only 3-4 times a year you can live with the wait. Before covid I was a frequent flyer (I still have Global Services status on United), but even then I didn't find the lines too long. If you are a citizen and if you fly business (i.e. first off the plane), it's just 15-20 min usually. At least m...

Not a kid, but renewed mine, paid both for expedited service and expedited shipment back. I sent it in around Christmas, got it back late January, just under 1 month. (I got the new passport, still haven't received back the old one, which is probably via usps)

We have been subscribed to Great Courses Plus since the beginning of the pandemic. It's now called Wondrium btw. I find the subscription reasonable for access to all course for the whole family. Personally I've enjoyed most the historical courses - Imperial China, Understanding Japan, Understanding Russia, Ancient Egypt, the High Middle Ages, the Ottoman Empire, Greatest Voyages, Decisive Battles, etc; also some cooking courses by Ken Albala (Cooking across the ages, Food, a history). My daughter really likes the psychology courses. There are a ton of subject, I am sure I am forgetting many I've seen. And they have started launching many stand-alone single lectures and pilots that are worth trying out. I just watched last week a debate on u...

We have a Ninja 4qt (not the Foodie).
Shishito peppers and the mini-peppers turn out great in 5 min or under. We just did burgers and potatoes tonight, under 10 min each.
We generally use it for veggies of any sort, for quick ad hoc dinners - since otherwise we mostly cook soups and stews on stovetop.

I haven't thought of trying it for bread, and now am curious how it will turn out (just as an experiment, we have a breadmaker and an wood oven, so I don't expect the Ninja to beat those, but will be fun to try something new).

I have been using Mint for quite a few years and am generally happy. I use only the transactions and trends analysis. I just noticed that one transaction in December was missing - it was for over $500 so easy to notice. It was on the credit card statement, just not in Mint. And I remember some months ago there was a similar situation, a transaction never came in, I was watching out for it. Same thing - I found it on the credit card but never showed up in Mint. I am absolutely sure I have not deleted them myself accidentally. Not these 2 These I had noticed because I was looking for them, but it makes me concerned whether there are smaller ones that I've never noticed. I do not want to have to compare credit card statements, this is the reas...

Doctors without Borders
International Rescue Committee
World Kitchen
local educational program
educational program in my home country (surprisingly if you use Global Giving.org it's also tax deductible)
NPR

Usually the same every year, plus the occasional specific appeal (usually disaster-related)

Both my kids used typing.com with good results. It doesn't have the overgamified nature of other sites (and the annoying music) and is more practical

I would suggest Spain: 1. for the beach week highly recommend Alicante (we usually stay in El Campello), lovely very long beach, good small restaurants and supermarkets, regular tram to neighboring towns, there is some sightseeing (el castelo de Santa Barbara). The big week-long fiesta is end of June, we find this the perfect time to visit, wonderful entertainment and beaches not crowded yet 2. for sightseeing there are many options, it's just that distances are big, are you willing to travel by train or fly in between? - we have taken the kids to Granada (mostly to see Alhambra), they liked it, I personally never get tired of it - sort of nearby Cordoba is nice with the mosque, Sevilla as well - Barcelona is always a good option, we usuall...

My middle-school daughter got an older piano keyboard (YPT 230) from a friend and wants to learn to play. She would prefer to do this on her own time, not take lessons. She plays the clarinet and presumably knows how to read notes, but she would be a beginner on the piano. I believe she wants to get the basics and then learn some songs or classical pieces, not to go deep in theory, or attempt to become very accomplished. She found Simply Piano and liked it, but before doing a subscription I was hoping to get some advice if any of you have had personal experience with any of the online lessons. I found a few more: Playground Sessions; Flowkey; Piano Marvel; Pianote; Piano In 21 Days; Hoffman Academy. Also, do you find video lessons or app-ba...

We have been subscribed for years to ixl.com. It's really good for practicing variety of skills.

We also use Khan Academy occasionally, but less so than ixl.

From our recent flooding adventures - after running dehumidifiers and fans galore in the basement for 2 weeks 24/7 we thought we were in the clear (especially since we had pumped the water out within 3-4 hours). A moisture meter proved us wrong and we ripped everything out, mold had indeed started to grow on the back of the drywall.

Said moisture meter is $30 on Amazon
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00 ... UTF8&psc=1

RMO87 wrote: ↑Tue Nov 09, 2021 2:23 pm Which quote process did you use? I just tried Gabi, but their best quote was still more than $200/year more than my current auto policy with Geico.

I went and got online quotes to start with, but with Geico I also ended up calling the agents since wanted to be sure about the replacement value calculations. Homeowners did revise slightly after that step, auto stayed the same, and they confirmed the bundle discount.

The auto insurance was 42% of our current renewal premium! I am still picking my jaw off the floor. I too go looking for new auto quotes online every few years or so. I enter my details and what coverage I have with the respective amounts. Very quickly a page loads full of quotes from several companies. I get super excited when I see the Geico quote and think quick buy it now before they change their mind. Then I realize it is a fraction of the cost because it is for a fraction of the coverage amounts I currently have . So, please be sure what they quote is for the same coverage amounts as your current insurance. Actually better coverage. That 42% was with higher uninsured motorist coverage and $500 deductibles on the collision and compreh...

So, I feel like a complete idiot already, and thought I would get opinions before proceeding. We hadn't changed our insurer for 13 years (Liberty Mutual, we have 5% discount through my employer). Every 4-5 years I did get some online quotes around renewal time, the auto ones were more or less in line, the home ones were higher - so we stayed. We just got a 14% jump on the home renewal (I had a small separate thread on this) and I decided to explore again. The results were surprising to put it mildly. I tried Geico and Amica 1. The home insurance premium was slightly under current, but with much higher replacement value (30% higher - maybe because we haven't gotten through active reevaluation with current insurer?) 2. The auto insurance was ...

