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Thank you everyone that posted, excellent advice!. I took a look at trulia and viewed some of the listings in the saddle brook area and i have to say there's some pretty nice homes in the 400k range. I wonder how the school district is for resale value? I do want to take that into consideration as a worst case, or even in the future as lfsr1544 has mentioned. I will drive by the area tomorrow and get a feel for whats there and the commute to midtown. Also, wondering if i should knock off somerset, piscatway and wayne off the list? aside from distance how do those areas compare with my criteria?
Thanks!
I grew up and live in the saddle brook area, so message me with any questions.
Thank you everyone that posted, excellent advice!. I took a look at trulia and viewed some of the listings in the saddle brook area and i have to say there's some pretty nice homes in the 400k range. I wonder how the school district is for resale value? I do want to take that into consideration as a worst case, or even in the future as lfsr1544 has mentioned. I will drive by the area tomorrow and get a feel for whats there and the commute to midtown. Also, wondering if i should knock off somerset, piscatway and wayne off the list? aside from distance how do those areas compare with my criteria?
Thanks!
Take a look at Waldwick. It's got good schools, low crime, a train station on the Main/Bergen line, a downtown and close to Ridgewood and Paramus.
NJ is a dump. You will be better off buying in PA or NY. If you buy in NJ, be prepared to pay 3K per month for car insurance. Be prepared to pay the highest property tax in the country. Be prepared to pay an arm and leg for tolls and if you choose to take the train, be prepared to pay hundreds of dollars per month for terrible service. When they suspend service and you are waiting 3 hours to get home, at least you can pet the attack dogs the police send out at Penn Station to prevent riots for massive train delays (true story). You will pay 7 percent sales tax and one of the highest income taxes in the country, plus you will pay NY income tax if you live in NJ and work in NY. Good luck.
NJ is a dump. You will be better off buying in PA or NY. If you buy in NJ, be prepared to pay 3K per month for car insurance. Be prepared to pay the highest property tax in the country. Be prepared to pay an arm and leg for tolls and if you choose to take the train, be prepared to pay hundreds of dollars per month for terrible service. When they suspend service and you are waiting 3 hours to get home, at least you can pet the attack dogs the police send out at Penn Station to prevent riots for massive train delays (true story). You will pay 7 percent sales tax and one of the highest income taxes in the country, plus you will pay NY income tax if you live in NJ and work in NY. Good luck.
From what I know, if you work in NY and live in NJ you pay NJ income tax(the lower tax rate) and pay NY the difference between the two. You pay only one income tax if you total the two together, but the amount will end up being the higher of the two states(NY rate).
From what I know, if you work in NY and live in NJ you pay NJ income tax(the lower tax rate) and pay NY the difference between the two. You pay only one income tax if you total the two together, but the amount will end up being the higher of the two states(NY rate).
No, the way it works is that you file a NJ state income tax form, but when you get to the end there is a section for taxes paid to other jurisdictions. You fill out the information from your NY state income tax (obviously you have to do the NY one before you can complete the NJ one) in that section, and since the NY tax is higher, it zeroes out what you owe to NJ. You pay no income tax to the state of NJ.
No, the way it works is that you file a NJ state income tax form, but when you get to the end there is a section for taxes paid to other jurisdictions. You fill out the information from your NY state income tax (obviously you have to do the NY one before you can complete the NJ one) in that section, and since the NY tax is higher, it zeroes out what you owe to NJ. You pay no income tax to the state of NJ.
Thank you. At least it is correct that you only pay one tax.
NJ is a dump. You will be better off buying in PA or NY. If you buy in NJ, be prepared to pay 3K per month for car insurance. Be prepared to pay the highest property tax in the country. Be prepared to pay an arm and leg for tolls and if you choose to take the train, be prepared to pay hundreds of dollars per month for terrible service. When they suspend service and you are waiting 3 hours to get home, at least you can pet the attack dogs the police send out at Penn Station to prevent riots for massive train delays (true story). You will pay 7 percent sales tax and one of the highest income taxes in the country, plus you will pay NY income tax if you live in NJ and work in NY. Good luck.
I've heard this before, although i don't think Jersey can be as bad as living in New York. The sales tax here is almost 9 percent and i don't believe we get any breaks on clothing or shoes either. I'm also paying in addition to state and federal tax, local tax, which is roughly an additional 10-12 percent of my paycheck. Auto insurance is 4k a year since i park on the street and my neighborhood is considered a "high risk" area.It's ridiculous anywhere, though once you live anywhere near Manhattan(im about 3 miles from downtown financial), you get conditioned to these high prices living anywhere else isn't as hard.
