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I work near Wall St and typically am in the office by 8:30am and leave around 5:30pm. Can anyone help me understand the commute options from these towns (that I am less familiar with) and "typical" rush hour commute length of time?
Morris Plains/Township - NJ Transit train stations in Morristown and Morris Planis
Verona - Montcaire NJ Transit train station
Cedar Grove - Montcair train station or Park and Ride on 23 in Wayne
I work near Wall St and typically am in the office by 8:30am and leave around 5:30pm. Can anyone help me understand the commute options from these towns (that I am less familiar with) and "typical" rush hour commute length of time?
Cedar Grove (train from Montclaire??)
Verona (same?)
Morris Plains/Morris Twp.
Cedar Knolls
The only towns on that list that are NJ Transit train station towns are MORRIS PLAINS and MORRIS TOWNSHIP.
MORRIS TOWNSHIP is a bit quirky in that its train station (Convent Station) is located practically in Madison, and in my opinion, the MORRIS PLAINS train station, not the Convent Station train station, is more convenient to most parts (at least the entire western half) of MORRIS TOWNSHIP. There is also the third option of the MORRISTOWN train station, which is also more convenient to most parts of MORRIS TOWNSHIP than Convent Station. But I have heard that there is a waiting list for both RESIDENT and NON RESIDENT parking permits at all three of these train stations and you'll probably be hunting for DAILY parking anyway.
There is also a Community Coach bus (#77) that goes from MORRISTOWN to the Port Authority (but not your best option because it has to snake its way to and through Livingston and West Orange before getting on the road to NYC).
CEDAR KNOLLS (a section of Hanover township): If you want a NJ Transit train commute, your choice of stations is as above--MORRISTOWN train station, MORRIS PLAINS train station, or MORRIS TOWNSHIP/Convent Station train station. (I have family that has lived in Whippany for 30 odd years and when they travel back and forth from NYC, they take the train from MORRISTOWN.)
CEDAR GROVE and VERONA: the closest NJ Transit train stations are in Montclair (Upper Montclair, Watchung Ave., Walnut St. train stations). NON RESIDENT parking is available at these stations. Don't know about the wait list. There are also NJ Transit buses going from these two towns to midtown. In addition, VERONA is also on a DeCamp commuter bus line into the Port Authority.
Your other option from all of these towns is to drive to a PATH station (Harrison or Newark). It's about a 20 minute ride from Harrison/Newark to the World Trade Center, and then probably a short walk from the WTC PATH station to wherever your office is on Wall Street. While it's a con that you have to do some extra driving to get to Harrison/Newark, it's a pro that it's a direct, 20 minute PATH ride to the Wall Street area (you don't have to tack an additional 20-30 minutes on to your commute messing with the subways, and pay extra train fare, to get from Penn Station/Port Authority to downtown.)
As far as typical commute times go:
I'd estimate you're looking at at LEAST 90 minutes from the MORRISTOWN area, via NJ Transit, to Wall Street. It would probably be closer to 60 minutes from the likes of the VERONA area, whether via NJ Transit train or commuter bus.
If you opt for the PATH train, I don't see it taking more than 40 minutes to drive to Harrison/Newark PATH from the VERONA area, or 60 minutes from the MORRISTOWN area. And then, like I said, the PATH ride itself is only about 20 minutes.
The only towns on that list that are NJ Transit train station towns are MORRIS PLAINS and MORRIS TOWNSHIP.
MORRIS TOWNSHIP is a bit quirky in that its train station (Convent Station) is located practically in Madison, and in my opinion, the MORRIS PLAINS train station, not the Convent Station train station, is more convenient to most parts (at least the entire western half) of MORRIS TOWNSHIP. There is also the third option of the MORRISTOWN train station, which is also more convenient to most parts of MORRIS TOWNSHIP than Convent Station. But I have heard that there is a waiting list for both RESIDENT and NON RESIDENT parking permits at all three of these train stations and you'll probably be hunting for DAILY parking anyway.
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There is no waiting list at all for parking permits in Morristown, ever since the new parking structure was finished quite a long time ago, and last I heard there really wasn't much of one in Convent Station either. (friend got a spot 2 weeks after being put on the waiting list. He use the daily spots with no issue for the two weeks) Many of the homes in Morris Plains are within walking distance to the train station, so parking may not be an issue at all. (In fact some of the homes in Cedar Knolls, near the MP border are also within walking distance.) FWIW, parking at the MP lots is quite reasonable in cost, $40/mo, Convent Station would be $345/yr for residents and $690 for non residents. There is also some daily parking for $3 at MP, but it does fill early.
Sounds like cedar grove/Verona might be more tolerable than I thought, in terms of commute. The areas near morristown are pushing the limit of what I consider a tolerable commute. Too bad, cedar knolls looked promising
Sounds like cedar grove/Verona might be more tolerable than I thought, in terms of commute. The areas near morristown are pushing the limit of what I consider a tolerable commute. Too bad, cedar knolls looked promising
In Cedar Grove the taxes on a ~450K home will be around 9/10K, and the schools are meh. (not bad but not very good either) In Verona you are looking at 10/11K a yr in taxes on a ~450K home, but the schools are a little bit better than Cedar Grove. The down side is that crime is higher in both communities than in some of the other towns you are considering. (not that either are "dangerous" as in Newark/Irvington dangerous, just more home break-ins, car thefts and break-ins etc.)
