Suburbs here we come (Maplewood, Millburn: assessor, neighborhood, purchase)
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All those times are way off. Embark is not good for anything involving a connection.
The fastest Ridgewood train is supposed to make it in 45 minutes( rarely does it actually accomplish this feat with transferring at secaucus)
Here are the actual train times you will be facing from Bergen County
Ridgewood: 55 Minutes
Glen Rock: 50 Minutes
When you factor in parking at the station (which at both of those towns is an additional 5 minutes you are at about an hour from arriving at the station to getting into Penn. Door to desk from Ridgewood or Glen Rock to midtown east is 1.25-1.5 hours everyday all day. Unless you happen to live across the street from the train station.
Yea I was just going to say the same thing. At first I thought OP had found some magical travel method that I hadn't known before because I was CERTAIN that my husband and I had considered all those towns and ruled them out because the commute times weren't going to cut it.
OP, I can understand you saying you want to sort by shortest times and then work down that list of town, however, what the rest of us (esp tdstyles) is saying is, if the shortest times you are looking at is based on bull**** data, it doesn't really help your decision. Even if relatively Town A is shortest commute on your list but it is actually 1.75 hours commute on an average day, are any towns on your list going to be feasible?
The best thing to do is to ask your coworkers where they live and their commute times/method. That's where you will get the most accurate door-to-door data (and discount those people who say they can get from Red Bank to Wall Street in 30 minutes every day ). I've found that my coworkers are usually similar background/motivation/financial means as me, just most of them are also a few years ahead in their career so have moved out to the suburbs already. I figure if the majority of them flock to the same few towns, there's got to be a reason. No need to reinvent the wheel.
Yea I was just going to say the same thing. At first I thought OP had found some magical travel method that I hadn't known before because I was CERTAIN that my husband and I had considered all those towns and ruled them out because the commute times weren't going to cut it.
OP, I can understand you saying you want to sort by shortest times and then work down that list of town, however, what the rest of us (esp tdstyles) is saying is, if the shortest times you are looking at is based on bull**** data, it doesn't really help your decision. Even if relatively Town A is shortest commute on your list but it is actually 1.75 hours commute on an average day, are any towns on your list going to be feasible?
The best thing to do is to ask your coworkers where they live and their commute times/method. That's where you will get the most accurate door-to-door data (and discount those people who say they can get from Red Bank to Wall Street in 30 minutes every day ). I've found that my coworkers are usually similar background/motivation/financial means as me, just most of them are also a few years ahead in their career so have moved out to the suburbs already. I figure if the majority of them flock to the same few towns, there's got to be a reason. No need to reinvent the wheel.
Yea I was just going to say the same thing. At first I thought OP had found some magical travel method that I hadn't known before because I was CERTAIN that my husband and I had considered all those towns and ruled them out because the commute times weren't going to cut it.
OP, I can understand you saying you want to sort by shortest times and then work down that list of town, however, what the rest of us (esp tdstyles) is saying is, if the shortest times you are looking at is based on bull**** data, it doesn't really help your decision. Even if relatively Town A is shortest commute on your list but it is actually 1.75 hours commute on an average day, are any towns on your list going to be feasible?
The best thing to do is to ask your coworkers where they live and their commute times/method. That's where you will get the most accurate door-to-door data (and discount those people who say they can get from Red Bank to Wall Street in 30 minutes every day ). I've found that my coworkers are usually similar background/motivation/financial means as me, just most of them are also a few years ahead in their career so have moved out to the suburbs already. I figure if the majority of them flock to the same few towns, there's got to be a reason. No need to reinvent the wheel.
Hope that helps and good luck in your search!
Agreed. But perhaps those are the same towns I've and others have mentioned or are we saying even those are too far? In which case which towns are even feasible to have a 1.5 hour commute with good schools? Seems this question is right back where we started.
I think posters need to explicitly state towns with their posts (as some have indeed done, thanks for that)
Understood, but if the time to GR is 35 minutes on one site, and 45 on another, and 50 in reality, my basis for a starting point is to use the shortest of any of these measures to pick a town (not to assess the commute time which does vary).
So let's just place them in order of shortest commutes irrespective of times, together with school rank, and that still begets a top 5 list as a basis.
Knowing full well that if one desires a top 20 school, that realistically it will fluctuate between less than 1.5 on good days and perhaps more on bad days, one needs to look at the average.
