Which are nice areas in NJ, commutable to NYC? (Edison: condo, houses)

[rnnyc]

Hi,

My wife and I are moving out of Manhattan (tired of living in a shoebox) and would like a single family house (with large yard) in a nice, safe place (near entertainment and some retail) about 30-45 min by train to Penn Station. Our price range is around 800K. Any suggestions? We have no idea where to begin looking.
Many thanks

[wjcheng]

Originally Posted by rnnyc

Hi,

My wife and I are moving out of Manhattan (tired of living in a shoebox) and would like a single family house (with large yard) in a nice, safe place (near entertainment and some retail) about 30-45 min by train to Penn Station. Our price range is around 800K. Any suggestions? We have no idea where to begin looking.
Many thanks

Edison may satisfy your requirement ... as from Edison Train Station to Midtown Penn Station only 40 minutes, along the station there is a street call Central Ave that has many nice houses. The only thing not quite fit is those houses may cost $500,000 to $600,000 ...

Another town is Piscataway, and you can use Dunellen Train Station, and the house bigger, more yard, and near Menlo Park Mall and Bridgewater Commons Mall... and you may be able to get very nice house with big yard for $800,000 or under.

Manhattan is too expensive! I was taking a look at this Toll Brother condo tower near Union Square, it asking $1.25 million, is 5 times of Edison Hollow South 2br condo that can walk to Edison Train Station.

There is a section in Piscataway near Edison Train Station that I visited the other day called Grammercy Park, seems to meet all your criteria, but, again, may not cost you $800,000, may even cost you less than $600,000

If you really want to spend $800,000, you can consider Highland Park, that has everything you want and including the price range ... very safe, it is a Jewish town ... By the way, Edison/Piscataway/Highland Park ... they all together, and they were ranked top 10 safest area in the nation ...

[UrbanQuest]

Originally Posted by rnnyc

Hi,

My wife and I are moving out of Manhattan (tired of living in a shoebox) and would like a single family house (with large yard) in a nice, safe place (near entertainment and some retail) about 30-45 min by train to Penn Station. Our price range is around 800K. Any suggestions? We have no idea where to begin looking.
Many thanks

If you are looking for true suburban charm at that price range:
Westfield
Madison
Maplewood
Montclair
Cranford
Fanwood

[Georgia]

Originally Posted by rnnyc

Hi,

My wife and I are moving out of Manhattan (tired of living in a shoebox) and would like a single family house (with large yard) in a nice, safe place (near entertainment and some retail) about 30-45 min by train to Penn Station. Our price range is around 800K. Any suggestions? We have no idea where to begin looking.
Many thanks

Try North Caldwell, home of the Soprano's filming.
Very nice area plus you can drive a couple miles to the Mall in the morning and take the Bus right into the Port Authority.
Nice, calm, cheap, ride.

Homes will start in the 600's but a very nice location.

[accoona]

Chatham and Summit are upscale and very suburban with about a 40 minute train ride to Midtown. If your looking for a town with a bit more nightlife, consider Morristown, about 55 minutes from manhattan by train. It all depends on whether or not you have a car which is pretty much a necessity living in NJ. But with your price range Morris county will probably satisfy your needs for quality of life.

[mead]

Yeah, Chatham, Summit, Milburn, Madison, Short Hills, and Livingston sound like good fits.

Morristown is nice, but pretty far from NYC. Morristown bills itself as Hoboken-west though as a result of all of the bars and restaurants (of course it still won't be the same as what you are used to in NYC.

[bemn]

All, of the areas you've listed on this thread, which have the most desirable schools? NJ is one of the areas we are considering relocating to commuting distance to Manhattan.....at the top of my list is not just commutable distance but good schools and more than a postage stamp to live on...I also have a son that needs good special ed. services, he's ADHD with mostly organizational issues....we would also consider good private school in the area. Thanks for any help!!

[wjcheng]

Originally Posted by bemn

All, of the areas you've listed on this thread, which have the most desirable schools? NJ is one of the areas we are considering relocating to commuting distance to Manhattan.....at the top of my list is not just commutable distance but good schools and more than a postage stamp to live on...I also have a son that needs good special ed. services, he's ADHD with mostly organizational issues....we would also consider good private school in the area. Thanks for any help!!

Yes, all the town listed above are very nice town, the only quiteria seems to be "the closer to NYC, the more costly the housing", but since you are moving out of NYC, it seems any town above would look very cheap to you ...

[Nihal]

I have a son with adhd so I know a lot about the schools and i am a realtor so I know alot about neighborhoods,
my advice to you is West Windsor or Princeton, West Windsor has a train station and the special education is superb especially for adhd, there are also a few good private schools and you can even get the township to pay for these schools, for your price range you will find very nice houses and the township is also very afluent.

[ira]

Originally Posted by rnnyc

Hi,

My wife and I are moving out of Manhattan (tired of living in a shoebox) and would like a single family house (with large yard) in a nice, safe place (near entertainment and some retail) about 30-45 min by train to Penn Station. Our price range is around 800K. Any suggestions? We have no idea where to begin looking.
Many thanks

Ridgewood is great and has everything that you have listed. Probably the best downtown in the North West Bergen County area. Excellent restaurants and shopping. Good commute to the city - train and bus. Top schools, very safe, etc. The only problem could be getting a large yard for $800K.

We just moved here about a month ago and so far we LOVE it.