Towns with shortest commutes to WFC and best schools? (Newark: for sale, houses)

[kgreen01]

We're considering a move to northern New Jersey and are trying to pinpoint the shortest commute to the World Financial Center -- and the best public schools. I think we're OK on housing -- we can spend up to $600K, and we live in a smallish 3/2 now, so it's not like we're aspiring to buy a McMansion.
Any suggestions on easy trains combined with the best public schools?
We've been told that Upper Montclair is the surest bet. Any opinions on that?
Thanks!

[ching1698]

Try Livingston for North Jersey, otherwise Edison is great both communite and school.

[kgreen01]

Thanks! How about Maplewood for commute time/schools?

[Raffaella]

Try this two sites for information on commute times and school performance:

NJtransit.com

schoolmatters.com

We are on a similar search and I have found these two weboahes very useful.

Good luck

[pr1979]

I would suggest Westfield, Summit or Berkeley Heights NJ. They have excellent schools and the area is beautiful. You can take the train into Penn Station with a commute of about 45 minutes. For example, I know of a home for sale in Berkeley Heights that is a colonial 3 bed, 1 1/2 bth with a huge fenced in yard, deck, paved patio, finished basement, fireplace, etc. and it's going for $539,000. Drop me a line if you want more info on this area, I'll be happy to help you.

[jstar41]

^^ i'm assuming the 45 min commute is the actual train ride, not counting the ride to the train station, time waiting for the train, and parking your vehicle at the train station.. then once you arrive to Penn station you have to take the 1 or the 9 train to financial district.. this will take an extra 45 mins.. so your true commute time can be about 1 hour and 30 mins..

my suggestion to commute to financial district will be to move near a town that has FERRY access to NYC.. this will leave you closer to financial district..

good luck!!

[kgreen01]

My understanding is that folks using NJ Transit take the train to Hoboken, then switch to the Path to go to WFC. Don't the ferries cost $600 per month? thanks much.

[Gravy Boat]

Kgreen, I did the same move recently. We looked at a lot of houses in Maplewood (a well-regarded elementary school is the Tuscan School) but found a house we loved in West Orange, near a good elementary school - Gregory School. I have a ten-minute walk to the train station, a 28 minute train ride to Hoboken. The ferry is expensive but seems faster than the Path. I think the ferry is b/w 150-160 a month. Check out nywaterway.com.

Home prices seemed a little bit higher in Maplewood and South Orange because those trains have direct service to Penn Station, NY, but I will be going downtown, like you. Also, the scuttlebut is that the high school in my town is not very good but with my kids, elementary school is it for the next six years.

We paid less than $600k for a house. For that kind of money, you can also afford Montclair, NJ, which is expensive but seems great on many levels (quality of the upper and lower schools, commute, culture). If you become interested in West Orange, I could recommend our realtor, who was very good.

[apvbguy]

Originally Posted by kgreen01

My understanding is that folks using NJ Transit take the train to Hoboken, then switch to the Path to go to WFC. Don't the ferries cost $600 per month? thanks much.

the ferries from hoboken are far less expensive than that, NY Waterway
those $600 ferries come from monmouth county

[downtownjc]

You could also look into towns with trains on lines that stop at Newark Penn, as you can get on the PATH to WTC from there. Westfield comes to mind, it's a very nice area.