I am fortunate enough to be able to work for a company that reimburses almost all travel expenses (except gas). I can also but not 100% guaranteed switch my home office from NYC to NJ and avoid the tax nightmare of working and living in different states. I think i'm ready for Jersey.... But to get back on topic, i drove through some of the suggested areas and you guys were right on the money, here's my thoughts,
Saddlebrook/Elmwood/Fairlawn - Pros: Nice, close proximity to the city, homes seem to be pretty spaced out, quiet.
Cons: I believe someone mentioned that there's not much of a downtown, didn't really see much. The area to me wasn't as diverse as i would have hoped. I am a minority and although hate to bring this issue up, i wouldn't feel comfortable living here.
Montclair - Pros: By far the best suggestion! This place is beautiful never knew this existed in jersey. This is exactly what i'm looking for, seems to be pretty diverse, there's an excellent downtown area as someone had mentioned with lots of city like shops. Nice!
Cons: Older homes, pretty pricey for what you get, although id give up a larger home/nicer home to live in an area like this.
Wayne- Eliminating this off my list, as someone had mentioned there isn't much out there, didn't see a downtown area, and its pretty difficult driving to the city even on a Saturday with light traffic (GPS took me down route 3). I also spoke with a couple of listing agents, they had mentioned the nicer cheaper homes were of course in flood zones.
I;ll take a look at a few others and let you know what i think but excellent suggests especially on Montclair! Thanks again!
I've heard this before, although i don't think Jersey can be as bad as living in New York. The sales tax here is almost 9 percent and i don't believe we get any breaks on clothing or shoes either. I'm also paying in addition to state and federal tax, local tax, which is roughly an additional 10-12 percent of my paycheck. Auto insurance is 4k a year since i park on the street and my neighborhood is considered a "high risk" area.It's ridiculous anywhere, though once you live anywhere near Manhattan(im about 3 miles from downtown financial), you get conditioned to these high prices living anywhere else isn't as hard.
I am fortunate enough to be able to work for a company that reimburses almost all travel expenses (except gas). I can also but not 100% guaranteed switch my home office from NYC to NJ and avoid the tax nightmare of working and living in different states. I think i'm ready for Jersey.... But to get back on topic, i drove through some of the suggested areas and you guys were right on the money, here's my thoughts,
Saddlebrook/Elmwood/Fairlawn - Pros: Nice, close proximity to the city, homes seem to be pretty spaced out, quiet.
Cons: I believe someone mentioned that there's not much of a downtown, didn't really see much. The area to me wasn't as diverse as i would have hoped. I am a minority and although hate to bring this issue up, i wouldn't feel comfortable living here.
Montclair - Pros: By far the best suggestion! This place is beautiful never knew this existed in jersey. This is exactly what i'm looking for, seems to be pretty diverse, there's an excellent downtown area as someone had mentioned with lots of city like shops. Nice!
Cons: Older homes, pretty pricey for what you get, although id give up a larger home/nicer home to live in an area like this.
Wayne- Eliminating this off my list, as someone had mentioned there isn't much out there, didn't see a downtown area, and its pretty difficult driving to the city even on a Saturday with light traffic (GPS took me down route 3). I also spoke with a couple of listing agents, they had mentioned the nicer cheaper homes were of course in flood zones.
I;ll take a look at a few others and let you know what i think but excellent suggests especially on Montclair! Thanks again!
So dude, I live in Montclair now, and grew up in Elmwood Park, so I can relate to a lot of this.
The pros of EP and the area is for sure is that you're getting North NJ at a less expensive price than a lot of the surrounding area, access to all the major highways, trains to NYC, etc. No, there are no downtowns. You wanna shop? Get on the highways and go to malls in Paramus and drive to Montclair to eat. It's quiet, safe, suburban life. Almost all working class people, especially Elmwood Park.
Montclair for sure has a cooler vibe to it. Awesome restaurants, art scene, two of the best downtowns in Jersey (in my opinion) - the stuff you get out in New York City, with suburban life. Also, the homes are much older, and have a hell of a lot more character (and are also a hell of a lot more expensive)
As far as Elmwood Park being diverse, to me, this was one of the greatest things about growing up there, exposure to people from all over the world. Montclair is diverse also, but a very different kind of diverse (both towns are about 60% white, but you'll find more of a hispanic population in Elmwood Park, Black in Montclair). Lemme explain.
