Need Advice - North Jersey towns for young couple (Clifton: houses, neighborhoods)

[js050308]

My wife and I currently live in NYC and are hoping to buy our first house in North Jersey. We are looking for a safe town with a nice, walkable downtown and easy access to NYC, preferably via a direct train to midtown. Our budget is around 350k and we aren't looking anything huge or elaborate. Just a modest house and lawn to get us out of the city.

Maplewood and South Orange are on our radar but we are concerned that a nice house there is out of our price range. Any suggestions for other towns to consider will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for your help.

[todd72173]

Rutherford.

[Gravy Boat]

Bloomfield would be more affordable and a has a nice downtown and good transportation access.

[Alex07860]

I second Rutherford, along w/ Clifton & Nutley or perhaps even Wood Ridge or Paramus.

[js050308]

Thanks for the suggestions.

When looking at houses online in Rutherford, are there neighborhoods or areas that are safer and a better walk to the station?

[shannybannany]

Add Lyndhurst to your list. It is an older town with many homes in your $$ range. Ridge Road has a lot of great old shops, bakeries, banks, etc...

My gramma and grampa had their home there.

Access to the city is by bus.

Shanny

[mguill2308]

I would also check out west Orange, it's a commuter town.

[jy_2007]

Union Township

[powerplaygaming]

About 40 miles to the city, easy access by bus and train. Much less costly than South Orange area. Denville has many sections to it-older homes in lake communities up to newer homes. Downtown is great walkable town and of course my business is here!! LOL!! Good luck to you!

[JerseyGirl08]

Originally Posted by Alex07860

I second Rutherford, along w/ Clifton & Nutley or perhaps even Wood Ridge or Paramus.

Some nice suggestions here. Each town offers something a little different.

Rutherford is a great safe town and it does have a train into NYC and also has a very quick bus route to NYC as well. You should be able to find some home options that will suit your needs in your price range.

Paramus has tons of stores but it isn't really a walkable downtown. It is very large town and you will get less for your money there in you price range since the homes values have been rising there over the last few years. That being said. It is a great town with lower taxes and great schools. It is centrally located in bergen county and you would have access to many HWYs making it easy to get around (but this also means there is traffic in the area).

Clifton is a very large town and there are areas that seem like smaller communities within the town. It is similar to paramus but in passaic county. It is located in between route 3 and 46 and route 80 and the GS Parkway runs through it as well. There is tons of shopping in this town as well.

Nutely is closer to Rutherford. It is a smaller town and really seems to be a nice place to live. It is very close to NYC and should be an easy commute.

If you really want that walkable downtown feel Westwood has a nice little strip and has a train into NYC. I don't know what you will find in your price range though.