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Thanks again for all the replies.
I have 3 kids (3,5,7) so schools are important to us, although I don't have a lot of faith in school ratings, I'm not sure they really mean anything. Given the public school education system in this country (the no child left behind load of crap), I have a lot more faith in my kids, and I firmly believe that they will be fine just about anywhere, as long as it's safe and there is a good sense of community. Private schools would be nice, but not an option with 3 kids. I'm just looking for a real town like feel. I think this country has created a cultural wasteland with its suburban planning. We live in our cars and we have no idea who are neighbors are, I think it's terrible. So I'm willing to give up the idea of a big house and big yard, I don't need it. Just need real community.
I'd recommend Montclair/Upper Montclair in Essex County -- three downtown shopping areas, lots of great restaurants, movie theatres, an art museum, a state university, nice homes in your price range, good schools, Whole Foods, and a rather progressive politics (I'm guessing from your astute NCLB remark that you might lean in that direction?! ).
Have a look at Morristown also. Nice, historic town square and a pretty good retail mix. Also gives you easy access to Manhattan, GREAT! place to walk around
Yes, Morristown is nice. Spent a lot of time there as a kid. First fish I ever caught was out of the lake in Burnham Park. But it does have more of a city-like feel to it than Madison, which is more small-town-done-right. My god, Morristown had TWO movie theaters back then. Can you imagine that? Also lived for a year in Morris Plains in the 70's and enjoyed that. I can tell you that the Jack & Jill there made the best macaroni salad that I have ever had. But I was back there for about six weeks last Spring, and it didn't seem to have held up quite as well as some other areas. Madison, meanwhile, seems just as pleasant and charming as ever...
I'll also recommend Madison. I lived in Summit, just a few towns over, but spent time in Madison and always thought it was charming and neat and nicely laid out. Good selection of stores/eating establishments in an attractive area.
I'm just looking for a real town like feel. I think this country has created a cultural wasteland with its suburban planning. We live in our cars and we have no idea who are neighbors are, I think it's terrible. So I'm willing to give up the idea of a big house and big yard, I don't need it. Just need real community.
Well, don't leave out the role that TV (and maybe even the internet) has played, and even those smaller houses on smaller lots will have TV's (and high-speed connections) in them. Not so long ago, community was something that simply existed, and you were a part of it in pretty much any neighborhood, like it or not. These days, that type of community has to be built. It doesn't just happen automatically anymore. Anyone is free to adopt an attitude of 'Why should I be involved with any of these people just because they happen to live near me.' And left to their own devices, many do. I'd agree that they are aided and abetted by modern-day developers who have laid out windy little streets replete with cul-de-sacs and pipe-stems that, I think, have confused the ideas of privacy and isolation. How much easier it is to live on a street that actually goes somewhere, in and among houses that aren't too far apart, that all have front porches, and that aren't set too far back from the road. Here, you can find a home, not just a pod, but you'll still have to work at it some. Madison, Montclair, Westfield...all of these and others are perfectly nice places, but much will depend on the culture and to some degree the physical layouts that prevail there. Despite the best efforts of everyone here, in the final analysis, you may just have to go and stand in some of those spots to see what it really feels like to you...
Depending on how close you want to be to NYC, I can recommend two fantastic towns. Hoboken is excellent. Lived there for 11 years. You can walk to an A&P and a Shoprite, NP. Plus you have lots of restaurants, bars, some corporate places like Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts but also lots of independent cool hang outs like the Frozen Monkey. Washington St is one of the best main streets I've ever seen. Plus you have lots of easy transportation options both into NYC and out of the area. But housing choices are mostly condos here.
Now I live in Red Bank, NJ another wonderful town. From my house I can easily walk to the nice, upscale Super Foodtown (though for big trips I still drive - I have two young boys). I walk to the NJ Transit line directly to Penn Station NYC in 8 minutes. Great restaurants and bars, a bit more family oriented and less urban, 15 minutes to the beach and a nice art and music scene to boot. You can get a fantastic older house (mine is 100 years old) that has been updated for about $600K.
But the thing about NJ is that there are lots of walkable downtowns near the major train lines. Morristown, Madison and Princeton have been mentioned and they are great. But also check out Maplewood, Summit, Montclair (though this is Essex county and the property taxes are the worst in the state, which is saying a lot). Asbury Park is making a comback in a big way but it's still gritty. West Orange is also ok.
Wow! Thank you!
I'm getting my list together. We will be scouting the neighborhoods the first week in April (leaving the kids at my parents on LI), a childless vacation in NJ, yippee!
If anyone is interested in some great websites: http://www.newurbanism.org/newurbanism.html
http://www.walkable.org/article1.htm (broken link)
http://www.rodaleinstitute.org/home.html (broken link)
Some good ideas in those. Also probably some lousy ones too. The most important thing it seems to me is that people simply 'do the thinking' about how long they think that we can continue to do as we've been doing...
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Walkable Downtown
