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My husband and I are considering a move from Brooklyn to Northern NJ. We currently rent a one bedroom apartment in Brooklyn Heights, and we absolutely love the neighborhood and our place.
The reason why we are considering moving is because my husband just took a great job in Florham Park, and his commute is quite long each day. I work in midtown Manhattan.
We're looking to purchase a home that is convenient for both of our commutes. It will be our first home purchase.
So far, Maplewood, South Orange, Glen Ridge, Bloomfield, and Montclair seem to be the most appealing options for us, in terms of the convenience to both of our places of work and the types of homes we're seeing.
We're both very interested in historic architecture, and would love to purchase a home that is in the Craftsman, Colonial, or Tudor style. It doesn't need to be large, as it's just the two of us now, but we plan on starting a family within the next few years, so school districts are definitely a consideration.
Our budget is around the 500k mark (or about $2500 per month.)
Also important to us is that where we live is gay-friendly and has an open / accepting community. While we know that Brooklyn and NYC are hard to match, we're looking for a vibrant small town where we can settle down and think about starting our family.
We will have one car, which we will share. It would be nice to be close to a midtown direct train station (not necessarily walking distance, since my husband can drop me off in the mornings on his way to work.)
Any advice would be great! We're very excited about this next adventure, and being first time homebuyers we're really needing some advice from you all!
My husband and I are considering a move from Brooklyn to Northern NJ. We currently rent a one bedroom apartment in Brooklyn Heights, and we absolutely love the neighborhood and our place.
The reason why we are considering moving is because my husband just took a great job in Florham Park, and his commute is quite long each day. I work in midtown Manhattan.
We're looking to purchase a home that is convenient for both of our commutes. It will be our first home purchase.
So far, Maplewood, South Orange, Glen Ridge, Bloomfield, and Montclair seem to be the most appealing options for us, in terms of the convenience to both of our places of work and the types of homes we're seeing.
We're both very interested in historic architecture, and would love to purchase a home that is in the Craftsman, Colonial, or Tudor style. It doesn't need to be large, as it's just the two of us now, but we plan on starting a family within the next few years, so school districts are definitely a consideration.
Our budget is around the 500k mark (or about $2500 per month.)
Also important to us is that where we live is gay-friendly and has an open / accepting community. While we know that Brooklyn and NYC are hard to match, we're looking for a vibrant small town where we can settle down and think about starting our family.
We will have one car, which we will share. It would be nice to be close to a midtown direct train station (not necessarily walking distance, since my husband can drop me off in the mornings on his way to work.)
Any advice would be great! We're very excited about this next adventure, and being first time homebuyers we're really needing some advice from you all!
Thank you!
i would say south orange/maplewood is a perfect idea, but taxes here are VERY, VERY high!
Montclair has one of the most storied architectural histories in the state, much of its very well preserved. The town is a living museum of American architecture from the 1860's to the 1930's, and few towns in New Jersey can match the number and size of the large estates of the Gilded Age that Montclair has (it was one of the wealthiest towns in the country in the early 20th century). To me, it's one of the great joys of living here.
South Orange has absolutely incredible home stock also, and the Montrose Section is home to some of the best preserved homes you'll find in Northern New Jersey from the 1870's to the 1890's. Up in the Wyoming Section you'll get views of the city and lots of Tudors and colonials.
Glen Ridge is another incredible town, virtually untouched since 1930. Its a bit more school driven there, and I think because of that, can feel more uptight than South Orange and Montclair.
Montclair to me has more happening than South Orange/Maplewood. Lots of more shops, restaurants, etc.
Montclair does seem like an ideal option, although I have heard that the train frequency into Manhattan is less (especially on the weekends) than the Morristown line (where SO and Maplewood are on.) Also, correct me if I'm wrong, the drive to Florham Park would be less from Maplewood / SO than from Montclair? Or is it negligible?
Thank you all again. We're going to go and visit some of these towns soon to get a feel for the different areas.
SO to Florham Park is 8 miles, 13 minutes
Maplewood to Florham Park is 9 miles, 16 minutes
Montclair to Florham Park is 15 miles, 24 minutes
This is without traffic, but any of these commutes are opposite the traffic flowing INTO NYC, so it should be ok.
Another great town is Verona, right next door to Montclair. If you want more of a big-town feel, consider Morristown. Further from NYC, just next to Florham Park. Since you're further from NYC, you get more for your money and pay Morris County taxes which are more reasonable than taxes in Essex County.
in terms of gay friendly, my ranking from most friendly to least:
SO/Maplewood/Montclair
Glen Ridge
Bloomfield
Taxes in all but Bloomfield are on the border of criminally insane.
I think this could give the wrong impression -- all five are very gay-friendly. South Orange, Maplewood and Montclair are basically on a Park Slope level of liberalism while Glen Ridge and Bloomfield are slightly less but still very liberal by anything but NYC standards.
I'd also throw West Orange into the mix here. Not talked about as much because it doesn't have a train station (though it's plenty close enough to the South Orange and Orange stations) but also a solid option.
The one thing I'm not sure about is how gay-friendly it might be. I view it as a bit more conservative than the other towns mentioned. I was over to a friend's house in Madsion for a holiday party and their gay neighbors were there and seeemed to be getting along great with everyone.
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