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We are in the midst of house hunting in North Jersey. We have looked in Lake Mohawk/Sparta (nice but pretty far out)!and today we are looking in Mountain Lakes. I just feel so overwhelmed with research because with our budget we can go almost anywhere and NJ has no shortage of good public schools. It's tough to narrow it down. My hubby's family lives in Bergen County and he used to live in Jackson in a nice McMansion before he moved to Baltimore. Jackson is way too far and no offense a little podunk for my tastes; I have lived in an artsy urban area for about 10 years and I loved it but the crime is insane, schools are awful and we have no yard for our kids. Time to move!
Any insight? Considering towns I mentioned plus Westfield, Chester, Mountain Lakes etc. What towns should I add to the list? Anywhere else in Union County, Bergen County, Morris County?
TIA!!!
Where are you coming from? Baltimore
Why are you moving? Closer to family and work
Where will you be working ? Husband in Bloomfield sporadically (mostly telecommuting). I am a SAHM.
Will you buy or rent? Buy if possible
What is your budget ? $800k tops but we could go a tad higher for the absolute perfect house. Prefer to stay around 600k
What kind of place are you looking for ? We like historic homes that are updated and move in ready but we are honestly pretty open to anything. Would like to be less than 45 mins to Bergen County. My husband likes bigger houses but I don't think we need more than 4/5 bedrooms really.
Will anyone (spouse, children, pets) be moving with you ? Husband, 1 year old daughter, senior bulldog
Do you need/want good public schools? Yes. This is our #1 priority
Briefly describe the kind of neighborhood you'd like to live in:
Quiet but not desolate. We would like a family oriented area but also close to things for kids to do like parks and playgrounds as well as shops/restaurants (artsy type local type boutiques, NOT chains). We are used to walking everywhere now, and I am worried about living somewhere I need to hop in my car to do anything at all. Doesn't need to be extensive but something.
List three things that are important to you in order of Importance:
1- Great schools
2- Safety
3- Downtown area
Ridgewood/Glen Rock/Oakland/Franklin Lakes/Wyckoff would be good towns to check out. Most of the downtowns are walkable and they have great public schools.
Ridgewood/Glen Rock/Oakland/Franklin Lakes/Wyckoff would be good towns to check out. Most of the downtowns are walkable and they have great public schools.
I agree....o/p's budget kind of rules out Mountain Lakes or would have suggested that
Don't rule out parts of Essex County such as Montclair ,Essex Fells, Caldwell.
Also, not in your list of counties but not far from Bergen County is Redbank in northern Monmouth county
These are not urban areas like Baltimore, unless you want to live in Jersey City or Hoboken but you won't find that size house you are going to need to drive.
You named everything you like in a town but you left out the only county with the towns that fit your criteria?!
Westifeld: The downtown is one giant chain store. You said you wanted cute boutiques. Also with 600K you aren't finding a 4/5 bedroom house
Mountain Lakes: No downtown. You said you want a downtown. Also you aren't going to find a 4/5 bedroom house for 600K.
Chester: has the artsy thing sort of. Has a very small downtown but it's out in the sticks which you said you don't want. Also you probably again won't find a 4/5 bedroom house for 600K.
You aren't going to want to live in Montclair, Maplewood or South Orange. You'll like visiting them but you won't want to live there. I know the vibe you are going for in terms of schools and safety (those towns, especially Montclair has the artsy thing in spades though). I'm not saying they are unsafe but check the police blotter and things that don't happen in other towns often. Lots of non violent break-ins mostly happen in these towns.
What I would do is live in a town near Montclair. Montclair has the artsy thing, walkable downtown (actually 4 of them), small boutique shops, concerts in the park, sidewalk musicians on church street etc.. except you can find better schools, lower taxes and more safety in towns a few minutes away.
The best town for you would be Essex Fells but again for 600K you aren't going to find a 4/5 bedroom house. Caldwell, Verona, West Caldwell, Cedar Grove and if you can afford it Essex Fells are where I'd look (Not West Orange - not the vibe you are going for). Caldwell has the historic big houses not a lot of them but certain of the older streets have big beautiful houses (bunch of smaller capes and stuff too but it has history and some parts of it are like "Essex Fells light" you might say). Schools are good. Grover Cleveland Park is very nice (shares it with Essex Fells). It has a downtown. I wouldn't say it's super artsy but it has shops and is very walkable. Montclair is an 8 to 10 min drive away and it's super artsy.
I'd check out Essex Fells. Drive around. It's beautiful. Like an Enchanted forest of hold historic mansions tucked away between urban sprawl Also check out the surrounding area of Caldwell and Verona b/c it's equally as beautiful but with just houses that are in your price range. Not as Enchanted Forestesque but still pretty.
Oh taxes can kind of stink in Essex County which is prob why your not looking there but you get what you pay for. You want artsy and sidewalks, good schools and leafy streets. Well this is the area.
Every suburb in New Jersey is "safe" in the grand scheme of things. It's almost like saying you want to live somewhere where the sun rises in the east and sets in the west.
I recently discovered Pompton Plains/ Peaquannock. It is such a cute area. The schools are good from what I have been told and the taxes are low. There is a small section of flooding but the rest of area has no issues and is really nice. I looked at a house that was slightly over $700k. It was around 3000 square feet with about .45 of an acre of land and had 4 bed 2.5 bath and the taxes were around $12k which is pretty low compared to ther areas.
It is 15 minutes or less to Bergen county and not far from Bloomfield.
I'd rule out Ridgewood as well. Place has always been uppity and rich and is known to have astronomical house prices nowadays.
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