Cranford, Metuchen, Suggestions? (Edison, Rutherford, Maywood: apartment, lease, how much)

[jmils]

Hi all, my husband and I are looking to move with our two children. We currently live in Brooklyn and adore our current neighborhood’s walkability. We are finished with apartment living, though. Looking to buy a 3+ bedroom house for 400-500k. We could exceed 500k slightly for a really great house.

We visited Cranford and liked it a lot. Specifically, we are looking for a walkable neighborhood with a cute downtown and good public schools. Cranford offers both of these things. The commute wouldn’t be great for my husband, who works near Grand Central, but we could make it work (he does not want to exceed an hour and a half each way.) A friend of mine suggested we look at Metuchen as well. Does anyone know how these two towns would compare?

Finally, neither I nor my husband are from Jersey so I want to make sure we’re considering all possible options. Does anyone know of other neighborhoods that might fit what we’re looking for? It’s been so hard to explore different towns due to coronavirus, so we have had to rely on what we can find out on the internet. Not ideal. Thanks in advance!

[cw30000]

Cranford is pushing Cranford Reimagining plan and will no longer have neighborhood school. The residents are all against it but the town is charging forward with the plan by keep spending money trying to convince the residents it is a good idea.

Right now, we have elementary and middle school in both North and South side of the town. We or the kids can walk to the school. The reimagining will has elementary on one side and middle school on the other. Student will needed to be bus. It will be a big problem. Cross town during rush hour take forever. Just imagine how much worst traffic is.

Did I mentioned there will be a massive tax increase to fund the school bus?

[ieee488]

Since your husband works near Grand Central, I would be looking at towns in CT and take the Metro-North.

You may get good suggestions from the CT forum.

90 minutes to Grand Central is going to be very tight.
7:18 am Cranford arrives at 8:07 am NY Penn Station.
It is another 30 minutes from NY Penn Station to Grand Central by subway. No direct connection.

[jmils]

Thank you both, appreciate your help. The Cranford Reimagining sounds like a major headache--is there any confirmation that it will move forward?

And yes, we looked into Connecticut and Westchester but both are out of our price range. Is the express bus from Cranford to Port Authority a reliable alternative to the train?

It's been a pretty discouraging process all around to find a neighborhood. Our lease is up in a couple of months and we are stuck in a small apartment with a 2 year old and 6 month old. We are all healthy, so no complaints there, but my husband and I have no one to watch our kids while we drive around and try to "scout" some neighborhoods. Would either of you have a suggestion of another town in NJ that could give us more of what we are looking for?

[RiggerNY]

No, there is no guarantee that the town is moving forward with the plan and it is looking much more unlikely that it will happen especially after the survey last year.

The express bus is very reliable and a good alternative to the train. Its great to have multiple options to get into the city in case there is an issue with one, you can always take the other.

Both Cranford and Metuchen are great towns with good schools and downtowns. Metuchen has more of a traffic issue considering its a donuthole town in the middle of Edison and getting to/from the highways can be a hassle sometimes.

[Retriever]

Originally Posted by RiggerNY

Metuchen has more of a traffic issue considering its a donuthole town in the middle of Edison and getting to/from the highways can be a hassle sometimes.

That bears repeating!

[vinodelotus]

Check out Bernardsville. 1 hour bus into PABT. Boxcar is also coming to Bernardsville soon - luxury bus with a drop off by Grand Central. Walkable downtown, great schools, active community. You could find something in the downtown area in your price range.

[cw30000]

Originally Posted by jmils

Thank you both, appreciate your help. The Cranford Reimagining sounds like a major headache--is there any confirmation that it will move forward?

There is no traction as of now. But they government is spending money on "research" to convince the residents that it is the reimagine is a good idea. No one support it.

You can find the latest information here.

https://www.cranfordschools.org/Page/1217

[foodyum]

Other town suggestions are Rutherford and dumont. They are shorter commutes, have a downtown area and good schools. Maywood is good until high school. Cresskill May have something at your budget top end and has excellent schools.