job in jersey city- where do we live?? (Newark, Edison: cul-de-sac, appointed)

[kykatsmom]

Relocating from Atlanta area, young family with two small children, so we want a good school district, with neighbors in similar stage of life. Looking to spend under 600K- is that even possible? Also, if possible add in the commute my husband would have to endure...
Thanks!

[downtownjc]

I'll leave it to others to discuss specific towns with god schools where one can get a nice home for $600k--but you can probably find somethig not too far from a train station with a reasonable commute. Woodbrige/Edison, maybe?

For someone working in Jersey City, there are a number of commuting optiions. For the "southern" half of NJ Transit trains that stop at Newark Penn Station (NE Corridor, Raritan Valley, North Jersey Coast), he can take the PATH to Jersey CIty--it only takes about 15 minutes to get to the waterfront business district, so he can probably keep the commute under an hour (which on a train isn't too bad). For the "northern" helf trains that have stops in Hoboken, he can take the light rail to Jersey City (again, this is only about 10 minutes).

Unless your husband won't be commuting during the main rush hours, driving probably won't be a good option, as the Holland Tunnel traffic can add many minutes to a commute to JC.

[ehs]

If you have two small children, you may consider Piscataway where the town started having NO COST FULL DAY preschool recent years. for more info call Piscataway Township school at 732 572-2289x2561 or www.piscatawayschools.org

As to commute to Jersey City, my brother-in-law working at JP Morgan Chase at Newport Jersey City, living at Piscataway, he commute thru Dunellen Train Stn to Newark then PATH over. Other people I know living at Piscataway commute thru Edison Train Station.

For $600,000 you can buy a very very luxury new 4br/5br house as you can check out from realtor.com and search for 08854 and call the listing agent of the house you like and take a look at. You will find many nice houses.

Piscataway has 10 schools, including 1 high school, 3 middle school (6-8 grade) (my brother-in-law lived at Schor School area) and 6 elementary schools. Several obtain blue ribbon for past years.

It has 26 newly renovated parks, each has huge nice playground for small kids, basketball court, tennis courts, hocky ring, baseball field ...etc.

It is close to both wonderful Menlo Park Mall and Bridgewater Commons. and right next to Rutgers Universty where your kids can join Rutgers Youth Orchestra or just learn any instrument.

There are quite a few Chinese schools and one Hindi Language school around the area if your kids want to learn these two emerging world language at little cost. It opens to general public...

There are several huge Asian Food Market and dozens of nice asian restaurants including Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Malaysia, Vietnam, Tai ...etc if you like to eat out.

It also close to two Chuck E Cheese where you will find your small kids love it a lot, and you can take a rest some time ... remember to get free token coupon on their website ...

If you want to come to visit the town from far, you can go to Priceline.com to bid 3* hotel at $33 on nearby Somerset NJ town, and you will get a wonderful Marriott Hotel Somerset with gorgeous Pool. Or bid 3* hotel at New Brunswick on $40, and you will get this wonderful Hyatt Regency that can also walk to New Brunswick train station.

[kykatsmom]

I guess I'm spoiled being down here, where there are plenty of new construction- I am not seeing any of that in the areas mentioned- Edison/Woodbridge...what about commuting from NY or even the southern CT? We were initially going to be relocating to Ct, but it looks as though they are moving the position...we are disappointed to say the least because the Southbury/Middlebury areas were very similar to what were in now...anyway- any other suggestions would be great-
*single family/small children
*commuting to Jersey City
*neighborhood with amenities
*relatively new homes 10-15yrs. max

Thanks

[kort677]

Originally Posted by kykatsmom

I guess I'm spoiled being down here, where there are plenty of new construction- I am not seeing any of that in the areas mentioned- Edison/Woodbridge...what about commuting from NY or even the southern CT? We were initially going to be relocating to Ct, but it looks as though they are moving the position...we are disappointed to say the least because the Southbury/Middlebury areas were very similar to what were in now...anyway- any other suggestions would be great-
*single family/small children
*commuting to Jersey City
*neighborhood with amenities
*relatively new homes 10-15yrs. max

Thanks

where you choose to live should factor in many variables, one of which is where you work. If you are going to work in JC and want an easy commute via rail you need to check out towns on rail lines that run into newark where you can switch to a path train to JC.


If you work in lower manhattan the same holds true, if you work in midtown then you would want access to trains that run into penn sta or have buses that go to the PA terminal.
Personally if I worked in the grand central area NJ would not be a place to live, I'd look at towns served by trains that went into grand central.

[ehs]

I just took a look at, you got many choices, all very nice houses, some new ... 08854 Homes, Real Estate, Condominiums & More - REALTOR.com

[downtownjc]

OVerall there will be much less new construction in NJ compared to Atlanta. You would probably have to go a bit further south (or west) of Woodbridge to get something new, and then you will be relatively far from NYC/Jersey City. Take a look at Hamilton, though -- there is a fair amount of new construction, it's cheaper than the areas closer in, and you can be in Jersey City an about 1.25 hrs (maybe a little less if you tiime it right).

A commute from Connecticut to JC will generally not be a good idea--it would require a ton of transfers and would take forever. You'd have to go into Grand Central, take 2 subways to get to the PATH train, and then take that to JC. Believe me, almost anywhere in Northern or Central NJ would be better than CT for a job in Jersey City.

[lammius]

You can get new construction in old towns too. A co-worker of mine just bought a beautiful new house in Metuchen, close to Main Street and the train station. It's a nice family-friendly town with tree-lined streets and corner coffee and ice cream shops.

You're not going to find huge sprawling subdivisions of new vinyl McMansions in northern/northeastern NJ, but if new construction is important to you, you can find new homes in established neighborhoods (re-builds, infill, etc) or a newly remodeled older home (which would be my preference). If you want a McMansion on a cul-de-sac you'll have to look farther out toward NW Jersey, Pennsylvania or southern NJ and prepare for a very long commute.

[ehs]

Very true. Piscataway also have many brand new houses built from vacant lots in existing communities ...

There are also quite a few big new house from ranch to be raised.

Some big lot area like School St, near Edison Train Stn, people bought small house and torn down to rebuild a big house at one acre lot ...etc.

[shelby2]

My husband and I live in Lyndhurst, NJ with our daughter who is a year and a half. This is a nice town, has great schools, and is close to many shopping centers. Your husband can commute to jersey city via train (NJ Transit). We are relocating to NC and are selling our home. It has 3 bedrooms, living room, dining room, finished basement, detached 2 car garage, and backyard. The asking price is 474,900, if interested contact me. I wish you the best.