My husband and I have been staying with family in Maplewood for the past year. I grew up in Maplewood/South Orange, and my husband is from the rural midwest. Maplewood is definitely too expensive for us to stay in once we move out (Looking to rent for now, spend < 1800/mo, eventually planning to buy). I love this area but my husband feels it's too dense and traffic is too bad. So my grand plan of moving to Bergen County has been nipped in the bud
I work in Ridgewood, and he currently works in Central Jersey but is in the middle of a job hunt.
Where should we go? We don't have kids yet but they're on the horizon.
Some factors:
Decent schools (not top priority yet, but will be eventually)
Diversity a big plus
Less crazy than Essex County (if possible)
Conservative Jewish synagogue nearby a must
OK commute to Ridgewood (I'm currently traveling about 45 min each way, and that is manageable)
Downtown would be nice but not necessary
Property taxes not totally insane (planning on renting first so not immediate concern, but if we like the area we'll probably buy in the future)
So far, we've come up with Parsippany/Troy Hills, but there's no downtown to speak of. Cranford's a possibility, but not very diverse. Any other suggestions?