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My wife and I are having a difficult time choosing between the following towns: Summit, Chatham, Cranford and New Providence. They are all rated very well in the njmonthly's top places to live and also have very good school districts. Our main area of focus is a family oriented town with good schools. Anything else is a bonus. If you live in one of these towns or know of these towns, any information/advice you can give would be greatly appreciated. Like are there certain bad areas to watch out for or are there certain negatives/positives that you wouldn't see on trulia or zillow.
My wife and I are having a difficult time choosing between the following towns: Summit, Chatham, Cranford and New Providence. They are all rated very well in the njmonthly's top places to live and also have very good school districts. Our main area of focus is a family oriented town with good schools. Anything else is a bonus. If you live in one of these towns or know of these towns, any information/advice you can give would be greatly appreciated. Like are there certain bad areas to watch out for or are there certain negatives/positives that you wouldn't see on trulia or zillow.
Summit has a small area that is a little on the seedy side, not a "bad" area, (like Newark) but certainly not as nice as the other areas of town. The area near the hospital is a little congested, and traffic to and from the hospital can be an issue. (car volume as well as sirens) That being said it is a wonderful town, just pick your street and neighborhood.
Chatham, does not have any part that one would consider seedy, or less desirable. By the way there is actually two different towns...Chatham Borough and Chatham Twp. Both are wonderful, and you really cannot go wrong there. As it is on the midtown direct train line, as well as having top tier schools, your housing dollar does not go as far as other towns in Northern NJ....but since it is in Morris County your tax rates will be lower than the Union County town you are considering.(Summit, Cranford, New Providence) There is a wonderful small town Mayberry RFD vibe to the Chatham communities, (something you'll not find in Summit.) The housing stock tends to be older homes, but they have been well maintained and have been renovated with new kitchens and baths. Many of the older capes and small ranches have been expanded up and out into large exec homes - you'd never know they started as small ranches or capes. Homes on the market tend to move fast.
New Providence is nice, no real downtown like you'll find in Cranford, Chatham(Borough) or Summit. It is quite rural, (more like Chatham Twp). There is more new-ish housing stock in NP than the other towns on your list.
Cranford is a wonderful community. Cute small downtown with a train station. Homes tend to be on smaller lots than you'd find in NP or Chatham Twp. - not that you are crowded on top of one another, it is just city lots. I'd stay away of the northern part of the town because it is a well known flood zone. I believe there is also a small area in the southern part of the town that also floods (basically stay away from anything near the river) Last I knew, Cranford did not have midtown direct trains (you have to transfer trains to get to NYC, a real PITA) which does affect the resale of the home.
Can't go wrong w/ any of them. Summit and Chatham are insanely expensive, but probably the nicest all-around. My top pick personally would be New Providence if you're not commuting to NYC, you can get a bit more house for your money and drive to Summit/Chatham downtowns in 5 minutes anyway.
They're all nice towns. An important aspect of your decision is to figure out exactly what kind of home you're looking for and if there are any available. In other words, the town itself may be great, but what if the house isn't exactly what you're looking for; e.g. maybe you'll struggle being house poor, or the house may need tons of work, or may be located in a flood zone. You may regret the move. I would suggest visiting each town for a few hours to get a feel for them. Talk to some locals.
My wife and I are having a difficult time choosing between the following towns: Summit, Chatham, Cranford and New Providence. They are all rated very well in the njmonthly's top places to live and also have very good school districts. Our main area of focus is a family oriented town with good schools. Anything else is a bonus. If you live in one of these towns or know of these towns, any information/advice you can give would be greatly appreciated. Like are there certain bad areas to watch out for or are there certain negatives/positives that you wouldn't see on trulia or zillow.
Summit, Chatham and NP are all good. I really don't know Cranford but I think you would get alot more for your money in Cranford. Summit is step up from NP and parts of Chatham are too. It depend what you are looking for and what your price range is. Do you want a big house? Do you want a yard? Do you want a house with value? A decent town center with established community (and all that comes along, library, summer camps). Commute is a factor too, if you are working in NYC etc.
Summit are Chatham would be my top choices with deciding factor being the actual house. The market is pretty hot right now.
All towns listed are great choices. There are some missing pieces here that would greatly help in suggesting a town here. What is your budget? Is commuting to NYC a factor? Do you need a train or a downtown? Is religion a factor?
We looked at many of those towns a few years back after moving in from out of state and setttled on Cranford. In Cranford you probably do get the best value for your money out of the towns listed. A couple watch-outs for Cranford would be the lack of direct access to NYC via train (have to change trains in Newark), a lack of diversity (it's a great place to live if you're Irish or Italian) and the clickyness that you get when many of these people have grown up in the town. That said, there is great community spirit, a nice downtown. and the schools are indeed good.
Summit and Chatham are nice but both crazy expensive. If I could do it again I'd take a closer look at New Providence as it's a little further out from the city and has a little bit more open space than the other towns you mentioned. You should also consider Madison or Westfield if you can afford it or even Morristown. Best of luck.
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