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My husband and I and our daughter are relocating from Denver to NJ (see multiple threads below). We are looking at Westfield, Summit, Cranford, and Livingston. However, recently we saw some nice townhomes in Whippany. The schools seem really good.
Anyone have any opinions about raising a family in Whippany? Great parks? Shopping? Our daughter is almost 10.
Well, I don't live in Whippany (I actually live right by Summit), so I can't give first-hand experience, but I go to the area from time to time.
It seems like a really nice place to live. I can't say much for parks, but shopping is pretty accessible. It's only minutes from different shopping centers along Rt 10 which is, personally, my area of choice -- it's got just about everything from Target, to Marshalls, to Home Depot, to Costco, and Best Buy (all pretty near each other), as well as many other stores. What I think is great is that it has pretty easy access to I-287, which is always handy. I agree that the schools seem really good.
I think that if I had to compare it to any of the towns you mentioned, I'd say it's most like Livingston.
What Whippany lacks that those other towns have is good transit access to Manhattan.
I was going to add this as well, but for whatever reason didn't. Whippany, like Livingston, does not have too much public transportation into NYC. There are buses from both towns, but a transfer in Newark is involved. I'm just adding this in case public transit into NYC daily is important to you..
In the short term, I wouldn't be commuting to NYC (my husband will be working in Bridgewater), but I'd like that option in the next year or so. So maybe Whippany is a good choice as long as I don't mind going to another town for the train. That's something I wanted to avoid, but I guess we'll just have to see.
Whippany is part of Hanover Township and you'd probably be interested in the res of the township too. Nice area to live, good schools, easy highway access, and close enough to rail options.
I was going to add this as well, but for whatever reason didn't. Whippany, like Livingston, does not have too much public transportation into NYC. There are buses from both towns, but a transfer in Newark is involved. I'm just adding this in case public transit into NYC daily is important to you..
I don't think a transfer is involved from Livingston, but it has been a long time since I have taken the bus into the city, so I'm sure someone will correct me if I am wrong. Also there is a Jitney from Livingston to the South Orange train station so that is another option.
I don't think a transfer is involved from Livingston, but it has been a long time since I have taken the bus into the city, so I'm sure someone will correct me if I am wrong. Also there is a Jitney from Livingston to the South Orange train station so that is another option.
Yeah, you're that there generally isn't a transfer involved, but sometimes it is. I had looked it up before to double check and found a bus where you needed to transfer. I didn't look too much further to see other schedules.
I've also heard of the jitney, but mostly that it was unreliable. I'm not sure how true that is... It's merely hearsay.
I've lived in Whippany. It's a nice quiet town. Shopping is very convenient with route 10, just about all the big chain stores plus lots of good restaraunts close by. Parks i wasn't crazy about. There's a few small ones with playgrounds for little kids. Malapardis Park in nearby Cedar Knolls is a little better, with a big playground and a bit of a walking trail. The really good parks like Loantaka in Morristown are 10-15 minutes away though. Couldn't tell you about the schools but they always had a pretty good reputation, and property taxes are amazingly cheap compared to most towns in the area. You will get WAYYYY more house for your money in Whippany than in WF, Summit, and even Livingston. However, i do think WF and Summit have more to offer in terms of walkable downtowns, better parks, and easier access to NYC - which of course is why they attract more affluent people, get better school ratings, etc. If your budget is comfortably $600k+, i'd say go for the other towns if you value those things, but if you're more in the $300-$600k range then i think you'll get such a nicer place in Whippany and still have a good lifestyle, quality education for your daughter, etc.
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