moving back east (Irvington, Bloomfield, Montclair: to rent, townhouse, transfer)

[andream77]

Where are you coming from? La La Land
Why are you moving? want to be back East. I am from there and my family lives there. My husband wants to be closer to his home - England
Where will you be working ? If NYC, what part of NYC? NYC - Upper East

Will you buy or rent? Rent, would like to rent a house..
What is your budget ? around $2500 I think
What kind of place are you looking for ? Would like a townhouse or house...something with a yard.

Will anyone (spouse, children, pets) be moving with you ? yes. hubby, 2 kids (16 and 2) and 1 cat
Do you need/want good public schools? Yes. We can't really afford private.

Briefly describe the kind of neighborhood you'd like to live in
(examples: families with young children, young, mature, artsy, diverse, safe, close-knit, block parties, etc)
We would like a safe neighborhood where you can walk after dark, one that is diverse and artsy as well. Bust most importantly, one that is safe for kids and kid friendly. we can always go to the arts.

List three things that are important to you in order of importance.(examples: nightlife, outdoor activities, rural/urban, safety, downtown area, charming, new construction, proximity to XYZ, family oriented, easy parking, short commute, etc)
safety
family
shortish commute to NYC

We will be moving this summer and schools are really important to us. We need a good high school for my son who will be a transferring junior. He is planning on college, so we need something that will help set him up for that and one that has great guidance/college counselors. I would sacrifice the commute and arts for that! He also is into sports but we need somewhere that is not so cut-throat, die hard sports. but competitive enough. I'd like to see him continue with Basketball...

[HalfFull]

The commute to the Upper East Side will be a challenge because the buses go to Port Authority and trains to Penn Station, so you'd then need to connect to Grand Central or that area. It's doable, but time-consuming. Many folks that work on the east side prefer Westchester r Long Island for access.

Check map of rail line: http://www.njtransit.com/pdf/rail/Rail_System_Map.pdf

Lots of great towns (Glen Rock, Rutherford, River Edge, Montclair) along the rail lines, but depends how long of a commute you can live with.

[Goldendoodle1969]

Given that you will be commuting to the Upper East Side, which will tack on at least 20-30 minutes to the time you arrive in Penn station or Port Authority.

Bergen County: Rutherford is going to be your best bet in NJ. It has the shortest commute, very good schools and is a great "family" town.The main street area has great restaurants and it is conveniently located to not only give you easy access to nyc but also to the other areas of Bergen county. Ridgewood, Glen Rock, Tenafly, Cresskill all have better schools and are more affluent in general but you would tack an additional 20-30 minutes on to your commute time and $2500 would not get you as much in those areas. If you were more interested in that area I would recommend Fair Lawn(but I still think the extra commute time is not worth it since everything there is pretty much on par if not slightly below Rutherford).

As half full mentioned you might also want to look into towns on the Midtown Direct Train service line. Specifically, Montclair, Maplewood, Chatham and Summit. Since there is no transferring trains to get into Manhattan( as there is for all Bergen County towns) you can cut valuable time off your commute. Maplewood is nice town but has some bad parts so if you do look there stay in the area toward Millburn and away from Irvington! Montclair is in the same situation( but the school system is Magnet so it doesn't matter where you live) and has good and bad parts, the areas in Upper montclair are more desirable than the areas around Bloomfield ave, nishuane park and the Bay Street train station( although that area is up and coming). Chatham has the best schools of the bunch, followed by Summit, but both are farther commutes. Again $2500 is going to be a stretch for a house in a decent area but there should be something available as long as you manage your expectations(Keep in mind that the average small 3br/2ba Cape Cod Style house in these areas goes for about $400K-$500K). Larger colonials are more in the $500K-$800K range.

Good Luck!

[captne76]

Try the "usual suspects" along the rail and bus routes, yet just far enough away from "da Apple".

[andream77]

thanks for the help! We thought of Summit. I am going to look at Rutherford - We'd like to live somewhere we could go for walks (where it's not completely residential). And perhaps walk to a restaurant or some shops. We used to live in Santa Monica and that was our favorite pastime. It's fun to go people watching and run into those you know. We are also checking out some River towns in Westchester. Fingers crossed I get the job in UES!!