Living in NJ with family & commuting to Wall Street? (Newark: house, transfer)

[gengoblue123]

Hi,

We are considering a move to NJ and my husband needs to commute to Wall Street each day. I am looking for:

- Great schools as I have two small kids
- Commute of 1 hour or less each way
- Affordability - $550,000 max house budget and I don't want to live in the 'bad area' of town - obviously, in Westchester this would be the case on this budget in a lot of places
- A place with a cute town/restaurant area, parks, swim club etc would be a plus

Thanks for any suggestions!!!

[Bass_o_matic 76]

Well, for the best quality of life, variety of options, sane commute and cute town, I would go with the following options: Westfield, Cranford, Millburn, Montclair, Essex Fells, Summit, West Orange. Those towns have top- notch, competitive schools, pool clubs, classy neighbors, impeccable property values and are on direct transit routes to the city. Westfield and Cranford might be the best because their NJ transit line goes though Newark Penn Station, where your husband could catch the PATH directly to the World Trade Center Station and skip an extra transfer in Penn Station. Or, another great option is to live in any of the aforementioned towns and drive to Newark Penn or Harrison and take the PATH to WTC from there. Those are your suburban options. Let me know if you would like some slightly less tony suggestions, or would like some urban options.

[mgt04]

Rutherford and Montclair are pretty good too with NYC transportation

[NJSW]

Hello there, I am from NJ, Essex County to be exact, and I would recommend Montclair, NJ. I'm not sure how big of a house you are looking for, but I'm pretty sure you can find something affordable in that area. Montclair is a fun, diverse town that is accessible to the city. South Orange, NJ is another town that may interest you as well. South Orange may be a little less diverse but both areas have lots to do. The school systems are not bad, but I believe they have been better in the past.

Millburn, NJ has a great school system (very high ranking), however your husband's commute may be longer so it depends on what is most important to you all as a family. Millburn is even less diverse than South Orange. I believe a home would be more expensive. They're all beautiful areas IMO.

Perhaps someone else can provide more info. about affordability and commute times in those areas.
I'm not sure where you are from, but NJ property taxes are considerably higher than other areas so that's something to keep in mind. Best wishes!

[lfsr1544]

Along Bergen County, Glen Rock, Ridgewood - would meet your criteria. Trains run right to the Path. Although, as someone noted the high taxes in almost all towns mentioned so far will have an impact on your final budget. You'll also find that for the $400k-$550k price tag, you'll mostly be looking at smaller homes (many capes - mostly 3br, 1.5 bath, .25 acre.), especially in towns like RW and Westfield.

[timeEd32]

I was going to suggest Cranford. Westfield and Summit are even nicer, but you're not going to get much for $550k on the "good" sides. Look on the north side of Cranford if you don't want to be in the "bad area," but watch for flood zones.

[MontclairNative]

Essex Fells commute is not good unless you go. In real early and drive to Harrison and take the Path. Better to get on a train line. Millburn is going to be too expensive. Any of the towns on the train lines that get regular mention will be good. I just sold a real nice 4BR in Glen Ridge for a bit over $550k.