Which one do you choose - Maplewood/Wayne/Pompton Lakes/Teaneck (Passaic: houses, school districts)

[Taro]

Assuming you spend the same amount of money for the mortgage+tax per month, which town of below would you choose?

Teaneck
Maplewood
Wayne
Pompton Lakes

We are looking for a house in an area that can acommodate my commute to NYC and my husband's commute to Dover area. Also, the area with good public schools would be nice. We looked houses already in these areas above, but can't decide which one is the best for us. I also want to know which town can be the best investment opportunity in 5 years or so.

I appreciate our help!

[EEEPNJ]

Of these I think your best bet for schools would be Wayne or Maplewood. I don't really know much about Pompton Lakes Schools, Teanecks are not that great.

Wayne (as I just posted elsewhere) is pretty big and has some sections that are better than others. I'm not overly familiar w/ Maplewood, but I hear a lot of positive things about it here on the boards.

Are they the only towns you are considering for a reason?

[Taro]

Hi, EEEPNJ, thanks for our quick reply!

We are still open for other areas, of couse, as we just started house hunting recently. But so far, after looking at the houses and doing some research ourselves, these are the areas where we can find a house within our budget (OK, we had to increase it a bit) and satisfy our commute conditions and the schools seem decent.

[EEEPNJ]

What is your budget, if you don't mind my asking? And what do you need in terms of a home (# of bedrooms, etc)

If you will be working in NYC, will you be taking mass transportation or driving? I assume hubby will be driving to his job in Dover?

[Taro]

Our budget is rather limited, up to 315K.
I will be using a public transportation to NYC (Midtown Manhattan).

[Taro]

And yes, my husband will drive.

[EEEPNJ]

You may get more bang for your buck in Western Jersey - I'm not that familiar with the area - but may on the boards are - hopefully they will read and chime in. IF you could get a train from out there - I'm really not sure how that would or would not work out - you can get a lot more for your money. I beleive there are some good school districts in the Sussex County area.

[Taro]

Thanks, EEEPNJ.
I thought about going West, but my commute will be very long, so it's not an option now really.

[Spincycle]

Originally Posted by Taro

We are looking for a house in an area that can acommodate my commute to NYC and my husband's commute to Dover area.

More specifics needed. Where in NYC, by car or mass transit. Can your husband use the train to his job in Dover (is the train station close to his job)? If so Maplewood work suffice for this purpose.

Originally Posted by Taro

Assuming you spend the same amount of money for the mortgage+tax per month, which town of below would you choose?

Teaneck - quick buses to NYC. Far commute for him.

Maplewood - buses to NYC, trains to NYC and Dover (for him). "Weird town", insane taxes, proceed w/caution here.

Wayne - buses to NYC, lousy train service (horrible). Great schools (Valley and Hills). AWESOME TOWN. BEST BET if you can bus it versus train.

Pompton Lakes - buses to NYC only. Rustic town, reminds me of New Hampshire, next to Wayne/Oakland (a great plus), non-diverse, good schools. Taxes?

[stevemorse]

I would take Maplewood if its the nicer sections. I hate Wayne, its so over crowded and so sectioned out that you could feel really disconnected from the anything depending on where you are. Taxes are all going to pay for that huge bunch of Passaic County Sherrif Department they seem the taxes to always go so high up. It has absolutely no character to me and is a packed ugly big area.

I think Teaneck has more character than wayne. I would go for Maplewood!!! Where are you leaning towards.