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We are a young family of four with Russian-Jewish background. Kids are 10 and 8 (will be in 5th and 3rd grades in September). Both my husband and I work in Manhattan. We are looking for the right town with the following important factors to us (listed in order of importance)
1. Great schools without snootiness and unreasonable competition
2. Afterschool options (we get home around 7:30-8PM)
3. Reasonable commute (door to door within 1hr20min) Both work Midtown. So thinking train ride cannot be more than 45 min.
That said, if living near others with Russian ethnicity is important to you, consider Millburn, Fair Lawn, Springfield, Livingston, Short Hills, Tenafly, or Fort Lee. These towns are all at least 7% Russian and all meet your commuting parameter.
Now to narrow that down to a short list of "without snootiness and unreasonable competition," begin with Fair Lawn and Springfield. More so, both have sizable Jewish populations.
We are a young family of four with Russian-Jewish background. Kids are 10 and 8 (will be in 5th and 3rd grades in September). Both my husband and I work in Manhattan. We are looking for the right town with the following important factors to us (listed in order of importance)
1. Great schools without snootiness and unreasonable competition
2. Afterschool options (we get home around 7:30-8PM)
3. Reasonable commute (door to door within 1hr20min) Both work Midtown. So thinking train ride cannot be more than 45 min.
We will be renting at first.
thanks in advance for advice.
Fair Lawn comes first to mind. Russian/Jewish community, good commute by train, but for midtown you have to switch trains at Secaucus. Not a big deal. There's also express bus service to the PABT.
You would have to look into the aftercare options, but it's a very family-oriented town, so I think you'll find something, perhaps through one of the synagogues.
Readington, and pretty much most of Hunterdon County, meets your needs in terms of commute, family-oriented residents, and incredible schools. My colleague is Russian-Jewish and lives 5 minutes down the road and loves it here as well. Where we live in Readington, it is about 8 minutes from the train station and that goes right into NY Penn Station, or you can get onto I-78 (10 minutes from our house) and that will go right into the Holland Tunnel after a 60 minute drive. Property taxes are very reasonable here but get worse the further east you go from here. At a market value close to $1M, we pay $18,000 in property taxes, but that will get into the high $20,000 to low $30,000 the further east you travel.
Readington, and pretty much most of Hunterdon County, meets your needs in terms of commute, family-oriented residents, and incredible schools. My colleague is Russian-Jewish and lives 5 minutes down the road and loves it here as well. Where we live in Readington, it is about 8 minutes from the train station and that goes right into NY Penn Station, or you can get onto I-78 (10 minutes from our house) and that will go right into the Holland Tunnel after a 60 minute drive. Property taxes are very reasonable here but get worse the further east you go from here. At a market value close to $1M, we pay $18,000 in property taxes, but that will get into the high $20,000 to low $30,000 the further east you travel.
Good luck having a door to door commute of 1:20 from the wilds of Hunterdon County.
thank you all for your recommendations. Fair Lawn and Fort Lee do seem to have good elementary and middle schools, but for high schools, they are not rated as high as other suggestions (Short Hills and Livingston).
For some that asked about budget - it is not an issue. Main concern is schools and commute.
Can someone please opine on the difference in schools in say Livingston vs Fair Lawn/Fort Lee? I hear Fair Lawn and Fort Lee recommended often but the grading of schools does not support the the recommendation.
Budget would help, but if you don't want "snootiness", I really like Rutherford, East Rutherford (more up and coming), Montclair and Maplewood.
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