Tell me about Westfield (Montclair, Hoboken: appointed, best town, houses)

[boxcarjm]

My Fiance and I are getting relocated this year. We will be working in Secaucus and are looking for the best town with a downtown like environment and not too far away from NYC. We will be looking for a house over 1 million. We were told Westfield is "the place to be." Can someone tell me the real deal about Westfield? Or, any other comparable towns.

Thanks!

[royceb]

Originally Posted by boxcarjm

My Fiance and I are getting relocated this year. We will be working in Secaucus and are looking for the best town with a downtown like environment and not too far away from NYC. We will be looking for a house over 1 million. We were told Westfield is "the place to be." Can someone tell me the real deal about Westfield? Or, any other comparable towns.

Thanks!

If you can go as high as $1 million, why not look in Bergen County? The commute from Ridgewood to Secaucus is a lot shorter than from Westfield. The downtown area in Westfield is nice, but nothing better than any other downtown in upscale NJ towns.

[boxcarjm]

It's funny you mention Bergen County. We were pretty disappointed with the types of houses and the conditions of them in that price range with a similar commute. We never looked in Ridgewood but will consider this as an option. I know Ridgewood has really good schools for our 3 year old. Thanks for the input.

[boxcarjm]

Any thoughts on N. Caldwell? How far is it to NYC? Nightlife? Restaurants?

[southamboy]

Westfield and Ridgewood are nice, both have a downtown scene and both are somewhat easy commute to NYC. Red Bank in my opinion has more going on in terms of a "downtown" but is also a bit further on the train (I think 1 hr 10 minutes express train to Penn). I've heard Summit is nice too, but never been there. Otherwise, your best bet is Hoboken and with your budget, you can probably pick up something very spacious.


This topic has been discussed at length before, also try using the search feature, good luck!

[ira]

Originally Posted by boxcarjm

It's funny you mention Bergen County. We were pretty disappointed with the types of houses and the conditions of them in that price range with a similar commute. We never looked in Ridgewood but will consider this as an option. I know Ridgewood has really good schools for our 3 year old. Thanks for the input.

Definitely check out Ridgewood. Great downtown. Great schools. You'll find very nice houses in your price range.

Someone mentioned Hoboken. It's nice if you're single and don't care about schools. Hoboken's schools are really bad. Also, it's not the safest town around.

Good Luck

[Feenick]

Westfield is a great community - its downtown is hard to beat. I just helped a couple buy a home in Westfield (relocating from the midwest, looking for a new adventure) and they considered suburban communities further west as well as more "urban" communities closer in - including Westfield, Morristown and Summit and Westfield won out. I assisted another couple whose search began in Millburn/Short Hills, then we moved along to Summit, considered Chatham (another great town), also Livingston, and in the end, they too ended up in Westfileld and love it.

Westfield is one great town. Moderator cut: read TOS, no advertising

[MMTeacher]

Westfield is a very nice town. At that price range you could definitely find something nice there.

Downtown is great. Nice shopping area, outdoor restaurants and jazz nights during the summer.

Summit and Millburn are also very nice. My friend lives in Summit and takes the train a few blocks from her house.

[clevedark]

Westfield, Ridgewood, Summit, Madison, Montclair--all prime bustling NJ suburbs with good schools. The one that is a little different from the rest is Montclair--much more racial/religious diversity in terms of black and white and jewish families, much more liberal in general (the other towns tend to be very Wall Street-y and conservative). If Montclair intrigues you, you should look at Maplewood and South Orange, too.

Beware--Essex county taxes are super high, but you can get a really nice older house with a lot of nice detail for a lot less than those other towns.

You might want to look at Englewood, too. Right over the GW bridge.

Happy hunting.

[LeavingNJ]

Check out Cranford, too. Right next door to Westfield and you'll get more bang for your buck. Two stops closer to NYC on the train too.