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We are a young couple with children and looking to buy a house in NNJ with good commute to NYC. We shortlisted Nutley, HH and Oradell, Cranford, River Edge. Realizing that we are getting the most bang for the buck in Nutley we have decided to put an offer on one of the houses in Nutley.
I really like Nutley, it has good schools, amazing parks, proximity to the city, but I am not sure about the future of this town.
Here are some of my concerns. Would like to have others' opinion on the future of this town.
Taxes too high, while I understand good parks and good schools need money, I think this also points to the fact that there's a lot of corruption going on. There are other better towns (Cranford being a good example) with lower taxes and equally good, if not better, services.
Crime rate increasing. Not sure if this is true but I found several burglaries and drug related crime in online newspaper. This could just be because I was looking for crime in the town.
Proximity to Newark. It happened to Belleville, from decent town to dangerous town. Do you see it happening to Nutley?
Corruption. Some towns (very few) have cleaned up their act (like Bayonne) and are now getting better... Think Nutley could be one of those places?
Any input will be deeply appreciated.
Again this is all coming from online research (which I call doing DUE DILIGENCE before buying a home), so a lot of this could be pure BS. I think the state of this town is very good right now, its the future that I am concerned about.
I wouldn't want to settle in the next Belleville or Oranges.
We are a young couple with children and looking to buy a house in NNJ with good commute to NYC. We shortlisted Nutley, HH and Oradell, Cranford, River Edge. Realizing that we are getting the most bang for the buck in Nutley we have decided to put an offer on one of the houses in Nutley.
I really like Nutley, it has good schools, amazing parks, proximity to the city, but I am not sure about the future of this town.
Here are some of my concerns. Would like to have others' opinion on the future of this town.
Taxes too high, while I understand good parks and good schools need money, I think this also points to the fact that there's a lot of corruption going on. There are other better towns (Cranford being a good example) with lower taxes and equally good, if not better, services.
Crime rate increasing. Not sure if this is true but I found several burglaries and drug related crime in online newspaper. This could just be because I was looking for crime in the town.
Proximity to Newark. It happened to Belleville, from decent town to dangerous town. Do you see it happening to Nutley?
Corruption. Some towns (very few) have cleaned up their act (like Bayonne) and are now getting better... Think Nutley could be one of those places?
Any input will be deeply appreciated.
Again this is all coming from online research (which I call doing DUE DILIGENCE before buying a home), so a lot of this could be pure BS. I think the state of this town is very good right now, its the future that I am concerned about.
I wouldn't want to settle in the next Belleville or Oranges.
I guess it is all relative and up to interpretation. I lived in Belleville (not a dangerous town in my opinion) for four years and considered Nutley when house searching. I ended up in West Orange two years ago because I felt it was actually nicer than Nutley. The taxes are, I believe, a bit higher than Nutley but West Orange High School is actually rated higher than Nutley High School for what it's worth. Neither town has a particularly glamorous dowtown area. Since I don't see Belleville, north of Joraloman Ave., to be dangerous at all, I don't see Nutley (further north) to change much in the next 5-10 years.
I think most parts of West Orange have a more suburban feel. Cranford is further south, so I think price points become a bit more friendly the further away you get from NYC. I worked in Cranford for 5 years (when I lived in Belleville) and I feel that West Orange, most areas anyway, is a little more comparable to Cranford than Nutley.
Belleville isn't dangerous , it borders the Middle Class part of Newark which is quiet compared to western Urban part of Newark. As for High Taxes merge it with Clifton or Bloomfield....there will be a Train that runs through Nutley one day from Newark and up to Paterson....
I guess it is all relative and up to interpretation. I lived in Belleville (not a dangerous town in my opinion) for four years and considered Nutley when house searching. I ended up in West Orange two years ago because I felt it was actually nicer than Nutley. The taxes are, I believe, a bit higher than Nutley but West Orange High School is actually rated higher than Nutley High School for what it's worth. Neither town has a particularly glamorous dowtown area. Since I don't see Belleville, north of Joraloman Ave., to be dangerous at all, I don't see Nutley (further north) to change much in the next 5-10 years.
I think most parts of West Orange have a more suburban feel. Cranford is further south, so I think price points become a bit more friendly the further away you get from NYC. I worked in Cranford for 5 years (when I lived in Belleville) and I feel that West Orange, most areas anyway, is a little more comparable to Cranford than Nutley.
Good luck!
Cranford may be further south, but its only 3 miles further from NYC than West Orange is.
Thanks that's interesting. Just last week Nutley high school was rated in top 1000 schools in America. So that's good.
Also the train part is interesting. As far as I know Nutley citizens are totally against it. I personally don't think it would do that much harm if the local government plays it fair. But damn, from Newark to Paterson? Those are one of the most crime laden areas of NJ!
Commute wise Cranford is only 10 more minutes by bus. But the public transport is kind of lame there, the buses only come to Rt 28, so no matter where you live, you have to walk all the way to the center of the town or drive.
Considering where the gas prices are today and the trend, I would not want a house where I have to drive to public transport.
Commute wise Cranford is only 10 more minutes by bus. But the public transport is kind of lame there, the buses only come to Rt 28, so no matter where you live, you have to walk all the way to the center of the town or drive.
Considering where the gas prices are today and the trend, I would not want a house where I have to drive to public transport.
Cranford does also have a train, I dont believe West Orange or Nutley do? Many people do walk to the bus/train as its in the center of town and central to many. If driving that mile or less to the commuter lot is enough to bankrupt someone due to gas costs, then buying a house in a town like Cranford should not be their biggest concern. Cranford also compares much more favorable in the school rankings.
Theres no train in Nutley yet , only 4 bus lines which are overcrowded....I don't there is any opposition....since the tracks are already there...and 2 Job Hubs would be connected.
Cranford does also have a train, I dont believe West Orange or Nutley do? Many people do walk to the bus/train as its in the center of town and central to many. If driving that mile or less to the commuter lot is enough to bankrupt someone due to gas costs, then buying a house in a town like Cranford should not be their biggest concern. Cranford also compares much more favorable in the school rankings.
There are several reasons I choose to have a house thats not too far away from public transport.
1.) We will have to buy another car for my wife.
2.) We will have to be in the parking lot by 7:30 as most of them are full by then.
3.) In some places, there's years of wait before you can get a parking spot.
4.) In winter time, I will have to clean at least 1 car since unlikely we will get 2 car garage in our budget.
5.) Gas
6.) Insurance for 2x car.
7.) Maintenance for 2x car.
If I could avoid it, I definitely would.
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