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Westchester. If I had to live in Metro NY thatd be it. I'd love to do CT cuz at least its new england but it is just too far from the city. Westchester is very nice, and still close to the mountains too.
Proximity to shopping centers (and which type you prefer: mall vs. cute outdoor shopping/dining areas)
Taxes
Proximity to the beach/shore
Diversity
Prestige
Value
I noticed your picks for Westchester and Fairfield seem to be nice towns on the Metro North Line. Some of the towns in the two counties even look similar. Most of S. Fairfield and SE. Westchester have access to beaches and boating on Long Island Sound. Scarsdale and Chappaqua (home to the Clintons) are really nice towns but away from the water.
Alpine, Saddle River and Ridgewood are in northern Bergen County, New Jersey, one of the nicer counties in the metro area. Good jump off point to go north to upstate NY but further from the Jersey shore. Although it takes longer to get to the shore from Bergen versus Westchester/Fairfield, the ocean beaches are nicer than the calmer Sound beaches IMHO. Saddle River in contrast is in Essex County but the area is very scenic and part of the Watchung Mountain range only 20 miles or so from Manhattan.
Saddle River in contrast is in Essex County but the area is very scenic and part of the Watchung Mountain range only 20 miles or so from Manhattan.
you mean short hills, not saddle river, right? short hills is in essex county while saddle river is in bergen county.
to answer the original question, i don't think any one subsection of the nyc metro has an obvious advantage over the others. some people might prefer westchester over jersey, long island, and sw connecticut for various reasons, while others might be partial to one of the latter three. but the bottom line is that you can find nice communities with charming downtowns, attractive architecture, good mass transit access to manhattan, and excellent public schools in all directions from nyc. it's all about finding the right town rather than focusing on a specific region within the metro area.
that said, i prefer northeastern nj because it contains some of the closest suburban towns to midtown and downtown manhattan. proximity to the region's employment/cultural/nightlife center is very important to me, so if i were to commute from the suburbs, i'd much rather live right across the hudson river in edgewater/fort lee or perhaps a little farther out in a bedroom community such as montclair or ridgewood than in a far-flung town such as bedford, armonk, or darien.
another thing is that i prefer the diversity and ethnic food offerings in north jersey over the other suburban regions mentioned. yes, i'm aware that port chester (located on the westchester/fairfield border) has a vibrant latin food scene, but north jersey has plenty of that (bergenline ave is north jersey's answer to roosevelt ave in queens) plus fantastic asian (korean, indian, and japanese in particular) and middle eastern (egyptian, lebanese, syrian, palestinian) food as well.
also, my understanding is that nj's taxes, as horrendous as they are, are generally lower than the ny state suburbs. of course, some towns are worse than others. and then there's the sales tax, which is lower in jersey (including no tax on clothing/shoes regardless of price) and gas, which is usually $0.30 cheaper per gallon than in ny state or ct. so despite the fact that the cost of living is more or less the same in all of nyc's suburban areas, nj is cheaper in some respects.
finally, i find that it's somewhat easier to get out of the nyc metro from north jersey for weekend road trips to the catskills, philly, or the poconos. of course, if a person were more tied to new england, then westchester/fairfield would be more convenient. it all depends on the person's preferred out-of-town destinations, but at least for me, nj doesn't feel as "penned in" as the other areas; i feel like it's easier to go to places in all directions. i also happen to prefer the ocean beaches of nj and LI's south shore over the LI sound beaches of westchester/connecticut.
Of those three, Im partial to Northern New Jersey having lived in Upper Nyack and having to commute to Paramus for a while, I liked all the amenities right there.
Since I'm partial to water views, I would want to locate on the Gold Coast of Connecticut...although it makes me recall something I once overheard when I was getting off the train in Darien. The woman in front of me was greeted by her friend, who said, "Welcome to Darien, where all the pretty people are." I wanted to puke.
and i grew up in Southern CT (New Haven co) & Westchester (Bronxville)
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