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Hello all. We are in our late 30s no kids. Looking to move to a nicer suburb/home. Preferably in central or northern jersey. Not trying to go too west.
Why are you moving? Want to move to a better city/suburb
Where will you be working ? If NYC, what part of NYC? From home right now as everyone else. Jersey city after.
Will you buy or rent? Buy
What is your budget ? 750k to 1 million
What kind of place are you looking for ? 1 family home
Will anyone (spouse, children, pets) be moving with you ? Spouse no kids/pets
Do you need/want good public schools? Not necessary
Briefly describe the kind of neighborhood you'd like to live in : trendy , close-knit, safe, close to some type of nightlife even if its a bit of a drive.
List three things that are important to you in order of importance: safety, charming, downtown, nightlife,
Willing to go a bit over budget. Don't mind a family oriented suburb even though we have no kids.
Honestly and obviously you first want to get the "feels" of towns around.
I myself am more West and South feeling person, then you balance that off with how you feel commuting.
Many will mention obvious starting points.
Cranford may be the place for you. It has a highly rated downtown and an "up and coming" feel to it, next to the more established Westfield which also has a nice downtown. Both are very safe areas. Both are good school districts even if not a factor. Both have NJ transit trains and good commute to NYC but I cannot comment on the Jersey City commute.
I am moving to Mountain Lakes from Westfield. I would say that Cranford/Westfield area is certainly more busy/lively compared to where I am going.
Cranford may be the place for you. It has a highly rated downtown and an "up and coming" feel to it, next to the more established Westfield which also has a nice downtown. Both are very safe areas. Both are good school districts even if not a factor. Both have NJ transit trains and good commute to NYC but I cannot comment on the Jersey City commute.
I am moving to Mountain Lakes from Westfield. I would say that Cranford/Westfield area is certainly more busy/lively compared to where I am going.
Good suggestion. The other town they may want to consider is Maplewood, since it is closer to 78 and probably a little better for the Jersey City commute if they are driving.
I don’t know just how far west they are willing to go (did not provide an estimated driving time to Jersey City), but they could also consider Morristown. I doubt that they would want to go any further west than that. The other possibility is Rutherford.
My husband and I are early 30s and childfree. I would love to recommend my town (Madison) to you because you have no kids but we don't really have too much of a "nightlife" in town other than a few bars downtown. Morristown would be spot for that and it's only about a 5-10 minute drive or 2 stops on the train. We've been really happy with our town choice, so if you want to know more, I can oblige. Just don't want to steer too much. Cranford is a good recommendation and since you don't have kids, you can ignore the uproar about large developments in town adding huge numbers to the school district. I am not super familiar with taxes there but I believe they are on the higher end. Maplewood and South Orange are nice towns but the property taxes are extremely high. We briefly looked there but could not stomach the huge taxes that primarily go towards services that we aren't going to use (schools).
Last edited by wherewhatwho; 12-03-2020 at 12:14 PM..
OP wanted brand new home, otherwise I would have suggested for Chatham/Madison/Morris Plains/Summit/Livingston etc. But those places don't have brand new single family homes. They have brand new town-home in Livingston and Cedar Grove
OP wanted brand new home, otherwise I would have suggested for Chatham/Madison/Morris Plains/Summit/Livingston etc. But those places don't have brand new single family homes. They have brand new town-home in Livingston and Cedar Grove
I don't see where they specified they wanted a brand new home. I just see they want to move to a nicer suburb/home.
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Cranford is a good recommendation and since you don't have kids, you can ignore the uproar about large developments in town adding huge numbers to the school district. I am not super familiar with taxes there but I believe they are on the higher end. Maplewood and South Orange are nice towns but the property taxes are extremely high. We briefly looked there but could not stomach the huge taxes that primarily go towards services that we aren't going to use (schools).
