Ridgewood vs. ???? (Hoboken, Westfield, Secaucus: homes, transfer, neighborhood)

[milldill]

We are most likely being transferred from the Seattle suburbs back to the east coast after 7 years. My husband will be working on the lower west side of Manhattan. We need great schools (elementary and middle), family focused neighborhood, walking to transportation, shops, etc. along with a reasonable commute to NYC (hour or less). Budget will be no more than 750K but prefer to be in the 650K range. We like what we see in Ridgewood but are wondering what else we are missing. Westchester county? Also, we need to be in a good "launching" point for visiting family in Philly and CT. Any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated! p.s. I know taxes are horrendous so we are already taking that into consideration but any addt'l tax/fare/fee information is appreciated as well.

[Obrero]

Consider Westfield.....

[luckyshoes]

If you can find something you like in Ridgewood for 650, then I think you would be fine there.

[Mightyqueen801]

Originally Posted by luckyshoes

If you can find something you like in Ridgewood for 650, then I think you would be fine there.

It's a little bit longer than an hour commute, but not much.

The train schedule will tell you it's 35 minutes to Hoboken or NY Penn, but you have to take into account switching either to PATH in Hoboken or to a Midtown Direct train at Secaucus--as a rule of thumb, figure that if you are in Hoboken at a given time, you will be in your office in NYC half an hour later. Figure an hour and fifteen/twenty door-to-door depending upon how far you are from the train station and where your office is.

Still, it's not a bad commute--did it for years.

Schools are good, and it's easy to get to either Philadelphia or CT from there.

[AntoinetteNJ]

Bergen County, besides Ridgewood; Ramsey, Allendale, Glen Rock. In Morris County, Denville, Mountain Lakes, Montville. Depending on what you expect for your $ housewise. Place those towns in your homesearch field on realtor.com and see if you like what comes up....