Commute from Verona, Cedar Grove, West Orange and Montclair to Midtown NYC? (Passaic: renting, insurance)

[outdoorsee]

Wondering if anyone knows what the commute from Verona/Cedar Grove/West Orange to NYC is like in the morning and evening rush hours. I am currently renting in Lyndhurst NJ and would like to buy something within a decent distance from the city. I like my commute now but Lyndhurst doesn't have that neighborhood feel that I'm looking for. I really like certain areas of Montclair, Verona, Ceder Grove and West Orange but it seems that properties as well as their taxes are very high in all these towns.

I work in Midtown NYC........any information on commutes and taxes for these towns will be very helpful.

[brookdaleresident]

All the towns you mentioned do have high taxes, figure around $10k. Montclair probably has the easiest commute. Have you checked Rutherford? What are you interested in buying?

[EB2]

Not sure about driving into the city...

but I know when I went to Manhattan (from West Orange), bus + train took me approx. 40 minutes to get into NY-Penn.

Also, most of the towns in that county are going to be highly taxed.

I've been told (I have no intentions on purchasing, so I don't pay much attention to it) that Essex has the highest (or one of the highest) taxes in the state.

[findinghope]

if you are looking into those towns, just go a couple of blocks further from cedar grove and into LITTLE FALLS. there are a couple of park and rides there as well as at willowbrook mall which is very close also. taxes in passaic county are less than essex. there is a condo complex called THE MILL. it is right across the street from a train station, and very pretty overlooking the falls.

[ndecost]

As for taxes, I think Montclair is the highest, probably Verona is a little higher than CG and Little Falls would be less because its Passaic County.

Verona is being reassessed now so ask questions about that if you find a house.

Cedar Grove is probably going to get reassessed soon too.

I personally would rather live in CG or Verona over Montclair. BUT Montclair has a few train stations in town with direct access to NYC Penn Station. Cedar Grove and Verona have express buses into NYC or you could always drive to Montclair or Glen Ridge and take the train from there.

Little Falls is the least desirable out of those above, but still okay and desirable. In fact, I am looking at houses in Little Falls since the taxes are lower too. Be aware though that the train station at Great Notch is forecasted to close according to NJ Transit recent news. Little Falls also has some flood zones so watch for that too. If the house requires flood insurance, then you'll know.

Hope this helps.

All in all, I think the commutes will be about the same for driving from CG or Verona. Little Falls may be a little quicker driving since you're closer to Route 3. But if you live in CG, Verona, or Montclair you could take the train from Montclair or Glen Ridge and park your car there.

[outdoorsee]

Thanks everyone for all the great info and ideas. I really like certain areas of Rutherford and Nutley and the commute isn't bad from there either. However Rutherford taxes are high, houses are very expensive and they either have very old tiny houses(still expensive) or huge Victorians(which I love but can't afford).

I'm looking to spend around 400k to 550k, single family, atleast 3 bedrooms/1.5-2 bath. It would be nice to have a backyard and area must be safe and within 45-50mins to NY. West Orange to NY in 40 mins sounds really good...is the area safe?

Does anyone know how long it takes NJTransit(bus or train) from CG or Verona to NYC? Under an hour?


I will look around Little falls to see how the area is....not too familiar with North Jersey but learning a lot about them by reading on this forum

[ndecost]

I would guess that the NJ Transit bus from CG or Verona takes 40-45 minutes.

I do know that the train from Montclair and Glen Ridge is about 35-40 minutes.

You can look both up at njtransit.com

You can definitely find what you are looking for in CG and Verona for that price.

[brookdaleresident]

Parts of WO are nice, but the nicer areas are expensive with high taxes. I would have thought Rutherford taxes would be less than essex county.

[frannyb]

Hi-

These towns do not have direct trains to NYC...you would likely have to take a bus into Manhattan. Montclair on the other hand does in fact have many train stations with direct train service into Penn Station. I am a Realtor and would be happy to give you any further information that you may need about the area...(no obligation...I was only on this site for personal reasons)

frannyb

[poppad23]

Cedar grove is close to the great notch train station which goes straight to ny penn