New Providence vs. Rumson / Fair Haven (Hoboken, Red Bank: house, best schools, pros and cons)
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First a little background. My wife, newborn, and I currently live in Hoboken. We've been here for around 6 years and are getting ready to move to the suburbs. My baby is 4 months old, and my wife may go back to work, or may not... she was a teacher in New Providence.
I work in downtown NYC. The ferry commute from Atlantic Highlands to downtown NYC really appeals to me, and that's what almost half of my office seems to do as they live down in Monmouth County.
If you're assuming a $800-$900k home budget, and in comparing New Providence, or the RFH area... which would you choose, and what are pros and cons of both?
We have more friends in the New Providence area, and my wife has her parents close to there, so she is leaning that way. I care more about my daily commute, and New Providence would be a pain, where as RFH would be much better on the boat. I prefer the beachy, Monmouth County lifestyle.
Can someone help out with pros/cons/or tips on a house search in two totally different areas?
First a little background. My wife, newborn, and I currently live in Hoboken. We've been here for around 6 years and are getting ready to move to the suburbs. My baby is 4 months old, and my wife may go back to work, or may not... she was a teacher in New Providence.
I work in downtown NYC. The ferry commute from Atlantic Highlands to downtown NYC really appeals to me, and that's what almost half of my office seems to do as they live down in Monmouth County.
If you're assuming a $800-$900k home budget, and in comparing New Providence, or the RFH area... which would you choose, and what are pros and cons of both?
We have more friends in the New Providence area, and my wife has her parents close to there, so she is leaning that way. I care more about my daily commute, and New Providence would be a pain, where as RFH would be much better on the boat. I prefer the beachy, Monmouth County lifestyle.
Can someone help out with pros/cons/or tips on a house search in two totally different areas?
We were in same situation as you- albeit on a smaller budget and ended up in Monmouth County. One HUGE difference is taxes- esp NP- taxes were very high. Rumson would probably be half to 1/3 of what you're paying in NP. FH a big higher. The trade off is in the type of house you get- at that budget you'll still get a very nice house- just think your price would go further in NP- but tax difference may allow you to go up higher in price too. We loved NP and Mountainside when we looked up North. IF the commute is actually easier for you I think it's a no brainer. I have family up that way north and the Parkway is not a bad 30 min or so commute. Come summer everyone will want to visit you anyway- those town pools get crowded, once you're a local you get learn all the secluded beaches anyway.
Rumson has most cache (altough FH is still highly diserable) but even 1MM doesn't go too far. FH and Rumson both have little downtowns with restaurants, tiny bit of shopping, drug store, banks, gas, etc. FH has a mediocre grocery store, Rumson depending on location would be easier drive to AH for commute but nothing terribly different (5 min here or there). Both have amazing schools, they share HS, plenty of parks, family activities, and the like.
In monmouth county best schools are RFH & Holmdel. Steph down would be LS/Shrewsbury/ Middletown (problem is for Mtown the closest to the ferry are the lesser schools if you look Middletown stick to South HS feeder but commute would be a bit longer). Parts of Holmdel are near ferry too I think- but you're going a bit more suburban than beachy at that point. If you don't mind a bit of diversity in HS level consider Little Silver and Shrewsbury (both have amazing lower level schools and feed into Red Bank Regional). LS is a bit more beachy/shore feel while Shrewsbury is closer to most amenties: shopping, Red Bank, etc but still 10-12 min door to door to the beach.
Depends on if you want more of a walkable downtown, minimum distance to beach, bigger house, etc for which one you pick. Either way you can't really go wrong, we love it here and could never really picture living anywhere else now. IF you do decide to look down here DM me I can give you my realtors info- he had lived down here for 30+ years and is very knowledgable about the area- we were very happy with him.
Thanks for the response guys. Metsfan, where did you end up? In Middletown?
we ended up in LS/Shrewsbury/RB area. We love it- you really can't go wrong with any of the towns you're looking at. It really depends on what you're looking for town/house wise. RFH HS is higher ranked- but if you can live with # 50 or so ranked HS in NJ vs. # 10 you can get a lot more house for your $$$ and there are still the Monmouth county Vocational schools like High Tech High & Biotech if your child is that smart down the road.
Last edited by Metsfan53; 06-03-2015 at 02:42 PM..
Rumson is very expensive and exclusive. There are many huge mansions that are well into the millions. Fair Haven is sort of a mini Rumson. Not as expensive or prestigious, but the two share a high school which is rated very highly. The commutes shouldn't be too bad.
New Providence is also very nice with good schools, and an easy commute to the city. You could afford all three towns, with Rumson being the most expensive. If I were you, I would go with Rumson. Good luck!
We have more friends in the New Providence area, and my wife has her parents close to there, so she is leaning that way. I care more about my daily commute, and New Providence would be a pain, where as RFH would be much better on the boat. I prefer the beachy, Monmouth County lifestyle.
Can someone help out with pros/cons/or tips on a house search in two totally different areas?
I don't really think New Providence is that much of a pain to commute from. At least not to Penn Station. It's less than an hour and you would save a lot of $$ since the ferry is quite expensive. I commuted from Basking Ridge and always wished I was in New Providence!
Who will watch your baby when you want to go out for a date night? Is your family in Monmouth county? I am certainly not your wife, but if it were me then I'd want to be close to my mother and friends!
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