Help me find a place in the following area. (Newark: best towns, rent)

[ByeMD-HelloNJ]

Hey guys.

We're moving from Glen Burnie, Maryland and my husband and I are honored to say we're done with renting, and now is the good time to buy.
My husband will got a job in Jersey City, and I found a job in Elizabeth.

Now for the help..
We are planning on purchasing a home for 375K-450K but we have no clue about the area... I'm only familiar with the Englewood area since I have family there, but that place seems, for the majority, too out of budget.
We have a 2 year old, so good schools and a safe community is a must.

Now i have been home shopping and I found a 2-family home in Hillside that looks great, especially with the incoming rent we could receive. Though looking at a map, Hillside seems like it's in the middle of chaos with Newark and Irvington bordering the small town. (I havn't heard too many good things about those places)

How is Hillside overall?? I'm white and my husband is black, will it be a problem?

Other towns that looked like they qualified were Kearny, Bayonne, Belleville, Bloomfield, Hackensack, Carteret, and Linden.
Please tell me if any of these towns look as if I should scratch off the list.

I really don't like transits at all because of multiple reasons through Baltimore transits, so i'm one of those commuters that will have to deal.. But i don't want my commute to be longer that 25-30 minutes. (Traffic happens, i know)

Some more info
-Crime isn't a huge deal to me, but nothing should be over the US Average crime rate
-Diversity. I want my husband, my daughter, and I to feel comfortable.
-Schools dont need to be fantastic, but a crappy school system is a NO.
-A place with quaint parks in walking distance are great also.

Well, I hope this helps!
It probably does because i seemed to have ranted my life away, but any input is appreciated.

PS, give me more suggestions if you could.

[ByeMD-HelloNJ]

Any help?

I scheduled an appointment to look at a house in Linden in a couple days.
Please, any more suggestions would be great.

I will definitely stay for the whole day to just look around.

**and my max budget said 450K when i actually meant 415K***

[ansky]

My wife and I live in West Orange and we love it. You can definitely find a house here within your budget. (we bought our 3BR for much less than your max). West Orange is right off I-280 so it's less than a 30-minute commute to both Jersey City and Elizabeth. West Orange is a far better town than Linden in my opinion. Linden isn't terrible, but you can definitely do better on your budget. You might also want to consider Clark and Cranford.

[brook2ga]

Forget Hillside. Bloomfield (north end) is very nice and you can some a house in your range. good luck!

[garine]

As far as ethnicity is concerned, the best towns for mixed couples are probably Montclair or West Orange. Montclair has the better schools of the two and is probably more expensive. I've heard some negative things about the high school in West Orange, but generally, it seems all right. Crime rates about the same.

And used to live in Bloomfield. Bloomfield schools are REALLY bad and the crime rate is high. I move out before my kids were school age. There is gang activity and a large drop out rate. Same with Belleville.

If you go further west of West Orange, the mixed race couple thing will become an issue.
hope this helps.

[brook2ga]

Originally Posted by garine

And used to live in Bloomfield. Bloomfield schools are REALLY bad and the crime rate is high. I move out before my kids were school age. There is gang activity and a large drop out rate. Same with Belleville.

If you go further west of West Orange, the mixed race couple thing will become an issue.
hope this helps.

Totally not true. Crime is not that high, and the schools aren't bad. Two of the elementary schools are top notch, one being a blue ribbon school. You should have no issues with being an interracial family. There are many. The neighborhood I just moved from was very diverse and safe.