Working in Englewood, where to live? family friendly areas? (Teaneck: rental, condo)

[carriecarrio]

Hi, what are some good areas to rent a condo or house with a short comute to Englewood? What are the price range for the different areas that you recommend?
In the wish list:
-short comute by car or public transportation
-family friendly, near good schools
-near recreational parks, etc

Thank you!

[BrownstoneNY]

- Englewood itself. Schools will probably be an issue (Englewood is a very underperforming school district), but otherwise this is the most convenient option, and there are a number of condo and rental buildings in Englewood. There are dramatically different neighborhoods within Englewood, however, some very low-income and others obscenely wealthy, so you'll want to learn more about the neighborhood before committing to anything.
- Fort Lee. Fort Lee is nearby and has good schools and a ton of high-rise rental options (which will make searching easier) as well as more low-rise neighborhoods. Biggest issue is traffic from the George Washington Bridge, which is in Fort Lee.
- Tenafly. Also nearby, Tenafly is more expensive than anywhere else on this list because it has top-notch schools, routinely ranked among the best in the state and the country.

Then there are a wealth of other town options that are also very good, but don't have some kind of stand-out feature. On the more expensive side are places like Cresskill, Englewood Cliffs and Leonia while Teaneck, Bergenfield and New Milford are cheaper. (Note that Englewood Cliffs shares its high school with Englewood, so, while its schools are strong for lower grades, high school is an entirely different story.)

There isn't much in the way of public transit in this part of New Jersey, although there are buses that run through Englewood from the above-listed towns. (They're more convenient for people commuting to NYC, though.) All of these towns are family-friendly (such a strange/ridiculous term) and have parks.

[carriecarrio]

thanks for the response! i will do more research on the towns you mentioned..

[ALackOfCreativity]

Seconding everything Brownstone said.

Keep in mind that you want to be either living locally or doing a commute north/south, not east/west (east/west is what most people going into or out of the city will be doing). South is good if you want a denser/more urban area. North for more suburban. If you have a low budget or want the best-of-the-best in terms of schools, you will want to look north more-so. If your means/needs are more moderate in both spheres, you can do equally well either way. Schools are very good in both directions (just not in Englewood itself).

Also seconding that you will want to own a car and drive wherever you go within NJ.