As far as your commute from Verona,
You can take their NJtransit or DeCamp bus line which runs to NYC from Bloomfield Avenue. That is about 50 minutes into the bus depot on the west side of the city.
- You can take the bus over to the Glen Ridge stop on Bloomfield avenue and take the train from there. This one may be a few minutes longer and timing may be an issue as far as the 2 services, BUT the train will have you at Penn Station in about 30/35 minutes.
-You can drive to Montclair and park at the Montclair State University parking depot. There you can take a train into Penn. The drive may be ~10 minutes (depending on where in Verona you are) and the ride will be about 45/50 minutes.
As far as the commute from Cedar Grove
You can take the NJtrasit bus, (the 195, which stops on Bloomfield ave) to the Port Authority which takes ~45/50 min. or you can drive to Montclair (~15 min depending on where in CG your home is located) and take the train as mentioned above.
There is no waiting list at all for parking permits in Morristown, ever since the new parking structure was finished quite a long time ago, and last I heard there really wasn't much of one in Convent Station either. (friend got a spot 2 weeks after being put on the waiting list. He use the daily spots with no issue for the two weeks) Many of the homes in Morris Plains are within walking distance to the train station, so parking may not be an issue at all. (In fact some of the homes in Cedar Knolls, near the MP border are also within walking distance.) FWIW, parking at the MP lots is quite reasonable in cost, $40/mo, Convent Station would be $345/yr for residents and $690 for non residents. There is also some daily parking for $3 at MP, but it does fill early.
KoalaNJ
I don't know about very many places in Cedar Knolls being within walking distance to the Morris Plains train station, even if it is close to the Morris Plains border. The streets and developments are strategically arranged to prevent car traffic from the surrounding main roads from cutting through the smaller residential side streets (for the sake of quiet & peaceful cul-de-sacs and housing tracts where kids can chase balls out into the street)...but this means dead ends for foot traffic too. As the crow flies, yes, it's possible to have a short walk from Cedar Knolls to the Morris Plains train station, but if you DON'T want to trudge through people's yards and hike through woods, but rather walk on proper streets, you are forced to make your way first to Malapardis Rd and then out to Littleton Rd/202. Or, make your way out to E. Hanover Rd and then out to Speedwell/202. Best case scenario (your house is on Malapardis by the Morris Plains border), it's still a 1 mile walk to the train station.
But yes, Morris Plains and Morris Township/Convent Station have some of the most affordable parking out there. Also, that is good news about the minimal/NO wait list for the Convent Station and Morristown parking.
Sounds like cedar grove/Verona might be more tolerable than I thought, in terms of commute. The areas near morristown are pushing the limit of what I consider a tolerable commute. Too bad, cedar knolls looked promising
The trade off, though, is that you'll have cheaper taxes in Morris Plains and Morris Township (Morris County, farther west of NYC generally means cheaper taxes) than in Verona (Essex County, more east, closer to NYC generally means more expensive taxes).
However, Cedar Grove, although in Essex County, still has property taxes comparable to Morris Plains and Morris Township, so maybe it is the winner.
However, I'd take a few scouting trips out here and hang out and play in these towns to really get a feel for them. Even within one given town, different parts have vastly different feels ranging anywhere from rundown/unattractive to typical suburban tract to "cute downtown" to boonies.
If you're originally from Massachusetts and are drawn to "cute" and "quaint" towns, my knee jerk impression is that you'd really like a bucolic Morris County town...most parts of Morris Plains and Morris Township. Also, Madison (which wasn't on your laundry list, but I'm guessing probably because although it has the lower Morris County property taxes, the houses are probably more expensive?).
Cedar Knolls is nice, but it's not as cutesy picture postcard. Same generally goes for most parts of Verona and Cedar Grove in Essex County. Again, still all very nice towns, though, with their own pretty/scenic areas (and I think Verona's downtown is quite nice). As for the crime stats, I personally wouldn't place too much significance on that. It's true that Verona has a higher crime index than Morris Plains, but Verona also has more than double the population. Also, Morristown, which is the heart of the Morris Plains/Morris Township area has double the crime index of Verona, so in my opinion, it's probably a wash. But crime isn't really a big factor in any of these areas anyway.
This is all terrific info! I really don't know much about Madison, which is why it isn't on my list. We do have to visit some towns (and soon! First open house on my place is this weekend!), but I need to start whittling down the larger list before we do that
WRT cedar groves: one thing I really want to avoid is putting DD in a school that is too much of a "boiler room". If "meh" schools means that she can do well if she works hard, that might not be a deal breaker
Madison is a wonderful town to raise a family. It is so picturesque that it has been used as the locale for shooting many films and TV shows. The schools are top notch, there is a wonderful walkable downtown with good shopping and a plethora of restaurants, as well as a train station on the midtown direct line. There are quite a few Madison residents that work on wall street, they take the train to Hoboken, switch to either the path or the ferry to Wall street (both the path train and the ferry terminal are adjacent to the Hoboken train station) it takes about an hour and 15/20 min. Because it is such a desirable community, with so much going for it, housing costs are higher. You'll likely not be able to find a 3 bd SFH for under 450K.
KoalaNJ
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