Overlooked Towns (Paterson, Clifton, Passaic: mobile home, good schools, taxes)

[Busch Boy]

I'd say two underated towns are Kinnelon and Montville. You rarely here about them but they are great towns.

[KewlGuy]

Fairfield is a nice town in Essex County. Very low property taxes also.

[Calico696]

Long Valley, Califon, Allamuchy, Independence Township.

[MoorestownResident]

South Jersey - Medford/Medford Lakes, Marlton, Voorhees, Haddonfield, lots of money in those towns, great schools, great locations.

[tahiti]

I'm looking at some of these towns and I wouldn't say they are overlooked as much as they don't fit the criteria of most relocating to NJ. The majority are working in NYC and these towns (specifically LV, Califon, Allamuchy, etc) are really not feasible from a commuting standpoint.

I mentioned Cedar Grove because it probably is a good fit for a lot of ppl moving here with jobs in the city, but it's rarely mentioned.

[DebsPSU]

Scotch Plains!!!

[shannybannany]

Irvington! j/k

Shanny

[CuCullin]

Originally Posted by tahiti

I'm looking at some of these towns and I wouldn't say they are overlooked as much as they don't fit the criteria of most relocating to NJ. The majority are working in NYC and these towns (specifically LV, Califon, Allamuchy, etc) are really not feasible from a commuting standpoint.

Depends on your take...

One of the guys at work commutes from Long Valley, another from the Poconos, and as you know, High Bridge for me. The president of my company commutes from CT, his commute is about the same as mine. The guys from Long Island all freaked out when I showed them where I was buying.... but there commutes are almost the same as mine, on average I'd say its about an hour and a half for everyone there. The closest literally walks to work, the furthest takes about 2.5-3hrs.

Despite price changes in some areas, NJ really hasn't been hit hard by the current real estate bust... with gas prices where the are at, prices for goods on the rise, etc, etc, an extra half hour in commute time for a more reasonably priced home in a very good area I think gets overlooked quite a bit.

[tahiti]

Originally Posted by CuCullin

Depends on your take...

One of the guys at work commutes from Long Valley, another from the Poconos, and as you know, High Bridge for me. The president of my company commutes from CT, his commute is about the same as mine. The guys from Long Island all freaked out when I showed them where I was buying.... but there commutes are almost the same as mine, on average I'd say its about an hour and a half for everyone there. The closest literally walks to work, the furthest takes about 2.5-3hrs.

Despite price changes in some areas, NJ really hasn't been hit hard by the current real estate bust... with gas prices where the are at, prices for goods on the rise, etc, etc, an extra half hour in commute time for a more reasonably priced home in a very good area I think gets overlooked quite a bit.

I know people too who commute to the city. But that's not my point. When people ask where they should live when they are working in NYC and don't want to commute more than 1 hr (which is 95% of these types of questions) - those towns are out, and why we hear about the Ridgewoods, Westfields, Montclairs, etc. It's not that these Morris/Sussex/Warren/Hunterdon county towns are not desirable, "affordable" or get an undeserved bashing - they are simply not in the scope of the most of the questions, and therefore don't get mentioned.

When I hear "overlooked", I think of places that fit the parameters of most questions, but aren't mentioned for whatever reason. If someone were to say "Hey, I'm working in Bridgewater and I want a place with good schools, and I want get a little more for the money, with a 45 minute commute" - all of these "Western" towns would be mentioned in a heartbeat......so, to me, they aren't "overlooked".

I like UKOK's answer too - and I confess I didn't realize Boonton Twsp and Boonton were zoned to different schools, and I agree that it probably is overlooked.

[proboscis]

Originally Posted by CuCullin

Depends on your take...

One of the guys at work commutes from Long Valley, another from the Poconos, and as you know, High Bridge for me. The president of my company commutes from CT, his commute is about the same as mine. The guys from Long Island all freaked out when I showed them where I was buying.... but there commutes are almost the same as mine, on average I'd say its about an hour and a half for everyone there. The closest literally walks to work, the furthest takes about 2.5-3hrs.

Despite price changes in some areas, NJ really hasn't been hit hard by the current real estate bust... with gas prices where the are at, prices for goods on the rise, etc, etc, an extra half hour in commute time for a more reasonably priced home in a very good area I think gets overlooked quite a bit.

Yeah, but what if you can't handle the commute. It's funny that someone mentioned Tabernacle as an overlooked town, because my former boss lives there and tried to commute to North Bergen for a few years. The stress of the commute almost literally killed him. I personally believe a commute like that will take years off of your life. But I see your point, if you don't have the money, you have to settle further out.