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I am sure there are still plenty of space in NJ but people choose to live in certain towns or neighbourhoods because of variety of reasons. That's why you keep hearing RE agent mentioning "location, location and location".
Of course they are. The "scary" (not unexpected) part, to me, was that more than $600K is considered lower end in these towns. Our budget, though within our comfort zone financially, still feels like a lot of money to us. We've saved like crazy for years, worked tons of hours, passed up vacations, etc to be able to maximize our housing budget, and we're trying our best to spend it as wisely as possible.
There are actually quite a few listings in our price range (realtor.com currently has 71 listings under $650K in Ridgewood), so we thought perhaps we'd have a bit of an easier time than we're having. We actually have a new realtor now, which I am hoping will help (our prior realtor actually cost us a very nice house, which ultimately went for less than we offered, because she delayed in getting our offer in).
look at more towns, and stop getting so caught up in the names of certain towns. there's plenty of houses out there. if you don't realize that then, yes, your options are limited.
I think way too much of it is the need for the status of being in a town with a top 10 or 20 or 30 school. My kid grew up in Midland Park. No. 44 in NJ Monthly's 2008 and 100-something in 2010. She graduated in 2009, so who knows what it was that year. She's a smart kid who loves school and learned good study and work habits at a young age. She's doing very well in college and she speaks two languages besides English nearly fluently and has spent a semester in China.
How does she compare to the kids who went to Ridgewood next door? I don't know--but she didn't jump off the George Washington Bridge.
a friend of mine lives in West Caldwell and has a 2300ish sq ft house with a gigantic back yard. Sometimes when I come on here and read people's problems with finding a house, I wonder what planet some folks are on. There's plenty of large(r) houses with nice properties. I looked at one house that had a narrow but long property. Full length was around 100 yards. That's a football field. it was only 75 feet wide though.
The problem is these "smart, educated" people come on city data wanting to know the "best" place to live in NJ. Everyone here responds with the usual [insert city data top 5 towns to live in nj] and preaching how if the school isnt in nj top 10 and you cant "walk" to a coffee shop not named dunken donuts or starbucks" and brown people live there than its "not desireable". Which leads to folks like OP whining about not buying a house in Westfield for 600k.
Here's a tip, buy a house in Cranford. Or Scotch Plains, or Clark. If you want "Westfield" You have to pay to play keeping up with the joneses.
The problem is these "smart, educated" people come on city data wanting to know the "best" place to live in NJ. Everyone here responds with the usual [insert city data top 5 towns to live in nj] and preaching how if the school isnt in nj top 10 and you cant "walk" to a coffee shop not named dunken donuts or starbucks" and brown people live there than its "not desireable". Which leads to folks like OP whining about not buying a house in Westfield for 600k.
Here's a tip, buy a house in Cranford. Or Scotch Plains, or Clark. If you want "Westfield" You have to pay to play keeping up with the joneses.
Definitely not the case no one here ever says those things it's more like "most towns here don't have the walkable downtown you're looking for", "you don't need to be all the way at the top of the school district, most of the schools in NJ are better than the rest of the country" & "you can't afford MB, RW & WF etc."
The times those towns come up are when people come on here specifically asking about those towns. Yes they are great but the are not the end all be all and lets face it most people can't afford them. I've never seen someone come on here with a tiny budget and get directed to check out those top 5 towns.
And I totally agree Cranford, Scotch Plains & Clark and good options for the OP if they want to be in that general area. I think Fanwood should be on that list too.
The problem is these "smart, educated" people come on city data wanting to know the "best" place to live in NJ. Everyone here responds with the usual [insert city data top 5 towns to live in nj] and preaching how if the school isnt in nj top 10 and you cant "walk" to a coffee shop not named dunken donuts or starbucks" and brown people live there than its "not desireable". Which leads to folks like OP whining about not buying a house in Westfield for 600k.
Here's a tip, buy a house in Cranford. Or Scotch Plains, or Clark. If you want "Westfield" You have to pay to play keeping up with the joneses.
I agree with icibiu. It's not the regular posters on here who are saying those things. As a matter of fact, I don't think most of the regulars live in any of those towns themselves. But if someone comes on and wants the best possible school system, has $600K to spend on a house, and needs the downtown and the reliable train commute to NYC, those certain towns are going to be mentioned. That's what they are LOOKING for.
I've never seen anyone on here direct someone away from a town just because it has "brown people" in it. As a matter of fact, Ridgewood has, and always has had, a black population with the same families living there for generations, and with all the doctors from India who live there and work at Valley, it's still majority white but hardly an all-white town.
I think way too much of it is the need for the status of being in a town with a top 10 or 20 or 30 school. My kid grew up in Midland Park. No. 44 in NJ Monthly's 2008 and 100-something in 2010. She graduated in 2009, so who knows what it was that year. She's a smart kid who loves school and learned good study and work habits at a young age. She's doing very well in college and she speaks two languages besides English nearly fluently and has spent a semester in China.
How does she compare to the kids who went to Ridgewood next door? I don't know--but she didn't jump off the George Washington Bridge.
Awesome post!! At least 80% of what's important comes from the parents and the kid his/herself.
I think way too much of it is the need for the status of being in a town with a top 10 or 20 or 30 school. My kid grew up in Midland Park. No. 44 in NJ Monthly's 2008 and 100-something in 2010. She graduated in 2009, so who knows what it was that year. She's a smart kid who loves school and learned good study and work habits at a young age. She's doing very well in college and she speaks two languages besides English nearly fluently and has spent a semester in China.
How does she compare to the kids who went to Ridgewood next door? I don't know--but she didn't jump off the George Washington Bridge.
Mightyqueen rules again. I totally agree with her. Parents are responsible for kids doing well, not just the school district. It starts at home. Having said that, I do like WF a lot. Not just for the schools, but because its a very nice, friendly town that does have a decent commute and seemingly normal people. I work with a bunch of people who live there, and they are absolutely not snobby, and always give me amazing tips on house searching. No result yet though
Mightyqueen rules again. I totally agree with her. Parents are responsible for kids doing well, not just the school district. It starts at home. Having said that, I do like WF a lot. Not just for the schools, but because its a very nice, friendly town that does have a decent commute and seemingly normal people. I work with a bunch of people who live there, and they are absolutely not snobby, and always give me amazing tips on house searching. No result yet though
The only person I've ever known who lived in Westfield worked with me. She resigned last year to stay home with her daughter. Very nice person, not snobby at all.
i've lived in NJ my whole life and moved around a bit over the years, towns including Ridgewood, Chatham, Colts Neck and currently Westfield. Most people here seem to consider all of these to be "snobby" towns. Overall, I really have never found snobbery to be much of a matter of concern. Sure snobbery exists to some extent in each of these places, but it's certainly not a prevailing attitude that consumes the collective mentality of the town(s).
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Definitely not the case no one here ever says those things it's more like "most towns here don't have the walkable downtown you're looking for", "you don't need to be all the way at the top of the school district, most of the schools in NJ are better than the rest of the country" & "you can't afford MB, RW & WF etc."
Agree!
