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Currently we live in Brooklyn, NY. I work in NYC and wife is home with the baby and 2nd one "possibly" :-) on the way. 1 or 2 bedroom apartment won't work. We always wanted a house with backyard for kids to play on, basement, game room, space, ... you know what I mean.
Bank pre-approved me for up to 600K
Wife and I are in our 30s.
So far we looked at houses in Old Bridge NJ and those were nice with possibly a decent commute by bus.
My question is ... what other towns in NJ should we look at that offer decent prices on a 3-4 bedroom single family homes, around $400-$500K, with a decent (under 1.2 hour) commute to NYC (this is very important).
We do care about school rating but I notice that it's cheaper to send kids to private school than to buy a house in a very good school district. So I am open to that.
Any info would be very much appreciated.
We are looking to hopefully move this winter.
A friend of my also suggested looking into West Orange, NJ and Clifton, NJ
West Orange certainly works for house prices and commute, though our property taxes are every bit as bad as their reputation, and a train commute requires either a long wait for a parking permit (in Orange, Brick Church, or South Orange) or taking the jitney.
are we to assume that you are looking for 2500+ sq ft home newer than 10 years old or so?
It can be a 20 yr old house too. Not looking for a new new house. Also, regarding sq feet ... i can do less than 2500sq feet
Quote:
Originally Posted by nybbler
West Orange certainly works for house prices and commute, though our property taxes are every bit as bad as their reputation, and a train commute requires either a long wait for a parking permit (in Orange, Brick Church, or South Orange) or taking the jitney.
Yes, taxes are crazy high. Old Bridge, NJ is a bit easier on it but I hear commute from Old Bridge is almost twice as long? A little over an hour?
Try Pompton Plains/Pequannock. Your budget definitely fits and you can get better/higher ranked schools and a quicker commute, plus a more down to earth feel. Just watch out for flood zones, but there are those in almost every town so it should go without saying. You may be paying higher taxes but it's worth it with better schools, downtown, commute, etc. and they are not nearly as bad as some places such as Bergen County.
Good luck with your home search!
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