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Like others have said, you have a lot of options with out budget. I would not rule out the CT suburbs of NYC either. As far as NJ goes, and in addition to the excellent towns mentioned by others, I would take a look at the Red Bank-Fair Haven/Middletown-Atlantic Highlands area. Good schools, one of the best downtowns in NJ (Red Bank), direct train to the city, plus you can also take the ferry to Manhattan.
Your assumption about where I'm from is incorrect (South Africa actually!) but the rest you have right. In Boston we've been thinking of Brookline and Newton and yes, I think these would suit us better than a pure "suburb". However, as I mentioned jobs will primarily determine where we end up so it's good to have all the options in advance!
One more question, I've seen some threads refer to Summit as " uppity". Although I'd probably be working on Wall St if I end up in NY I am not very keen on the competitive hype ( schools, cars etc) that is associated with this mileu - would this be what we would find there?
Ah, well, at least I was half right. I saw cold beaches and immediately thought of Ireland. But just to put in an additional plug for South Orange and Maplewood, the commute from those towns to NYC is one of the best you can get in the area, so that would be good for jobs. They're more like Newton an Brookline than most other NJ towns. Montclair is worth a look too--the commute to NYC is slightly longer, but there's almost a city feel there.
I don't know a whole lot about Summit, other than having a family member who raised his family there, but I don't think the perception that it's snobby and competitive is inaccurate. Having the biggest house, car, etc., is highly valued there. I'm sure there are plenty of exceptions, but it's not the type of environment I'd seek out.
Your assumption about where I'm from is incorrect (South Africa actually!) but the rest you have right. In Boston we've been thinking of Brookline and Newton and yes, I think these would suit us better than a pure "suburb". However, as I mentioned jobs will primarily determine where we end up so it's good to have all the options in advance!
One more question, I've seen some threads refer to Summit as " uppity". Although I'd probably be working on Wall St if I end up in NY I am not very keen on the competitive hype ( schools, cars etc) that is associated with this mileu - would this be what we would find there?
You just used "milieu" in a sentence, so you should be fine in Summit (even if you left out an 'i').
Your assumption about where I'm from is incorrect (South Africa actually!) but the rest you have right. In Boston we've been thinking of Brookline and Newton and yes, I think these would suit us better than a pure "suburb". However, as I mentioned jobs will primarily determine where we end up so it's good to have all the options in advance!
One more question, I've seen some threads refer to Summit as " uppity". Although I'd probably be working on Wall St if I end up in NY I am not very keen on the competitive hype ( schools, cars etc) that is associated with this mileu - would this be what we would find there?
Oh, then you definitely want to live in northern New Jersey and work in Manhattan, since, like South Africa, those place have the Dutch history!
You just used "milieu" in a sentence, so you should be fine in Summit (even if you left out an 'i').
Lol! Bottom line, we've done well for ourselves but my husband and I both come from humble backgrounds and know the values we want our kids to grow up with. They're in a private school here and let's say a lot of what I read about Summit sounds similar...I realise (oops, gonna need to learn how to spell in American) that we won't get away from it entirely but I don't want to knowingly immerse my kids in that kind of culture again.
Hahaha, here, too. There actually was once a dialect spoken in northern NJ, known as Jersey Dutch, that died out about 150 years ago. It came from the earliest Dutch settlers with influences from the American Indians, African slaves, and the British and other European immigrants in the area.
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I saw cold beaches and immediately thought of Ireland. But just to put in an additional plug for South Orange and Maplewood, the commute from those towns to NYC is one of the best you can get in the area, so that would be good for jobs. They're more like Newton an Brookline than most other NJ towns. Montclair is worth a look too--the commute to NYC is slightly longer, but there's almost a city feel there.
