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Hi, I am doing some basic research for some good family friends of ours. Unfortunately, they are moving to the east coast because the wife got a very good job offer in NYC. I will miss them dearly....but you have to do what's best for your family!
Anyway, I told them I would help them find some communities to look at around the Tri-State area. I'm from San Diego and am not familiar with New Jersey at all. My grandma and aunt live in Darien, CT, so I have already told them of that great town. That's where I would choose, but I'm biased.
I post here because I have heard great things from my college friends about New Jersey. They are looking for an upscale, residential town that is within a reasonable distance to NYC...like under an hour. The family enjoys sports and outdoor activities (although I don't know how much they'll spend outside in New England winters! ). They aren't really into shopping and the whole country club/golf club scene, so that doesn't matter. They're looking for a safe town with great schools, a great atmosphere that is family focused with activities for kids (two boys, 8 & 11).
I don't think housing prices are an issue. I would bet they're spending 5M and up.
So, what do you suggest?
Summit, Madison, Mendham, Short Hills. I hope they're pretty well-off if they're looking for upscale towns within commuting distance of the city. You're talking about some of the most expensive home prices in the country. Also, NJ is not in New England.
Summit, Madison, Mendham, Short Hills. I hope they're pretty well-off if they're looking for upscale towns within commuting distance of the city. You're talking about some of the most expensive home prices in the country. Also, NJ is not in New England.
He said 5M+, so that puts them into the "pretty well-off" category
Certainly the best option with respect to accessing New York City within an hour is Alpine, and a small section of Cresskill that borders the Rio Vista neighborhood in Alpine. You are literally at the George Washington Bridge in 10 minutes.
There are many other wonderful and wealthy towns in northern NJ. All of them have their virtues. But in reality, none of them are a quick commute to NY City.
Many entertainment and sports personalities, and captains of industry choose to live in Alpine because it is quiet, isolated in a good way, and very close to Manhattan.
There also happens to be a glut of homes on the market right now due to the economic downturn. I just appraised a 12,000 square foot mansion yesterday in Rio Vista, and in doing my research, there were only 13 sales in the past year and yet there are over 50 presently listed for sale. So there are definitely some anxious sellers, which is normally not the case in this area.
While it is very upscale, and many of the homes are indeed palatial, it is not like Ridgewood, Westfield, Short Hills, Summit, etc. which can be very congested and very competitive. Alpine has a much different feel to it.
And actually, if your housing budget is North of $5,000,000, there aren't many options in any of the other towns other than Alpine. Saddle River, Short Hills, Mendham Twp, and Harding Twp do have some homes in this class, but not that many. And neither can remotely compare with respect to access to Manhattan.
Good luck to your friends and if you have any other questions about NJ communities, City-Data is THE site to be on!
I'll second that on Greenwhich. This is probably the most upscale NY suburb. Mountain Lakes, NJ is a great town with huge estates in a more rural setting with train access to the city.
I know there is a really nice recently built mansion for sale in Boonton Township for $6 mil. An ever-increasingly upscale town a little bit away from the hustle and bustle of Essex/Bergen counties. Not sure about the commute, you could get the train in Boonton or Mountain Lakes. I'm guessing an hour and a half each way including drive time to the station maybe? Heck, if one's buying a $5 mil + house, they could probably hire a Town Car to drive them to and from work, or maybe a helicopter could drop them off/pick you up at Lincoln Park Airport.
Hi, I am doing some basic research for some good family friends of ours. Unfortunately, they are moving to the east coast because the wife got a very good job offer in NYC. I will miss them dearly....but you have to do what's best for your family!
Anyway, I told them I would help them find some communities to look at around the Tri-State area. I'm from San Diego and am not familiar with New Jersey at all. My grandma and aunt live in Darien, CT, so I have already told them of that great town. That's where I would choose, but I'm biased.
I post here because I have heard great things from my college friends about New Jersey. They are looking for an upscale, residential town that is within a reasonable distance to NYC...like under an hour. The family enjoys sports and outdoor activities (although I don't know how much they'll spend outside in New England winters! ). They aren't really into shopping and the whole country club/golf club scene, so that doesn't matter. They're looking for a safe town with great schools, a great atmosphere that is family focused with activities for kids (two boys, 8 & 11).
I don't think housing prices are an issue. I would bet they're spending 5M and up.
So, what do you suggest?
with that kind of budget, your family friends will have options in even the most expensive towns with the best schools. and there are numerous towns all over northern and central jersey, as well as in the suburbs of ny state and connecticut, that meet your criteria. you can find great towns in every direction from manhattan.
while the closest suburbs to manhattan are located in northeastern nj - not in connecticut, westchester, rockland, or long island - "close" doesn't always equal the best mass transit access to manhattan, which can be very frustrating place to get into and out of. and depending on whether she'll be in midtown manhattan or downtown, or on the east side or the west side, certain towns will allow for a better commute than others due to the nyc metro's semi-fragmented transportation network.
so it's important for us to know exactly where in nyc the wife's job will be located.
the suburbs of westchester county and southwestern connecticut have train lines that go to grand central terminal, which is convenient to offices on the east side of midtown manhattan. other lines from parts of nj and long island end at ny's penn station, which is ideal for jobs on the west side, although the east side or downtown are certainly reachable with a transfer to the subway. and another group of train lines ends at hoboken, which requires a transfer to the PATH or the ferry to get to downtown manhattan or a switch in secaucus to get to midtown.
and then there are people who actually drive into manhattan on a daily basis, as their work schedule is at off-peak hours and/or their office is not located near a major rail terminal in manhattan. for people such as this, it's especially important to live very close to the hudson river in northeastern nj.
in other words, there are all sorts of commuting possibilities. once you let us know where the wife's office is located, we can narrow down your selection to a handful of towns. you don't have to provide the exact address; just give us the closest cross streets or at least the neighborhood. also, let us know if she plans on taking mass transit, driving, or some combination of the two to get to her office.
fwiw, all of the communities that have been suggested so far are great, but they're all over the map, and more than a few of them are way too far for a one hour commute.
if they want truely upscale, they should check out Greenwich, CT, close to NY and UP UP UP UP SCALE!!!! There is also Westchester, NY
However in NJ your talking Alpine, Saddle River thats about it.
Not true. There are a number of towns with areas similar to Alpine along the Hudson. Tenafly, Cresskill, Demarest, Englewood Cliffs and Englewood all have areas of town which are extremely upscale. Only in the cases of Englewood Cliffs and Tenafly are the entire towns upscale, of course. Englewood actually has some very poor areas, but its wealthy areas are the wealthiest areas of North Jersey.
Greenwich is not close to New York City. It's not far away, but I wouldn't recommend it over somewhere closer in Westchester or Bergen.
as a lifelong NJ resident, I would say alpine & saddle river. those are very affluent areas that are close to NYC. also, a good number of towns in the "pascack valley" of bergen county are very nice- montvale, river vale, woodcliff lake, park ridge, old tappan, etc. hope this helps. good luck!
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). They aren't really into shopping and the whole country club/golf club scene, so that doesn't matter. They're looking for a safe town with great schools, a great atmosphere that is family focused with activities for kids (two boys, 8 & 11). 