In Elmwood Park, my family, and almost all the families I knew, were recent immigrants or first generation Americans. I mean from everywhere: Italy, Eastern Europe, South America, India, the middle east, you name it. Everyone was a blue collar, working family (lower middle to middle class) and everyone lived all mixed in together on every street in every area and gets along, there are no ethnic neighborhoods - especially because everyone is of the same socio-economic class, and is just trying to make it here in the US of A. Many of the "white" families are recent immigrants from Italy, Poland, Ukraine, Brazil (where my family is from), Argentina, etc. It really is the perfect example of the melting pot of America. Growing up, I don't think anyones parents could actually speak to each other - it seemed like everyone spoke a different language. For sure Fair Lawn (many Russian Jews) and Saddle Brook are more white, but far, far from "WASPy". Trust me. Racism is NOT an issue here. There's a whole lot of everyone from everywhere.
Montclair is diverse, but a different kind of diverse. It has a much longer history than Elmwood Park, and almost everyone here is American, and almost everyone speaks English. But you're either white American, or black American. There is the white half of town (north), and the black half of town (south). Everyone embraces the community, and the people of Montclair are ultra progressive, it's not like racism is a rampant problem, but almost every issue in the town comes down to race in one form or another (the schools are run on a satellite system to make sure they stay racially mixed). Also in Montclair you go from ultra rich residents to very poor. All of this leads to a certain tension and spark in the town that the people who live, and love it here, seem to thrive off of. It's a fascinating place, and you don't see local pride like this back up in EP.
This close mix of rich/poor does seem to lead to more crime than you'll get in the Elmwood Park area. More breaks in, burglaries, etc. Still largely non-violent crime. But this is what you get when you have million dollar mansions and low income housing a few streets apart. There seems to also be a drug trafficking problem in the Glenfield Park/Pine Street area, but seems to stay confined to there.
In turn, Elmwood Park (and area): More affordable, newer homes, lower taxes, and mostly middle class families. It can be boring: not a lot of culture and non-franchise businesses - you'll find yourself driving on highways to mega-malls in Paramus to shop, and, if you're like me and crave high quality food, driving to Montclair to eat. It's a large immigrant population from all over, and it's a very safe area. Easy access to NYC by train or car.
Montclair: Super expensive to live here (even in the bad neighborhoods homes can cost a lot. Houses on New Street sell for what you can get a house in Elmwood Park for [note: You do NOT want to live on New Street]), and super high taxes. You get much more character driven homes, but they're older, and a more involved community. Diversity is a still somewhat segregated white/black American population, with a large mix of social classes. Best dining scene in New Jersey, and TWO fantastic downtowns, with many of the amenities that make NYC living so appealing. You also get some of the downsides to that lifestyle also, with a bit more crime than in Bergen County.
I rent now, but personally, if we can afford to buy in Montclair at some point, this would be my first choice. I'd prefer to stay north of Claremont Ave, as most of Montclair's crime happens south of that. There are still beautiful homes on both the north and south sides of town though.
If we can't afford to buy here (strong possibility), we'll be looking back by Elmwood Park again. I like the Radburn section of Fair Lawn a lot, because of the character of the homes. I'll have to suck it up and go to Montclair and the city for my dining and shopping fills.
The real issue is you pay more in Montclair for quick access the downtown scene and culture (as well as things like a whole foods and starbucks). You're a 20 minute drive away from Montclair in EP/Fair Lawn. Both are about the same access to NYC (at least for me, I work in the West Village). 400k and under 10k a year in taxes is gonna be tough in Montclair though. You may want to look at Cedar Grove and Verona as options. Both are close to Montclair, but significantly cheaper.
As far as schools go, both Fair Lawn and Montclair are considered excellent school systems. Saddle Brook is good, and Elmwood Park's is considered towards the bottom in New Jersey (I went there and did just fine, but I'm talking about perception).
I don't care what ethnicity you are, you'd have to struggle to feel out of place in most of Northern NJ, so I'd really, really cast that aside.
Message me if you want more details.
Last edited by labcjo; 10-11-2011 at 03:37 AM..
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