Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
How is the commute from Ridgewood to Newark? We have concentrated our home search to Westfield( maybe even Chatham) but our relatives are telling us that it is too far from them-- they live in Wetschester County and love taking the Tappan Zee bridge instead of GWB. They don't mind driving to my in laws place in Mahwah!! My husband works in Newark and we are hoping to cut his commute since right now we live in Ardsley,NY! What do you guys think..stick with Westfield?
Train wise , Ridgewood is about 45-60mins from Newark , Westfield is about 25mins. Driving is about 60-70mins from Ridgewood traffic is getting worse and worse heading into Newark , driving from Westfield is abit less but also can be a pain for Downtown Newark which is heavily Transit Connected.
Westfield is significantly closer. Train times, commute times, drive times, all nice and well and good. Practical application and real world day to day is what counts. I've gone from Ridgewood to Newark very often. Reverse commute? Yes, after a certain point. But rush hour into Newark is not a walk in the park. It is compared to NYC. LOL.
Westfield is closer and will be a bit easier because you can leave earlier, later, etc. and have some flexibility.
How is the commute from Ridgewood to Newark? We have concentrated our home search to Westfield( maybe even Chatham) but our relatives are telling us that it is too far from them-- they live in Wetschester County and love taking the Tappan Zee bridge instead of GWB. They don't mind driving to my in laws place in Mahwah!! My husband works in Newark and we are hoping to cut his commute since right now we live in Ardsley,NY! What do you guys think..stick with Westfield?
Do not underestimate how much damage an unnecessarily long trafficky commute will do to your IMMEDIATE family. Your extended family comes second. Your immediate family comes first. Tell your husband to follow the other poster's suggestion and take the direct train from Westfield to Newark. If your extended family objects, tell 'em that they're wrong and that Stinky12 is right.
Thanks for the advices. I will scrap Ridgewood off the list. Unfortunately, my husband wants to drive because his line of work deals with emergencies and his work days are unpredictable. So considering a driving commute, I'm considering Westfield, Chatham and New Providence. We have school age kids. We would like to be in a great school district and have a fun and active community. Been driving around and we find the downtown of Westfield so lively but the homes in Chatham more attractive. I'm not that impress with Chatham's downtown... any input? Our budget is 800K, I am hoping to stick to our budget but worrying we may have to up it. In my ideal world, I would like a colonial home with nice flat backyard, 4 bd/2.5 bath at that price! Thanks.
Thanks for the advices. I will scrap Ridgewood off the list. Unfortunately, my husband wants to drive because his line of work deals with emergencies and his work days are unpredictable. So considering a driving commute, I'm considering Westfield, Chatham and New Providence. We have school age kids. We would like to be in a great school district and have a fun and active community. Been driving around and we find the downtown of Westfield so lively but the homes in Chatham more attractive. I'm not that impress with Chatham's downtown... any input? Our budget is 800K, I am hoping to stick to our budget but worrying we may have to up it. In my ideal world, I would like a colonial home with nice flat backyard, 4 bd/2.5 bath at that price! Thanks.
One this you need to remember and take into account is taxes...there is a huge difference in the property taxes. Taxes on a 800k home in Westfield will be around 15k to 17k where as in Chatham it will be around 8-10k (depending on lot size). Schools are better in Chatham than Westfield. Westfield is a larger and more urban environment, where as Chatham is more small town, Mayberry RFD. Don't forget that in Chatham you are literally only a few minutes from Madison, Morristown and Summit, all larger towns and all they have to offer. The ~10 mins it takes you to drive to something within Westfield, you can be in Morristown or Summit. Westfield is more the place the surrounding communities drive to for shopping, etc. While Chatham is smaller, it is a very active community with plenty going on.
One this you need to remember and take into account is taxes...there is a huge difference in the property taxes. Taxes on a 800k home in Westfield will be around 15k to 17k where as in Chatham it will be around 8-10k (depending on lot size). Schools are better in Chatham than Westfield. Westfield is a larger and more urban environment, where as Chatham is more small town, Mayberry RFD. Don't forget that in Chatham you are literally only a few minutes from Madison, Morristown and Summit, all larger towns and all they have to offer. The ~10 mins it takes you to drive to something within Westfield, you can be in Morristown or Summit. Westfield is more the place the surrounding communities drive to for shopping, etc. While Chatham is smaller, it is a very active community with plenty going on.
and you have to read into any advice you get here. I am sure the person that posted above really believes what they posted, but obviously it is a person that lives in Chatham, but they failed to mention the underage drinking problem there (probably no more than any other town, but they have got a lot of press lately on the topic)
I live in Westfield, so I might be biased the other way, but I am just posting numbers that I got from this site
In truth they are very comparable and depending where you look, I am sure you can find that town X is better than Town Y
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