We installed a smart toilet December 2019 and are still extremely happy with it. We got the Ove brand since Costco had it on Christmas discount for $750. I have been in Japan and this is not worse than theirs in any way - heated seat, auto flush, courtesy noise, the 2-3 different washing streams. We've had no problems in the 2 years since, and I think the batteries of the remote needed only 1 change, in a year and a half.

We also have had heating under the tiles since 2005, no problems with it, and real nice on bare feet, plus cost-efficient. Definitely consider in combination with the toilet

We are with Liberty Mutual, just got our renewal package and the premium went up 13% (as compared to the usual 3-4%). No claims from our side, so I called them and they said it's across the board increase due to the higher construction material prices.

Have you seen similar with other insurers? We haven't changed in more than 10 years, since we have a company discount as well, just want to get a sense of this price hike is unusual.

Thanks.

bob60014 wrote: ↑Wed Oct 27, 2021 5:38 am To be clear, your comprehensive deductible is $1000?

Yes, as far as I know branch falling on car would be comprehensive. And we have $1000 deductibles on both collision and comprehensive.
The previous claim for the old totaled car was also comprehensive, flooding. But the deductibles are paid each claim (I think), so it shouldn't matter, right?

Is there a reason to think insurance would treat 2 comprehensives in one year differently than 2 collisions for example? In terms of raising premiums?

Btw, it's not a brand new car, it's just new to us. We got a 2018 GLE350. Indeed a bit more willing to go outside of OEM for repairs, but only reliable vendors.

In the big New Jersey storm last night, a branch fell on our car in the driveway and punctured the windshield (spiderweb fracture). This is a new car, the old one was totaled during hurricane Ida less than 2 months ago. We got a quote today from Safelite and also from our local Mercedes dealer and are trying to decide which one to go with and whether to involve insurance 1. Safelite's quote was way lower than the dealer - $850 (parts, labor, recalibration), while the dealer said something like $1600 and we are not sure if they included the recalibration. Is there a reason to go with the dealership? Safelite is reputable and specialized in this, are we missing something? 2. We have deductible of $1000 - and the annual policy is near the end,...

I bought a 2021 Mazda 3 around July 4th, newly arrived not shown yet since plastics were on. MSRP was 27,940, I got it for 26,000, so $2k under. I am not a good negotiator, so was surprised to be offered that much. It may depend on the model of course.

Different area of the country -- but assuming you mean not a votech (pushing towards trades) but a magnet school that's 'theme' is STEM, it's probably a good choice even for a non-pre-engineering student. She'll have good, motivated classmates and challenging math and science courses. She's in 8th grade. Her interests will likely change, but there is absolutely no harm done to her future interests in sociology/history/psychology by being strong in math and science in high school. The only reason I'd rule it out is if it's skimping on a well-rounded range of courses, but that doesn't seem to be the case. The magnet does offer broad courses and AP classes too (I counted 17 total in language arts and social studies, vs. 39 for the regular hig...

TomatoTomahto wrote: ↑Thu Sep 23, 2021 7:00 am I don’t know anything about the schools (unless you were more descriptive about your location), but having had a late developing student who now very much enjoys his math intensive occupation, I’d be careful about giving too much weight to an 8th grader’s interests. The interests will probably change multiple times.

NJ is a large state. I think you can allow more specificity without endangering your anonymity.

Sorry, I actually thought by naming the school I was very specific - UCVTS is Union County, this is central New Jersey and includes towns like Cranford, Westfield, Scotch Plains, New Providence, etc - school districts in top 50 or so in NJ. We are in one of them.

Context: daughter is in 8th grade, and after doing some research this year we had decided she would remain in the public high school. She is all A student, best in math in her (honors) class, but her interests lie not in STEM, but in sociology/ history/ psychology. She likes science only as it pertains to these areas (biology aspects related to psychology, chem analysis for historical artifacts dating, that kind of stuff). The high school decision was based on (1) decent public school - NJ is good state and our district is within top 50, daughter is excited about the classes they offer, incl. the AP ones; (2) most of the good private schools around seem to have technical orientation and push sports/extracurriculars she is not into, she spok...

It sounds like your incident was also highly unusual, perhaps a once in a lifetime, and you are handling it "in-house" like we are. I guess my question for you would be- how likely is it that the creek would cause a significant, or total loss of your home? It's not a minor, sub-$5K event you should be worried about (especially when the premium is over $3K) In the case of our SFH rental, the river that sits next door overflowed in an event in the 1950s that washed away several other homes directly downstream from ours. I believe the higher elevation of our home is what saved it. Cheers Nothing is impossible these days as we see, but we are still optimistic that this is closest to the worst level - we are the first house upstream a...

So, we got flooded during Ida (New Jersey), the nearby creek entered through windows and doors, about a foot water in basement (had to be pumped out) and 1-2 inches in living room (which ran out by itself pretty quickly). We are doing the remediation ourselves (ripped out drywall, baseboards, carpeting, etc). It’s an effort for sure, and if you look at the pile of debris and furniture outside, it looks bad, but a lot of basement stuff was old and outgrown, won’t need replacement, and we did get the HVAC and boiler dry and working, so financially we are more or less fine. * Containment <$1000k – home depot supplies, plus pump and dehumidifier. With drywall and covering out, it's just waiting for the stone walls and studs to fully dry out (we...

Westfield
Cranford
New Providence
Summit
Scotch Plains
Clark

All within the top 50-100 for high schools, all about 1 hour from both your location (of course in rush hour the picture would be very different to JFK), nice town centers, community events. Decent train and bus connections to NYC if that matters for you. I've lived in one of these 15+ years, my job is in another, good friends in all of these.