Sussex County (Livingston, Dover, Harrison: houses, neighborhood, good schools)

[parma127]

Help! My family and I are considering moving to NJ. We have a ten year old daughter. We are looking for a friendly affordable neighborhood in the Sussex county area from which my fiance and I would still be able to commute to NYC. Thanks in advance!!

[Songbird42]

Sussex Cty is a fairly large place, Sparta is nice, expensvie and fair for commuting, Vernon is a nice little town (64 sq.miles) with $$$ housing.
Good schools, hmmm Vernon HS has its own problems, taxes are high.
Pompton Plains/Pompton Lakes not bad.......Butler expensive. The commute into NYC can be a hard one especially in the winter, my daughter travels from Vernon to Livingston via 287 and it takes her nearly 2 hrs one way so nights especially if theres a accident. Friday nites on Rt 23 is a horror, backups all through the S turns.

Do your homework or take a drive out to Sussex Cty and look around and see how long the commute would be and remember the winters its no fun.
I traveled from Vernon to Tarrytown, NY everyday and it took me 1 1/2 hrs each way and I took back roads from Warwick, NY at 4:30AM with no one on the road.

Good luck on your search

[libertyflyer]

We lived in Byram (near Sparta). Byram is a very nice town with lakes and parks. The housing market is very diverse and can be very expensive. The schools we found were excellent. I commuted to NYC Wall street and there a few ways to do it. The bottom line is your looking at 90 minutes each way. I drove down rt 80 to 280 and then parked in Harrison and took the PATH into WTC. You can also take Lakeland Bus out of Sparta and there is also the Train which runs out of Dover. So it can be done, it just takes awhile. Just be aware of the Taxes you will pay,some agents don't let you know because they don't want to scare you away, so do your homework and good luck. PS I have relocated,partly because the Taxes were too high; $14000 a year. Good Luck

[JoeValueNJ]

Most of the towns in Sussex meet your criteria. Sussex county is on the rural side so as long as the shock of moving from Howard Beach to the wide open rolling hills of Sussex doesn't bother you, Then you should find something you like no problem.

My only warning is if you are looking at houses now, Don't forget to envision the roads in the winter. When the rest of the state is getting rain and sleet they are getting 5-6 inches of snow. Be sure your driving skills are up to the challenge and start looking for a SUV.

[tahiti]

Originally Posted by libertyflyer

PS I have relocated,partly because the Taxes were too high; $14000 a year. Good Luck

you must've had one hell of house for $14K taxes in Byram!