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Which one of these places would be best for commuting to WTC area?
Livingston : As far as I know, I will need a second car (currently have 1 car, and I'll need to leave that at home for my wife and daughter), drive to harrison, park at PATH train station, take the PATH to WTC. Commute time door to door is around 1-1:15. Cost : Cost of 2nd car, $175/month parking, $60/month insurance, $60/month gas, $65/month PATH train = #360/month
Chatham/Summit :
Option A) Take a train ride to penn station, then take A train to WTC, 2 hours commute time, Cost : $284/month nj transit, $104/month newyork subway = $388/month.
Option B) Take a train ride to hoboken, then take the PATH to WTC, 1.5 hours commute time, Cost : $248/month nj transit, $65/month PATH train = $310/month.
Of all these options, Chatham seems more reasonable for A) Better schools, B) Better commute, C) Cheaper commute (no 2nd car necessary).
Our budget is around 500k-550k, we have a 1.5 year old. Need some advice Thanks!
Which one of these places would be best for commuting to WTC area?
Livingston : As far as I know, I will need a second car (currently have 1 car, and I'll need to leave that at home for my wife and daughter), drive to harrison, park at PATH train station, take the PATH to WTC. Commute time door to door is around 1-1:15. Cost : Cost of 2nd car, $175/month parking, $60/month insurance, $60/month gas, $65/month PATH train = #360/month
Chatham/Summit :
Option A) Take a train ride to penn station, then take A train to WTC, 2 hours commute time, Cost : $284/month nj transit, $104/month newyork subway = $388/month.
Option B) Take a train ride to hoboken, then take the PATH to WTC, 1.5 hours commute time, Cost : $248/month nj transit, $65/month PATH train = $310/month.
Of all these options, Chatham seems more reasonable for A) Better schools, B) Better commute, C) Cheaper commute (no 2nd car necessary).
Our budget is around 500k-550k, we have a 1.5 year old. Need some advice Thanks!
When comparing these towns be sure to also include the property taxes...Taxes in Livingston on a $500,000 home is right around $10,000 per year, a $500,000 home in Summit is around $8,000 and in Chatham it will be around $7,700. (approx the same for Madison)
You should also know that there are very few single family homes in your price range within walking distance to the train station in Summit. (there are some wonderful condo's though) You will find some nice homes in your price range within walking distances to either the Chatham or Madison train stations.
KoalaNJ
(for what it is worth, I am concerned with your estimates on car insurance, I think it is very low.)
Depending on where you live, you could be near the #71 or #73 bus to Orange and take the train from there (the rail pass is valid on the bus at no extra charge).
They also go all the way to Newark Penn Station and connect directly to the PATH, though that might take longer because you're either dealing with traffic on I-280 or with local streets, so you're probably better off transferring to the train.
The fare to Newark is $85 per month.
A monthly pass from Orange to Hoboken (also valid on the bus) will be $169.
But of course, test it out to see if you can handle the commute.
When comparing these towns be sure to also include the property taxes...Taxes in Livingston on a $500,000 home is right around $10,000 per year, a $500,000 home in Summit is around $8,000 and in Chatham it will be around $7,700. (approx the same for Madison)
You should also know that there are very few single family homes in your price range within walking distance to the train station in Summit. (there are some wonderful condo's though) You will find some nice homes in your price range within walking distances to either the Chatham or Madison train stations.
KoalaNJ
(for what it is worth, I am concerned with your estimates on car insurance, I think it is very low.)
Sorry, I didn't give the whole picture. My wife doesn't work, she'll be driving me to the train station everyday, as long as the house is within 2-3 miles of the station, it's fine.
The liability insurance for a beater honda civic won't be over $300-400/6 months for me, I have got excellent driving history.
We can comfortably afford 600 in fact even 700k home with what I make, we just want to play safe as this is our first house, schools are important so is the low crime rate and commute to work, if for those I have to pay another $500/month for mortgage, so be it.
I am really not a fan of driving to harrison from livingston everyday, get a second car, pay %25 more property taxes, and still not live near a good school district (livingston's schools are ranked 20). I can see the houses in livingston are newer, bigger, and better, but I guess life is a compromise.
Depending on where you live, you could be near the #71 or #73 bus to Orange and take the train from there (the rail pass is valid on the bus at no extra charge).
They also go all the way to Newark Penn Station and connect directly to the PATH, though that might take longer because you're either dealing with traffic on I-280 or with local streets, so you're probably better off transferring to the train.
The fare to Newark is $85 per month.
A monthly pass from Orange to Hoboken (also valid on the bus) will be $169.
But of course, test it out to see if you can handle the commute.
Thanks, I actually was told (//www.city-data.com/forum/new-j...e-wtc-nyc.html) the bus in livingston/west orange is unreliable, slow, and should not be relied on as a permanent commute choice. My first thread on this forum was about commuting from livingston and bus system and I saw some very strong reactions about how it takes 1 hour for the bus to get to newark and how I should get a second car and drive to harrison instead.
Honestly taking the nj rail transit to hoboken and then walking 100ft to PATH train and taking the train to WTC (a ridiculous 7 minute ride) sounds a lot better than anything I can think of.
Say if the livingston were to have the BEST schools and then things would have been different, then for my daughter I'd make a sacrifice and go through all that trouble for commuting, but you see the schools there are average at best (compared to top schools) or so everyone says. Maybe we'll talk to a realtor and see what he/she might say, we are a bit confused.
Sorry, I didn't give the whole picture. My wife doesn't work, she'll be driving me to the train station everyday, as long as the house is within 2-3 miles of the station, it's fine.
Then there's also the option of her driving you from Livingston to Orange, provided you live on the side of Livingston nearer to Orange. Cost would be about $235.
Then there's also the option of her driving you from Livingston to Orange, provided you live on the side of Livingston nearer to Orange. Cost would be about $235.
I didn't know that the train goes through Orange (the one that goes to Hoboken), can you tell me which station is that and what train? If that's the case, we can certainly consider that as well.
Thanks a lot for everyone's helpful responses, I really appreciate it.
I didn't know that the train goes through Orange (the one that goes to Hoboken), can you tell me which station is that and what train? If that's the case, we can certainly consider that as well.
Thanks a lot for everyone's helpful responses, I really appreciate it.
Actually found the train myself, although the distance between the houses we were liking in livingston and the orange train station is somewhat long (6-7 miles), it might be doable.
When is daily parking available at Chatham train station if I don't have a permit? Ie. what time do I need to be at the station to get parking?
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Thanks!
