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Westwood, NJ in Bergen County. Lovely, thriving downtown with restaurants AND shopping. Trader Joe's (very important!). Relatively low taxes for Bergen County. Decent if not blue ribbon schools. Lots of housing stock in the $400-$500K range. Train from downtown into Hoboken for the PATH, 165 bus to PA....Park and Ride in Ridgewood about a 15-minute drive.
Have you thought about Millburn? I know they were known for their excellent school system - not sure if that is still the case anymore, but nice downtown area and park.
We are transferring to Nj for my husband to work in Wayne, NJ. We have a 6th grader we need to find a nice community & great school for. We are considering Westfield, Madison, Chatham. Are there other towns we should look at? What nieghborhoods would be close to these towns ( especially Westfield as it appears larger)so we can easily bike/walk to so feel like we are a part of the community? Our budget goes to 750K. Any help is so appreciated! We are leaving a beautiful 3000 sq ft. 10 year old home & I know we won't be able to duplicate but want the best community possibly for our son even if it means downsizing.
Have you considered Wayne itself? It's very large town but in your price range there are some excellent neighborhoods. Doesn't have a downtown ***** but there are plenty of shops and a very large mall. As for community there are at least two private lake communities in town where you will get a sense of community
Maplewood, which is next to South Orange, has a charming main street and is a very family-friendly town. It also has a very reasonable commute and many neighborhoods are within walking distance of the train. Currently there are a lot of lovely homes on the market in the $500K range. People who live there do not feel threatened by crime from surrounding areas.
We are transferring to Nj for my husband to work in Wayne, NJ. We have a 6th grader we need to find a nice community & great school for. We are considering Westfield, Madison, Chatham. Are there other towns we should look at? What nieghborhoods would be close to these towns ( especially Westfield as it appears larger)so we can easily bike/walk to so feel like we are a part of the community? Our budget goes to 750K. Any help is so appreciated! We are leaving a beautiful 3000 sq ft. 10 year old home & I know we won't be able to duplicate but want the best community possibly for our son even if it means downsizing.
Try Wyckoff. Both my wife and myself commute to Morris County each day and the commute is killing us with two kids (infant and 3.5 yo). The problem leaving Wyckoff is that the taxes are very reasonable (8.5k), the town is only 7.5 square miles, Oak trees if you like them, and Ridgewood is 1 mile down the road (depending if you are uptown Wyckoff or downtown).
Furthermore, Wyckoff offers convenience to major highways, some high-end shopping, ambiance, a safe real estate market, a great community program, awesome schools, and is a spitting distance to the Main St. charms of Ridgewood ++ some excellent restaurants. I would be a fool to move. Maybe I'll blast and expand or just upgrade to a final home that suits my family size. We bought our house for expansion and it has more than enough potential to add 3 more bedrooms over the garage and expanding the 1st floor for some major open space. Wyckoff lots sizes vary. We are lucky at .7 acres, but unfortunately the setbacks prevent much since I'm on a corner lot. Who wants to mow a huge backyard. I'm happy with the pool and 10 minutes of mowing
I don't want to move just because of commute. We will just find excuses to stay late at work and come home at the same time even if we moved closer to our jobs in Springfield and Florham Park. I just know it.
Wyckoff is in your price range! Wayne is large, but depending on where work is, it could be a 15-25 minute commute average if no fool flips their car or camper during rush hour. I can make it to Morris County in 25 minutes during holiday periods so Wayne is a dream job.
I think I'll stay. Too much to lose and little to gain if we moved. That's just me at this time and state. Our moods and reasoning may change in the next 6 -10 months that will justify a move closer to work and if mother in-law becomes a fixture in our current home
My wife and I are considering a move from NYC to to NJ to get some more space, raise a family, etc. My wife's major preference is somewhere that is walking distance to a decent Main St./ Downtown area. Then we have the other normal parameters such as price (400-500 ish), NYC commute, taxes, etc.
I will list some places we are considering in the hopes that someone may have an additional suggestion or two of similar places that we are not currently looking into.
Red Bank - Love it but seems like a tough commute.
Summit, Millburn, Westfield - Really nice but prices are pretty much out of our range.
Madison- Nice Main St area, but seems like a ghost town. Plus pricey, high taxes...
South Orange- great commute but seems to be surrounded by REALLY bad areas.
Montclair - lot of traffic, high taxes (?)
Morristown?
I know this is vague, but if anyone had any recommendations that might be similar to the towns above, it would be GREATLY appreciated. (Any color on the towns listed would also be appreciated). Thanks.
good towns, Westfield is a very nice town and so is Madison. downtown Madison is usually happening around this time of year, in the Spring. I knew a lot of kids from Madison when I was growing up, we always hung out on Main Street and Waverly Place in the evening. it usually clears out around 9 though, the cops in that town don't like people hanging out late, they like to keep their town safe. it's a small town which is probably why it seemed like a ghost town, Westfield is a lot more happening than Madison imo.
summit is also very nice, but very pricey. they have a lot of good restaurants Springfield Ave and on Union Place by the train station. people are always eating outside in the spring and summer time.
you have a question mark by Morristown. i grew up very close to Morristown. the green is nice but its different from the other places you listed like Summit, Westfield, and Madison. my favorite town out of all the ones you listed is probably Westfield, then maybe Madison. Madison's train station is also on the same line as South Orange, so the commute is just as easy from Madison. actually a lot of these towns are along the same train line. heading east towards the city it would go Morristown, Madison, Summit, Millburn, South Orange and it will take you directly into the city to Penn Station.
Have you considered Ridgewood, Ho-Ho-Kus and Glen Rock in Bergen County? Good proximity to Wayne. You have to shop carefully but you might get something that is not too much of a downgrade from your 3000sqft -10 year old home and still meet your other criteria.
Quote:
Originally Posted by beachski
We are transferring to Nj for my husband to work in Wayne, NJ. We have a 6th grader we need to find a nice community & great school for. We are considering Westfield, Madison, Chatham. Are there other towns we should look at? What nieghborhoods would be close to these towns ( especially Westfield as it appears larger)so we can easily bike/walk to so feel like we are a part of the community? Our budget goes to 750K. Any help is so appreciated! We are leaving a beautiful 3000 sq ft. 10 year old home & I know we won't be able to duplicate but want the best community possibly for our son even if it means downsizing.
Allentown, NJ has a wonderful downtown. Very quaint and charming. Its only 5 minutes to the NJ Turnpike and the school system is one of the best. Its a very safe town with hardly any crime to speak of. Its about half way between Philadelphia and NYC. Its also not far from Trenton and Princeton as well.
Madison is a great town in NJ. Has the lowest of tax rates and close to the train station, however housing is generally more that 400-500K It is a town close to everything even the Jersey shore. I know of a home that is not officially on the market, if you are intereted let me know. Chatham is wonderful as well as Summit.
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Millburn