Lastly, the point of the exercise is to produce a list that certainly eliminates towns with train commutes that puts the commute to over 1.5 (whose trains are probably over 60 minutes to start)[SIZE=3] [/SIZE]
The only site you should use for close to accurate train times is NJ Transit. That should be your resource not anything else and even those times are most often optimistic for anything not on a direct line. Trains run on a schedule so there is no ambiguity. The sites you are looking at that are giving different times are making incorrect assumptions by not accurately accounting for the transfer times. You'd be better of pulling a number out of a hat.
As for my opinion of what is the best out of the 5 towns you listed would be Millburn. Best Schools, shortest commute, direct train. You'll be dealing with much older homes and smaller than you want but most have been updated at the top of your range. You will be one of the poorest people in town.
Agreed. But perhaps those are the same towns I've and others have mentioned or are we saying even those are too far? In which case which towns are even feasible to have a 1.5 hour commute with good schools? Seems this question is right back where we started.
I think posters need to explicitly state towns with their posts (as some have indeed done, thanks for that)
$700-$900K, depending on taxes (which we'd like to keep under ~$25K at the real high end)
What kind of place are you looking for?
4-5 bedroom, 3+ bath, with master bedroom on same floor as all other bedrooms (small children), finished basement
dual car garage
decent back yard
quiet or dead end street or cul de sac (safe for bicycling), cannot be on double yellow line road (this high trafficked)
Need a home office
10 years or younger
Dont think you''ll find in RW or Glen Rock for your exact criteria. Most homes in Glen Rock (where I live), are about .25-.50 acre parcels. Sometimes you find some larger lots but they may be on a busier road (not necessarily 2x yellow) but not a cul de sac either and/or may need a major rehab. The homes you describe in GR are usually in the NW section which also borders the more expensive area of RW. But many of those homes are north of $1mm. Those do have lots more land and all the bells and whistles. What I do see may folks doing is knocking 'small/old' homes and building what they want for their small plot of land. You may find a diamond in the rough here or there but most likely everyone will pounce on that before you can blink. Schools and community are great. Close to all. This is not to say you can't get a nice house for that money in GR, just that you'll have to reconsider some of your wants. PM me if you have specific questions on the neighborhood. Good luck.
Agreed. But perhaps those are the same towns I've and others have mentioned or are we saying even those are too far? In which case which towns are even feasible to have a 1.5 hour commute with good schools? Seems this question is right back where we started.
I think posters need to explicitly state towns with their posts (as some have indeed done, thanks for that)
Single popular town I hear around the company are Short Hills (and Millburn for those priced out of Short Hills) because of the short commute and school system.
Other towns considered (but eventually passed over or just a few single data points) are Summit, New Providence, Princeton/West Windsor (those two's commute is pretty freaking miserable. One of them act. eats dinner before leaving the company). A few live down South in Holmdel/Red Bank/Marlboro area but they are senior enough to get flexible work schedule to accommodate.
Again, this is just the data points I have collected to commute to my location. YMMV depending on your office location.
Another thing to consider is that a lot of those train towns have like 4 year waitlists for parking at the train station so you either need someone to drop you off and pick you up everyday... or have another alternative that will add time to your commute (like further private lots/circling around for street parking/bus/walk/carpool/etc)
The only site you should use for close to accurate train times is NJ Transit. That should be your resource not anything else and even those times are most often optimistic for anything not on a direct line. Trains run on a schedule so there is no ambiguity. The sites you are looking at that are giving different times are making incorrect assumptions by not accurately accounting for the transfer times. You'd be better of pulling a number out of a hat.
As for my opinion of what is the best out of the 5 towns you listed would be Millburn. Best Schools, shortest commute, direct train. You'll be dealing with much older homes and smaller than you want but most have been updated at the top of your range. You will be one of the poorest people in town.
Wow these two have the lowest taxes (mid teens) that I've seen for something in the $800's. Is that typical? (Second home is a 3 bedroom though, we need 4+)
I drive through Glen Ridge about 3 times per week; I think it hits the commute time, excellent schools, and very safe neighborhood with a lot of people walking/bicycling. What I see every morning is lots of parents and commuters and kids walking all around. In the evening, I see lots of people bicycling.
Ok so it's not the most diverse town (5% asian, 5% african american, 86% white) and the housing stock is limited in your budget, but that's my opinion. If you want diversity you've got Bloomfield and Montclair right there.
I also love driving through Millburn as well, homes with lots of character, but again, at your housing budget, you would be limited.
I think you guys just really need to spend some weekends in each town to see what feels right to you...
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