Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm feeling quite discouraged and am hoping you all may have some ideas. I have been pouring over threads here for months and a little while back, I posted about where to move in NJ (//www.city-data.com/forum/new-j...i-missing.html ). To recap, I'm a single parent, mid-40s professional, with 2 young kids with me full time (ages 6 and 3). I'm from LI originally but lived in Manhattan for about 20 years before a brief move to Philadelphia, then came back here for a job in the city (midtown west, 50th and 8th). I wound up renting a house in Westfield and moved in a few weeks ago.
In short, the commute is killing me, and leaves me with no time to see my kids (15 min in the morning, barely an hour at night). I leave at 7:15a and get home at 7p and have a 1 hr 45 min MINIMUM door to door, sometimes longer. Between racing to the Westfield lot to get a spot, dealing with the change at Newark (I am shocked at how awful that is), battling the crowds at both Penn Stations, and there always being delays, it's grueling. And as the sole parent, it is just too much time out of the house.
The tradeoff, in theory, is the great Westfield schools and community. So far, I like Westfield ok, but I'm kind of underwhelmed. Parking everywhere is ridiculous (battling for spots at the library?!?), wait lists for everything (train station parking, pool, etc). The downtown is great in theory, but the reality is that I won't really be driving to town to stroll about on a leisurely Sunday popping into cute stores with a 3 and 6 yo. I have done some errands on the weekends in the neighboring towns (mostly big box stores) and have found the surrounding areas to be gritty, run-down feeling and crowded.
When I try to break down the components of what is making me most unhappy, I was thinking having a direct train ride in would be a huge help, and with a ride as much under 45 min as possible. If I could get my door to door commute consistently down to 1 hr and 15 min that would make a huge difference.
Also thinking being in a less urban/densely populated area might help. Walkable downtown/town center probably not necessary. I more need convenience to stores/places to run errand. I would still like there to be lots of close by activities for my kids to get involved in.
For schools, while I would love "great" I think I have to take it down a notch from Westfield (or Summit or Millburn level) to "very good" schools.
Budget - originally wanted to stay between $500-600k for a house, can revise it up to $675k if I have to but want taxes below $12k.
I'm feeling pretty despondent, like there is just no good way to make NJ work for me and my family. I know what I am looking for is likely impossible, just figured I would try to make sure I have really explored all my options. I honestly don't know where else to go - I don't think I can afford the taxes in Westchester, and really don't want to live on Long Island again, and I don't think there's a miracle option in either of those communities either. And I don't want city living again (can't afford it either).
Anyway, thanks for reading, and for any thoughts you might have :-)
I agree that the parking in Westfield is tough, as well as the commute.
If you are willing to settle for a smaller home or a little outdated, you can definitely get a 3+ bedroom for your price range around Summit, New Providence, Chatham Boro, and Madison. I've heard that parking is tough in Chatham, but there are a couple options that are close enough to the train station that you can walk there. The upside to the commute from Chatham/Madison is they are direct to NYC, unlike Westfield (they are close to 60 minutes, though).
Otherwise, for a really nice commute, I second Maplewood, although the high school is not great (it's a good school, but not "great"). The other high schools are all great, though.
All of these towns have good access to shopping/running errands, by the way.
Have you looked into taking an express bus? I'm not sure what your options are from Westfield, but an express bus would take you into Port Authority, which would cut down the time since you work right on 8th Ave. You'd also have the comfort of staying in the same seat the entire trip.
I currently live in Milltown and love it there. I take the bus from either Milltown or East Brunswick (which is another spot you may want to look at) -- takes me 40 min from East Brunswick Tower Center to Port Authority on a normal day. Up to an hour 15 on a bad. Of course, every now and then you have an accident -- but the longest it's ever taken for me to get home is 2 hours -- and that only happened twice when there were really bad accidents.
Both towns are kid-friendly, have pools, and are safe. East Brunswick schools are better, but we have a lot of friends that send their kids to Milltown schools and are very happy with them.
Milltown has a Target and Home Depot right in town, and there are also a ton of other big box type stores in neighboring North Brunswick and East Brunswick (Kohl's, Walmart, Marshalls, Babies R Us, Toys R Us, BJs, Costco, Best Buy, etc.) Pretty much anything you need is within a 10 min drive.
I don't have much to suggest, but I wanted to commend you and say aren't you glad you did not buy first but chose to rent? I have to keep this in mind as people keep saying rent first when moving to a new area to help you fine tune your selection but I know my inclination is to buy and be settled.
It's really interesting that once you are there, the reality and experience brings to light things that either weren't thought of or seemed less important.
The only thing I would add is that with buses, it really is more variable than the train due to real time traffic. Trains can be delayed and have switching issues and such but rush hour traffic is more unpredictable.
I agree that a direct connection into midtown even if not an actual time saver would be a wear and tear saver.
Perhaps you should consider moving to the city. Schools here have improved dramatically and your kids are still little. I don't know what you pay in rent if Westfield, but you can find a decent 2br under 5K/month (which is what it would cost you to own a 675K house with taxes) family-friendly neighborhoods in the city which will be under 1hr commute to midtown. Look on the UWS specifically since your job is on 8th Ave. Alternatively, look at Hoboken/Weehaken. I have to say that what you're looking for in terms of real estate (short commute, good schools, decent space and affordable price) probably does not exist. So you would have to make trade-offs space/commute, price/schools, etc. You could also make some time-saving lifestyle changes: have your grocery delivered (shop online during lunch break at work) etc. to cut back on weekend errands.
Last edited by urbandweller13; 04-28-2014 at 06:53 AM..
Berkeley Heights - less crowded/stressful than the Westfield area, good schools, direct train line, more affordable housing (than Wfield/Summit/Millburn). Or New Providence, 1 step closer to NYC on train line than BH but slightly more expensive housing. The only problem is the train ride is 60-65 instead of 45, but thats about the best you can do w/getting a direct ride in a nice less densely populated area.
Not sure what $675k would get you in Ridgewood, but the schools are fantastic there and I found the train commute to be relatively painless, depending on where your office is in Manhattan. The ride from Ridgewood to Hoboken is pleasant and about 40min with very few delays, after which you would transfer to the appropriate PATH train. The PATH is very similar to the subway lines in the city though, and gets just as crowded during rush hour.
There's plenty of parking, even at 730-8am within a block and a half of the train station, and the surrounding towns are very nice as well with an abundance of parks and green areas for your kids to play in.
You also won't find more big-box retailers anywhere than in Paramus and Route 17, which borders Ridgewood to the east and is only a 5-7min drive away . Paramus itself is also a nice town w/ decent schools (not on par w/ Ridgewood, but not bad either), and has some of the lowest RE taxes in the state due to the support of the commercial/retail tax base. You can find a lot of new builds in this town and there are plenty of nice streets/neighborhoods, esp the farther north you go.
*** This article from 2009 shows the Bergen/Main/Waldwick lines the Ridgewood train operates on are the most reliable on the NJT system:
Have you considered driving to the North East Corridor Trains. The drive from Westfield to Linden or North Elizabeth is brief but it would afford you a direct trip and cut down on time. I know some friends of mine that started driving and parking in Secaucus to afford a quicker ride home.
In all honesty, it seems to me that you're more likely to enjoy a more rural area. Something like Stirling. But because you work in the city and are a single mom (kudos to you for making it all work!) your biggest necessity is time to enjoy with your children. And even more time to enjoy the home and community you live in. I ended leaving my job in the city when I had kids for that very reason.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
