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Has anyone know enough about the two towns to give a comparison?
My husband and I have been looking to buy in Rutherford for many years. We love the vicinity to NYC, the many commute options, the supposedly stellar elementary schools, the middle class feel to many of the better streets in town, lots to do close by, etc. However, we have trouble finding a big enough, renovated house in the more desirable sections of town.
I saw Springfield, NJ recommended in a separate thread which mentioned good schools, small town feel, significantly lower taxes, newer housing stock, etc. But I don't know if these people who are happy with Springfield have ever looked at southern Bergen County and can compare apples to apples.
My questions:
1) Are the schools really comparable?
2) What are the best/most desirable parts of Springfield and what are the areas to avoid?
3) Are there many families in town that work in NYC? How bad is the commute in real-time, not timetable times?
4) How different is living in Union county vs Bergen?
I may have been the person to recommend Springfield as I live here!
We also looked at Rutherford due to the great commute. When we drove to Rutherford to look around we loved the town itself. But I didn't like any of the approaches to town. It seemed like we were surrounded by extremely busy roads and to get anywhere besides Rutherford would require some time on them. Also, many houses we looked at were in flood zones unfortunately. I am sure someone who lives in Rutherford can give much more insight.
In terms of Springfield there aren't any areas to avoid. There are pockets of flood zones, so just make sure to talk to realtors of homes for sale to double check. There are some more desirable areas (on top of Short Hills, on top of Balustrol, etc) but there aren't any bad parts of town. It's a small place!
I don't know about Rutherford schools. I know in NJ people go insane over schools and their ratings. I was one of those people when choosing a town. I almost didn't choose Springfield as the high school didn't have as high a great schools rating as I wanted. But at the time we bought it was high up on the NJ top high schools list so I went with it.
While I don't have a child in high school, I only hear amazing things. The people in this town are highly engaged and actually do things like attend Board of Ed meetings. When our high school lost its high school ranking from NJ mag, it was addressed fully and I completely expect us to rebound wherever possible. And frankly, when I see some of the schools high up on that list, I know from personal experience that regardless of the rating I'd never want my child to attend.
In terms of commute time, my husband commutes everyday. He usually takes the bus as we live around the corner from a stop for the 114. He takes an early bus and it takes about 45 minutes. The afternoon is more like an hour unless there's some mess at the Port Authority or an accident. We have a really good bus commute. He also occasionally takes the train. I either drive him to Millburn or he parks at Maplewood. That midtown direct train line is phenomenal. It's about 35-40 minutes (barring train line problems) from Millburn.
I can't say about living in Bergen County as I haven't. In terms of my experience between the two, Union is a little less hectic. And our taxes are better in general. Overall I love having easy access to towns like Westfield, Cranford, Summit, Millburn, Maplewood, etc. I can get to all those towns with zero highway time. I can get to the Short Hills mall in about seven minutes from my house, no highway. I have three Targets, two Costcos, two Walmarts, etc all within 15 minutes with no highway or difficult roads. It's more convenient than I ever imagined when I bought here. Heck, I'm even five minutes from Whole Foods which has been the only one in the area for ages (they're building a new one in Clark).
I may have been the person to recommend Springfield as I live here!
We also looked at Rutherford due to the great commute. When we drove to Rutherford to look around we loved the town itself. But I didn't like any of the approaches to town. It seemed like we were surrounded by extremely busy roads and to get anywhere besides Rutherford would require some time on them. Also, many houses we looked at were in flood zones unfortunately. I am sure someone who lives in Rutherford can give much more insight.
In terms of Springfield there aren't any areas to avoid. There are pockets of flood zones, so just make sure to talk to realtors of homes for sale to double check. There are some more desirable areas (on top of Short Hills, on top of Balustrol, etc) but there aren't any bad parts of town. It's a small place!
I don't know about Rutherford schools. I know in NJ people go insane over schools and their ratings. I was one of those people when choosing a town. I almost didn't choose Springfield as the high school didn't have as high a great schools rating as I wanted. But at the time we bought it was high up on the NJ top high schools list so I went with it.
