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Hi Everyone-
We are looking to buy a 4 bedroom single family home in NJ suburb with good school district.
Budget 600-700k. Willing to stretch it to 720.
My wife works in Hoboken and I commute to UES. Ideally we would like to keep our commute to 1-1.30 for me and 30-45 min for my wife.
We have a 2 yr old so Safe neighborhood with great schools is a must
We have been considering
cedar grove (new house 730k),
Montclair,
Glen Ridge,
Fair Lawn (new house 700k)
Rutherford (renovated 2k sq ft 700K)
Would love to get some insights into these places Especially regarding school system, commute and overall feeling of the neighborhood.
Hows the diversity? We are Indian family so would love to have an accepting community (not necessarily Indian)
Also, if the mentioned price for property in cedar grove, fair lawn and Rutherford is reasonable?
Please feel free to recommend new places that we haven’t considered yet.
Out of all the towns you mentioned, I know Fair Lawn the best, and that seems as if it would hit everything you want. Schools are good, the commute will work for the both of you, it fits your budget, and there is already a small but long-time Indian community there.
Train goes right to Hoboken, but you can switch at Secaucus Junction to go to Penn for your job OR you can take an express bus into the PABT.
Out of all the towns you mentioned, I know Fair Lawn the best, and that seems as if it would hit everything you want. Schools are good, the commute will work for the both of you, it fits your budget, and there is already a small but long-time Indian community there.
Train goes right to Hoboken, but you can switch at Secaucus Junction to go to Penn for your job OR you can take an express bus into the PABT.
Thanks for your input. Wondering if 700k for 4 bedroom house is reasonable?
Would love to get feedback on other neighborhoods.
cedar grove (new house 730k),
Montclair,
Glen Ridge,
Fair Lawn (new house 700k)
Rutherford (renovated 2k sq ft 700K)
Montclair has a little high crime and Rutherford does not have good schools. Are you seeing new construction SFH for around 700-750k in Cedar Grove and Fair Lawn?
Montclair has the most diversity and best commute options with 7 train stations and direct bus lines. You would be at the top of your range right now though but there are options. Also taxes matter. Cedar grove has cheaper taxes and you will get more house but diversity is lacking. Glen ridge is similar to montclair but less travel options.
I can’t speak to fair lawn or Rutherford. I’ve heard good things about fairlawn however.
Montclair has a little high crime and Rutherford does not have good schools. Are you seeing new construction SFH for around 700-750k in Cedar Grove and Fair Lawn?
Thanks for your response. We have looked at few new construction properties in cedar grove, Montclair, little falls for 700-750K. We had a chance to drive around the neighborhood and seemed pretty nice with lots of children and family. commute was around 1 h for my wife and 1.5 h which is doable.
Would you suggest any other neighborhood with good school district and reasonable commute.
How about Maplewood (near vauxhall), south orange and west orange?
Montclair has the most diversity and best commute options with 7 train stations and direct bus lines. You would be at the top of your range right now though but there are options. Also taxes matter. Cedar grove has cheaper taxes and you will get more house but diversity is lacking. Glen ridge is similar to montclair but less travel options.
I can’t speak to fair lawn or Rutherford. I’ve heard good things about fairlawn however.
Thanks for your insight.
We haven found few new construction property in Little falls and Cedar grove for 750K with 1-1.5 h commute (doable) and looks safe neighborhood with lots of young family.
Montclair - Hasn't been able to find anything that's in our budget.
Considering fair lawn but its southern part and not sure if it's safe?
We haven found few new construction property in Little falls and Cedar grove for 750K with 1-1.5 h commute (doable) and looks safe neighborhood with lots of young family.
Montclair - Hasn't been able to find anything that's in our budget.
Considering fair lawn but its southern part and not sure if it's safe?
How about Maplewood, south orange?
Maplewood and SO are about the same pricewise. Actualy i think Montclair is slightly more reasonable all in. Your best bet to get into these towns is to find a home that either sat on the market or needs work. Everything that is move in ready will go super high.
I would also consider west orange. That is definitely in your price range. No trains but they have a free jitney to the train.
Also consider Verona, bloomfield but the schools arent as good as those above. I would put Montclair at the top for schools.
All of the above towns mentioned in this thread have so-so schools, if that's your priority. Yes commute would be great from all of this all within an hour hopefully. The only town which has better schools in the above list is Fairlawn and its a decent town with some Asian and lot Jewish presence. If commute is priority Montclair/Glenridge would be best. If education is priority, Fairlawn is the winner. If you want brand new house/townhome, Cedar Grove (I guess you are looking at the Hilltop community)
All of the above towns mentioned in this thread have so-so schools, if that's your priority. Yes commute would be great from all of this all within an hour hopefully. The only town which has better schools in the above list is Fairlawn and its a decent town with some Asian and lot Jewish presence. If commute is priority Montclair/Glenridge would be best. If education is priority, Fairlawn is the winner. If you want brand new house/townhome, Cedar Grove (I guess you are looking at the Hilltop community)
By what measures are those towns schools so-so compared to Fair Lawn?
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