Good Place to live/School zone in NJ, working in NYC(98th street and Madison Ave) (Edison: apartments)

[cutiecool]

I am planning to take up a job in NYC (98th street and Madison Ave). What would be a good place to live in NJ which is a commutable/fastest distance to NY by car. Also we will be looking for good elementary schools. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[shorebaby]

There are not too many places that fit the bill. Places that have a quick commute into the city, in general, have pretty poor public schools. You have to move to the suburbs which would be a solid hour driving into the city, and that would be variable. Depending on your budget and what you think "quick" is you should look at towns near the George Washington Bridge. Alpine, Englewood Cliffs etc.

[pbergen]

Originally Posted by cutiecool

I am planning to take up a job in NYC (98th street and Madison Ave). What would be a good place to live in NJ which is a commutable/fastest distance to NY by car. Also we will be looking for good elementary schools. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

depends. you need to provide more information about your situation.

-what's your budget for renting or buying?
-are you specifically looking for single family detached homes with a yard, or are you ok with townhouses, condos, or rental apartments?
-how long of a door-to-door commute can you put up with?
-is driving the only option, or would you consider mass transit as well?
-what other local amenities are you looking for?
-do you care about the racial or socioeconomic makeup of the neighborhood?

your options will be limited if you are not flexible on at least one or more of the above issues, as northeastern nj is a very expensive place to live with a limited amount of space.

no matter what, if you're absolutely certain that you'll be driving to work, you should take a look at the towns in close proximity to the george washington bridge. anything too far south or west of the bridge will result in a miserable driving commute (and even from the gwb, traffic will be really bad unless you get to the bridge by 6:15am, maybe 6:30 at the absolute latest). and because your work is located on the upper east side/spanish harlem border, i don't think that the lincoln or holland tunnels will be viable options - trying to go crosstown and then all the way uptown would add a lot of time and misery to your commute.

[cutiecool]

-we are planning to buy a house preferably
-i am open on ay kind of hous - single family / townhouses, condos
-I would prefer a door-to-door commute not more then 30 mins either by car / public transportation
-A good neighborhood / schools are important

[G.Costanza]

Originally Posted by cutiecool

-I would prefer a door-to-door commute not more then 30 mins either by car / public transportation

That is going to be almost impossible from NJ to 98th & Madison. Realistically you're going to have live in one of the outer boro's, e.g. take the N/R/W train from Queens (transfer to the 6 at 59th st) or just possibly Brooklyn near the 4/5 express line (transfer to the 6 at 86th st).

Or you could live somewhere north of the city (Westchester county) and take Metro North to 125th (take the 6 to 96th)

[Podzorova]

I have lived in truly walking distance to the Edison train station and had have commuted to the uppder east side (68 st./1 ave., 96 st./5 ave.) of NYC for about 5 years. I stopped doing it because it took a toll on my health and time, I finally can't take it any more. I used to walk to the train station; waited for the problematic train in a huge, full of the platform crowd if it's in the rush hour (not to mention it's a smelly crowd ...); arrived at the Penn station; transferred 2-3 subway trains; and walked to my work. All the places along the NE corridor line will say that "30 mins to NYC", even it's more south than where I live. The reality is, it took me at least 1 hour and 45 min one way to be door to door from my home to work. North Edison is good school district with both Metuchen and Metropark stations, Plainsboro/Princeton Junction is also very good school district and there is Princeton Junction station. But personally I won't go more south than Metropark staion, because unless you can always catch those express trains to the Princeton Junction station, it's really a long commute. Path commuting areas are only good for those work in the lower Mahatten, like the financial district, otherwise, you'll need to take subways all the way up once you've reached NYC. Forget about buses, personally I've heard it's even more impossible than trains.

[cutiecool]

Thanks, so living so far in NJ is not possible, so which places do u recommend where the commute wount be so much.

[pbergen]

Originally Posted by cutiecool

Thanks, so living so far in NJ is not possible, so which places do u recommend where the commute wount be so much.

you'll pretty much have to live in super close proximity to the george washington bridge - fort lee, edgewater, leonia, and englewood cliffs all fit the bill and have decent-to-good elementary schools. palisades park and cliffside park have so-so schools but cheaper housing (in the case of cliffside, you have to look inland toward the border with fairview for the less expensive options), while englewood has some good elementary schools on the ritzy east side of town. on the west side of town, which is more blue collar (especially the fourth ward in the southwest), the schools are hit or miss but the housing is cheaper. teaneck also has some good elementary schools, especially in the wealthier areas of the northwest. i wouldn't go much farther out than that, though.

check out this site to compare the various schools in the area and get more specific data on student performance and rankings:
SchoolDigger.com - School Rankings, Reviews and More - Public and Private Elementary, Middle, High Schools