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I agree Pequannock does not seem like a great fit. I'm in Wayne which is closer than Pequannock and it still takes me 1:10- 1:20 door to desk in the city(and I work 2 blocks from Penn).
Honestly, given the new home/total renovation requirement along with size of the house, the OP is really going to be restricted to a town like Wayne. It checks all the boxes( schools are not elite by NJ standards but are pretty great nonetheless). The commute( depending on where you buy a house) will likely be at 1:30-1:45 to Wall Street. You cannot get new/totally renovated homes in the price range with the space and setup they desire in towns like Summit, Ridgewood, Chatham, Glen Rock, Wyckoff or Franklin Lakes.
I would say Maplewood too but Schools are not elite there and it would definitely be a renovated older home and not new construction. Something like this?
Also I would recommend shifting your search to Westchester or CT since coming into Grand Central will be a much more user friendly commute for the East Side office location.
Thanks. We're not too keen on Maplewood bordering Irvington.
As for Westchester, prices are higher, and more importantly taxes even higher!
Glen Rock / Ridgewood have some houses in price range, not too far from train, and train commute seems under 1.5 (I'm actually going to try it one day soon).
Thanks. We're not too keen on Maplewood bordering Irvington.
As for Westchester, prices are higher, and more importantly taxes even higher!
Glen Rock / Ridgewood have some houses in price range, not too far from train, and train commute seems under 1.5 (I'm actually going to try it one day soon).
Most of Maplewood does not border Irvington and for your price range, you would not be around that area. You'll be closer to Millburn and South Orange. Some might complain but Springfield is nice. It doesn't have the name like Westfield or Millburn but it's a nice town.
Check out the Pascack Valley line, River Edge/Oradell might meet your time requirements. They both have good school systems. I am not sure about the housing requirements.
Wayne is a big town. Some areas of can take 20 minutes just to get to the train at rush hour.
Check out the Pascack Valley line, River Edge/Oradell might meet your time requirements. They both have good school systems. I am not sure about the housing requirements.
Wayne is a big town. Some areas of can take 20 minutes just to get to the train at rush hour.
Yes indeed. River Edge and Oradell seem to feed into River Dell Regional (Oradell), and accordingy to NJ Monthly ranked 27 in 2010 and down to 104 in 2012. Not sure what's going on there, but might have to visit the high school.
As for the OP I do not think Pequannock is a good suggestion/fit for several reasons. Firstly the commute will not be under 1.5 hours when you consider having to drive to a train station or park&ride. Secondly, homes for their price range, (and the type of home they are looking for) is in short supply in the town. They would also be buying one of the most expensive (by far) homes in the area. Buying the best/most expensive home on the block only means greater difficulty when it comes to selling in the future. (not to mention other problems which make selling a home in the town difficult) The town's schools are rather Meh, not bad certainly, but they are considered quite average for schools in NJ. (in all of the required standard tests the schools average scores are right around the state average, ie the HS ave SAT score is 1572, and the ave for the state is 1550, similar results on HSPA and NJAsk ) Another huge concern with Pequannock is flooding. While certainly the entire town is not in a flood zone, a lot of the town is, and when it floods, which is fairly often, it is really bad. Getting around, and getting to major highways is a big issue, not to forget that when the area floods, utilities are shut off to the entire town. Although the home may not flood, you may still be subject to mandatory evacuations during times of flooding.
I have to ask smachak, since you have only been on the forum a few weeks, and have made just 6 posts to this forum, and in every one of the posts you are recommending the OP choose to purchase a home in Pequannock, no matter what criteria the OP mentions, are you trying to sell a home in Pequannock? (not trying to be malicious, just observant and inquisitive...)
KoalaNJ
Thank you for the opinions and input as they are greatly appreciated. I am not looking to sell a house in the town, however I am a resident and I do love the town, and I would like to inform more people about the great qualities it has. When it comes to homes, the OP would most likely end up in one of the nicest in the town, and it would be difficult for them to sell afterwards, but there are homes that are lower than 700K but have 4 beds, 3 baths, etc. so that could be beneficial. When it comes to flooding, only a portion of the town is in a major flood zone and that area is Jackson Ave and south, west of the railroad tracks. In terms of commute, I admit it would be flirting with the 1.5 hour mark. However, wherever the OP ends up, there will be flooding related commute problems similar to the ones in Pequannock Township. Lastly, Pequannock's schools have been on the uprise. Most of the data on the schools are before the new superindendent came or were from his first year. He has helped implement new electives to the school such as Wall Street and Business Practice Firm that will help students connect to the real world as well as an SAT Prep Course to help boost scores. Also, test scores are not always efficient in terms of rating schools. I know I might be on a rant, but I hoped I helped you realize more about the township and it's great qualities. Thanks.
OK, I gotta ask... how do you see handling this juggling act with both of you having reasonably long commutes into the city with 3 young kids? Have you gone the nanny route or do you have some other secret, because that's a tough balancing to pull off.
OK, I gotta ask... how do you see handling this juggling act with both of you having reasonably long commutes into the city with 3 young kids? Have you gone the nanny route or do you have some other secret, because that's a tough balancing to pull off.
Nanny is a must, but others have either their own mother or mother-in-law frequently over or living with them (not the first choice but the most cost efficient).
Separately, let's kill the Pequannock discussion, much appreciated, but not interested in any town remotely close to a flood area. Also the comments on being hard to sell down the road is not encouraging
As for the OP I do not think Pequannock is a good suggestion/fit for several reasons. Firstly the commute will not be under 1.5 hours when you consider having to drive to a train station or park&ride. Secondly, homes for their price range, (and the type of home they are looking for) is in short supply in the town. They would also be buying one of the most expensive (by far) homes in the area. Buying the best/most expensive home on the block only means greater difficulty when it comes to selling in the future. (not to mention other problems which make selling a home in the town difficult) The town's schools are rather Meh, not bad certainly, but they are considered quite average for schools in NJ. (in all of the required standard tests the schools average scores are right around the state average, ie the HS ave SAT score is 1572, and the ave for the state is 1550, similar results on HSPA and NJAsk ) Another huge concern with Pequannock is flooding. While certainly the entire town is not in a flood zone, a lot of the town is, and when it floods, which is fairly often, it is really bad. Getting around, and getting to major highways is a big issue, not to forget that when the area floods, utilities are shut off to the entire town. Although the home may not flood, you may still be subject to mandatory evacuations during times of flooding.
I have to ask smachak, since you have only been on the forum a few weeks, and have made just 6 posts to this forum, and in every one of the posts you are recommending the OP choose to purchase a home in Pequannock, no matter what criteria the OP mentions, are you trying to sell a home in Pequannock? (not trying to be malicious, just observant and inquisitive...)
KoalaNJ
Agreed. Pequannock equals boonies equals in the sticks. The poster recommended pequannock over westfield in another thread. The schools are meh, notwithstanding one lucky year in the rankings. As for me, I will take the schools with the highest SAT scores, such as Westfield, Chatham, Summit, etc.
Here is our short list. The first number is the NJ Monthly 2012 school ranking. With the requirement of commuting by train and avoiding bus (or by car - long drive), the second is the approximate shortest train time to PENN station, accounting for any transfers (Embark NJ is a good smartphone app for this):
4 Glen Rock 36 min
20 Ridgewood 40 min
8 Millburn 35 min
15 Summit 41 min*
47 SO/Maplewood 31 min
104 (was 27 in 2010) River Edge/Oradell 36 min
12 Glen Ridge 34 min
I hope you consider door-to-door time and not just the train times, because you WILL be disappointed.
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