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.
Me: currently live in NYC with a spouse & two toddlers. We hope to buy a house in NJ between 2014-2016.
We need about 2600-2900 (4bdrms?)sq ft, open layout concept for under 900K.
Great schools, no flood zone & NYC commute should be under 75mins.
Any suggestions? Am I being realistic or not even close?
Me: currently live in NYC with a spouse & two toddlers. We hope to buy a house in NJ between 2014-2016.
We need about 2600-2900 (4bdrms?)sq ft, open layout concept for under 900K.
Great schools, no flood zone & NYC commute should be under 75mins.
Any suggestions? Am I being realistic or not even close?
You can absolutely do it! Look along the Morris/Essex midtown direct train line where there are many top tier school districts. (Madison, Chatham, Summit, Millburn, New Providence which are all considered amongst the best schools in the country, not only within NJ). Although the majority of the homes in the area are classic colonials, a number of them have been remodeled/updated to reflect a more open floor plan concept. There are also a number of modern/contemporary style homes as well. There are plenty of homes in the ~2,500 sq ft range. There are also larger homes, but those will be pushing on the top end of your price range, if not slightly above) Convent Station is also a possibility, there are more contemporary and mid century style homes located there, which will fit your open floor plan desire. It is on the far edge of your commute limit, as the train takes right around 60/65 minutes to reach NY Penn. (all the other town are further east on the train line, so shorter commutes) The schools are very good, though not quite as good as Madison, Chatham, etc. (The Morris School District and Morristown High School was ranked 75 (out of 328) in the most recent NJ Monthly Rankings. Madison, Chatham, New Providence, Millburn have all consistently ranked in the top 15 over the past 10yrs +). The good thing about the towns in Morris Co. (Madison, & the Chathams) is that you'll find the taxes so much lower that the towns in Bergen and Essex Counties (with the exception of Millburn) with top notch schools. Taxes in Union Co are generally more than Morris Co, but less than Bergen and Essex (again except for Millburn which is an anomaly as far as taxes go)
West Windsor/Princeton Junction, NJ. Some of the best schools, and fairly affordable. You can easily get a 4 bedroom home for under $900k.
Commute to Penn Station by train is 1 hour. Downtown is actually a bit long at around 1 hour 10 minutes (by train or car).
I agree that WW and Plainfield schools are great, and it is a nice place to live, however the actual commute time is closer to 1.5 hours according to a friend who lives in Princeton Junction, walking distance(<5 min) to the station and commutes to her office located a couple of blocks from NYPenn. Also, last I heard there is still a multi year wait for parking permits, so unless you live within walking distance to the station (which is quite unlikely do to the spread out nature of the community) you'll have trouble with taking the train, and driving to the station can easily add another 15 min to the commute time. If the OP is ok with a bit longer commute, it would be a good option, as your housing dollar goes farther than in more northern locations.
I agree that WW and Plainfield schools are great, and it is a nice place to live, however the actual commute time is closer to 1.5 hours according to a friend who lives in Princeton Junction, walking distance(<5 min) to the station and commutes to her office located a couple of blocks from NYPenn. Also, last I heard there is still a multi year wait for parking permits, so unless you live within walking distance to the station (which is quite unlikely do to the spread out nature of the community) you'll have trouble with taking the train, and driving to the station can easily add another 15 min to the commute time. If the OP is ok with a bit longer commute, it would be a good option, as your housing dollar goes farther than in more northern locations.
KoalaNJ
I do the commute regularly. The actual train ride is under 1 hour (about 55 minutes). It takes me another 10 minutes to get to Rockefeller.
The wait on parking permit is only a few weeks. Daily lot doesn't fill up until after 7AM.
Hamilton train station is 10 minutes away as well.
In addition to the others listed, you might look at Livingston, NJ. I grew up there - definitely great schools. There's no train line, but there are buses that take about an hour to Port Authority (less when it's not rush hour).
In Essex county: North Caldwell, West Caldwell, Glen Ridge, Livingston, Verona, Milburn
Bergen County: Tenafly, Glen Rock, Cresskill, Ridgewood, Closter, Haworth, Demarest, Old Tappan
Op you have to at least narrow down counties, for 900k you can get awesome house in lot of places within 75 min commute. I do agree you cannot beat w Windsor in terms of almost everything convenience with nj tnpk, 195, 295 nearby, local vibrancy at princeton, excellent school, equ distance to Philly and ny, one of the best universities, hospitals are in the area. Trenton, Newark and Philly airport within reach. Beach are not that far away, all the surrounding areas are safe unlike many n jersey towns.
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.
