suggest neighborhoods to live in NJ (Ridgewood, Scotch Plains: apartment, rental market, houses)
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Our family is planning to move to US in a few months. I am coming for a visit soon and will try to see as many places as I can. I have shortlisted these places to visit.
- ridgewood, glen rock, east rutherford (if job in north NJ)
- milburn, summit, chatham (if job in NYC)
- plainsboro, princeton, west windsor (if job in Princeton area)
- cherry hill, montogomery(if job in philly)
Should I add some town, remove some town from my list.
Where are you coming from? UK
Why are you moving? Job transfer
Where will you be working ? If NYC, what part of NYC? Husband will be working from home or client location. I will be looking for job in IT.
Will you buy or rent? rent first then buy after 1 year
What is your budget ? rent in range 2.5K(max 3K) buy in range 350K(max 500K)
What kind of place are you looking for ? 3 bed 2 bath size apartment/single family
Will anyone (spouse, children, pets) be moving with you ? spouse, 2 kids
Do you need/want good public schools? yes
Briefly describe the kind of neighborhood you'd like to live in
- families with young children, diverse, safe
List three things that are important to you in order of importance: good school, commute, safety
You will definitely need to spend near 500k to have any chance of finding what you're looking for in those towns, which are some of the wealthiest, most popular towns in NJ. You will need to compromise on the towns or increase your budget. Even 500k eliminates millburn/chatham/summit unless you're willing to have train tracks in your backyard or a fixer-upper. At 450k-500k look into towns like Scotch Plains, Cranford, Springfield (if you don't need train to NY in-town), Whippany.
For you I would recommend the Princeton/Plainsboro/West Windsor Area.
The reasons being:
1) Excellent Schools
2) More Importantly; Flexibility of commute, If you don't know where you will eventually be working, the Prinecton area opens up both the NYC and Philly Job markets to you.
3) Princeton University Area: Lot of old world European charm, will make you feel right at home..
Thanks for replies. I will see more details for Scotch Plains, Cranford, Springfield for within NJ job criteria.
For me the physical house itself is not so important. I mean even if it is old or not big it would be ok as long as I don't have to spend too much time/money repairing it and we don't look poorest family in town. i won't mind renting for long term either. I was thinking of millburn/chatham/summit for commute and schools if I get job in NYC. Any alternative to these places? To give some perspective currently I live in 1000sq ft semidetached 2 bed house, over 60 year old but in excellent school district and 15 mins train to central london and very nice community. i know there is no similar place(impossible to have 15 min train to Penn!) but was thinking atleast these could give 45mins train to NYC penn st and good schools.
Those houses are most likely fixer-uppers. If you are handy, patient, and has time, that would be fine. Otherwise, expect to do a lot of work (or spend $$). Heck, even a relatively young house (20-30 years) will have a lot of things breaking down, nevermind a 50-60 year house.
I had to google definition of fixer-uppers . Anyway where i live 60 year old houses don't really need much maintenance and very common but if old houses are fixer-upper case in NJ, I would avoid buying anything that kind. May be I will look at rental options for the costly towns.
Do suggest some alternatives for good commute to NY Penn st and good schools.
In Ridgewood area for your price range you might want to look at Midland Park and Waldwick. You'll get more bang for your buck than in Ridgewood or Glen Rock.
If working in the Princeton area, consider the Brunswicks (North, South & East). Most areas have buses to the Port Authority or access to trains to Penn Station.
I had to google definition of fixer-uppers . Anyway where i live 60 year old houses don't really need much maintenance and very common but if old houses are fixer-upper case in NJ, I would avoid buying anything that kind. May be I will look at rental options for the costly towns.
Do suggest some alternatives for good commute to NY Penn st and good schools.
60 years old is "old" in NJ, whereas 60 years old is "newer" in many parts of the UK. Don't get me wrong- you can find houses from the late 1700's in parts of NJ, but there few and far between. Houses from the 1950's are still abundant, and many have been renovated over the years, so just because the house is 60 years old doesn't mean it's going to be a wreck. One thing to consider though- unless there have been extensive renovations, bedrooms in homes from the 50's are typically much smaller than in newer homes, closets are typically much smaller than in newer homes, and kitchens are usually smaller as well. Of course, much of that is due to the "super-size me" mentality that has overtaken the US over the past few decades, and by UK standards, you may find that 50's/60's-era homes are more than adequate size-wise for you. I'm often surprised with the size (small) of homes in Europe when compared to what's available here.
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. Anyway where i live 60 year old houses don't really need much maintenance and very common but if old houses are fixer-upper case in NJ, I would avoid buying anything that kind. May be I will look at rental options for the costly towns.
