Essex County to Chester/Long Valley (Montclair, Morristown: fit in, real estate, house)

[Essex2Morris]

I recently began contemplating moving from Montclair to Morris County to: (1) downsize my mortgage; and (2) upsize my house/property and was wondering if I could get any insider info from this forum. Here is some background on my situation followed by some questions...any opinions are greatly appreciated.

When I first moved to NYC into my first house in Montclair 6 years ago, I was a newlywed (with no children) working in the City. Our house served our needs: a 3 BR on .15 acre that was easily commutable to NYC.

Fast forward to today: we have 2 children, I work in Roseland and our house and property are making me a little claustrophobic. I am also sick of paying 13K in property taxes and being compelled to work so hard to afford the mortgage/taxes (and the $$$$ nanny!) I have been yearning for a more simple lifestyle and am considering "retiring" to become a Stay at home mom. To do this, we need a more affordable town...

My husband works in Morristown and grew up in Morris County. Recently, we began contemplating relocating to Morris County, which I don't know much about. We have been looking in the Chester/Mendham/LV area. (I love Mendham and we could afford it but not on one salary, so I think that is out.) So, we are mostly focusing on Chester and Long Valley (but are open minded to other areas).

Our main criteria are great schools, 4 BR and at least .5 acre. I don't want to spend more than 500K. I am also concerned with not moving to the boondocks, b/c I am not sure I will "fit in."

I want a town with a nice community feel: e.g. town pool, community center. I also want a real neighborhood...with lots of families. I want my kids to be able to go outside, ride their bikes on the sidewalk and see their friends. I don't want to be a mile from my neighbor and I don't like McMansions.

It looks like Chester and LV might fit the bill. So, my questions are:

1) Are there specific neighborhoods/areas in those towns that might fit the bill?;

2) Any preschool recommendations for a 3 and 4 year old (preferably a Catholic school)?

3) Is there a town center/community center/pool? What are they like?

4) Silly question but I am becoming very interested in gardening (veggies/perennials) though I have little land to do it on. Is it very tough to do this in Morris b/c of all of the deer? (I hear a lot of complaints.)

5) Any other towns we should look in?


Thanks for any input!!! Now, the real question is, could I make such a drastic lifestyle change from frenzied working Montclair mom to laid back, stay at home country mom? LOL Thanks again!!

[tahiti]

LV will be much better from a cost perspective. Prices have really gone down and you'll get *infinitely more* for your money than Chester.

1) Are there specific neighborhoods/areas in those towns that might fit the bill?;

In LV - most everything is up for grabs with a few exceptions. Neighborhoods are most in the Valley, Nestlingwood, the Cherry/Walnut Street neighborhood, the area around Warwick Dr. That's just a few.

2) Any preschool recommendations for a 3 and 4 year old (preferably a Catholic school)?

Can't help here, sorry, I'm not aware of preschool, there's St. Joseph (Mendham) and St. Mary's (Hackettstown) but not sure if they have preschool.

3) Is there a town center/community center/pool? What are they like?

For LV, people go to Chester and/or Hackettstown. Both are nice. Hackettstown is very reasonable cost wise. LV has a very small town center, but given that it was built in the early 1700's, there aren't sidewalks. There's been a small renaissance underway, but with budget issues I don't expect anything drastic soon. Chester has main street which is adorable, but has quite frankly been decimated by the economy - it's a shell (IMHO) of what it used to be about 10 years ago.

4) Silly question but I am becoming very interested in gardening (veggies/perennials) though I have little land to do it on. Is it very tough to do this in Morris b/c of all of the deer? (I hear a lot of complaints.)

Most everyone I know gardens and you may have some issues, but I wouldn't worry too much about it. Some areas are more deer prone than others - my last house I had an issue with perennials but my neighbor had a big garden with few problems.

5) Any other towns we should look in?

I'm quite partial to this area so I think it's a good choice

ETA: I was looking through GSMLS the other day and saw this house listed - GREAT area, and looks like it's really well maintained - and I think the price is right: MLS - 2772629 (.77 acres). (just an idea of what's out here)

[Essex2Morris]

Thank you for the information. We'll make a ride out there soon to further explore. And, that listing is very nice!

[JesseJerz]

You will love Long Valley. Great people, great schools, beautiful area. You can definitely get something nice in your price range.

[Mundol]

Long Valley way to go. Also look at MLS listing [SIZE=1]#2739768[/SIZE] 186 W Valley Brook Rd, Washington Twp, NJ, 07853 - MLS #2739768 - Single Family Home real estate - REALTOR.com®

[Badfish740]

Originally Posted by Essex2Morris

Our main criteria are great schools, 4 BR and at least .5 acre. I don't want to spend more than 500K. I am also concerned with not moving to the boondocks, b/c I am not sure I will "fit in."

I want a town with a nice community feel: e.g. town pool, community center. I also want a real neighborhood...with lots of families. I want my kids to be able to go outside, ride their bikes on the sidewalk and see their friends. I don't want to be a mile from my neighbor and I don't like McMansions.

To me it seems like Long Valley wouldn't really be what you're looking for-I mean Tahiti actually lives there so she can comment better, it seems like you're looking for more of a "neighborhoody" kind of area (like Chatham or Madison, etc...) in terms of kids riding their bikes on the sidewalk to see friends or to the local community center/pool. When we eventually do move my wife and I would like to move to a place like Long Valley specifically so that our nearest neighbors are at least a 1/4 mile or more away (a mile is too tough in New Jersey because even our rural areas are fairly dense)

[Calico696]

Yeah, not many sidewalks in Long Valley and most things are a drive away. I would suggest Hackettstown, which is more communityish (is that a word ), but the schools are not nearly as good as Long Valley.

[tahiti]

if the main criteria is a downtown, then yes, LV is not the right place, although her other criteria were above that, which LV does meet. The neighborhoods I mentioned have sidewalks and are walkable, but no "shopping or cafes". There is a lot of community, but not in the sense of a downtown or community center, if that makes sense.

[Badfish740]

Originally Posted by Calico696

I would suggest Hackettstown, which is more communityish (is that a word )

Eh...it's no more a word than "neighborhoody," but who cares

[stevemorse]

However I do find in LV your close enough to Chester to almost feel like there is a downtown area. As far as driving you get used to that, I drive alot and the way I look at it (by the way probably LV has less driving then the drive I do, IM not in LV) but the way I look at the driving, it keep me from eating!!! By the time I get around it saved me from eating an early Lunch and dinner then eating all night long!! It keeps me thin.