Young couple: Nutley/Clifton/Rahway/West Orange/? (Edison, Union: apartment, condominiums)

[NCtoNJ]

We have extensively looked for a townhome in northern and central NJ and liked some communities in Nutley, Clifton, Rahway, West paterson. Our problem is that we like the communities but don't know much about the town they are in. Would you please help us with ease of commute/stuff to do/entertainment/diversity/cultural stuff/etc in these above mentioned towns. Also please suggest some other places if you know.

We are basically young professionals (late 20s) commuting to midtown NYC - max bus/train commute 45 minutes.
Looking for a relatively new (built in 2000s) condo/townhouse in 450-550K range.
No kids and so don't care about the school system.
Low taxes.

Since we recently moved to this area and don't know many people here, we are trying to figure out where young professional couples with similar needs buy a place?

Please help - we need be out of our temporary apartment soon!!
Thanks in advance.

[BrianG]

Originally Posted by NCtoNJ

We have extensively looked for a townhome in northern and central NJ and liked some communities in Nutley, Clifton, Rahway, West paterson. Our problem is that we like the communities but don't know much about the town they are in. Would you please help us with ease of commute/stuff to do/entertainment/diversity/cultural stuff/etc in these above mentioned towns. Also please suggest some other places if you know.

We are basically young professionals (late 20s) commuting to midtown NYC - max bus/train commute 45 minutes.
Looking for a relatively new (built in 2000s) condo/townhouse in 450-550K range.
No kids and so don't care about the school system.
Low taxes.

Since we recently moved to this area and don't know many people here, we are trying to figure out where young professional couples with similar needs buy a place?

Please help - we need be out of our temporary apartment soon!!
Thanks in advance.

Rahway has the commute you are looking for

Changes to Cheer About. Really. - New York Times

[kmansmom]

Rahway is not so great though, I think their crime rate is higher. Nutley is nice and your $ amount is high enough you could even look into Hoboken or something even closer to the city. Other good towns are Edison and Metuchen (they have a train station) also, Union,Cranford.

If I were looking I'd check the local papers, North Jersey's paper is theStar Ledger, Central NJ would be the Home News Tribune, and south NJ would be the Asbury Park Press.

Hope this helps good luck

[kort677]

Originally Posted by kmansmom

Rahway is not so great though, I think their crime rate is higher. Nutley is nice and your $ amount is high enough you could even look into Hoboken or something even closer to the city. Other good towns are Edison and Metuchen (they have a train station) also, Union,Cranford.

If I were looking I'd check the local papers, North Jersey's paper is theStar Ledger, Central NJ would be the Home News Tribune, and south NJ would be the Asbury Park Press.

Hope this helps good luck

asbury park is not south jersey

[NCtoNJ]

Thanks for the suggestions so far.
We looked in Hoboken and Edgewater but didn't like anything in our budget.

The commute seems comparable from all these places. Would anyone be able to tell me which is more fun to live in - Nutley/Clifton/West Orange/Rahway ?

Thanks!

[Wellatleast]

Try looking in Cranford. They just built all new condominiums and the downtown is beatiful. The train stations is a hop, skip and a jump away.

[BrianG]

Originally Posted by NCtoNJ

Thanks for the suggestions so far.
We looked in Hoboken and Edgewater but didn't like anything in our budget.

The commute seems comparable from all these places. Would anyone be able to tell me which is more fun to live in - Nutley/Clifton/West Orange/Rahway ?

Thanks!

I have lived in Rahway since 1998
I moved from Brooklyn and love it here
Most people that post negative about Rahway have probably never been here or have not been here in years,Or they pass it on 1-9 (under major construction right now)
Another thing is that when Most people think of Rahway the first thing that comes to their minds is the prison (It is not in Rahway)It is on Rahway ave in Woodbridge
The only way to know if you would like Rahway is to come check it out for yourself
Make sure you take a drive by the Inman Hgts section and Milton Lake section

And if you don't like Rahway you will be close enough to Clark,Cranford,Woodbridge,Westfield that you can check those towns out in the same day

[NCtoNJ]

Does anybody live or have information on the Cambridge Heights townhomes in Nutley? Is it a good community? Any problems with the construction, etc?
Any reason for not buying in that particular community or town?

[jesk28]

I also suggest looking in West Orange. I'm in a similar situation (newly married, 30 yrs old, looking to make the move from NYC to the 'burbs and start a family). We've been doing a ton of research. Our price range is very simliar to yours and I've seen the most for your money so far in West Orange townhouse communities.

[lorib49]

I grew up in Clifton and also lived in Nutley. Both have a good commute to NYC. If you take an express bus, it only takes 30 minutes. There are plenty of things to do in both cities. There are bars, shopping, restaurants, etc. Also, Montclair and Hoboken are close and there are lots of places for young professionals to hang out. Clifton is a city of a little under 80,000 people. It is very culturally diverse. I went to Clifton High School and I can tell you from experience that there are ethnicites from around the world in Clifton. Nutley is a small town, I believe that it has about 20,000, but I'm not sure. In fact, the town in only 1 sqaure mile. It has great parks and restaurants. Taxes are a lot cheaper in Clifton than in Nutley, because of its size and industry. I would reccomend either if you are not concerned with schools. Clifton's schools are very overcrowded. Nutley has a good public school system. I hope that this helps