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All of these towns people have been mentioning are great I think: Wyckoff, Ridgewood, Franklin Lakes, Allendale, Ramsey, Midland Park, Oakland. You will find though that they all have very different personalities among other random differences. For example Oakland has no sewer service in the town (all septic).
Oakland, Wyckoff and Franklin Lakes go to two regional high schools and Franklin Lakes is split up (all of Wyckoff goes to Ramapo, all of Oakland goes to Indian Hills and half of Franklin Lakes go to each).
Look on realtor.com you will see no houses under ??? hundred thousand (not sure - maybe 600) in Franklin Lakes, whereas in Oakland has many houses 400 and under.
Some have train lines going through them which make them desirable for commuters (New Jersey Transit - Home to see which - Ridgewood, Ramsey at least, maybe Allendale?).
Have you visited any yet?
Parts of Oakland has sewers, but it is limited. Ramapo River Reserve is a bit of a hybrid - not sewers, but not individual septics (they have a sewage treatment facility). Franklin Lakes has areas that are septic, not sewer, despite the high prices.
Thanks for the correction - after posting I thought I was probably wrong, but have never personally seen a city sewer serviced house in Oakland (we looked at quite a few there). For some people are used to septic and it is no big deal. For us growing up with city sewer, septic is a bit scary. Also I love my in-sink-erator disposal and this is strongly discouraged with a septic system...
You could also look in Kinnelon which is in Morris County. We live there and my husband works in Franklin Lakes. It takes him anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes (depending on traffic) to get to work.
There are a wide range of prices in Kinnelon from 400000 and up past 1 million. The schools are very good as well.
Grassroot, you seem to know a lot about Rockland County. Should I relocate to Suffern, what would the best way to commute to the midtown area NYC. Are schools good in Suffern?
I drove around Sparta last week. Any reviews of this area? Seems that many houses don't have central A/C - a requirement in our current area. How do people live without A/C - is is really not hot and muggy in NJ during the summer?
I drove around Sparta last week. Any reviews of this area? Seems that many houses don't have central A/C - a requirement in our current area. How do people live without A/C - is is really not hot and muggy in NJ during the summer?
Sparta is noticeably cooler than than places further to the east. So, you don't need central air. There will be a few stretches through the summer where the temp gets over 90 and it's humid... But not too often. Sparta is up on a hill and typically is about 5 degrees cooler.
Sparta is noticeably cooler than than places further to the east. So, you don't need central air. There will be a few stretches through the summer where the temp gets over 90 and it's humid... But not too often. Sparta is up on a hill and typically is about 5 degrees cooler.
I agree it is cooler than Franklin Lakes, etc but IMO 5 degrees is not enough difference to not need AC. It's a matter of personal preference, but many nights while cooler are still humid. Cooler air that is still "sticky" is not for me, even if that is only 15-20% of the summer nights. Again, this is purely personal preference.
Depending on both how hot it is during a particular day coupled with the design of the home will influence just how long it will take to cool off the home at night. A whole house fan definitely helps, too, especially if the home does not have great cross breezes.
More importantly, I believe your commute time from Sparta will be more than 30 min if you need to commute during "regular" traffic hours.
I agree it is cooler than Franklin Lakes, etc but IMO 5 degrees is not enough difference to not need AC. It's a matter of personal preference, but many nights while cooler are still humid. Cooler air that is still "sticky" is not for me, even if that is only 15-20% of the summer nights. Again, this is purely personal preference.
Depending on both how hot it is during a particular day coupled with the design of the home will influence just how long it will take to cool off the home at night. A whole house fan definitely helps, too, especially if the home does not have great cross breezes.
I live in Montville and don't have AC - but we have a lot of trees to shad the house from the sun. We have an attic (house) fan which we run in the evening to pull in the cool air and use fans in every room when it gets hot. Then we close the windows in the morning to trap in the cool air. It works well, but when it's 96 and humid, sometimes we run a window air conditioner.
I'd say you don't "need" AC in Sparta, like you "need" it in Atlanta or Florida.
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Sparta