While I don't have a child in high school, I only hear amazing things. The people in this town are highly engaged and actually do things like attend Board of Ed meetings. When our high school lost its high school ranking from NJ mag, it was addressed fully and I completely expect us to rebound wherever possible. And frankly, when I see some of the schools high up on that list, I know from personal experience that regardless of the rating I'd never want my child to attend.
In terms of commute time, my husband commutes everyday. He usually takes the bus as we live around the corner from a stop for the 114. He takes an early bus and it takes about 45 minutes. The afternoon is more like an hour unless there's some mess at the Port Authority or an accident. We have a really good bus commute. He also occasionally takes the train. I either drive him to Millburn or he parks at Maplewood. That midtown direct train line is phenomenal. It's about 35-40 minutes (barring train line problems) from Millburn.
I can't say about living in Bergen County as I haven't. In terms of my experience between the two, Union is a little less hectic. And our taxes are better in general. Overall I love having easy access to towns like Westfield, Cranford, Summit, Millburn, Maplewood, etc. I can get to all those towns with zero highway time. I can get to the Short Hills mall in about seven minutes from my house, no highway. I have three Targets, two Costcos, two Walmarts, etc all within 15 minutes with no highway or difficult roads. It's more convenient than I ever imagined when I bought here. Heck, I'm even five minutes from Whole Foods which has been the only one in the area for ages (they're building a new one in Clark).
I hope that ramble helps!
I live in Springfield so I second all that Deelup says. Also your minutes away from both South Mountain and Watchung Reservations. Minutes from two Trader Joes, three Shoprites, three Movie theathers more resturants than you can count etc.
Springbrook area of Springfield is a 10 min walk from the Short Hills train station, and many NYC commuters live there. You basically get the same commute as the multimillion dollar Short Hills without paying their prices, and the taxes are much cheaper in Union county vs Essex county.
Springbrook area of Springfield is a 10 min walk from the Short Hills train station, and many NYC commuters live there. You basically get the same commute as the multimillion dollar Short Hills without paying their prices, and the taxes are much cheaper in Union county vs Essex county.
What is the Springbrook area? Is it the whole triangle north of I78? Or just the little loop encircled by Springbrook Rd/Short Hills Ave between Morris Ave and I78?
The area of Springfield that is north of 78 near the intersection of Short Hills Avenue and Morris Avenue is a walking distance to mid-town direct train from Short Hills station (35 min to NYC), and it's a fantastic family neighborhood.
The area of Springfield that is north of 78 near the intersection of Short Hills Avenue and Morris Avenue is a walking distance to mid-town direct train from Short Hills station (35 min to NYC), and it's a fantastic family neighborhood.
Thanks. Is that area a flood zone? I heard areas near I78 can get it bad...
Springbrook area of Springfield is a 10 min walk from the Short Hills train station, and many NYC commuters live there. You basically get the same commute as the multimillion dollar Short Hills without paying their prices, and the taxes are much cheaper in Union county vs Essex county.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Susan Lugashi
Springfield is a great town I work out of the town next door - Short Shills/Millburn also great! The surrounding towns have access to trains and are all great. The only thing is Soringfield would be lower taxes as it is in Union country versus Millburn/Short Hills in Essex. There are some great towns here to explore, I know Bergen County taxes are higher but not so familiar with it so I can't help you with comparing but only tell you that I love it here after moving from Brooklyn.
This is a fallacy. Taxes in Essex County are not necessarily higher than taxes in neighboring counties. You have to take it on a town by town basis.
For example, Springfield has an effective tax rate of 2.6% that is higher than many West Essex towns. Livingston is lower than that, North Caldwell, Caldwell, Essex Fells, and several others are lower. Millburn/Short Hills property taxes are actually quite a bit lower than Springfield at only 1.84%, only the houses are more expensive so they seem higher to people who don't do their research.
Yes, Montclair, West Orange, South Orange/Maplewood are very high, and perhaps that is why people make the mistake of thinking Essex County has higher taxes than other counties, but as I said, you can only compare towns, not counties. BTW, Rutherford taxes, at 2.55% are on par with Springfield.
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