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.
Somerset has plenty of housing options & is 10 mins to the New Brunswick train station. For you it's 10 mins to Bound Brook. Schools are just OK but you didn't mention schools.
Thanks for the post, it's probably a little too far south, but I'll take a look nonetheless.
Some towns that come to mind are Ridgewood, Glen Rock, Fair Lawn, and Rutherford.
Needs to also commute to Bound Brook, so these aren't going to work.
Clark and Kenilworth are similar in that they are both on Parkway exits, don't have trains, and no real "downtown." I suppose Kenilworth sort of has one if you're being very generous. Both are short driving distance to Westfield/Cranford town centers. Aesthetically I'd say Clark is a bit nicer.
Kenilworth is convenient to lots of stores on Rt. 22, while Clark has quite a few retailers in town (Target, Barnes and Noble) and a huge new complex coming soon (Whole Foods being the centerpiece).
Depending on where you are in Clark you could take the bus into the city or a train from Westfield/Cranford/Rahway. Rahway has the added benefit of direct service to the city as it's on a different line.
One other thing to note, in the past Clark has had a reputation for racism. I don't know that this is still true among the residents, but as recently as a few years ago I know it was still a problem within the police force. This may or may not be something you care about.
Some towns that come to mind are Ridgewood, Glen Rock, Fair Lawn, and Rutherford.
They stated $350K earlier. Fair Lawn is the only one that you are going to get into for that. Anything in those other towns at that budget is going to be a disaster or on the train tracks. Even in Fair Lawn you are going to be limited to a small cape.
Okay, here's some more info, I'm moving from CT for a new position that's near Bound Brook, however my GF works in Manhattan so it needs to be under an hour for both of us to commute. I would prefer to be closer to Manhattan (more north in NJ) than Bound Brook.
My budget is $up to $350,000, single family house. Specifically what's important to me about the town I would like to live in; nice suburban town, good people, low crime.
I'm really looking for feedback and recommendations on towns more north in the state. But if it's accessible to the train station, I'll likely look at it.
PS - anyone know why there are 100+ foreclosures in South Plainfield - what the hell happened there? Thanks again for taking the time to respond to my post. It helps tremendously when you're unfamiliar with the area.
If you want to be a gentrifier you can go and claim some of those foreclosed houses, may want to get approved for gun licenses afterwards. North NJ is out of budget at that price.
Needs to also commute to Bound Brook, so these aren't going to work.
Clark and Kenilworth are similar in that they are both on Parkway exits, don't have trains, and no real "downtown." I suppose Kenilworth sort of has one if you're being very generous. Both are short driving distance to Westfield/Cranford town centers. Aesthetically I'd say Clark is a bit nicer.
Kenilworth is convenient to lots of stores on Rt. 22, while Clark has quite a few retailers in town (Target, Barnes and Noble) and a huge new complex coming soon (Whole Foods being the centerpiece).
Depending on where you are in Clark you could take the bus into the city or a train from Westfield/Cranford/Rahway. Rahway has the added benefit of direct service to the city as it's on a different line.
One other thing to note, in the past Clark has had a reputation for racism. I don't know that this is still true among the residents, but as recently as a few years ago I know it was still a problem within the police force. This may or may not be something you care about.
Thanks (and thanks to everyone that replied). Kenilworth taxes seem on the lower side, and it kind of fits the bill with regards to location as well. I did go to see some nice homes in South Plainfield, although not sure if my initial impression is correct, but that town looks like it's teetering on being overcome with foreclosures.
I have to say overall I'm excited to move, but New Jersey has some challenges that has to drive people away from the area. It seems like everywhere I look, there's some landmine around the corner; high property taxes, flood prone areas, high foreclosures. If it's not one, it's the other. Kind of reminds of me of Long Island a little, but I guess overall that's the price you pay for being in close proximity to New York City. I'll likely need to stretch the budget slightly. Thanks again for the feedback, it really does help.
You may want to look at some neighborhoods or Morris Township or Morris Plains. Both have easy access to NJ Transit. Be aware you will have a lot of competition from other buyers in that price range. Any further east along the train line is much more expensive. You could look even a little further west such as Denville.
We're moving from Washington Heights in the city to South Orange on Monday (closed on a house yesterday). You might want to look into the South Orange/Maplewood area. 35 minutes by train. Dense neighborhoods of old houses. Both towns have nice downtowns (Maplewood's is a little more quaint, SO is a little more functional). It's a quick drive between the two and residents generally see themselves as a the same community.
Your budget will probably have to increase, but you can probably get a smaller house a littler further from the train (there are jitney shuttles) for near that amount.
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.
