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You may want to check out Maplewood. You may be able to find a home there in that price range but your taxes would be very high. There is a 25 min mid town manhattan direct train. Most neighborhoods are walking distance to the train station or you can catch a ride on the Jitney. There is a website maplewoodonline.com that can give you an idea of what the town is like. We lived there for a while and had a few friends from Europe who loved the town.
I live in Upper Montclair and I have two small children (9 and 7). I love it here and the public schools are excellent. We live near Montclair State University and that means "university student" childcare is readily available. The train station is a 5 minute walk and gets you into the city in about 40 minutes.
Montclair? It's fairly close to NYC, quite diverse, and does have many nice houses, restaurants, a few celebrities, and some cultural stuff, including an art museum and art movie house. But last I checked the taxes are obscene, the train to NYC doesn't run on weekends, and children as young as 5 are routinely bussed to achieve racial balance in the schools, which aren't great after about 7th grade. It's also quite close to Newark.
Didn't think anyone was from Europe. Always thought folks were from a specific country.
What kind of life style do you expect outside of work? That will determine where you choose to live. Hoboken is not Little Silver. Little Silver is not Gillette. Metuchen is not Hillside. Point being that NJ lifestyles/ communities are not homogenous. Access to Manhattan via ferry from Belford, South Amboy, Hoboken, Weehawken, etc. Trains from South Jersey shore.
Some of the folks from Belguim or Switzerland I worked with had an interest in outdoor activities and hiking. Their company contact suggested people walk in the malls. So references you may be pointed to here are not always the best informed.
Kracer, you're so right. NJ towns differ starkly. But let me note that trains from Ny go only as far south as Bay Head, in Ocean County I believe. That's not far south of Point Pleasant. After that, it's car or bus to NYC.
Every househunter should get a good map and cross-reference it against the train, bus, and ferry schedules before deciding where to live.
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Kracer
