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I see Montclair mentioned a lot, and I actually like it, but would like to see additional options. Not looking for a specific moving advice, just trying to research for now. What are other suburban direct train towns that are within 1hr train commute and 40 min drive to Manhattan that are in the same price range as Montclair? Places like S.Orange, Maplewood, Summit and Millburn seem more expensive. What bout Metuchen? Seems farther out tho. I don't care for walkable or presence of a downtown, but do like greenery and parks.
You'll actually get more house for your money in South Orange and Maplewood than you do in Montclair.
You should also check out neighboring Glen Ridge, a similarly priced town to Montclair.
And if you like greenery, South Orange feels almost like living in Vermont to me. It's more like houses in a forest than a few trees planted in a town.
Otherwise, head over to NJTransit.com and see what other towns follow the direct train lines.
I used to go from New Brunswick station to penn station. The express train takes 50 mins, but then you have to count the commute in NYC itself. Which took another 15 minutes for me.
My friends commute from Edison (45 mins), Metuchen ( 43 mins) and Metropark (40 mins). We choose the express train which does not make a stop anywhere in jersey after metropark.
why is south orange and maplewood cheaper than montclair tho
My buddy used to live in South Orange. I'm no expert but I think its the surrounding area and the genearl location that makes it less desirable than say Montclair. Personally when I visited there few times, once you live that small area in South Orange by the train station...it gets pretty gritty and some areas definitely cruddy quick.
i'm in south orange. some parts are expensive some are not. it is 25-30 min to the city by train, and is not gritty by the train station at all. there are many nice apartments on church street, and the mews apartments are very nice by the station. i wouldn't call south orange vermont, but a plus is that it contains south mountain reservation, a 2110 acre park with waterfalls, nyc views and endless hiking.
If you are "into greenery and parks" you definitely need to add Madison and the Chathams to your short list. I'd also add the eastern side of Morris Twp (Convent Station) as well, the midtown direct train from Convent Station to Penn Station (NYC) is an easy 65 min ride. An added bonus for these towns is that they are in Morris County, which means significantly less in property taxes then the Essex Co. towns you are considering. Great schools too - higher ranked than Montclair, WO and Maplewood.
KoalaNJ
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