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I’ll throw out an outside of the box place and that is some of the towns near the Lake Ontario beaches in the Rochester NY area. Irondequoit is a town that is in between Ontario Beach Park and Durand Eastman Park/Beach. https://rocwiki.org/Irondequoit
East Irondequoit and West Irondequoit are the school districts for the town, with West being highly regarded and East, while not highly regarded, is still a decent/solid SD.
Westport is a very nice time but I can understand why you are having a problem making friends there.
That said, New Jersey is very nice. I lived there for several years and have a number of friends there still. You should know however that it has towns that are as unfriendly as Westport. Plus none the towns recommended by massachoicetts have beaches. They, like most of northern New Jersey, are inland away from the shoreline. That was one of the things I did not like when I lived there. I missed being near the water and also missed being a short drive from more rural areas like you find when you get away from the immediate Connecticut shoreline.
You mentioned liking Fairfield, so why not consider living there. It’s a beautiful diverse town with a lot to offer. It has great shopping, very good schools, beautiful parks and beaches and many nice neighborhoods. It might be a good option.
wherewhatwho’s town, Madison, is also beautiful. You might also consider it. It has a stunning beach at the town owned a Surf Club. The schools are great and there’s lot of great restaurants. The only thing a bit lacking is shopping. There are no major malls or many big box stores nearby. Still I’d consider it. Jay
No major malls nearby? Short Hills is one of the most well known, upscale malls in the state and is a short 15 min drive away.
Thanks, everyone! You're making me feel better!
The NJ towns sound really nice. Yes- having the beach so close by to walk at is really my favorite part about living around here. We looked in Fairfield but couldn't find anything at all within price range and the house in Westport had half the amount in taxes. So... ended up in the unfriendly town.
I guess there is hope for when little one starts elementary school in a couple years.
Madison is such a nice town. Had family who lived up there.. and yes, the Surf Club! I just feel like I need something closer to NYC or a good city to go into regularly. But really it is an amazing town and probably has friendlier people!
I'll check out the NJ forums... Thanks again. Here's hoping Ffld County gets friendlier with all the new people moving here this summer!
Westport is a very nice time but I can understand why you are having a problem making friends there.
That said, New Jersey is very nice. I lived there for several years and have a number of friends there still. You should know however that it has towns that are as unfriendly as Westport. Plus none the towns recommended by massachoicetts have beaches. They, like most of northern New Jersey, are inland away from the shoreline. That was one of the things I did not like when I lived there. I missed being near the water and also missed being a short drive from more rural areas like you find when you get away from the immediate Connecticut shoreline.
You mentioned liking Fairfield, so why not consider living there. It’s a beautiful diverse town with a lot to offer. It has great shopping, very good schools, beautiful parks and beaches and many nice neighborhoods. It might be a good option.
wherewhatwho’s town, Madison, is also beautiful. You might also consider it. It has a stunning beach at the town owned a Surf Club. The schools are great and there’s lot of great restaurants. The only thing a bit lacking is shopping. There are no major malls or many big box stores nearby. Still I’d consider it. Jay
I actually live in Madison, New Jersey I wish we had a beach!
Il also throw out coastal Mass towns. But they are insanely priced and really, unless you are a CEO or Physician, would be hard to afford such a property there. Like living in Marblehead MA would be ideal for bringing up a family, it just sucks a 3 bedroom fixer upper would be like 750k.
I'd stick with NJ. Better prices, closer to more things than CT, good malls, not too far away from the beaches. And the towns are a big bang for your buck.
Il also throw out coastal Mass towns. But they are insanely priced and really, unless you are a CEO or Physician, would be hard to afford such a property there. Like living in Marblehead MA would be ideal for bringing up a family, it just sucks a 3 bedroom fixer upper would be like 750k.
I'd stick with NJ. Better prices, closer to more things than CT, good malls, not too far away from the beaches. And the towns are a big bang for your buck.
I know you love your new state, but New Jersey is definitely not grittier than MA or whatever image you have made up in your head. In fact in all your posts, you keep on spouting cringey nonsense as you haven't explored the state well enough. There's always some off-color remark about NJ which comes across as some form of compensation or projection.
All the people I've ever met born in Eastern Massachusetts always have this weird elitist complex that's also classist with many undertones of racism. If a town is diverse in Massachusetts, it's looked down upon. New Jersey is definitely not cheaper than Massachusetts and Massachusetts is honestly not as nice as you make it out to be. The Cape is okay, and many New Jerseyans own secondary homes in Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket because you get more house for your money, lower taxes, and they're harder to access than many comparable NJ towns.
OP, we really don't have this elitist tone unless you're somewhere like Northern Bergen County, which is too similar to Fairfield and Westchester for my liking.
Westport would probably be similar to somewhere like Deal, Rumson, Sea Girt, or Spring Lake. Rumson would probably be your best choice for an easy commute into NY on the SeaStreak. If you're looking for more of an actual city, Red Bank and Asbury Park are very nice.
I know you love your new state, but New Jersey is definitely not grittier than MA or whatever image you have made up in your head. In fact in all your posts, you keep on spouting cringey nonsense as you haven't explored the state well enough. There's always some off-color remark about NJ which comes across as some form of compensation or projection.
All the people I've ever met born in Eastern Massachusetts always have this weird elitist complex that's also classist with many undertones of racism. If a town is diverse in Massachusetts, it's looked down upon. New Jersey is definitely not cheaper than Massachusetts and Massachusetts is honestly not as nice as you make it out to be. The Cape is okay, and many New Jerseyans own secondary homes in Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket because you get more house for your money, lower taxes, and they're harder to access than many comparable NJ towns. But he, Boston is way more expensive than NNJ. You can get a decent home in NNJ for 400k, you can't do that around Boston. It's not with the price in MA anymore. But if somehow, someone can afford a seaside town there.. it checks all her boxes off.
OP, we really don't have this elitist tone unless you're somewhere like Northern Bergen County, which is too similar to Fairfield and Westchester for my liking.
Westport would probably be similar to somewhere like Deal, Rumson, Sea Girt, or Spring Lake. Rumson would probably be your best choice for an easy commute into NY on the SeaStreak. If you're looking for more of an actual city, Red Bank and Asbury Park are very nice.
Gritty is not a bad thing at all lol... It's the complete opposite of generic cookie cutter. It has a little bit of culture, a lit bit of grit and a little bit of class. That's why I listed those towns.
I do agree with you on the classist attitude, and looking down on diverse.towns .but that's mostly the older generation and I can't see many people thinking like that in the future. I think even now, MA is not really like that, atleast compared to what it was.
But the only truly negative things I can say about NJ
-Property Taxes for owning a home are astronomical. It's literally insane. Some of these 400k homes have 10k+ property taxes.
-Some cities are in rough shape, and then border the complete opposite.
Last edited by masssachoicetts; 09-02-2020 at 06:01 AM..
I have friends that live in Chatham, NJ and Summit, NJ. Both really nice towns.
One worked in NYC and one goes there often for dinner or shows, so I am sure they are close. Not sure how close to the beach though.
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